The Christian Bible, one story written over a period of 1,600 years by over 40 different authors into 66 separate books, has been read, shared and taught to millions of people all around the world. Although parts and stories from this best-selling and most widely-known book in the world had been converted to film, no one had ever tried to boil the whole story down into a series until executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett came together to create the epic miniseries “The Bible”.

Premiering at 8 p.m., March 3, on the History Channel, the 10-hour production was broken up into two-hour episodes and will be shown every Sunday night through March 31. Each episode focuses on the lives and stories of some of the more prominent and major Bible characters, beginning with Abraham in Episode One and ending on Easter Sunday with the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Feather will provide a brief review for each of the following episodes. Check back every week through Easter to read the latest update on the series.

Once again, this week?s episode began with a snapshot recap of the whole series, from Noah in the ark to Jesus beginning his ministry with Peter. The scene transitions to the Pharisees teaching by the law and the crowds flocking to Jesus, transfixed by his teaching and his words. Despite the many miracles Jesus performs, including the feeding of the 5,000, the healing of lame and leprous men, his walking on the water and his raising Lazarus from the dead, the Pharisees remain doubtful and scorn his teaching, what they believe to be blasphemy.

Jesus calls his disciples from the most looked down upon and unlikely walks of life, including fishing and tax-collecting, and people begin to notice the reason Jesus is with them: to save not the good but the sinners. In the midst of political unrest and rebellion, the Jews begin to believe that Jesus is the leader they have been waiting for to rise up and defeat the Romans. However, Pontius Pilate begins to feel threatened by the crowds that Jesus attracts and the Pharisees desire to get rid of this “blasphemous” teacher and his unorthodox ideas.

As Passover nears, Jesus continues his ministry to sinners and saints alike despite the opposition he faces from the teachers of the law. Taking advantage of every opportunity he has to teach, Jesus gives his famous Sermon on the Mount, saves an adulterous woman about to be stoned, turns the market in his Father’s temple upside down and warns people of the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, continuing to share a message of grace and show the people that he really is the Son of God. The Pharisees, disgusted by his message and methods, begin to plot against him, looking for any way to convict him and condemn him to death.

Deciding upon blasphemy as the charge, they talk Judas, one of the 12 disciples, into leading them to Jesus in exchange for 30 pieces of silver, and the guards set out to arrest Jesus. Meanwhile, Jesus is eating his last meal with his disciples, known as The Last Supper, and informing them of his coming death. He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and then is arrested and taken by the Roman guards to court. Here, the movie leaves viewers with Jesus condemned to death and on his way to trial before Pilate, the story to be picked up again in next week’s conclusion.

Out of all the episodes so far, this week’s has been my favorite. I was not too repulsed by the blood and gore, but even more than that, I think the storyline and characters really remained true for this episode.

As far as the violence goes, I do not feel that this episode contained as many graphic scenes than the previous weeks. I did close my eyes for the parts I thought would have a lot of blood, because personally I do not like people getting hurt, but there were certainly less times that I felt the need to look away than there have been in the past. Interestingly, whether or not the producers intended to create this effect, it seemed like the violence happened wherever the Romans were, and that peace reigned wherever Jesus was, obviously until his arrest. As a viewer, I did not fear bloody scenes as much when Jesus was around.

I really like this Diogo Morgado (Jesus), and although he does look like an American Jesus, I love the way he is depicted. He definitely nails the authority, gentleness, compassion, love, mercy and power all in one person, especially in the sincerity in his eyes. Out of all the characters so far, Morgado is my favorite, hands down. Roma Downey and Mark Burnett made a great choice of an actor; he is perfect for this role.

Although it is not specifically stated, the theme of “God is with us” is more prominent in this episode than it has been in any of the others, and rightly so. Whether or not people realized it, Jesus was God with them, now in flesh rather than only in Spirit. Once again, the producers nailed the prominence of God’s presence with his people.

During the week of Passover they started labeling the days until the festival to give viewers a timeline in their minds counting down to Jesus’ arrest. It was a nice touch and it created a sense of anticipation and dread for the crucifixion. Labels like that are a little thing, but it helped a lot to put the events with approximately the right time period.

There were a couple of details in Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead that were inconsistent with the actual story, but other than that, the movie stayed pretty true to the story. Out of all of the episodes, it seems like this one has deviated from the Bible the least. I was pleased with the accuracy, and although I was a little frustrated with the Lazarus scene, I am glad that they included it in the movie. Translations, interpretations, creativity and artistic license will always play into the way scenes are depicted, and what is most important is that Jesus’ power over even death was shown in that scene.

Jesus’ various teachings were woven well into his interactions with the people and with the Pharisees. In many places, “The Bible” is unclear as to where and when some of the lessons were taught. It is easy to say as a viewer, “Jesus didn’t say that then/there,” but I thought the producers did a good job of incorporating and placing those unclear parts into reasonable scenes.

The Pharisees were accurately portrayed as completely ridiculous, and their interactions just sealed the deal in my mind. Even down to the way they dressed and talked to each other, their attitudes entirely convinced me that they really had no idea of what they were talking about and of how deceived they really were. Bravo to Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.

One more scene I found pretty interesting was the one where Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It flashes from him to the Pharisees praying to God, then to Pontius Pilate praying to his god. These shots well contrasted the intimacy between Jesus and his Father, the distance the Pharisees felt from God because of their many rules and regulations and the real lack of a god that Pilate and his people had. It made me think about their forms of religion in a way I never really thought about it before. When an overview movie about The Bible can get a Christian to think about a part of the story in a new way, that’s pretty good, and I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Overall, I have enjoyed this episode more than any other. I do not think I really have any bad things to say about it. I know next week is going to be pretty gruesome because it is the crucifixion week, but as far as staying true to the story, I am encouraged by this week’s showing and look forward to the conclusion.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @JennaWeimer42.

For a review on Week Three, see the March 21 article, History Channel showcases ‘The Bible’ television series, Week 3 (VIDEO).