Got a favorite Jesus-themed movie or TV show? Some love the original Ben-Hur (1959), featuring an iconic performance by Charlton Heston. Others prefer The Robe (1953), another classic with unforgettable acting from Richard Burton and Jean Simmons. But – while both of these are connected to the story of Jesus, they aren’t “life of Christ” stories. It’s a bit trickier to pick the best film adaptation that shows the tale of Jesus from carpenter to cross. The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) is in parts epic and in others, cringeworthy: watching John Wayne as a Roman soldier say – in his trademark drawl, “Truly this maaan was the son of God” – almost negates the wonderful Jesus of the movie brought to life by the late great Swedish-French actor Max Von Sydow (1929-2020). Until recently, our overall favorite was Franco Zeffirelli’s 1977 television series, Jesus of Nazareth. Filmed in Tunisia and Morocco – as well as in the UK – this British-Italian masterpiece stars Robert Powell as Christ. His portrayal was so stunning, for decades Powell’s look – a thin, pale-skinned bearded man with long dark hair and piercing blue eyes – became ‘the official look’ of Jesus for many. Eight of the all-star cast of Jesus of Nazareth would win Oscars for later work, including Laurence Olivier, Antony Quinn, Rod Steiger, Anne Bancroft, Christopher Plummer, Ernest Borgnine, Peter Ustinov, and James Earl Jones.
Jesus of Nazareth was an instant classic and a re-watch today shows it’s aged well… mostly. The Chosen burst onto the scene in 2019 and just wrapped up its second season. In many ways, it’s the opposite of Zeffirelli’s vision. The Chosen – now the planet’s largest crowd-funded film or TV project – doesn’t depict perfection. In this show that’s available as a Christian app, as well as from other media outlets, Jesus isn’t a ‘majestic,’ almost otherworldly figure. This Jesus, played by Jonathan Roumie, is not just approachable, he’s ‘huggable’ – a person you’d have a beer with, and also someone with whom you’d share intimate secrets. There’s no hint of the cheesiness found in so many Bible-related shows, and oh, this Jesus doesn’t have piercing blue eyes.
Among scholars, “Jesus looked like a first-century Jew” isn’t much of a topic of debate, but this reality hasn’t filtered down to all. For example, in the year of our Lord 2013, a person as ‘knowledgeable’ as Fox News host Megyn Kelly said on air, “Jesus was a white man, too. It’s like we have, he’s a historical figure that’s a verifiable fact, as is Santa, I just want kids to know that. How do you revise it in the middle of the legacy in the story and change Santa from white to black?” Setting aside the silly idea that Santa Claus – in his modern iteration – is a “verifiable historical figure,” the idea that Jesus was a “white man” was offensive to many, while also being extremely ignorant.
The entire cast of The Chosen looks like they belong in first-century Judaea, which wasn’t a mono-ethnic society. A province of the Roman Empire at the time of Christ, it sits in an arc between the gateway to Europe, Asia Minor (today’s Turkey), and the then-path into Africa, Egypt. Traders, soldiers, merchants, and all manner of peoples moved about and through this area; not to mention the ships and their crews that sailed between Mediterranean ports. There were black people in Judaea, as there are in The Chosen. So, points for historical accuracy. But The Chosen wouldn’t be racking up hundreds of millions of views just because they got Jesus’ skin tone right. The show gets the entire tone of the Jesus story right. This includes interesting invented backstories for characters that don’t get a lot of description in the scriptures. When the brothers James and John quit fishing to follow Jesus, how do you think that choice affected their families? The Chosen gives us a look at such ‘real life’ issues – things likely even most Bible-readers haven’t considered before. This is where its majesty lies; in humanizing both Christ and his followers. The Gospels say Matthew was a tax collector. The idea that tax collectors were despised by their own people isn’t new… but The Chosen goes a step further and puts the man who becomes the Apostle Matthew on the autism spectrum.
Some will chuckle after reading about ‘backstories’ and ‘humanizing.’ They’re thinking “So… the Jesus story gets a ‘woke’ makeover and that makes it cool?” It’s a fair thought. “Cool” Jesus portrayals have been tried and found wanting. But The Chosen isn’t ‘woke’ or ‘hip.’ It’s the brainchild of director Dallas Jenkins, a ‘serious’ Christian (Google him for interesting info on his family), and a serious filmmaker. The sets are gorgeous, the cast diverse, the acting is good and we see genuinely new and thought-provoking ideas brought to a story most didn’t imagine still had the power to surprise. For believers, The Chosen is a welcome return after wandering through a desert of modern versions of “Bible TV shows” such as the 2009 drama Kings or The Bible (2013). Both these shows collapsed due to an unholy mix of – if we’re honest –shallowness and pretentiousness. Dallas Jenkins wants you to see the life of Christ, but he’s put storytelling front and center… and when you put a great story in the hands of a good storyteller, the result can be something close to magic.
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