Episode 28: The Last Temptation of Christ
Justin:
I’ve watched Martin Scorsese’s THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST twice in the last seventy-two hours and I’m still reeling. As someone who grew up going to church every week and went to a Christian school for middle and high school, there is literally just too much going on in my brain to really describe how I feel. It would seem that I’m both at a loss for words and could write an entire book with my thoughts on the film.
There is a moment towards the end that is about as perfect as anything I’ve ever seen in any form of filmmaking or storytelling PERIOD. It occurs during Jesus’ titular last temptation when he has an argument with Saul-now-Paul, an apostle preaching about the saving power of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. This confuses Jesus since to him, ya know, that didn’t happen! When he calls him out on it and says “you can’t save the world by lying,” Paul responds simply, “I created the truth out of what people needed and what they believed. If I have to crucify you to save the world, then I’ll crucify you. And if I have to resurrect you, then I’ll do that too, whether you like it or not.” They go back-and-forth a bit more before Paul shuts everything down with this: “You see, you don't know how much people need God. You don't know how happy He can make them. He can make them happy to do anything. Make them happy to die, and they'll die, all for the sake of Christ. Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. The Son of God. The Messiah. Not you. Not for your sake… You know, I'm glad I met you. Because now I can forget all about you. My Jesus is much more important and much more powerful.”
The whiplash I experienced in that moment made me consider calling a chiropractor. “My Jesus” was the specific part that did it. It threw me way back to theological debates I had with classmates and teachers about predestination or original sin or God’s sovereignty and the phrase “well that’s not my God” was a common turn-of-phrase when “agree to disagree” probably would’ve worked just fine. Even then, as a devout little Christian, I was incredibly confused how there could be so much disagreement on ideas so foundational to our entire religion! And now, far removed from it all, it’s all so very clear.
Through this scene, I started to piece together why the church was in such an uproar over this movie coming out and why protests and attempts at destroying its existence were so prevalent. Had church-going folks actually watched it with open eyes, they might’ve seen a whole lot that they would agree with and even love - the temple-clearing scene in particular was as awesome and powerful as I’d always thought it was when I read it. But they had already decided: This wasn’t their Jesus! This Jesus was uncertain about God’s plan for him and wrestled with his own version of impostor syndrome. This Jesus maintained a love-hate relationship with a prostitute, whom he outwardly defended to pious priests. And this Jesus even - gasp - cut a rug! (That’s a joke for all the Baptist teachers I had who wouldn’t let us dance in high school!)
All in all, this Jesus was more human than they want him to be and like Paul, they’re just gonna keep droning on and on about the version they want to use, no matter how different he is from the one the church down the street talks about or really, how different he is from the one actually written about in that book they claim to love so much. But for me, as someone who has strayed from the faith, as they say, I felt like I understood this Jesus - from his pleading for another way to do something rather than the one that’s gonna hurt the most (pretty relatable) to not knowing what’s gonna come out of his mouth until it does (very relatable) to being furious about church leaders manipulating its flock out of a few extra coins. In this movie, I saw a Jesus that made a whole lot more sense than the one I hear about all the time who hates gay people, thinks you should have a gun, and thinks you shouldn’t kneel for the National Anthem. This was a Jesus I could get down with.
And not just because he’s really Willem Dafoe.