Last night I stumbled across the mini-series on BBC1 called 'The Passion'. It's one of those stories I've heard so many times that I wasn't really expecting to see anything new but I was pleasantly surprised. There were two things in particular that stood out to me.
The first was the political situation and the tension between the Jews and the Romans. As I've read about it in the Bible before I never really got the full picture of what it must be like to live in that place and that time or what a crazy place Jerusalem was during Passover. It really helped bring the story to life, put things in context and help me understand the points of view of different key players in the story (Caiphas, the Romans, the disciples, the Jewish revolutionaries, the pilgrims...).
The other thing I loved was how Jesus was portrayed. He's a gentle revolutionary who's trying to teach his small band of followers how to live differently and see the world and the people around them through different eyes. And often they don't quite understand what he's doing or why because they're still thinking the way everyone else does. (For example, I love the bit where Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem on a donkey - effectively proclaiming himself as a new leader. One of his disciples turns round and says 'don't you think we should make a slightly more subtle entry, especially during passover - we're likely to get our heads kicked in!' He doesn't understand that Jesus has to enter Jerusalem in that manner and that he's fulfilling prophecy.) I wonder, how often do I misunderstand Jesus way of doing things?
Anyway, I would highly recommend you watch the rest of the series. Check it out on BBC 1 - Monday at 8:30pm, Good Friday at 9pm and Easter Sunday at 7:30pm.
I was pleasantly surprised by this production, too!
ReplyDeleteI confess, I was expecting an incredibly sanitised, limp-wristed family viewing version of a loaded and controversial moment in history.
But once I got past the 'englishness' of some of the performances, I found it quite emotive.
I agree, the politics of the situation was a well-added aspect.
I also found the humanity of Jesus played really well. So many times I've seen his character played as the slightly pretentious, lofty, renaissance-painting version. But this one seemed different - this Jesus was approachable, emotional & on the level - even when his disciples found him difficult to understand. He laughed, cried, was quietly quick-witted at times, bantered & argued. All together more human in his relationships.
I found it a pretty powerful production in its entirety!
Yeah, I agree with your comments of the way they portrayed Jesus. I found myself sat there thinking 'yes' this is the Jesus I know and love, not the typical view of who he is.
ReplyDeleteWas disappointed that I missed the Good Friday episode cos I would have loved to see how they portray the crucifixion