Picture of Jesus

I was watching the Phantom of the Opera Sunday for the second time. The entire movie was excellent but I had a few favorite scenes, only one of which I'll share.

For those of you who've seen the play, movie or read the book, then this will not spoil a thing for you, but for those of you who have done none of the above, go watch the movie, then read this. Anyway, towards the end of the movie the Phantom has Roul tied up to a giant gate and gives Christine 2 choices. Either she chooses him and her love (Roul) lives, or she doesn't and Roul dies. Lose lose situation right? You would think so, but something incredible happens. She sees him for who he is and has pity on him. She sings "God has given me the strength to show you that you are not alone". She then walks up to him embraces him with her hand on the disfigured side of his face and kisses him. Now to understand the enormity of that statement and action, I must share the with you who the Phantom is. He grew up in a freak show being beaten, being shown no mercy, grace or compassion. He got the chance after a show and choked his tormentor to death. A dance student saw this and felt sorry so she hid him in the opera house where he grew up and became a great musician, vocalist, writer, etc.... So now we know that he's a product of society, and though he could have made different choices, it's a bit easier for us to relate to him.

So how is this a picture of Jesus? The way I saw it was that the Phantom represented the world. We were born into disfiguration, and our lives have been a product of our social surroundings. To hide our hurt and pain we put a mask on so that everyone else will not see the truth. However Christ (Christine) pulls that mask off and exposes us for who/what we are, not to condemn us, but to show us compassion and love. When Christine embraces the Phantom, I see Christ leaving glory in Heaven, and choosing to die for us. Christine chose to stand beside the Phantom so that he would know love for once in his life. She did not know that he would fall apart and send the two of them away. Christ chose to take our sins and die a horrible death on the cross, suffering the worst pain He could suffer, which is when the Father turned His face from Him. The Phantom's reaction to Christine's love and compassion is much like anyone's reaction when they first come to know the love of Jesus and the mercy and grace that He has for us. We see ourselves in the light of grace and fall apart at the seams knowing how wretched and undeserving we are of such compassion.

Go see the movie. See if you see what I saw.