ABC's "Judas" More Speculation Than Scripture

Reviewed by Joanne Brokaw

ABC's drama, "Judas", which airs on Monday, March 8th at 9 pm, opens with a disclaimer telling viewers that the movie is "an interpretive dramatization of Judas' relationship with Jesus based in part on biblical passages and historic research".

That's an important warning, because while the movie at times looks like a biblical account of a friendship between Jesus and Judas, it's really a hodgepodge of scriptural one-liners and speculation about a man and a relationship that we really know very little about.

Biblical Rebel?

The film opens with a young Judas (Johnathon Schaech) witnessing the crucifixion of his father. Years later, we find Judas working in a wine seller's shop and obsessed with the overthrow of the Roman government. There is some discussion between Judas and his friends about secret societies that are planning rebellion and about the coming Messiah who will set things right.

Judas is a man with a single focus, and he believes that Jesus will be the one to lead the insurgence against the Roman rulers. Despite Jesus' assurance that Judas doesn't need to fight because he has found what he's been looking for his whole life, Judas grows increasingly frustrated with what he considers Jesus' ineffective plans, going so far as to make demands that Jesus arm the disciples and expressing anger when Jesus heals the son of a Roman soldier.

I Don't Remember THAT in the Bible!

Throughout the film there are moments when Scripture is infused into the dialogue, but in ways that certainly take liberties with the biblical accounts, and taking into consideration the informal dialogue used throughout the movie (which includes two uses of the curse "Bastard", as well as phrases like "What the hell?", "Pain in the ass", and "Damn you, Jesus"), the occasional Bible verses appear to be simply thrown in to validate the storyline.

There are even more perplexing moments in the movie. In one scene, Judas suggests to Jesus that if he gave the disciples the power to heal, they could demonstrate their strength to the Romans, and in the next scene Jesus does just that. All that's missing is the light bulb over Jesus' head when Judas makes the suggestion, the look on Jesus' face implying that he'd never considered the idea before.

The most absurd moment for me comes when the disciples are sent out to heal at Jesus' instruction, and Judas and Andrew are asked to raise a woman from the dead. The scene in the tomb takes on an almost comical appearance, as the two express their fear at being alone with the dead body. Judas quickly touches the woman and recoils, and the two wait to see if she moves. When they begin to get nervous about what the crowd outside will do to them if they're not successful, Judas and Andrew decide to tell the mob that they need to spend the night with the body and then plan to sneak out under the cover of dark. Judas goes out to speak to the crowd and moments later, the woman walks from the tomb. Andrew tells Judas that he raised the woman by praying the prayer that Jesus taught them - "Our Father, who art in heaven..." In the following scene, we see the disciples healing using the Lord's Prayer in what is clearly one of those moments misinterpreted for dramatic effect.

Some "Redeeming" Value

Despite its failings, there are a few worthwhile moments in the film. The kindness and patience of Jesus is clearly evident in his friendship with Judas, even though Jesus knows that Judas will betray him in the end. And there's a lesson for us all in the fact that Judas refuses to see the truth that Jesus is everything he has longed for, and it is only after he has betrayed him that he understands what he's rejected.

The film culminates, as expected, with Judas' betrayal and Jesus' subsequent trial and crucifixion, and it's at this point that the movie begins to look more like a biblical account than a fictional made-for-TV movie. Ironically, instead of being the focal point of the movie, Judas' change of heart only adds to the intensity of Jesus' final moments on earth.

Focus Should Be On Jesus

All of which illustrates the basic problem with this movie: It's impossible to make an accurate or believable film about anything or anyone having to do with Jesus' ministry where Jesus is the supporting character - and that's exactly how it should be, because in the end, the story is nothing without Jesus and that's where the focus should be.

"Judas" stars Johnathon Schaech as Judas, Jonathan Scarfe as Jesus, Tim Matheson as Pilate, and Bob Gunton as Caiaphus. The film produced by Tom Fontana and Frank Desiderio under the Paulist Productions banner.

Copyright 2004 by Joanne Brokaw
All rights reserved.