Cheap The Gospel of John (DVD) (Henry Ian Cusick) (Philip Saville) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Gospel of John

Very Smart Portrayal of Jesus
This movie, based on one of the modern langauage versions of the Gospel of John is fairly accurate and nicly filmed. Christopher Plummer narrates and the actor portraying Jesus does a fine job. The strength of the movie is that while it is filmed on a limited budget, the director, Eric Till, is up to the task of trying to get everything he can out of the sets, sights,and people in the movie.

The movie does have some drawbacks, and since most reviews have focused on the positives, I'm going to briefly mention a couple of negatives: (1) the casting of Mary is just downright poor. The women is way to old and appears more like a grandmother than a mother. After all, Mary was probably only 14-16 years older than Jesus and this puts a lot of things into historical context (albiet, probably not that important for this film); (2) Refering to miracles as such and not as "signs" misses an important point. The word "signs" pointed to something about Christ and John used the Greek equivalent for a reason.

The greatest positive for this movie are the post-resurrection appearances. This film, unlike others, takes a good 20 minutes or so and focuses on the appearances of Jesus to his disciples after the crucifixion. I enjoyed these scences very much.
I recommend this film highly for anyone looking for a decent movie about the life of Christ.

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A Masterpiece
I believe this is one of the greatest evangelical tools present before us. I recommend it to everyone, and especially to those who are trying to discover the Good News about the life of Jesus.

The film is well documented, and the producers are scholars in the subject matter. Further, the voice of Christopher Plummer gives an exemplary power to the narration. I frequently listen to the movie in the background while doing my work. It is well produced. The Gospel of John is the most preferred book in the Gospels.

Other movies I recommend: "Jesus of Nazareth" and "The Greatest Story ever told."

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"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly."
The Gospel of John stays close to the original source material but strays from the original in the tone adopted by the director for some of the words Jesus speaks, particularly when dealing with various scribes and pharisees. Some moments do require righteous anger such as when Jesus drives the money changers from the temple. However, when Jesus speaks with the scribes and the pharisees who challenge him for healng on the Sabbath, we can expect him to take a tone more appropriate for his title as rabbi; that is, to point out the errors in the scribes understanding of what is required in the law and to gently lead them toward the truth knowing that argument is futile and beneath him.

In order to believe that Jesus is the Son of God we must posit three things. First, that he has perfect love for mankind. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to suffer and die for our salvation." Jesus knew from the beginning that death on the cross was his mission and he accepted his mission to the end and forgave his enemies with some of his last words on the cross.

Second, Jesus must be the most patient of men. He knows all things including the heart of man. He loved everyone in spite of what they might have done or might do in the future and he offered forgiveness to all right to the end when he said to the good thief that he would see him in paradise that very day.

Third, Jesus is completey understanding. He loves uncondtionally and has the highest regard especially for sinners such as the prodigal son. Some might argue that what is required is for the sinner to turn to Jesus for forgiveness and that the scribes and pharisees are confirmed in their sin and are unable to repent. This point of view would be a Calvinistic interpretation of the Gospel and one not warranted by the film under discussion. For God to be God, God must be love and love does not condemn but seeks endlessly to forgive. God's love is so powerful and overwhelming (see The Hound of Heaven) that it is never possible to say that salvation is impossible for anyone.

For this film to be accurate, Jesus must be completely without sin -- "one like us in all things but sin." To be strident in tone or impatient in action would be inappropriate for Jesus and the viewer must determine if the director properly demonstrates humility and love in all that Jesus says and does.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eyes." Jesus saw rightly with his heart. The viewer must decide if the filmmakers are true to his vision. Highly recommended.