DATE REVIEWED: 2/12/24
TITLE: Killing Jesus
BOX OFFICE RATED: NR (This is not suitable for GOD’s children.)
PRODUCTION YEAR: 2015 National Geographic Channel / Scott Free Production / 20th Century Fox
RATING [1 LEAST FAVORITE TO 5 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]: 1
REASON: This movie began in Jerusalem, where King Herod had a dream where Isaiah informed him that God’s wrath was coming for him and the birth of a new king would destroy Herod and that was the reason for his boils on his face. Herod awoke and called for his priests, who told him that everyone despised him outside the kingdom walls because against the will of the Jewish people the Romans appointed Herod King. The high priests that partnered with the Romans said Herod’s dream was the work of sorcery, and they urged the warrior king Herod to go to their temple for prayer so his strength could grow and the people would see that. The three Wise Men then visited the palace and told Herod that the Messiah was born in his kingdom and that God’s chosen one would be the king of Israel per the prophecy of Isaiah. Herod, acting as though he accepted and agreed with that, told the Magi to find the child, whose date of birth and place aligned with the stars, so he could welcome the Messiah and worship him also. The Wise Men later traveled to Bethlehem and brought gifts to Jesus. Joseph wasn’t happy that his son Jesus was getting so much attention because Joseph knew that King Herod was a snake, so he packed up his wife Mary and Jesus and left (Joseph had no dream in the movie with an angel of the Lord telling Joseph and his family to go to Egypt). Elizabeth and Zechariah were there too with Mary and Joseph and Jesus too and went along since they had come to visit. King Herod then ordered for his soldiers to kill all of the male babies in his kingdom, and when the parents protested they were killed along with the children. Herod was haunted in his mind by the wailing of the mothers mourning their dead children. Herod’s son Antipas then watched Herod as he died from a heart attack and he did nothing to help his dad. Ten years later in Eastern Egypt, a trader from Jerusalem visited and told Joseph that no one took the throne as king and instead Rome sent Roman governors to rule while Herod’s sons were tetrarchs and each had a piece of the kingdom to rule. The trader that visited Egypt complained at the high taxes back home, and Joseph thought it was time to return with his family there since Herod was no longer a threat. Twenty years later, Pontius Pilate arrived in Jerusalem with his wife Claudia and Roman soldiers. Pilate told Claudia that since the God the Jews worshipped couldn’t be seen, God might not exist. In Nazareth, Pilate later wasn’t happy that Claudia was assaulted in the streets and had mud and stones thrown at her. The priests were called and said the zealot Samuel of Peraea led the attack and they all fled to the Galilean wilderness so Pilate couldn’t torture and kill them as Pilate said he would do. Pilate and Claudia ordered for Herod’s son to find the culprits, hack them to shreds and then bring their bodies to Pilate. Jesus witnessed the bodies being brought into town on carts, except the men had cut their own throats instead of being subject to torture upon capture. Jesus then found John, his cousin, baptizing people in the River Jordan. John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God. The two walked together and John told Jesus that he was the son of God because Jesus’ parents had not yet told Jesus. John then baptized Jesus (with no dove or voice of God in the movie), who told John that he would then go into the desert. Simon Peter then took Jesus in a boat alone on the Sea of Galilee, and they both prayed to God at Jesus’ suggestion. Simon had been unsuccessful in fishing until then, but after praying, fish started appearing in the net. Jesus then told Simon that he would make him a fisher of men, and they returned to shore where Simon showed the other men their huge catch. Jesus told them all to follow him. Meanwhile, John the Baptist gave a speech and announced that Antipas bedded his brother’s wife in incest while suppressing the righteous. John then pointed out the spies in the crowd, and as a result the priests reported back to Antipas what John said that the temple’s spies had told the priests. The priests tried to use Herod’s example to show Antipas how to end the roman rule so he could become the king. The priests told Antipas that Pilate would support it because then there would be no military presence required in Jerusalem and Pilate would return to Rome a hero because the new king of the Jews (Antipas) was competent enough to restore the order of the people without Roman presence while citizens still had to pay huge amounts of money to emperor Caesar in Rome. Jesus then began preaching and told the people that God is love and to love your enemies. Some people thought Jesus was crazy. Jesus then cast the demons out of a young boy named David and his body went limp. David was pronounced dead, but then David woke up without any demons because the real JesUS LOVE helped the child identify with GOD and get rid of the ungodly unclean things stuck in his head (because that is the JesUS way to help the mentally ill such as transgender people get rid of demons inside him or her and not elect the disturbed ones to office by stealing elections, and most especially not abusing GOD’s rainbow and using HIS heavenly pure rainbow as a dirty sex false pride symbol that hatefully confuses HIS own children). Jesus then brought David outside to show the crowd that he was alive and well without the devilish thoughts inside the boy’s head anymore thanks to the real love of Jesus. John the Baptist was then captured by Roman soldiers and brought before Antipas, his wife Herodias and their daughter Salome at the Machaerus Fortress in Perea and the seriously disturbed royal wannabe family trio all laughed at John. As Jesus preached to a crowd and explained that you are reborn when you come to love God, Jesus was interrupted with the news of John’s capture. Jesus told everyone that he felt his Father’s anger and he needed to bring a sword and not peace so he stormed off to the temple without a physical weapon. Jesus preached that the councilmen of Sanhedrin power hungry priests were a lot of vipers and responsible for John the Baptist’s imprisonment. Judas Iscariot then became another of Jesus’ followers. One priest believed that Jesus spoke blasphemy about the temple, which housed 700 priests, and held a marketplace. Joshua visited John in prison and told him that Jesus preached like John did and John was happy to hear that Jesus picked up the cup and it was a sign from God. John knew he would die there and told Joshua to pray for Jesus. Jesus met with his mother Mary and family. James told Jesus that what he did and said had an impact on the whole family, and some were calling Jesus’ healing sorcery and what he preached might cause death to them all. Jesus told them all that God came first and he was merely Jesus doing God’s work, and he was a mediocre carpenter and no prophet was accepted in their own home. Salome was soon to be married, and the father of the groom then asked for John the Baptist’s freedom as the bride-price. Herodias announced that they would offer herds, fine wines and oils instead because they, Pilate and the temple priests all favored John’s arrest. Because they wouldn’t release John the Baptist, Isaac’s father took Isacc away and wouldn’t allow his son to marry into Salome’s family and disapproved of the marriage. Herodias was upset because her daughter was disgraced, so Herodias told Antipas to kill John the Baptist and claim that he choked on a fish bone. Herodias added that if she ruled, she would not only kill John the Baptist but everyone who followed the Baptist too. Jesus and his disciples then dined with Matthew the tax collector. Meanwhile, mother and daughter discussed how Antipas lingered outside Salome’s (daughter’s) room when she got ready for bed and it gave her the creeps. Herodias said she would discuss it with Antipas since her daughter had become such a beauty, but Salome said no because Antipas’ lust was repulsive but useful to get what the two females wanted. The two conspired to use Antipas’ weakness to get what they want, which was to have John the Baptist dead at last. When two lepers came to town, Jesus offered them water and met Mary of Magdala who helped because she didn’t fear disease of the skin or flesh, only the spirit. Mary explained that Magdala was where the Roman troops were stationed and they used and abused women to pay off family debts. Mary decided that her purpose would then be to serve Jesus. Jesus taught everyone the Lord’s Prayer at another gathering, and a spy heard it and reported back to Pilate how the crowds of peasants were listening and believing that Jesus was the Messiah. The priests added that Jesus of Nazareth was John’s cousin and there could be an uprising in Galilee if they didn’t get the situation under the priest’s control soon and restore what the Roman-sided priests believed to be peace with the people they ruled. Pilate replied that John would be executed immediately to teach everyone a lesson not to mess with Rome and the priests. Antipas didn’t want to kill John because everyone would turn against him, so Herodias announced that Salome would dance for Antipas. If her dancing satisfied Antipas, he would give Salome whatever she wanted. Salome (daughter) danced sexy in her skimpy dress in front of (father) Antipas, and she and Herodias used that sexual weakness to have Antipas order John beheaded. Salome put her leg in Antipas’s lap and he licked his daughter’s leg as the soldiers beheaded John the Baptist and wicked no-queen Herodias smiled happily. Thomas and Andrew told Jesus that John’s head was cut off. Simon called Jesus the living son of God and anointed one, so Jesus gave Simon the name Peter. In the temple, the priests voted on whether or not they would allow Jesus to enter for Passover. Many stood up for Jesus and said it was the law to let him be there, while the leaders of the church were against Jesus’ presence. The high priest warned the others about false prophets and how Jesus was that, and then the head priests allowed Jesus to come and hoped he would condemn himself. The high court of the temple decided to stone an adulterous woman to death. Jesus appeared and took the woman’s side, and the priests announced that it was the law of Moses to stone the woman. They asked Jesus if he opposed the law of the Torah, and he asked if any of them were without sin and if so then they could cast the first stone. The priests insisted that God set the law, not Jesus, and to carry out the killing of the woman. Everyone, including the priests, then dropped their stones and Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more. The priests said they were law and they would judge and punish Jesus for his interference. The head priest went crying to Pilate and told him that they could not maintain law when they had someone thwarting the legal execution of an adulteress. The high priest explained that there were followers of Jesus among the temple priests and therefore they couldn’t just try Jesus and stone him as Pilate suggested. Since everyone and not just Jesus complained about Roman taxes, Pilate instructed the priests to make a case for sedition with evidence and prove that Jesus was a threat to Rome and if they succeeded Pilate would have Jesus crucified. Pilate and Claudia joked about how the meek would never inherit the Earth as Jesus preached and they debated whether or not the one God that the Jews believed in existed. Antipas told Chuza, the chief steward of the tetrarch, to find out all he could about Jesus and report back. Asher, who said he was a tax collector and rode a white horse to get his spy information, showed up in town and told Judas and Matthew that Jesus’ fame bred envy and hatred. Matthew told Asher that Jesus and his disciples were staying at Lazarus’ house in Jerusalem for the Passover. Asher was a spy and hurried back to tell Antipas the news, and he put a watch outside Lazarus’ house since they couldn’t arrest Jesus with so many people around. Peter spotted the spies dressed as pilgrims outside the house and told Jesus. Jesus responded and held up his cup and said the spies were there to report on their drunkenness (as though Jesus were drunk himself). The disciples spoke up and said they wanted to be seated next to Jesus’ throne when he became king. Jesus told everyone that there were no crowns, no thrones and no rule of nations. He left the house telling his disciples that he was the resurrection and the life and those that believed in him would have eternal life and that Jesus had to suffer for the many sins of others and sacrificed his life for theirs. Jesus later told his disciples to find him a donkey colt to ride into the city on as according to prophecy. Judas questioned it, and the others told him that the rest of the prophecy predicted that Jesus would die for a crime he did not commit. In answer to whether or not the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar in Rome, Jesus told a crowd to give unto Caesar what was his and to give unto God what was HIS. The priests then decided that the Lamb of God (Jesus) would be their Lamb of sacrifice. Caiaphas, the high priest, then told an eldest priest in the temple reading scripture about how Judas the Galilean claimed to be the Messiah and as a result the Romans killed off many Jews and feared that history would repeat with Jesus. The two priests conspired to find a way to put Jesus before the eldest priest for judgment in order to avoid another rebellion. Chuza’s wife, Joanna, then went to see Jesus in secret and told Jesus that the priests and the tetrarch planned to kill him. Joanna added that her cousin was the adulteress, who Jesus saved, and Joanna warned Jesus not to go to Jerusalem but he told her that he must. Upon arrival at the temple, Jesus angrily turned over the merchant tables of people selling things and told them that it was a house of God and not a den of thieves. Jesus set the birds and animals free, and then he took money and threw it out to the crowd of people. The priests ordered for the guards to arrest Jesus, and Jesus’ followers tried to fight the guards off. Jesus told the guards to hold their place and stop the attack because Jesus did what he came to do and he and the crowd walked away. The priests discussed how they could get rid of Jesus so Jesus didn’t disturb another Passover. One pointed out that Judas Iscariot was not so loyal to Jesus as the rest and that was a weakness the tyrant priests could use to their advantage. Asher sought Judas out as he rode on his white horse that he knew Judas wanted and convinced Judas to sell Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver so Judas could buy his own white horse. Judas went to the guards and told them that he would leave the Last Supper and bring the guards to the unknown location of Jesus. Jesus’ mother Mary came to hear him speak at the temple, and Jesus told James to bring Mary back to Nazareth to spare her the pain of watching Jesus die. Jesus then washed the disciples’ feet that JesUS considered family (his brothers) that followed Jesus to the one and only real GOD, and Peter asked why. Jesus replied that it was because Peter called him Lord and placed him above Peter and no master was greater than his servant as the messenger was no greater than the person who sent him. Oddly, at the Last Supper in the movie, Mary Magdalene was not visibly present at the table but sat at the right side of Jesus at other times. Jesus told everyone that one of them would betray him, and he told Peter that Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times before the cock crowed. Judas left the table and went and told the guards that Jesus was headed to the garden of Gethsemane and Judas added that he would greet Jesus with a kiss. Salome kept having dreams of John the Baptist’s head haunting her, and she told her parents that she wanted the sorcery of Jesus to stop. In the garden, Jesus called Judas out for betraying him with a kiss (possibly on the lips in the movie). Judas ran away to get his silver as the guards came, and Jesus told them to take him and let the disciples go. One of the disciples’ cut a guard’s ear off, and Jesus told his disciples to go save themselves and live for him. The guards took Jesus captive and punched him in the face. Judas held his bag of money and watched the other disciples follow after Jesus. Two priests who were followers of Jesus went to Pilate and told him that Jesus was arrested. They asked Pilate for help to free Jesus because he committed no crime and the other priests wanted him crucified, and Pilate refused to say whether or not he would have Jesus crucified (since the Roman governor was the only one who could give that crucifixion sentence) so Pilot left and went back to bed because it was late and he was cold. The priests accused Jesus of sorcery, spreading lies and corrupting others by speaking of Satan and not God. The guards later bloodied and beat Jesus up, and then the two good priests appeared and wanted to be included in the judging but they were told that their majority would judge Jesus. The vote was against Jesus.Meanwhile, Judas convinced a young shepherd to trade the rope he was using for the herd he took to the temple for sacrifice for Judas’ blood silver coins so the shepherd could buy himself a white horse (Judas would use the rope to hang himself because Judas realized that he had led innocent Jesus to be sacrificed by the priests). The shepherd man greedily collected the coins that Judas offered for free, used a cloth to replace the rope and continued on to lead the goats to slaughter at the temple and collect more money there. Jesus was brought before Pilate, who told the priests to take Jesus to Galilee and have Antipas judge him since Galilee was where Jesus’ started his ministry. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times when he was accused of being a disciple and then the rooster crowed and Peter realized that Jesus spoke truth. Herodias talked her husband Antipas into facing Jesus and not display cowardice around him when he arrived since Antipas didn’t want to sentence Jesus and have the Jews hate the tetrarch if Jesus died at his hands. Antipas put on a show and mocked Jesus and said only birds could fly and not Jesus. Antipas told everyone else to mock Jesus as well and got the crowd involved while continuing the hateful theatrics by giving Jesus a royal purple robe, a staff, and a crown of thorns because battered Jesus claimed to be King of the Jews. The high priests were not happy because Antipas dismissed Jesus and sent him back to Pilate for Rome to sentence him to death. Claudia told Pilate that she could not understand why her Roman governor husband catered to the priests, and he replied that he needed the priests in order to maintain order with the people. Claudia warned Pilate that if he ordered the death of Jesus he would have to bear the wrath of Jesus’ followers. Pilate said he had to do something because he couldn’t set Jesus loose, so he ordered for Jesus to be scourged with many lashings. Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene watched and were horrified to watch innocent Jesus be treated with such hatred by others who abused their power and were far from God. Pilate said the whipping was enough and Jesus might die anyway, but it wasn’t good enough for the priests and they wanted Jesus to die in order to prevent other deaths. Pilate caved to the wicked priests who clearly ran the show and the Roman governor ordered the crucifixion of Jesus. As Jesus struggled to carry his heavy cross with his life-threatening injuries, a Roman guard mocked Jesus so Jesus educated the man that God’s glory is love and to know love is to know God. Jesus was knocked down lower by the sad excuse for a man then, and the same guard encouraged the crowd to mock Jesus for his lies and call him a false prophet. Jesus’ wrists were nailed to the cross and so was a sign above his head pronouncing him as the King of Jews. John, James, Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene attended but there were no other men on either side of Jesus being crucified. In the next scene, the young shepherd man walked back from town minus the goats with a beautiful white horse on a lead rope that he bought (with blood silver coins that Judas gave him) and then he found Judas hanging dead from a tree. Jesus then said, “it is finished,” and the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a sword to make sure he was dead. The scene was left out about Jesus telling his brother (bonded by God’s love) John to take care of mother Mary for the rest of her life that GOD gave. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, the two decent priests championing for Jesus all along, then appeared and offered a shroud and a tomb for Jesus. The high priests wanted Pilate’s guards to guard the tomb of Jesus so no claims could be made that “HE has risen,” but Pilate thought it was a waste of time and told his wife that their journey back to Caesarea would not be delayed and the governor left. Three days later, a group of people (Mary Magdalene was alone according to real biblical scripture and Jesus first appeared to her, his beloved.) discovered that Jesus’ body was gone when they went to visit the tomb. That part of Mary Magdalene and Jesus alone was completely excluded (John 20:11-18) from the movie. Peter went out fishing alone, and he prayed and the fish jumped into the net. He went back to shore and told the others that Jesus came back to them. In the end, a narrator in this made for TV moviethen spoke that Simon Peter was crucified by the Romans upside down after he started the Christian Church, James was stoned to death by the priests, and the fates of the other disciples were unknown and could not to be validated. It was also said that Andrew was crucified in Greece, Thomas was speared to death in India, Simon was sawed in half in Persia, and Matthew was murdered in Ethiopia. The speaker went on to say as tradition goes; John was not martyred but instead was exiled on Pátmos and lived to 90, but some people challenged the Gospel of John and didn’t believe it was an eyewitness account of Jesus’ life. The narrator added that the new emperor Caligula was offended by Antipas’ craving to be king, so Antipas and Herodias were exiled to Gaul where they died and Pilate went back to Rome while Joseph Caiaphas lost his position within the temple. The male narrator said it all ended with Jesus giving birth to one of the world’s biggest religions with more than two billion Christians worldwide. The movie cover art listed, People Magazine “Very well done.”