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By Steve Beard
In the opening scene, we find a young Judas witnessing the crucifixion of his father, a moment that will obviously leave an indelible mark on the rest of his life. He has grown to hate the way that the religious elite collaborate with the political leaders to suppress the Jews and look for a political messiah to drive out the "Roman bloodsuckers." He first encounters Jesus confronting the moneychangers in the temple, telling Jesus how impressed he was, and quickly is drawn to believe that Jesus is the man who will lead the Jews. As a disciple, however, it does not take long for Judas the political strategist to be troubled by Jesus' declaration that his kingdom is "not of this world." Judas is certainly not The Passion of the Christ, but it is an interesting attempt to tap into the Jesus buzz coming out of Hollywood. There are plenty of aspects of the production that will cause some Christians to raise an eyebrow or two. The Jesus character, played by Jonathan Scarfe, comes across more as a hippy-trippy 1970s peacenik as he talks about his regret for disrupting the moneychangers in the temple. The movie has been languishing on a shelf at ABC for the last two years, its future uncertain. The timing of this production is both a blessing and a curse. The good news is that the network could not have chosen a more fortuitous moment in American history to release Judas. Every newspaper, magazine, and chat show is grappling with Jesus because of Mel Gibson's movie. Viewership should be high. On the other hand, everyone will be comparing Judas (which features Tim Mathison from Animal House fame as Pilate) to The Passion. There is simply no comparison to the artistry and the casting. TV simply cannot compete with a Mel Gibson production. The two projects deserve to be judged on their individual merit -- but that is not going to occur. Nevertheless, while The Passion focuses solely on the final 12 hours of Christ's life, Judas attempts to fill in the gaps about why Jesus was considered such a divisive, controversial, and polemical personality. Steve Beard is the creator of Thunderstruck.org. |
Capitalizing
on the gargantuan success of The Passion of the Christ (which
is now predicted to make $300 million), ABC will be airing a provocative
two-hour, made-for-TV movie called Judas on Monday, March 8.
The network wisely chose one of the more interesting dramatic New
Testament storylines, exploring how Judas came to a place in his life
where betraying Jesus seemed to make sense. The movie attempts to
show how the political zealotry of Judas (played by Johnathon Schaech)
clashed with the "turn the other cheek" philosophy of Jesus.