Perhaps I'm not sure who "they" are with "their" hidden motives. However, I've come to suspect that Mel Gibson wanted the controversy about anti-semitism, which provided an excellent publicity vehicle for his violent epic.

Many people think Gibson followed the gospels very closely, and in some scenes and dialogue he did, but the perspective he brought to the film is very traditional Roman Catholic, and essentially medieval Roman Catholic. There is a considerable expansion on the gospel accounts, including characters, events, and motives. A primary source for several scenes and much of the slant of the Gibson's "Passion" the book reporting accounts of visionary tales of nun ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH in the early 19th century. The link below will take the curious reader to an online copy of the book that so heavily influenced Gibson.

• THE MEDITATIONS OF ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH