1

Kenneth Plank A Jesus of Hollywood

Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ can look like a very strange telling of

the story of Jesus from a Christian’s point of view. However, in many ways the film is exactly

what one might expect from a modern telling of the Gospels. A more humanized Jesus,

contemporary commentary on religion, and the reimagining of the relationship between Jesus’s

relationships point to this depiction of the Gospels being specifically adapted for a modern

audience, by people with modern storytelling sensibilities.

This depiction of Jesus appears to follow the “adopted” narrative of Jesus; in which Jesus

is not born of immaculate conception, but instead chosen by God. Not only that, but hearing God

is depicted as a burden for Jesus, rather than a blessing. In the opening of the film, he appears to

be in physical pain from hearing God’s voice. Adding to his physical pain is the existential guilt

of being chosen by God, despite Jesus viewing himself as sinful. Jesus questions his worthiness

of being the Messiah.

It isn’t difficult to imagine that any normal human being would have a similar reaction

upon finding that they are God’s chosen prophet. If one is not given the immense wisdom and

grace that Jesus is believed to have had, then they would likely doubt and feel burdened. This is

part of the reason why there have been arguments about whether Jesus was born with this

wisdom, and whether Jesus was born God’s Son; because the idea of God’s Son to be a normal

man is perceived as impossible by many. Scorsese is posing the question, “what if Jesus was a

normal man burdened with the task of being God’s Messiah?” It’s a concept that likely hasn’t

been explored in film prior to 1988. Most depictions of Jesus before then were what one would

2

expect: graceful, holy, and God-like. Scorsese may be responding to the filmmakers who came

before him by doing something different.

This depiction of Jesus as a normal human also better fits contemporary storytelling. If

we were to view Jesus as merely the protagonist of a story, then he is a protagonist that probably

wouldn’t be very interesting to a contemporary American audience. Jesus exemplifies perfection

and wisdom. While these traits might have been compelling at the time, today we see these traits

in supporting characters. Mentor figures like Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars or Uncle Ben from

Spider-Man have the traits of wisdom, patience, and compassion people associate with Jesus.

Scorsese's Jesus, however, has more in common with main characters Luke Skywalker and Peter

Parker: fearful, filled with self-doubt, and guilt-ridden. Scorsese’s Jesus is flawed and imperfect,

fitting with what we expect from a protagonist in a contemporary story. Thus Scorsese's Jesus is

something different from any Jesus American audiences have seen before, but still familiar with

what the audience expects from a story.

This presentation of Jesus as a normal person is supported by how his relationships are

handled in the story. Judas Iscariot is not a disloyal follower, but instead he is presented as an

equal, or even Jesus’s better. He chastises Jesus, strikes Jesus, and shows greater willingness to

do whatever he feels is necessary to drive the Romans out of Jerusalem. When Judas betrays

Jesus, he is only doing so because God has decided that this is his role. While the Gospels depict

Judas’s betrayal as an act of greed, this alternative depiction is not unreasonable. If Jesus died to

give humanity Grace, then it is not unreasonable to assume that Grace does not happen if Jesus

doesn’t die on the cross. Thus, Jesus would have to die and for him to die someone would have

3

to turn him over to the Romans. It is a complete reimagining of Jesus and Judas’s relationship.

Judas is allowed to be a friend, critic, and equal in The Last Temptation of Christ .

Just like with the flawed Jesus, the reason for changing Judas’s relationship is likely to fit

with modern storytelling. Judas doesn’t do anything in the canon Gospels other than betray Jesus

and regret it. In 22:3 of Luke, the author even feels the need to remind you that Judas was one of

the twelve. That is how little Judas in involved with the story of Jesus. In terms of modern

storytelling, this would be like if the trial in My Cousin Vinny ended not with the testimony of

Marisa Tomei’s character, who had been there from the start, but instead had ended with the

testimony of a background character who had only been mentioned once. By modern storytelling

standards, having Judas be Jesus’s closest friends makes a bigger impact.

The contemporary voice shows through much more bluntly when it comes to the

religious discourse in the film. A conversation between the apostles about proof of what John the

Baptist is practically copying and pasting conversations we have today about the validity of

sacred texts when we ultimately don’t know who wrote them. A similar instance happens when

Paul talks about the idea that his word about Jesus is a lie, and people’s willingness to die in

Jesus’s name. Just like making Jesus a normal man, Scorsese is using contemporary arguments

about religion to make the story of Jesus fit in a modern story.

Scorsese’s goal was likely to tell the story of Jesus in a modern way. He may not have

said so himself, or phrased it in such a way. However, the use of common practices of modern

storytelling suggest that the conventions modern storytelling greatly impacted the way Scorsese

tells his version of Jesus’s story. Why did he, screenwriter Paul Schrader and novelist Nikos

Kazantzakis choose to tell the story in such a way? They may have been pondering the same

4

questions that have been asked for a long time. Namely, “how divine is Jesus?” The film takes

the stance that Jesus was just as much human as he was divine, if not moreso. However, it is also

making the argument that a human Jesus is not a lesser Jesus. Jesus still died on the cross for

humanity’s sake. Not only did he die for humanity, but he willfully chose to do it in the end.

Perhaps the filmmakers were trying to make the audience feel closer to Jesus by showing

how much he struggled. Modern storytelling conventions are used because they are more or less

proven to help the audience engage with the material. Scorsese likely didn’t want the audience to

look up in awe at Jesus, but rather to engage with him.