The temptation of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4, marks the first activity of Jesus ministry in the Synoptic Gospels. Directly after his baptism, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness and is tempted there by the Devil/Satan (depending on translation). This story has been popular material for the film industry and interpretations of Jesus on film. Each Gospel writer and each film director construes this story differently as it begins to shape who Jesus is and what Jesus is about. I would like to suggest that through the many temptations of Jesus as depicted in scripture and film, a variety of Jesuses emerge. The way in which Jesus is tempted and the way in which Jesus responds is integral to the way in which the film identifies Jesus and his mission.
To demonstrate this I will cover three films: The Passion of the Christ (2004), The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964), and The King of Kings (1927). I will avoid any in-depth discussion of the Gospel portrayals of Jesus’ temptation because this will take us far from the topic at hand. Suffice it to say that while similar, the accounts are not identical. While the Jesus they present is similarly not identical, their understanding is much more similar than the three films I will discuss here.
The Passion of the Christ
The passion of the Christ follows John’s gospel closely (which has no temptation of Jesus) and is itself a presentation of Jesus’ final hours before the crucifixion; it would seem this is an odd place to begin a discussion on the temptation of Jesus. The film contains not direct scene of Jesus’ temptation as recorded in the synoptics, but there is a highly similar scene in the garden of Gethsemane. This scene is essential a ‘temptation replacement,’ or a dramatic re-imagining of the way Jesus ways tempted throughout his ministry and final hours.
The scene opens with low but ominous music, a downtrodden, suffering Jesus, and a misty creepy feel. Here Jesus is praying in the Gospel fashion to avoid the crucifixion, yet in the end proclaims to fulfill God’s will. In the midst of this prayer a cloaked, androgynous figure interjects questioning Jesus as to whether he believes he can bear the weight of humanity’s sin. Jesus does not directly responds but prays for God’s protection. Satan again interjects saying it is impossible. Jesus again appeals to God, saying it is possible through God’s will. Satan responds by questioning Jesus’ identity. Then a snake slithers from Satan’s feet and as it is about to strike, is crushed by Jesus’ foot and Satan disappears.
This is clearly not a Biblical account but does have multiple attestations in the visions of medieval mystics. So Mel Gibson’s Jesus is more of a Jesus of the medieval mystic than a Jesus of scripture. In this scene Jesus is also seen as carrying humanity’s sin, suffering under the load of sin and what he must do, and in a high stakes battle of identity and mission with Satan. Jesus is here dramatically human in his suffering, yet divine in his will to persist. Mel Gibson’s Jesus is a suffering Jesus, yet triumphant Jesus. A Jesus riveted with pain, yet finally dedicated to the task before him. In moving the temptation of Jesus into the garden is displays Gibson’s focus on the role of Jesus in the divine-human drama of sin and redemption. The temptation of Jesus, while certainly contributing to the identity of Jesus, serves here to reinforce his role as sasvior more than his identity as a person.
The Gospel According To Saint Matthew
Pasolini’s version of the temptation is a much more literal interpretation of the Biblical text. All of the dialogue is directly from the Gospel of Matthew, as is the progression of the scene. Jesus is a first alone and then approached by Satan. The temptations of food, testing God, and power over the world all come one after another. After being told to leave Satan looks sad and shuffles away. Throughout the entire scene Jesus is rather dispassionate and seems very unconcerned at the appearance of Satan. At most Satan was a minor inconvenience of his alone time in the wilderness. There is no hint of Jesus being hungry or in anyway worse for the wear after forty days in the desert.
This presentation is interesting because Pasolini presents a principally human Jesus. Throughout the film Jesus is seen in the grim and struggle of the lower working class. His temptation occurs in the same harsh conditions. Jesus responds with no significant strength or Godly response. Jesus is a human like any other human, simply a strongly moral and unwavering in his convictions. In Pasolini’s presentation of Jesus the viewer is invited to join with Jesus and resist the forces of evil and oppression just as Jesus had. Jesus is primarily a teacher, and his action stand as instruction as well, ‘go and do likewise.’ In this rendition of the temptation of Jesus we are told to resist gratifying our sensuous appetites, lust for power and need to control. Instead, we are to join Jesus in opposition to institutions of power and a recognition that God is with the poor and marginalized.
The King of Kings
The King of Kings has a remarkable portrayal of Jesus’ temptation; there is none. Cecil DeMille presents a passively divine Jesus where there is almost no passion in any of his activities. DeMille’s Jesus is almost completely divine and so there is no temptation, Jesus is beyond temptation. Persons are transfixed and transformed by Jesus’ presence. Of course De Mille does not come out in say this in the film, it is implicitly demonstrated throughout the film.
I Satan had appeared to Jesus one could imagine that he would be immediately changed by Jesus presence. Mary Magdalene, portrayed as licentious and loose, is immediately cleansed of her evil and spurned on to modesty simply by meeting eyes with Jesus. Satan has no chance against De Mille’s Jesus, no temptation is possible for the Son of God.
Conclusion
Three different films have produced three different Jesuses with three different treatments of the temptation. The Passion had a temptation, which displayed more about Jesus’ role as a suffering savior than about him as a person. Pasolini’s Jesus was of a morally upright and unshakable, very human Jesus. DeMille presented an entirely divine Jesus without temptation. Many scenes could be analyzed to determine how Jesus is portrayed, the temptation scene is one of many ways to go about this project. It is inevitable that different interpretations of Jesus would be evidenced by the directors’ approaches to the temptation scene. Who is Jesus in this film? Look at the temptation, or its absence, its bound to give you a clue.
In thinking about the temptation of Christ, one film come to mind because the filmmaker gave me something new to think about.
ReplyDeleteOne film I will reference is The Son of Man because it portrays a Jesus and a temptation scene that we have never seen before. It’s filled with undertones of liberation theology and the Jesus in this film uses parallels between what’s going on and scripture to get his message across. The rest of the movie is not your traditional “Jesus film” but the opening of the film is one that I will pay attention. The film starts out very supernatural with Jesus in the desert being tempted by Satan. Not only is this the first time we see a Black Jesus and Satan but the actors are strong, vocal, and impressionable. The dialogue between Jesus and Satan is engaging and at the end of the temptation scene Jesus gets physical with Satan and he throws him off the cliff.
The movie was probably made for a South African audience and it shows how they would have understood the character of Jesus and Satan through this scene.