NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–RUN, don’t walk, to the theater nearest you to see “The Gospel of John.”
The New Testament Gospel of John has long been my favorite of the four Gospels and it was so moving to experience the Word of God in this setting.
The Gospel of John movie is a spectacular, well-directed, well-acted, word-for-word version of the John’s Gospel starring Henry Ian Cusick, Daniel Kash, Stephen Russell, Richard Lintern, Scott Handy and Christopher Plummer as the narrator (whose voice is fabulous).
In a review of the film, conservative commentator Carl Pearlston wrote, “This is a 3-hour film with no intermission, but, surprisingly, the time flies by as you are held in rapt attention by the cinematography, the scenery, the sets, the actors, the music, and, not least, the story. As I understand it, the actors are largely from the Royal Shakespeare Company or the Royal National Theater, or the Canadian Stratford Festival. The sets and scenery and costumes recreated what seemed like what life must have been like over 2000 years ago in ancient Judea. The musical score uses ancient instruments, even including a shofar, with reconstructions of ancient Hebraic biblical music and Aramaic chants. All in all, it was a first-rate cinematic production.”
I can understand why there is no intermission — it would be so distracting. I cannot begin to describe what it was like for me and my husband to sit in a large theater and LISTEN and SEE only the Word of God for three hours. Also, of all the movies I have seen of this type, the actor portraying Jesus in this movie is the best, most comfortable, most convincing in the role.
In a world that has so much difficulty knowing or recognizing “truth,” it was refreshing and comforting to hear the oft-repeated declaration, “I tell you the truth” coming from the person who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
As I sat captivated, I could not help but wonder what impact the Word of God had on the actors and everyone involved in the production. God promises that His Word will not return void. These people had to commit to memory HUGE amounts of Scripture. I don’t believe anyone can do that without it changing his or her life.
It is my hope and prayer that this faithful presentation will be extremely well supported by people all across the nation. Many of us complain about the content of the movies today — and rightly so! — but if we support movies like this one, perhaps we will have more of them.
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Bobbie Patray is president of Tennessee Eagle Forum and a member of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn.
