The film begins by introducing us to the main characters of Jesus’ early life such as Joseph, Mary, and the people of Nazareth. Mary is told of her child to come by the angel Gabriel (Lk 1.26-38) and she departs to see her relative Elizabeth who the angel Gabriel also told her was pregnant. Thus, John is born to Elizabeth and Zechariah. Cesar Augustus sends out a decree (Lk 2.1) that the people of Israel should be included in a census. This causes Joseph and Mary to travel to Joseph’s hometown of Bethlehem in order to be registered. While in Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus in a manger and they are adorned with gifts brought to them

One striking difference between the Gospels and the film is the portrayal that we get of Judas Iscariot. Judas is portrayed in the film as the disciple who is most eager to proclaim that Jesus IS the messiah and that only he can bring peace to Israel. Judas believes that when he brings the chief priests and temple guards to get Jesus that Jesus will present himself as the true messiah and change their minds. Judas is the most complex apostle and the gospels do not do him justice. I believe Zeffirelli had a problem with the common portrayal of Judas as a traitor as do many others. It is very confusing to believe that Jesus would let himself be betrayed and therefore be committing suicide. It seems very possible that there is more to the story than is written in the gospels. The other disciples in the film are portrayed very accurately according to descriptions in the gospel of Luke. We are given insight into their ignorance before, during and after Jesus’ crucifixion which the Gospels clearly indicate.

Making the life of Jesus into a feature film was a difficult process as we can imagine. Zeffirelli had to make decisions on what kind of portrayal of Jesus to give to the audience. It is evident that Zeffirelli chose a Christian Jesus as the Gospel of Luke describes. The setting of the film is very realistic as is the clothing of the characters. Zefferelli chose a British actor to portray Jesus perhaps because we commonly have that image of Jesus burned into our memory although it is unlikely that Jesus resemble this view. In Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus is acknowledged as the Messiah by Simon Peter as he is in Lk 9.20. However, throughout the movie, we do not see the eschatological Jesus proclaiming that the end of the world is near. Instead we see a Jesus that has been sent here to Earth to bring a new teaching not only to the children of Israel, but to the entire world. In the film, this depiction of Jesus is emphasized by a teaching that he gives where he says “The commandments God gave to Moses so long ago must not remain dead stone for the reverence of unthinking minds…., stone itself it what the law is written on, but the law is alive, and living things go on constantly changing.” In the film, we are given another example showing that Jesus is not here to proclaim the end times, but he is here to bring in a new age that has already begun when he says “When you see the clouds moving from the east, you say the rain is coming and so it is, when the desert wind blows, you say it will be hot and it is, all of you can read the signs of the earth and the sky, how is it, you can’t read the signs of the times? The kingdom of heaven is here, now.” This portrait of Jesus contradicts Jewish prophecy as the Messiah being a deliver of Israel though force and destruction of its enemies. This Jesus is compassionate and forgiving not only of his fellow brothers and sisters of Israel but of everyone including tax collectors and Rom

Some topics in this essay:
God Moses, Gospel Luke, Jesus Jesus, Jerusalem Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Luke’s Gospel, Joseph Mary, Jesus Nazareth, Gospel Jesus’, Simon Peter’s, gospel luke, jesus nazareth, joseph mary, temple guards, jerusalem jesus, life jesus, jesus performs miracle, simon peter, jesus preaches, decided home, jesus’ life, chief priests temple, priests temple guards, jesus preaches temple,