First, a quick explanation of how we came to be screening the film - Jim Caveziel was in a college ministry that was led by Denny Rydberg. Denny is the President of Young Life. I don’t know if Denny asked for us to see it or if Jim offered it to Denny. I don’t think that matters.



Jim is passionate about Jesus and has a deep faith. He is Catholic, like Mel. Jim got the role because Mel was looking for an actor who was 33 years old and has the initials JC. Funny how God works, huh? After we saw the movie (I cried through most of it and they were smart enough to provide boxes of kleenex for us), Jim shared his experience of making the movie. I’ll share the three things that I thought were interesting from a technical movie-making pov **they are a little spoilerish**:



1.  When they were doing the scourging scene, Jim was chained to a short post. A wooden plank was attached to his back to protect him from the whips the actors playing the Roman guards were using. The whips were real and they were really hitting Jim. One of the blows hit just below the plank and landed on Jim’s lower back. He said he was almost numb from the intense pain - he went down and couldn’t move or talk or think for the pain. He was aware of Mel yelling at him to get up, but he couldn’t - they left that take in the movie.



Jim was hit a second time with the whip and a large welt was left on his back as a result. It was what the make-up artists used as the model for the fake welts they used.



2.  He said that the scenes where he’s hanging on the cross were supposed to be shot on one day in a 5 hour period. They were in Italy in winter, on a cliff, with heavy winds. The winds caused the cross to sway quite a bit - so much that it took 5 weeks to actually finish those scenes.



He would hang on that cross all day and at times would get bored so he had a signal to one of the crew to get his CD player. And he would listen to worship music - one song in particular really spoke to him while he hung there day after day - Above All from the Michael W. Smith Worship CD.



3.  Jim and MWSmith became good friends after Jim was on the Dove Awards show as a presenter a couple of years ago. When Smitty heard that Jim got the role of Jesus, he called him to let him know that he would be praying for him. They started communicating on a regular basis - they are close friends now. Such good friends that when Jim knew he was coming to our conference, he called Smitty to see if he wanted to spend a day in Orlando.



So after Jim was done with his talk, he brought out Smitty (who was a surprise guest), who sang Above All and then led us in about 20 minutes of worship. It was the most appropriate way to end that afternoon. To see that movie about the crucifixion of Jesus and follow it with the musical praise for the Father who sacrificed His son to save the world. It was an amazing, amazing experience.

Above All

by Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Baloche



Above all powers, above all kings

Above all nature and all created things

Above all wisdom and all the ways of man

You were here before the world began



Above all kingdoms, above all thrones

Above all wonders the world has ever known

Above all wealth and treasures of the earth

There’s no way to measure what you’re worth



Crucified

Laid behind the stone

You lived to die

Rejected and alone

Like a rose trampled on the ground

You too the fall and thought of me

Above all