"Son of God" and "Jesus," A Comparative Review

With all the hype surrounding this spring's release of the feature-length motion picture Son of God, a movie-length extension of the popular TV mini-series The Bible by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, when the opportunity came in one of my classes this spring to earn extra credit through completion of a movie review this seemed like a great combination of opportunities. But since there were a lot of movie reviews out there already offering up people's impressions of the film, I decided to take a different approach and instead saw both Son of God and the 1979 classic Jesus film and from that I have done a comparative review. That said, there are a few things that this review is and isn't:

-It isn't a complete review of either film. More could be said about both that did not fit within the scope of the comparative nature of the review.

-It isn't an effort to promote or bash one or the other film. Both have positive and negative aspects to them, particularly in today's context. Ultimately what the reader will find is that I want people to get back to the actual text of the Bible itself to learn about Jesus, though I do recognize that a visual medium such as a film can be a great starting point for discussion and learning.

-It is an attempt to fairly look at several key elements in the consideration of either film - background, content, accessibility, and utility for the church. 

-It is ultimately written with that final point of consideration in mind. This is not an assessment from an entertainment perspective, but the value of these films for use by the church and believers for the glory of God and the furtherance of his kingdom.

That said, you can find the review after the break.

“Son of God” and the “Jesus” Film

A Comparative Review

    With the winter 2014 release of the major motion picture Son of God, another generation is presented with a video portrayal of the story of the life of Jesus Christ. Presented as the first film in 50 years to display the whole life of Jesus from birth through ascension, it perhaps comes in as the Jesus film of our time, standing next to the 1979 film that also sought to present the story of the life of Jesus. This review seeks to compare and contrast these two films, considering their background, content, accessibility, and utility to the Church.

    The Son of God, produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice, The Voice) and Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and directed Christopher Spencer (The Human Body, Stonehenge: Decoded), chronicles events of the life of Jesus drawing from biblical accounts running from his birth all the way through his death and ultimately his ascension into heaven. Supported by a team of advisors including Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, and Rick Warren, Burnett and Downey produced Son of God in conjunction with the development of the TV miniseries The Bible.

    Released in the fall of 1979, the Jesus film was produced by John Heyman (The Go-Between, D.A.R.Y.L.) and Richard F. Dalton and was directed by Peter Sykes and John Krish (I Think They Call Him John, Let My People Go) and was funded through Bill Bright’s organization Campus Crusade for Christ. Drawing from the Gospel of Luke, the film when possible was shot on location in Israel and was supported by a team of 450 scholars reviewing the script for accuracy.

    While both films are seeking to portray Jesus of Nazareth as represented in the Bible, there are quite a few differences in approach, style, and content. Like putting two of the Gospels against each other, Son of God and Jesus contain several of the same biblical stories, including the calling of the first disciples, feeding the 5,000, the last supper, and the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, while also containing content unique to each of them. Order and representation of the scenes vary as well between the two. One of the most poignant scenes in Son of God, the calling of Levi, incorporated Jesus telling the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector going to the temple to pray and was an incredible display of the love and mercy that one finds when they encounter Jesus. In the Jesus film it was more of a straightforward calling without much drama attached to it. On the other hand, the Jesus film captures that sort of notion of mercy and forgiveness in the pericope of the sinful woman coming to Jesus at Simon the Pharisee’s house; a scene absent from Son of God.

    The inclusion of different pericopes and the different representations of similar ones perhaps can also be thought of in the same way two Gospels are examined – what is the author/creator trying to say, what message are they trying to convey as they tell the story of Jesus? For the Jesus film it is quite clear from the very beginning. Starting now with an addition attached to the beginning back in 2001, it explains Adam and Eve, the introduction of sin and its consequences and the need that it created for a savior, displays the life of Jesus according to the book of Luke  (with almost all the lines of dialogue coming straight from the Good News Bible/Translation), and concludes with a complete summary of everything that has been displayed, a clear presentation of the gospel, and a call for the viewer to trust in Jesus. It is quite clear that from the very beginning of even its creation the Jesus film, now translated to over 1,100 languages and dialects, is at its heart an evangelistic tool, intended to give a clear, accurate presentation of the life of Jesus and the truth of the gospel so that someone might come to trust in him as their savior.

    Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Son of God. While the gospel-writers did not give us every detail in the Bible and thus some creative license is required to take the written word to a moving picture, the license taken in Son of God is such that the tagline “inspired by the Bible” might be more appropriate than “based on the Bible.” This is because not only do they fill in details that are not explicitly stated in the Bible, an understandable thing also done at times in the Jesus film, but there are things that get blatantly changed from what is in the Bible, often quite unnecessarily. While John 11 describes Jesus as standing outside Lazarus’ tomb and calling to him to come out, in Son of God Jesus goes inside the tomb and breathes over Lazarus’ head at which point he rises from the dead. For anyone who knows the original story from John 11 they are left with the burning question, Why? Unfortunately that is a relatively benign change compared to the changes they make to the words of the Bible. Rather than speaking of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and holiness – essentially some of the key elements of the gospel message – Jesus and his followers come across as these sorts of first-century counter-cultural messengers of peace and harmony that want to change the world through loving one’s neighbor. In fact, Jesus’ call for Peter to follow him had two sides: “Give me an hour and I’ll give you a whole new life,” followed by answering Peter’s question of “What’s next?” with “We’re going to change the world.” The film concludes with the disciples convinced they need to take the message of Jesus to the world, but someone watching the film may be left unsure of what that message exactly is, and there isn’t any means of satisfactorily referencing back to the Bible to gain any clarity.

    While from a theological and biblical accuracy standpoint Son of God is very much lacking compared to Jesus (and this paragraph in no way seeks to minimize that significant difference), in a lot of ways Son of God is a much more accessible, watchable film. Reflecting more modern cinematography, music, and style, plus a much more fluid acting/speaking style from the actors, it is easier to follow the action and relate to the actors and what is going on. In the Jesus film, while the actors do a great job of following the text of Luke’s gospel, the acting often seems stiff and rigid, and the whole film has something of an “old” feel to it (understandably so, the film is 35 years old). For today’s audiences the Son of God will naturally have an easier time capturing and holding on to a crowd’s attention compared to the Jesus film.

    Accessibility being important, the significant issues with the Son of God’s deviation from the biblical text and message leave it hard to endorse as a resource for churches to use in evangelism, outreach, and teaching. While it can certainly serve as a discussion starter, the need to address the myriad of errors and incorrect aspects of its portrayal of Jesus leave it as a difficult tool overall for the person that wants to stay true to the biblical presentation of Jesus in their church, teaching, and ministry. On the other hand, the Jesus film starts to wander into the territory of “boring people with the Bible” for today’s audience, also leaving it potentially difficult to use in a church/ministry context as well. What would be most ideal would be a new film that is a merge of the two – a modern film portrayal of Jesus that stays true to the biblical text. Until that comes out though, it is probably best to point people back to the Bible itself and let the Word of God do its changing work.