Customer Reviews

Living Christ Series, Vol. 1 [Slim Case]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fate of John the Baptist, the ninth episode in The Living Christ series, naturally centers on the execution of the messenger sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. John the Baptist had been arrested, on the orders of Herod Antipas, about the same time that Jesus began his ministry. John had harshly criticized Herod Antipas for his adulterous marriage to Herodias; not only was Herodias his brother's wife, she was a foreigner who did not recognize the Hebrew God. Imprisoned in Herod Antipas' fortress at Machaerus, John had heard of Jesus' growing fame and asked two of his followers to find the Nazarene and ask Him if He was indeed the Messiah. When the men come back and confirm the truth of this, he is happy and completely at peace. Very soon thereafter, he is beheaded. Some of John's followers go to Jesus to follow Him, and Jesus is of course saddened by the death of the Baptist. The messenger is now dead, and Jesus knows that the time of his sacrifice grows nigh. As if to reinforce this fact, the video features a conversation among the disciples, in which Judas Iscariot surmises that Jesus may be targeted soon as a threat to Herod, the scribes and Pharisees, and the Romans themselves.

The most interesting aspect of this whole series, at least to me, has been the portrayal of Herod Antipas. He does have John arrested for the things he has said about the king and his unholy wife, but he does not want to have the man put to death. His wife Herodias, however, desperately wants the prisoner executed for the things he has said about her, and she uses trickery to get her way. Herod asks his step-daughter Salome to dance for the guests at his birthday celebration and then promises to grant any wish she names, never dreaming she will (according to her mother's instructions) ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Before the assembled company, Herod Antipas cannot refuse to honor his word, and so John the Baptist is beheaded.

According to the Bible, Herod Antipas feared that the people would be angered if this man many called a prophet were to be executed. This is certainly true, as the king was a craven and cowardly leader already held in low esteem by his people. However, Herod gets something of a sympathetic treatment in The Living Christ series. It is hard not to pity a man married to the sharp-tongued, demanding, and incorrigible Herodias - she almost makes Jezebel look like Carol Brady. Herod himself seems to enjoy his conversations with John, and at times he seems to be moved by John's message - to realize, at least to some degree, that John is right and that he is living a life that is an abomination before God. Toward the end of this video, with John the Baptist now dead, Herod Antipas seems to snap; this, of course, does not bode well for Jesus, whose time is drawing nigh.

Discipleship, the sixth half-hour episode in 1951's The Living Christ series, covers a lot of important ground in terms of the early ministry of Jesus. Word of Jesus' teaching and healing powers had already begun to spread quickly across the land, and now Jesus cannot travel anywhere without huge crowds of people following Him; many come to be healed, and many come from far-off towns and villages just to hear Him preach. This video features one wealthy individual who is quite up in arms because many of his servants and slaves have left to go see Jesus, leaving the grain in the fields. He brings Roman soldiers to the place where the people are gathered, but the soldiers can detect no real danger in the words of Jesus. What these soldiers hear are the Beatitudes, for this is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, by far the most substantial recorded sermon of Jesus.

At this time, we also see Jesus formally select his twelve disciples, including a certain Judas Iscariot. While this series seems quite faithful to the Gospels as a whole, the selection of the disciples at the time of the Sermon on the Mount does mark a divergence from the Gospel account - for example, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount before he even met Matthew the publican. Following the sermon, we see a poignant dramatization of the leper who sought Jesus in order to be healed. The fear and loathing the people feel for the leper is rendered quite vividly on the screen, and this reinforces the miraculous glory of his healing. Jesus asks the man not to speak of the miracle, but of course he can't keep something like this to himself. It is at this point that we see the Pharisees begin to grow concerned over Jesus' ministry and its growing popularity. They come and tell the people that Jesus' power to exorcise demons comes from Satan, but Jesus' response to their words sends them on their way without further comment.

The video closes in an interesting way. The disciples are sitting around talking about prayer while Jesus is off by himself praying and meditating. Peter does not know if he can pray to God directly; up to now, prayer had basically meant recitation, and Peter feels as if he needs to know what to say when he goes to God in prayer. Jesus returns to the camp and agrees to teach his disciples how to pray, and it is here that he delivers the words of the Lord's Prayer. In reality, the Lord's Prayer was part of the Sermon on the Mount, so this scene is not Biblically correct. However, this particular way of presenting the information on prayer works extremely well.

This particular episode in The Living Christ series is simply superb. Packed with important information, it does a commendable job of encapsulating the main points of Jesus' early ministry.

Boyhood and Baptism is the third half-hour episode in The Living Christ Series, a series simple yet powerful in its portrayal of the life of Jesus Christ. The story picks up with Joseph and Mary returning to Nazareth from Egypt after the death of the evil King Herod. We see bits and pieces of Jesus' childhood, as the lad works with his father and studies the Hebrew law. The child who plays Jesus as a child reminds me a little too much of that mean old bully Butch from Our Gang, but that's neither here nor there. The most important event of Jesus' childhood is, of course, his trip to the temple in Jerusalem for Passover at the age of twelve. After a day's journey back toward home, Joseph and Mary realize that Jesus is not with the other boys and is in fact nowhere to be found. They hurry back to Jerusalem to find Jesus speaking to the teachers in the temple and amazing them with his knowledge.

The coming of Pontius Pilate as the newly-installed governor of Caesarea is given a surprising amount of attention here. His meeting with Herod Antipas, the new king of Palestine and son of Herod, is particularly eventful, as Pilate pretty much tells Herod Antipas what he thinks of him (and it's not much, let me tell you). At the same time, we are taken out into the countryside to hear John the Baptist preach. The actor playing John the Baptist is quite good, especially when he is charging the mighty as well as the weak with sin and calling for all men to be baptized anew for - he declares - the kingdom is at hand. This video ends with Jesus coming to John to be baptized. We see the skies part and the sun shine down favor upon the Messiah in the wake of his baptism, but I was quite surprised that the words of the Lord that accompanied that moment were not included in this dramatization.

Like all the other volumes in The Living Christ series, this is a wonderful and Biblical recreation of Jesus' time on earth. As this volume ends, Jesus has begun his journey into the wilderness, where he will be tempted by Satan in preparation for his ministry. Children as well as adults should enjoy, understand, and be moved by the impassioned dramatization of this and every episode in The Living Christ series.

the living christ series including this volume is one of the best produced religous movies of all time, great actors,great directing in beautiful color and music background or movie scores.

4 episodes 30 minutes each. The acting is good. Sound is fine but picture is poor because the 16mm film prints (used for the DVD transfer) are worn with noticable dirt & scratches in the picture which distracts from the enjoyment of the episodes. From a historicle point of view these are fine & true to the Bible. You may want to watch one episode at a time (as I did) rather than watching the whole thing in 1 to 4 sittings.

Crucifixion and Resurrection is the twelfth and final episode of 1951's The Living Christ series. It is of course impossible to dramatize in the space of half an hour everything that happened surrounding the crucifixion and the miraculous events that followed, but this video does provide viewers with a subtle yet excellent presentation of the story. After Jesus is sentenced to death, the video moves from there directly to Golgotha, where Jesus has already been placed on the cross and raised up to suffer. You won't see the grueling walk Jesus had to make with the crucifix on his back, nor will you see Jesus being bound and nailed to the cross or the Roman soldiers harassing Him. Thus, this is definitely a child-friendly presentation of the most important story ever told.

After the crucifixion, Jesus' body is placed in the tomb, and His followers try to deal with their loss. Peter is particularly upset about having denied Christ three times, just as Jesus had said he would, on the night of the arrest. I have always found it strange that none of the disciples believed Jesus when He told them He would arise after three days; the Jewish officials certainly remembered these words, for they place a guard on the tomb to prevent any follower of Christ coming to take the body in order to claim Jesus arose. According to Matthew, the soldiers secured the tomb by sealing it, but here the men stand on guard, witness something akin to an earthquake that rolls away the stone, and then find the body gone right out from under their noses. The next morning, a group of women come to the tomb to anoint the body, only to find the stone rolled away and the body missing. An angel appears to tell them that Jesus has arisen, and they hurry back to the disciples to share the news. The disciples do not believe the women; only when Jesus appears to them soon thereafter do they believe - all except for Thomas, who was not present at the time. He later gets the chance to examine the nail-scarred hands himself.

Somewhat strangely, this video and thus The Living Christ series ends with Thomas' doubt-removing encounter with the risen Savior. I had expected Jesus' ascension into Heaven to close out the story, but we never get to the point where Jesus prepares His followers to go out and spread the Gospel of the risen Savior. This takes me to my only real criticism of this excellent video: it does not do a great job of communicating the reasons why Jesus came and died. The message is implicit in much of the material of the series as a whole, but I believe the lack of a final and explicit explanation of the crucifixion and resurrection is a real weakness in this otherwise very impressive series-concluding episode.

By the time of the events dramatized in Triumph and Defeat, the eleventh episode in The Living Christ series, Jesus' time has drawn nigh. He returns to the temple to pray, but the sight of the marketplace activities going on inside the walls of the Holy Temple fill Him with righteous indignation. He overturns the stalls and tables of the money-changers, drives them out of the temple, and rebukes the chief priests themselves for turning God's House into a pit of vipers. He returns to the temple the next day to teach those who will listen, and the priests try (unsuccessfully) to trap him by asking whether or not the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar. The high priests, including Caiaphas, as well as the scribes now come to the conclusion that Jesus must be put to death, but they fear that the people, many of whom have been spellbound by Jesus' manner and teachings and come to believe in Him as the Son of God, will revolt against them if they make such a move. Cowards to the end, they hope to bring a charge of treason against him so that the Romans will put Jesus to death for them. When Judas Iscariot comes to them and offers to betray Jesus for a price, they proceed with their plan to get rid of the Nazarene.

Jesus, knowing He is about to suffer, eats the Passover feast alongside his disciples. His closest followers are shocked to hear Jesus say that one of them will betray him, and all but one of them insist it cannot be true. Jesus sends Judas Iscariot on his way and then leads his followers in observing the original Lord's Supper, where he offers his disciples bread and wine to symbolize His body that will be broken and His blood that will be shed for them and for every human being. Then He and His followers go to Gethsemane. When Jesus returns from a time of intense prayer, He is disappointed to find the three disciples He bade wait for Him to be sleeping. He had already told Peter that, despite his protestations, he would deny any knowledge of Christ three times before the night would end, so you would think Peter could have at least stayed awake while Jesus prayed.

In the garden, Judas approaches and betrays the Son of God with a kiss, at which time Jesus is arrested and taken before an assembly of the chief priests and scribes in the home of Anas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. They find Him guilty of blasphemy and have Him taken to the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate. Pilate questions Jesus and finds no fault in Him; when he learns that Jesus is from Galilee, he has the prisoner taken to Herod Antipas. Herod and his cohorts ridicule Jesus but send Him back to Pilate. Still finding no fault in the man, Pilate has Jesus flogged but still seeks to have Him released. The Jewish leaders insist that Pilate have Him killed, however, and Pilate finally accedes to their wishes - but not before publicly washing his hands of innocent blood. This sequence of events is based most closely on Luke's Gospel.

This video does leave out some important aspects of the betrayal, arrest, and sentencing. For example, we do not witness Simon Peter trying to defend Jesus at the time of His arrest (he cut the ear off of a slave belonging to one of the high priests). As for the public flogging, we see nothing graphic in the presentation, but the evidence of the brutality is clearly communicated. As this episode ends, the stage is set for the actual crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

The events dramatized in Retreat and Decision, the tenth episode in The Living Christ series, set the stage for Jesus' trials and ultimate sacrifice on earth. In the town of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples who men say that He is. They tell him that some think he is John the Baptist resurrected, some Elijah, some Jeremiah or other profits, but when Jesus asks whom they, His disciples, say He is, Peter speaks up and says He is the Messiah. Somewhat strangely, Jesus asks his disciples not to tell anyone that He is the Messiah, and He then begins to explain how he must return to Jerusalem, where he will be killed - but, after three days he will arise. His disciples are of course greatly troubled by this. Soon thereafter, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, request of Jesus that they sit on His right and left hand when he comes into the kingdom, a statement which instantly brings jealous protests from the other ten. Jesus would speak more of his impending death, but the disciples seem oblivious to the grim prospect. Before making his way to Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with Him up on a mountain, where they witness Jesus' transfiguration and conversation with the great prophets Elijah and Moses. Still, the disciples seem to lack complete faith in their Messiah and do not seriously heed the words He gives them concerning His death and resurrection.

After healing an epileptic boy, Jesus journeys to the home of Lazarus and his sisters. The women are in mourning for Lazarus' death, lamenting the fact that Jesus did not arrive in time to save their brother's life. Jesus is taken to the tomb, has the stone rolled away, and calls Lazarus to come out. Four days after his death, Lazarus is restored to life, and those who witness this miracle marvel at Jesus' powers. Word of this singular event soon reaches Jerusalem; Caiaphas, the High Priest, tells his priests to accuse Jesus of sorcery, knowing all to well that the people will not believe this falsehood. As Jesus plans to enter Jerusalem once again, he has some of his disciples go into town and secure a donkey, so that the prophecies might be fulfilled. He enters the Holy City humbly, on the back of the donkey, and a multitude of people greet Him and hail Him as the king. He stops at the temple, sees the moneylenders holding court there, and then returns to Bethany, forestalling a possible attempt to seize Him under Caiaphas' authority.

The stage is now set for the betrayal, arrest, execution, and resurrection of Jesus in the two concluding episodes of The Living Christ series - Jesus' visit to the temple on the following day will set in motion the events leading up to His crucifixion.

Seeds of conflict are indeed sown in this eighth episode of The Living Christ series. The story here is taken predominantly from chapters 7 and 9 of the Gospel of John. Jesus and his disciples journey to Judea and attend a festival. Jesus enters the temple and begins to teach, drawing bigger crowds each day. By this time, He is beginning to establish Himself with the people as the Messiah; some challenge Him on this, but many believe. The chief priests and Pharisees are now growing concerned about this man's teaching and his growing fame, and they attempt to have him arrested. The guard comes back without him, however, telling his superiors that no man has ever spoken in the manner of this man before. Later, Jesus passes a blind man on the street, and his disciples ask him who sinned, the man's parents or the man himself, and thus caused him to be born blind. Jesus of course answers neither, going on to say he was born blind so that God's works would be revealed in him. He then spits on the ground, using his saliva to make mud of the clay, and applies this to the blind man's eyes; then he tells the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. Able to see for the first time in his life, the man naturally tells everyone he knows about this miracle. His neighbors take him to see the Pharisees, who not only question the truth of the miracle, they express anger that this "miracle" was performed on the Sabbath. They eventually have the man escorted out of the temple. Hearing about this, Jesus seeks the young man out, getting in one last criticism of the Pharisees in the process. Then Jesus and his disciples go out of the city, and Jesus gives his followers instructions on going out to spread the Gospel themselves. He tells them that they will be scorned and harmed because they follow Him, but that they should never be afraid.

Perhaps the most interesting scene in this episode is a meeting between Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas (the High Priest), the two men who would later condemn Jesus to die. I am not sure if this scene is Biblical or not, but it is instructive. Caiaphas thinks he is a smooth operator, and he has started a rumor that Pilate took money from the temple funds by coercion, money that Pilate insists was borrowed from the temple. Caiaphas is just interested in getting the money back so that he can continue to live a life of luxury. He succeeds in this, but both men develop a clear understanding of one another before the meeting is through. Up until this point, Caiaphas had not paid serious attention to Jesus, but his unhappy meeting with Pilate (and the new level of anxiety he now feels in terms of his position as High Priest) leads him to focus on Jesus as a means by which he can save face and reassert his power. All of this comes to play most particularly later, when Jesus runs the money-changers out of the temple, so it is quite interesting to see this particular scene inserted into the drama at this earlier point in Jesus' ministry.

As this episode ends, one begins to see the potential threat Jesus poses to the political and religious order, and one also has a sense of the mutual interests that will eventually bring Pilate and Caiaphas together in a plot to have Jesus crucified.

Return to Nazareth, the seventh episode in The Living Christ series, is packed with important teachings and scenes from Jesus' life. At this time, Jesus devoted his time to preaching, healing, and teaching his disciples; these were the halcyon days before the spectre of the crucifixion cast its shadow across the world. We begin with the tale of the Roman centurion, a good man who calls his old and dying servant a friend. Hearing that Jesus has the power to heal, the centurion seeks Him out and asks Him to save his friend, which He does on the spot - without seeing the sick man at all. Jesus then journeys to Canaan to attend a marriage celebration. It is here that He turns water into wine. According to the Gospel of John, this is Jesus' first miracle, yet here it is presented as Jesus' first non-healing miracle. Jesus is reunited with His mother at this wedding feast (poor Joseph is just basically forgotten), but His return to Nazareth is less than welcoming. The people there see Him only as the son of a carpenter, and they eventually chase Him right out of town.

Jesus journeys on, and the Sanhedrin make their first appearance in the series. One of them, Nicodemus, is baffled by Jesus' declaration that one must be born a second time in order to enter Heaven, and he seeks a private audience with Jesus in order to understand what Jesus means. Then it's on to Samaria, much to the chagrin of the disciples. Peter in particular has no use at all for Samaritans. At Jacob's well, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman and tells her about the living waters that He has to offer. This woman, who was leading a far from moral life, soon brings many of her neighbors to hear Jesus speak, and many come to believe He is the Messiah. This episode closes with Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan; in order to truly love one's neighbor, one must know who one's neighbors truly are.

This is a wonderful video in The Living Christ series, filled with many of Jesus' most important teachings of faith and love.