At some point, you may have watched one or two documentaries, miniseries, or feature films about the most well-known and beloved figure in history, Jesus Christ. The History Channel's latest offering on Jesus stands out, though, because it's told through the eyes of His followers, as two experts explained to Townhall last week. Here's what you can expect when "Jesus: His Life" premieres Monday night.
"This documentary does a really good job of placing the viewer in this first-person point of view of people discovering Jesus for the first time," Dr. Robert Cargill, assistant professor of Judaism, Christianity and Classics at the University of Iowa, explained. "So, what was it like to be Joseph, discovering that Mary’s pregnant? What was it like to be Mary, watching her son grow up? What was it like to be Pilate, discovering this preacher, this Galilean prophet for the first time? And so the documentary does an excellent job of really showing the human side of Jesus."
Rev. Shively Smith, assistant professor of New Testament at Boston University School of Theology, who also provides some expertise in the series, added that the show completes the narrative with some rich historical context.
"'Jesus: His Life' sort of brings together a very faithful, retelling -- narrative retelling -- of Jesus as they have it in the Gospels, but it’s blended well with...attention to sort of cultural and historical contextual issues, and it makes a really interesting blend of the narrative gospel blended with this larger historical context in conversation," Smith said.
In preparation for the project, Cargill says he had the most fun studying the individuals we don't typically learn all that much about because they aren't particularly popular or likable. People like Pontius Pilate and the High Priest Caiaphas.
"It’s the people who we often don’t identify with in the Bible that we don’t know typically as much about, because we don’t want to be like them," Cargill noted. "We just don’t typically know as much about them growing up. And so it’s those individuals that we have a lot of data about outside of the Bible that I wanted to make sure to really dig in and give viewers an understanding of what they saw in Jesus, what it would’ve been like for them to see Jesus."
"In a movie they’re usually depicted as the good guys and the bad guys," Cargill added. "But I think it’s good to flesh out all of the characters and to show a well-rounded view."
Rev. Smith was encouraged that the series offers so many different religious points of view.
"I think it’s so impactful to hear all these different faith leaders and scholars and people that are located all over the world chiming in on the story of Jesus and providing different angles to think about Jesus’ life," she shared. "What I’ve learned is that there’s a lot more that we can and should be saying about the life and history of Jesus. And there’s a lot more that can be said."
"Jesus: His Life" premieres Monday, March 25 at 8 p.m. ET on the History Channel.