The Unknown Jesus

Outside of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we have no first hand written accounts about Christ nor any sketches or drawings that survived the Israeli revolt against Rome in 70 AD. Nevertheless, this A&E documentary approaches Jesus from a historian's viewpoint, using dramatized re-creations to take viewers back in time to the land of Judaea at the time of Christ. We visit the villages he may have lived in, examine the carpenter's tools he might have used, and look at synagogues where he could have been educated. We see him as portrayed by various artists during the past two millennia. Although the program is rounded out with several interviews with theologians and historians, one is tempted to classify this title as more of a "specu-drama" than docu-drama, as most of what is presented here is pure speculation, with a few "educated guesses." Still, some interesting theories are put forth, including ideas about the missing years of Jesus' life from ages 12 to 29, before he began his ministry. In addition, parallelisms are drawn between the prophet Moses and Christ, and it is noted that Christ's teachings were philosophically different from the thinking of the period (leading to the speculation that he traveled to India and studied the teachings of Buddha which influenced his philosophies). Interesting commentary, good cinematography, and a compelling sense of time and place make this thought-provoking program a worthwhile and recommended choice, even if the "unknown" Jesus remains essentially "unknown." Aud: P. (L. Stevens)