Netflix tried to erase a prophecy, and Christians noticed.
When Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ opened with Isaiah 53, it was more than just a verse. It was a declaration: “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by His wounds we are healed.”
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For believers, this Old Testament prophecy is the clearest foretelling of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and it was the first thing to appear on screen when the film debuted in theaters.
So when Netflix quietly released a version of the film with that verse removed, replacing it with 13 seconds of empty black screen, people noticed. And they weren’t silent about it.
Public outcry began after a Catholic woman named Cassie posted about it on Apr. 14, and momentum snowballed.
LifeSiteNews was among the first to report the removal, highlighting its theological significance and cultural impact. “You hear this passage, you know it’s talking about Jesus,” said LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen. “Whether you believe he’s the Messiah or not. That’s precisely why it was so powerful for Mel Gibson to have put it at the start of The Passion of the Christ.”
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On Apr. 17, Holy Thursday, conservative commentator Benny Johnson added fuel to the fire, writing on X, “You can’t silence the Truth. Christ is King.”
By Good Friday, Netflix restored the missing verse. No statement. No apology. Just the Scripture quietly put back where it belonged.
Even though we live in a world eager to edit Christ out of the story, this was a reminder: God’s Word doesn’t return void, and His people are watching.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.