The Bible: The End?

Let's get the snark out of the way. As I tweeted last night: It's official, The Bible: Where No One's Name Was Ever Changed. Nope. First was Abraham and Sarah never being called Abram and Sarai, but I let that slide. And then Jesus addressed "Peter" and never "Simon." This week, they introduce Paul of Tarsus. It's almost a One Steve Limit--there was already one saul, can't have two! But there's already the precedent. Oh well. Onto the rest of the review...

And so the Bible ends. 

This was probably the best of the series. They handled the Crucifixation well and Roma Downey handled Mary's grief well in those scenes. It's also impressive how they handled Pilate, especially after the Rome is the evilest evil who ever eviled thread the show had been on. Pilate is shown in a sympathetic light, similar to his portrayal in the Gospels. He tries everything to avoid putting Jesus to death but the people choose Barabbas. Even Pilate thinks they are nuts. 

So Jesus is crucified. Mary Magdalene, Mary and John stay by his side. Veronica and Simon of Cyrene make appearances as well as the two thieves crucified on either side of him. They recreated the scene where the veil in the temple is torn in two, which was amazing. As was an earlier scene where the pharisees look out over Calvary while sacrificing the lambs for Passover. Symbolism--when the creatives got it right, it was well done. Jesus dies and is placed in the tomb until Easter Sunday. 

Mary Magdalene discovers it empty and fetches Peter and John. John is confused but Peter knows exactly what is going on, rushing back to where the apostles are gathered. Two Biblical stories are combined here--the Road to Emmaus and Doubting Thomas. It was good to see them include The Road to Emmaus in some way, especially given how beloved a scripture passage it is in the Roman Catholic Church. Even if it's not the two disciples walking on the road, it keeps the important aspect of it: 

Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made know to them in the breaking of the bread" (Lk 24:35 NAB). Peter breaks the bread and Jesus appears amongst them. Which Thomas is like "What the...?" Of course, in the Bible, Thomas is not present for the first encounter with the risen Jesus, hence his doubts, but this is still good. And bravo to the CGI department for the recreation of Jesus' wounds. 

There is one Bible story I feel should've been kept in, from the Gospel of John. It's one of the few from the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Jesus meets his apostles on a beach after they finish fishing and they all share a meal. During it, he turns to Peter and asks, "Do you love me?" Peter replies he does and so Jesus tells him to "feed my sheep." This is repeated twice more, to counteract Peter's denials of Christ and reinforces Peter's role as leader once Jesus ascends. Quick and sweet. And one more quibble: Pentecost was not handled well. Yes, the Acts of the Apostles says a great wind filled the room where the apostles were staying, but the Holy Spirit descended upon them like tongues of fire. No tongues of fire. Did the CGI budget run out? Oops, guess there was still some snark left. Anyway, the scene where they started preaching about Jesus in different languages was good but I wish it had been done outside, where the Acts of the Apostles says it was: "At this sound they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language" (Acts 2:6, NAB). But good job anyway. 

After the martyrdom of Stephen, Paul becomes a major character. He persecutes the Christians until his own "Come to Jesus" moment. Or, rather, "Come to me" as Jesus is the one doing the calling. Paul turns his life around and starts preaching the message of Jesus. There is a moment where Peter has a discussion with Jesus, which never really happened in the Bible. It seems to be Jesus reassuring Peter but once again, the "Feed my sheep" scene would've been better in my opinion. The Bible ends with the martyrdom of several characters we've come to know: Peter, Thomas, and Paul. The Romans try to kill John but he keeps surviving; so it ends with him in exile and writing the Gospel of John. 

This was a great miniseries, quibbles aside. I hope someone goes back and does the full Old Testament because there are a lot of great stories this one skipped which I think audiences would enjoy.