The multi-part film “From Jesus to Christ” looks at the origins of Christianity and Christianity’s early relationship with Judaism and the Roman Empire, using archaeological facts, experts in the field, historical reference and writings from the Dead Sea scrolls and both the old and new testaments. Although there were interviews with numerous scholars, it is difficult to ascertain the accuracy of the information presented since there are few primary documents of the time period.
In “From Jesus to Christ”, one scholar, Dr. Cohen begins in a matter of fact manner to present what is known about Jesus’s early years. Jesus was born into Judaism, had a Jewish mother, attended synagogue, participated in Jewish celebrations and later, preached from Jewish teachings. Jesus was considered to have been “embedded in the Judaism of his time”. However, many of ideas regarding Jesus were brought into question by the film’s experts. Jesus may not have been a carpenter, may not have lived in a rural setting and it seems doubtful he was born in Bethlehem.
However, the fact that Jesus was Jewish is important because “From Jesus to Christ” presents the point of view that Jesus did not set about trying to create a new religion, but rather was interested in offering Judaism a different view of their faith, much as the Essenes, writers of the Dead Sea scrolls had done. At the time of Jesus’s maturity to adulthood, there was only one temple; the temple in Jerusalem. Jewish life was centered around commerce, teachings and community of the this one temple. The Essenes chose to live outside the sphere of the Jerusalem temple and historians depict them as an “apocalyptic cult” that although considered Jewish, lived outside the rule of the temple in Jerusalem.
This makes it clear that even before the birth of Jesus there were different movements in Judaism. Jesus was one such preacher who had different views of how Judaism should function, while never denying he was Jewish and believed in one God. The film is curiously short on speaking about what Jesus actually did or proclaimed. This may be due to the fact that there are no primary documents from the life or times of Jesus. Instead, there are a number of secondary documents and educated guesses.
What is not clear is whether the cleansing of the temple was actually an act of “political subversion” to protest the collaboration between the priests of the temple and their Roman governance or if Jesus was symbolically “destroying the temple”, to offer a new, improved form of Judaism.
It is stated in the film, Christianity with Jesus as a messianic role, began in spirit, though not in name, 50 days after the crucifixion of Jesus. Now that Jesus had been killed, the apocalyptic moment this group had been waiting for-the “new kingdom”- did not present itself, and was in fact, missing it’s designated leader. However, the followers of Jesus, or what one historian called the “Jesus movement” began to spread the word of what Jesus was teaching.
The earliest “gospels”, letters by Paul, stayed close to Jewish tradition, even as they began to incorporate Gentiles into their faith. However, with the passing years, Paul, Mark and Matthew, write of a changing relationship with the Jewish population. The story of Jesus’s capture, death and resurrection change through the Gospel. Dietary restrictions and the use of circumcision are not imposed on these groups of “Jesus followers”. One no longer needs to be Jewish to be a follower of Jesus.
The real break seems to come when the Jewish population of Jerusalem rebels against their Roman rulers. The siege lasts 2 years before the temple was destroyed and Judaism and “Jesus’s followers” separated into 2 distinct groups, as they compete over the future of Judaism. There is also still the element of politics. In the Gospel according to Luke, Luke criticizes the Jews for the death of Jesus and for the first time refers to “Christians” as followers of Jesus Christ and minimizes the roles of the Romans, who still wield great power. By the time of Luke’s writings, there are 2 distinctly named religions; Taking Jesus from simply being one of many notable Jews in history, to “Christ” the Messiah, a religion of its own.
When the Gospel is presented in church it is simply one reading at a time and therefore it is difficult for the average person to catch the disparities between the Gospels and how each “writer” was influenced by their own time period. Likewise, in temple, information is seldom presented about the outside or defunct sects of Judaism like the Essenes or other possible “messianic’ figures that played a role in Jewish history.
My personal views on Judaism and Christianity remain unchanged by this film. This is primarily because much of the information presented comes across as conjecture or hypothesis. Professor Paula Fredriksen presented the view that Pontius Pilate was in a “bad mood” when Jesus got to town, based on probable circumstances. However, she does not refer to any primary document that illustrates this point. This seems to be a prevalent issue throughout the film.
Work Cited
“From Jesus to Christ” n.d. Frontline, 1998. Streamed from www.pbs.org
