We've now seen the fourth installment of "The Bible" on the History Channel and we are moving closer and closer to the point of all of history, the death and resurrection of Christ. The tension is mounting between the old religion of Judaism and the birth of Christianity. Again, those who have been working on this series have done a great job of presenting the bible to the world as a unified whole with a consistent theme.
For those who are wondering, Barabas only figures into the trial of Jesus as one who led an insurrection and is guilty of murder. Chances are, he was in prison before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. Pilate offers him to the crowd in the tradition of freeing someone at Passover in hopes that perhaps they will let the more mild mannered Jesus go so that he (Pilate) would not have to deal with the whole messy thing (Luke 23, Matthew 27, John 18). The inclusion of Barabas in "The Bible" is likely a plot development technique, good storytelling yet not necessarily biblical. It was very effective to have the Jesus character in a confrontation with the Barabas character. Barabas wanted Jesus to lead his followers in a revolt. When they came face to face, Jesus merely held his hand up toward Barabas and he backed away. Peter identified their peaceful intentions.
The writers of "The Bible" once again took some liberties in presenting several bible scenes in out-of-context order to move the action along or to make a point. Fortunately, their ordering does not necessarily change the theology of scripture but it might make it difficult for people who are following along or who choose to look up the stories afterwards. They will not find, for instance, Jesus' teaching on the prayers of the tax collector in the same time frame as the calling of Matthew. It was a brilliant touch of drama though to have Matthew mouth the words with Jesus, "God have mercy on me, a sinner." Nicodemus is not recorded as visiting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus' great teaching concerning the necessity to "be born again" coupled with his declaration that "God so loved the world" happens under the cover of darkness long before Palm Sunday (John 3) and is specifically directed at Nicodemus who does return to bury Jesus (John 19).
Jesus asks Peter, "Who do you say I am?" in the movie and in the bible. In the movie, Peter replies, "You are the Son of God." In the bible, Peter replies, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is a great distinction to make because Jesus' response in the bible is, "on this rock I will build my church." The "rock" to which Jesus refers is the declaration that Peter makes, "You are the Christ." It is the Catholic church which teaches that Jesus refers to Peter as "the rock". Later in the movie, Jesus refers to Peter as the rock on which the church will be built once again, reinforcing the Catholic doctrine of the producers.
Some particularly good scenes:
Jesus was effectively portrayed as in control, full of sorrow and concern for the Jews in the "Table turning" scene.
The scene of the Last Supper was well done and quite moving. The identification of Judas as the betrayer was dramatic and emotional.
It was a striking scene to switch back and forth between Jesus praying in the Garden, Caiaphas praying in the Temple and the wife of Pilate praying in the palace.
My observations are clearly not all that could be made. Perhaps you would like to share some as well. Or maybe you have questions about something you saw. Your responses are welcomed!
Pastor Paul
Join Benson Baptist as we journey through "The Bible" alongside the television miniseries premiering March 3, 2013 on the History Channel.
First off, I would like to thank you and Pastor Josh for blogging about the “Bible” TV series.
ReplyDeleteIn your previous blog you pointed out the omission of John testimony - “ Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” I’ve been pondering over that. Why they omitted John the Baptist’s testimony of who Jesus is as revealed by the Father. Granted only John ( John 1: 29) recorded this testimony “ Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”, but how about what Matthew, Mark and Luke wrote:
Matthew 3: 16- 17
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Mark 1: 9-11
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Luke 3: 21: 22
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
What is the significance of John’s testimony? As I read Pastor Josh blog this morning & he mentioned Isaiah 61, it dawned on me that the answer is found Isaiah 61 and more verses caught my attention.
John 1: 6-9
Isaiah 61:1-4.
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Matthew 3:11-12
Luke 3: 15-16
Mark 1:7-8
John 16:5-16
John 8: 13-18
John 14:10
Matthew 1:20-21
John 6: 28-29, 38-40
John 18:36-37
Luke 19:10
Matthew 26: 28
So by omitting John the Baptist’s Testimony, “to change the world” is what is “fishers of men” meant, and portraying Jesus having series of visions which to me implies He was not completely aware of things to come thus reducing him like that of just an ordinary prophet, and the omission of “ no one comes from the Father except through me”(John 14:6) during the Last Supper scene, makes me think that Burnett and his advisors are trying to make Jesus more desirable to a larger viewing audience thus focusing too much on his humanity and avoiding the truth that salvation comes from Jesus alone.
1 Timothy 2: 4- 6
4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time
Lordina
P.S. Their Jesus is so handsome. Very opposite of the picture Isaiah painted . (Isa. 53:2)
Thanks for your comments Lordina! They are thought provoking indeed and point to the fact that we must not take someone's interpretation of scripture through the lens of cinematography as truth but only the actual Word of God.
DeleteI can't speak for Roma Downey or Mark Burnett in what they are trying to do with their Jesus character (it is worth noting, both are practicing Catholics) and I'll hold off a bit until after the last episode, but the omissions they have made have been puzzling and disappointing to say the least and your observation of making Jesus too human is on point if that is indeed what they are trying to do. We cannot sacrifice the deity of God by focusing on Jesus' humanity nor can we sacrifice His humanity by over-emphasizing his deity. We must remember Jesus as fully God and fully Man.
P.S. I've also often wondered about many film makers' portrayals of Jesus physically, they are often very good looking as well. Perhaps getting an unattractive actor for your lead roll isn't something most producers are used to :)? thanks for posting such a great post!
- Pastor Josh