Risen

I just got back from the movies and wanted to share a bit about the new movie Risen!

 

The premise is of a Roman soldier who is asked to remove Jesus from the cross, to ensure the tomb was sealed and to then investigate the missing body after he rose. I liked this movie for a few reasons:

1. It looked very historically accurate! From what I have studied, learned and seen about Israel at the time of Jesus it is nice to finally see a movie that cared about the little things such as props, landscape and costumes. The high priest wore an ephod, the boat looked just like the one I saw in Israel and the Romans marched in proper shield formation. I was sad to learn it wasn't filmed in Israel itself, but it certainly looked close!

The "Jesus Boat" in Galilee

2. It was fairly biblically accurate. There were a few things that were a bit off geographically (ex. where Jesus' ascension was) and a few scenes were a bit different (ex. doubting Thomas) but I still thought the same themes and ideas were there, and much of it seemed very close! Out of all the biblical movies I've seen, this one appeared to be the closest account.

3. It was good quality. The beginning was structured like a Roman detective story, and I thought it seemed fairly interesting and well done. Unlike many other "Christian" movies, the script wasn't awful, the acting was good and it wasn't long and boring.

4. It portrayed the joy that Christians have. The disciples, Mary and all the witnesses that met Jesus had such joy on their faces everytime they were talking about Jesus! I love this portrayal of Christians, because our joy should be something that sets us apart from the world. This movie highlighted that well! "You believe in Him and are filled with an inexpicable and glorious joy" (1 Pet 1:8a) 

5. It clearly showed why Christians are still here. In the Bible, after seeing Jesus risen his disciples return to fishing (John 21:1-3). Directly after this Jesus appears to them and asks Peter if he loves Him. He says yes three times and each time Jesus tells him to feed the sheep. The movie makes it very clear that the disciples jobs after Jesus left were to grow His church and spend their lives as "fishers of men" and not to go back to the way they were. Once we encounter Christ, there is no going back to "normal life"!