Jesus in Our Image

In May of this year, CBS aired Jesus: The Epic Miniseries, which is now available on VHS and DVD. This Jesus, not to be confused with the Campus Crusade Jesus Film Project, stars Jeremy Sisto as Jesus and Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate. Our home fellowship group watched sections of the film and discussed it over a two-week period. The makers of Jesus do a good job of bringing first century Palestine to life: Roman occupation, poverty, capricious tax collectors, and religious politics. They also were fairly effective at capturing the human experience of Jesus—his vulnerability to emotional pain and rejection, as well as the physical horror of crucifixion, which of course had to be toned down for television. As likable as the character of Jesus was (laughing with the guys and dancing at parties; sensitive and playful), the movie's portrayal of him was a real letdown from a biblical perspective. If you watch the movie in search of the Jesus of the Bible, you won’t find him. Although having a superficial resemblance to the biblical Jesus, Sisto’s Jesus seemed to be a composite of political correctness and therapeutic sensibilities. Unlike other versions of the life of Christ, this film was straightforward about Jesus’ miracles. Yet this Jesus is little more than a miracle worker with a big heart. By watching Jesus the movie, one would not have known that the Jesus of Scripture taught extensively and generated controversy in doing so. Sisto’s character was unsure of who he was, except as others prodded him to accept “his mission,” which remained vague. He rarely declares anything but cryptic one-liners or pop psychology. The notion of sin only came up in contexts that had connotations of poor self-esteem. The purpose of Jesus’ death in the film seems to be to inspire goodness and love in others rather than to pay for sin as a substitute. In downplaying human sin (our assertion of independence from God), Jesus also downplays and obscures the grace of God. The grace of God is his complete mercy and favor given as a free gift when we acknowledge this rebellious assertion of independence, and subsequently place our trust in Jesus’ work on our behalf. When we place our trust in Jesus’ work, we are at the same time laying aside trust in our own efforts to earn his favor. Check it out for yourself in the Bible: Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 3:20-24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 4:10-14. Watching Jesus also caused me to reflect on the significance of the fact that the biblical message of Christ is written in words—many words—sometimes difficult words, rather than painted in images (or sent as a video from heaven). Much of John’s gospel, for example, is lengthy monologues without action. I wonder whether a medium like television, which is so oriented toward visual stimulation and constant action, is capable of portraying a life that was so much about words and teaching. As a way to clarify your own understanding of Jesus and think about his biblical portrayal, I recommend a viewing of Jesus—especially in a group discussion setting.  --Mark Bair

Link to Christianity Today review of Jesus

Link to Christianity Today article on Jesus films over the years