"Empowered To Change the World"
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Watch:
What You Need To Know:
The first episode does a great job showing the Crucifixion’s impact, the earthquake that hit Jerusalem, the tearing apart of the Temple veil, and the power of the Resurrection. It’s more powerful, more cohesive and better filmed than THE BIBLE series. The ending is particularly powerful. That said, since this is history, it takes time to cover some important facts of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. This slightly diminishes the story’s dramatic arc. Even so, this episode emphasizes who Jesus is and the difference the Resurrection made in the disciples. A.D. is powerful television, powerful art and powerful theology.
Content:
(CCC, BBB, VV, N, A, M) Very strong Christian, biblical worldview about the impact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the disciples and their impact on the world; no foul language; intense violence but nothing over-the-top, including the crucifixion of Jesus, but much less visual than PASSION OF THE CHRIST; no sex; no sexual nudity but naturalistic upper male nudity; wine; no smoking; and, villains conspire against Jesus and His apostles.
Episodes:
More Detail:
A.D. THE BIBLE CONTINUES shows the power of the Teaching, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ in the lives of the disciples and the Roman world.
It starts with the trial of Jesus and shows three major characters involved in that trial: the high priest, who believes Jesus is a false messiah whose popularity will cause the Romans to destroy the Jewish people; Pilate the Roman governor, who is willing to make peace in Jerusalem and Israel at any cost; and, Peter, whose courage fails when Jesus is arrested. The program does a great job showing the impact of the Crucifixion, the earthquake that hit Jerusalem, the tearing apart of the veil in the Temple leading to the inner sanctuary, and the power of the Resurrection. The first episode is more powerful, more cohesive and better filmed than even the episodes of THE BIBLE series. The ending is particularly powerful.
That said, since this is history, it does take the time to cover some of the important facts of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, which slightly diminishes the story’s dramatic arc. Even so, this episode emphasizes who Jesus is and the difference the Resurrection made on the disciples, who went forth to spread Good News of Jesus Christ and so transformed the Roman Empire, which was one of the most debauched and fallen institutions in the history of mankind.
The filmmakers have done a tremendous job of marrying the history of the Bible with a powerful dramatic story. Some of the casting decisions are very unique and raise questions, including several non Jewish and even African-American actors, who play John and some of the other key figures in the story.
Looking beyond the casting decisions, A.D. is great television, great art and great theology.
