Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh…sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
The passion and death of Christ is at the center of the Christian faith. We have the advantage of being able to witness reenactments of the Paschal Mystery in film. The song quoted above is meant to recreate the emotional experience of being there when Jesus was crucified. I did some searching to find the most powerful videos of the crucifixion to help recreate the experience of the crucifixion for my students. You may consider using the following movies and videos as a part of your lessons on the paschal mystery.
Movies/films that feature the crucifixion:
- Ben Hur (1959)
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
- Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
- The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Popular Youtube videos of the crucifixion:
“Jesus Crucifixion”
This video is a complication of clips taken from The Passion of the Christ with LeeAnn Rimes’ “Amazing Grace” playing in the background. It is as powerful as the movie itself. Warning, however, the images are graphic and will require permission from parents before showing in class.
“Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) The Crucifixion (21) (((Stereo)))”
This scene captures the pain of the crucifixion, but manages to avoid the gruesome shock of The Passion of the Christ. The background could be distracting for some and more powerful for others viewing the scene.
“Jesus of Nazareth”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qr1E2_Nwtg&feature=fvsr
Embedding disabled by request
Scenes taken from the movie Jesus of Nazareth.
“Crucifixion of Jesus Christ from the Thief on the Cross Perspective”
Here is Christian rock band Third Day’s music video titled “Crucifixion of Jesus Christ from the Thief on the Cross Perspective.” The video uses clips from the movie Jesus of Nazareth. The music and the image combination is quite powerful.
What videos/films have you found to be most effective in your experience as a teacher?
A quick follow-up: On Monday, I showed Ben Hur to my 8th grade CCD class. I chose this movie because I was unable to connect to the internet and it was the only DVD I could find at home. If I were to try this again, I would either show the clips from Jesus of Nazareth or one of the youtube videos that take clips from that movie. Ben Hur is a classic, but maybe a little too classic for the kids to enjoy. The Passion on the other hand is a little too gory to show in class (especially without parent permission).
I have shown the Passion Cut every Holy week to my 10 th graders. Those who do not want to watch the film have a written assignment to do in the library. It is always very powerful and the students really get alot out of it. THis year I am concerned after the latest Gibson antics. ANy thoughts? We show Jesus of Nazareth to the 9th graders….
Julie,
Great idea separating the kids. I wouldn’t worry too much about the Mel Gibson thing. As the years go buy less people will associate The Passion with Mel Gibson alone. People will appreciate it for what it is by itself. That’s my initial thought, but I may be wrong.