The Bible Miniseries Review: Part 5

This final episode of The Bible miniseries was billed as “the epic conclusion.” After watching on Sunday night, I thought that description was a bit of an overstatement. But then I started thinking, “What made this episode epic?” There weren’t any dramatic battle sequences. There weren’t any special effects that blew me away. But this episode was indeed epic.

Starting with Peter’s denial and ending with John on Patmos, this episode was epic because of the stories it covered. We saw stories that make up the core of our faith – the passion of Jesus, his sacrificial death for all people, his glorious resurrection that sealed our forgiveness, the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost, and the Gospel being preached to Gentiles. How can we not describe these events as epic? Our faith and salvation depend on them! In that sense, this conclusion of The Bible was indeed epic.

This doesn’t mean that this episode was without its inaccuracies and errors. Several events were added which are not recorded in the Bible – the Romans having to fend off the crowds watching Jesus carry the cross, Mary getting a chance to touch her son as he walked to Calvary, the lady who wiped Jesus’ face when he fell under the weight of the cross. Many of these seemed to be added for dramatic flair.

There were also several chronological errors – the scourging of Jesus was far too quick, the words from the cross came within moments of each other, and Jesus was only on the cross for a brief time. While recognizing the realities of time and content restraints, I felt that these scenes were rather poorly done. The vicarious suffering of Jesus is the reason we don’t have to suffer hell; surely it deserves proper time and treatment.

There were a few points in which the producers took more than their fair share of artistic license. They showed Mary and a few disciples cleaning Jesus’ dead body, but Luke 23 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea took the body, wrapped it in cloths, and placed it in a tomb. We also saw Peter fully believe the resurrection upon seeing the empty tomb, then running off to do the first celebration of the Lord’s Supper right away. In reality, Peter went away from the empty tomb “wondering to himself what had happened” (Luke 24:12), and we have no biblical record whatsoever of the disciples celebrating the Lord’s Supper before seeing the risen Jesus. Events like these went too far afield from the words of Scripture, and we simply cannot agree with them.

While I can understand the reasons behind several of these inaccuracies (time constraints, a dramatic flair, etc.), I was disappointed by what was not in this episode. The writers missed obvious opportunities to proclaim the Gospel with simple, clear words of Scripture. Instead of hearing, “He is risen” after the resurrection, we hear, “He’s back.” Instead of hearing Thomas’ confession, “My Lord and my God,” we hear, “It is you.” We saw the centurion at Calvary looking with wonder at the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ death, but did not hear, “Surely this man was the Son of God.” At the ascension, there was no angel proclaiming that Jesus would return in the same way he went. Several clear opportunities for Gospel proclamation were left out.

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After the resurrection, the rest of the episode covered the rest of the New Testament with great speed. The Pentecost scene was done well, but it would have been nice to see the tongues of fire, the crowd that gathered, and hear Peter’s sermon. After Pentecost the disciples were different men. They were filled with boldness and the Holy Spirit, as the Bible describes them. Steven’s ministry and death were a little off from their Scriptural descriptions. Steven was a mighty man of God (Acts 6:5,8), but was shown as an impetuous young man. Paul’s conversion was shown to be quite the miracle and change (which it was), and the distrust and tension that followed him was quite real. As for the deaths of the apostles, James’ beheading is biblical (Acts 12:2), and the narration correctly stated that the deaths of the others are based on strong Christian traditions.

The ending of this episode was quite fitting. Seeing the joy on John’s face as he saw the risen Lord, seeing the risen Jesus promise once again to come and make all things new, and then ending with the brightness and glory of heaven – it was a wonderful way to end this impressive undertaking. Our Savior lives, and he is coming soon!

Thank you for making use of these resources as you watched The Bible over the last five weeks. Watching these episodes has been a blessing as we got to see the words of Scripture come to life. But don’t be content with that. Be like the Bereans (Acts 17) and go back to the Scriptures. Compare what God says with what you saw. God will bless your efforts and your time in his Word. As a starting point for re-reading these biblical stories, check out our reading guide.

For a printable version of this review click here.

What did you think of The Bible Miniseries: Part Five? Join the The Bible–Bread for Beggars Discussion Group to share your thoughts and questions.

Download this week’s reading guide: Reading Guide Week 5–March 31 and be sure to check out more The Bible Miniseries: Resources.