The Christian Bible, one story written over a period of 1600 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 2-hour episodes and was 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 provided a brief review for each of the episodes.
The final episode of “The Bible” begins with a short recap of the previous week and leads into the first scene, where a Roman soldier tells a crowd that Jesus had been sentenced to death. The Jewish priests approach Pontius Pilate and ask him to execute Jesus for them so they may not desecrate themselves before Passover. Despite a warning given to his wife in a dream, he reluctantly concedes to get rid of Jesus and decides to put the matter in the hands of the people. Since an old law allows Pilate to release one prisoner at Passover, the crowd asks for Barabbas, a convict guilty of murder, and then at the urging of the priests demand that Jesus be crucified.
Jesus is whipped and then adorned with a crown of thorns and a purple robe, mocking His kingship. After beating him and stripping him of his robes, Roman soldiers force him to carry his cross to Golgatha. Once they reach the top of the hill, Jesus is nailed to the cross and raised up to hang there. As Jesus says his final words, soldiers cast lots for his clothes, unceasingly mocking him. Two criminals hang beside him, one of whom jeers at Jesus and the other who asks that Jesus remember him in Heaven. When Jesus dies, conquering sin once and for all, the sky goes black, the temple curtain tears in two from top to bottom and there is a great earthquake, showing people that this truly was the Son of God.
Jesus is taken and laid in a tomb, but three days after his death, He unexpectedly rises and appears to his disciples. They continue their ministry for 40 days, and then Jesus is taken up into Heaven, leaving his disciples with his great commission to spread the gospel in all the world and with the promise of his Spirit to guide and empower them.
At Pentecost, three thousand people come to salvation, sparking a fire in the apostles’ ministry. Some, however, do not appreciate what the apostles are stirring up, and the early church undergoes great persecution, led by the Pharisee Saul. After the killing of many believers, including Stephen, Saul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus and is converted to Christianity. The Jews have a hard time believing that the man who was just trying to kill them would now be preaching to them, but he continues nonetheless.
Numerous disciples are killed by the Roman government, including Peter, James, Paul, Matthew and Thomas, but they are unable to get rid of John. In frustration, they exile him to the island Patmos, where he receives Revelation, the last book of the Bible. The movie ends with Jesus talking to John, his beloved, and promisng him that he is returning soon.
Like last week, I really enjoyed the finale of The Bible, and I am a little sad that the series is over. There were some parts, as there always are in Hollywood movies, that were a little questionable and some stories I was surprised that were skipped. But overall, I am really glad that they made this series and that it was so widely televised and viewed. The message is one that needs to get out, and the producers chose probably the most culturally relevant way to do it-through television.
Although the movie was not able to cover in depth many of the Old Testament stories because it spent so much time on Jesus, I am really glad that the producers showed as much of him as they did. He is central to the gospel message, He is the gospel message, so for them to show a minimal amount of him would have defeated the purpose of the movie ? to show viewers God’s love and grace for them and his desire for relationship despite the countless failures and falls.
Also, Jesus’ actor, Diogo Morgado, did a fantastic job in his role. I liked him in the fourth week, but my respect for him was taken up to a whole new level when I saw the crucifixion scene. He made it so real that I had a hard time remembering that I was watching someone act. He exuded pain and suffering yet mercy and forgiveness, and I was drawn to the scene more than I have been to any other graphic scene in all of the movies I have watched. I cannot think of a more perfect actor to play Jesus, and he was definitely one of my favorite parts of the whole series.
As always, there were some detail changes that I did not appreciate, but there certainly were not as many as the first three weeks. The stone at Jesus’ tomb is broken instead of being rolled away, Jesus comes and visits Mary in the tomb instead of the angel at first, Jesus walks through an open door instead of walking through a wall when he first appears to the disciples and Thomas is also with them the first time instead of only being there the second time. Whether it was condensed or just off, I do not understand why the producers felt the need to change parts of the story like that. If it was a lack of time, would it not take the same amount of time for Jesus to walk through a wall instead of waltzing through the door?
The crucifixion was pretty graphic and bloody, but I am really glad this time that they emphasized the brutality with which the Romans killed Jesus. It looked and sounded so real, and every crack of the whip on Jesus’ back and pound of the nails into his hands made me wince. If they had played that down at all, I think viewers might have missed just how much pain and suffering that Jesus went through for them. I really hope that they see how much they are worth to Jesus for Him to leave Heaven and come to Earth to be murdered by those he was dying to save. If viewers walk away with this, in my mind the series has been a success.
As the producers said at the beginning of the series, the theme of “God is with us” does remain a thread throughout the whole story, in the first three weeks with his presence, provision and protection for the Israelite people and then in the final two with Jesus coming to Earth and the Holy Spirit living inside of and moving in the early church. In the Old Testament episodes, this phrase is said over and over as a source of hope in the face of trials and obstacles. Although it is never said in the New Testament episodes, it does not need to be because Emmanuel, “God with us,” truly is with the Jews, in body as well as in Spirit. I was not sure that this theme would be kept for the duration of the series, but I thought they stuck with it well.
At the very end of the movie, the basic gospel message is given using flashbacks on Jesus’ teaching and ministry and his Revelation to John on the island of Patmos. I am so glad that the producers used three minutes to wrap up everything that was shown in the whole series. It would be a shame for them to have spent ten hours presenting God’s redemptive story and to have missed the wrap-up that drives the message home. If viewers missed everything else, this is the one thing I hope they would walk away with- Jesus’ desire for reconciliation with all people, hIs sacrifice to make that possible, his call to spread the gospel and his promise to return soon.
Overall, I enjoyed the series and I am glad I watched it. There definitely was a lot of emphasized blood and violence and fight scenes, especially in the Old Testament episodes, but I felt it was a pretty accurate depiction of the Bible, aside from the changes and additions they made in some scenes, details and attitudes of the characters and scenes. I honestly have no idea what it was that the producers thought they would gain by altering God’s inspired word, as if human ideas are better than his, and I have issue with the artistic liberties they took with a true story like this. It is one thing to take a fiction novel and make a few adjustments, but to take the Bible and decide that it is not good enough is not okay, especially for producers who are believers. An author never includes details for no reason; there is always a purpose for the way he writes his story.
I would suggest this movie to people, although I would not recommend it for a family movie night with little kids because of the violence. I would, however, just make sure to inform them of the artistic license that was taken with the story so they did not go into it thinking it was perfect. Despite the changes the producers made, though, I think the message that the producers wanted to portray of God’s continued love for his people still came across. I really hope that the show’s 13+ million viewers pick up what it puts down; I know I did.
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @JennaWeimer42.
For a review on the previous week, see the April 2 article, History Channel showcases ‘The Bible’ television series, Week 4 (VIDEO).
