I have seen the 2017 film “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” numerous times. I’ll never forget the first time I saw this film on Netflix (although it’s not available on this platform anymore). At that point, the only other project that I had seen with Brett Dalton – the lead actor on this film – was on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” where Dalton played Grant Ward. In season 1 of that show, it was revealed that Grant was a wolf in sheep’s clothing; he was the Judas Iscariot figure who ruthlessly betrayed his entire team. Grant continued to oppose the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D until he was killed in season 3.
Therefore, as silly as it
sounds to me now (he is an actor after all; of course he can portray the good
guy, or the irredeemable villain), because Dalton was so convincing in his
role of Grant Ward, I honestly didn’t know what direction “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” was going to take. Would it be nothing more than a mockery of
Christians and the Christian faith?
Spoiler alert: the answer to that question is no; it doesn’t mock
Christianity at all.
In the film, Brett Dalton
plays actor Gavin Stone, who can never get out of the shadow of a role he
played as a child. He gets in trouble
with the law, and is assigned to do 200 hours of community service which he has
to work off at a church. He learns
of the church’s annual play on the life of Jesus Christ; Gavin wants to
audition for the role of Jesus, but is told that everyone in the play needs to be a Christian. He lies and claims that he is a
Christian, and soon he gets the role.
For the sake of those who
haven’t seen this film, I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot. However, since I’ve described the tension I
felt when I watched this film for the first time, let me submit to you, for the
record, "The Resurrection of Gavin Stone" is an excellent film. In
fact, as I said, I’ve seen it numerous times, and it never gets old, no matter
how many times I view it. To put it
succinctly, because of the influence of his Christian cast mates, Gavin learns
about grace, second chances, humility, and of course, Jesus Christ Himself. Check out this film, if you haven’t yet.
To conclude, the church’s play
in “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone”
beautifully depicts a poignant exchange between Jesus and a woman caught in the
act of adultery – this account can be read about in John 8:1-11. This woman is thrown at Jesus’ feet, a group
of people are ready to stone her to death – as the law of that day dictated. And the Lord says, “Let he who is without sin
cast the first stone.” One by one, they
all drop the stones to the ground, knowing they are all guilty. I love the compassion in Gavin’s eyes, as he
portrays Jesus in that moment, “Where are your accusers? Is there anyone left to condemn you?” She answers no one. “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” To see the look of relief on her face, as she
reacts to the forgiveness from Jesus, is one of my favorite scenes in the film.
God bless,
Kevin
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