Several of you have sent me emails regarding Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion.”    I am pleased that you have not been disappointed with the movie.    I encourage you to see it again and invite your friends, family members, and neighbors.      When you do, be ready to give your own testimony of how you came to know Christ as Lord and Savior.    One question some of you have raised about the Passion is in regard to the scene where Satan is seen coddling a baby.   Most of you asked, “ What is the meaning of Satan coddling a baby during Jesus’ beatings in the court yard?  Here is my best take on the meaning of this scene.   

Biblical background

In respect to the biblical background leading to this event, Satan did not want Jesus to complete His road to the cross.  If He did then all of man’s sin would be forgiven, and Satan’s dominion and rule over mankind would be ruined (Acts 26:15-18; I Peter 2: 24).  All any man would ever have to do after the cross would be to repent and believe in Christ as Lord and Savior (Matthew 4 17; Romans 10:9-10; John 11: 25-26).   To keep this from happening, Satan tried everything to keep Jesus from making this ultimate atoning sacrifice.   Satan’s plan began with the temptations, and continued through humiliating trials and painful beatings and scourging.  (Matthew 4:1-11). 

The infant coddling scene

In the scene where Satan is coddling an infant, I believe Gibson was trying to convey another attempt by Satan to thwart Jesus from going to the cross.   Gibson depicted Satan as a doting mother in this scene; lovingly stroking her infant while Jesus was being tortured.     Satan flauntingly looked at Jesus as if to say,   “ Look at me, look at how I take care of my own.”     “  I love my own just like a mother loves her own newborn.”    “Where is Your Father?”  “Why does He not come and take care of you now?”  “How can you serve a Father who does nothing when you are being scourged and beaten?”     “ I’ll take care of you, just give up and forsake the cross.”  But Jesus did not respond to Satan’s temptation in this scene, although if He wanted to end the beatings and scourging, He had 12 legions of angels at His disposal (Matthew 26:51-54). 

The scene finally ends with Satan turning the face of the infant toward Jesus.    As the face is exposed, it is not normal.   The face of the infant was not a contented, innocent baby, but rather an odd-looking, ugly old man.   I believe this deformed face represents the lost in this world; those who refuse Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross.   The ugliness of the face therefore was the outward expression of a heart of ugliness, one filled with unrepentant sin.   

Final Comment

The following is Gibson’s actual interpretation of the scene containing the ugly baby in the arms of Satan.  This comes from Christianity Today, who asked him the same question.  

"Again," said Gibson, "it's evil distorting what's good. What is more tender and beautiful than a mother and a child? So the Devil takes that and distorts it just a little bit. Instead of a normal mother and child you have an androgynous figure holding a 40-year-old 'baby' with hair on his back. It is weird, it is shocking, it's almost too much-just like turning Jesus over to continue scourging him on his chest is shocking and almost too much, which is the exact moment when this appearance of the Devil and the baby takes place."

Word of God

The Cross did Satan in

Acts 26:14-18     15  “And I (Paul) said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus… and I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18  to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

I Peter 2: 24  “ and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”   

God’s plan of salvation

Matthew 4 17  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Romans 10:9-10    9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 

John 11: 25-26   25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?

Satan’s temptation

Matthew 4:  1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”    7Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”  8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9  and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him

Jesus’ angels

Matthew 26:51-54    51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52   Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. 53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?   54 “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way