NBC’s “A.D.” Episode 12 Review

A.D. – The Bible Continues. Episode 12 – The Abomination

Watching this last episode of A.D. has inspired me. I’m going to write my own script for my own miniseries. I’ll call it: The 40’s – Hitler Continues.

The opening scene will take place on September 1^st, 1939 as German Chancellor Adolph Hitler orders the invasion of Poland…

(so far, so good; right?)

Having taken Poland he’ll gather minorities together and…

…and provide low-cost housing, health care, and free education for them all. Hitler will stand before the German nation and say “It occurs to me that I know little of Jews and their culture; therefore I am instituting the new German/Jewish Friendship Coalition so that we might come to better know and understand our brothers and sisters.

One episode might include France, Britain, and the Soviet Union lending their aid. The United States, distracted by their own internal issues, won’t pitch in until later. But when Uncle Sam finally does get involved, watch out! The entire country will gear up to produce much of the equipment needed (along with supplying hundreds of thousands of young people who will implement these new ideas).

My final episode will be dated June 6^th, 1944. In this episode an alliance of countries will launch from England, cross the English Channel to the beaches of Normandy, and land the world’s largest armada of supplies and personnel.

No kristallnacht. No blitzkrieg. No gas chambers. No air raids.

Disingenuous. Deceptive. And just plain dumb, huh? And since I don’t know anyone wealthy enough to finance my revisionist history I suppose my script should just be thrown onto my ever-growing pile of bad ideas. (BTW, why don’t they put all cereal into zip-lock bags? That way kids—and some dads—don’t tear the plastic wide open and the cereal to grow stale.)

Anyway, where were was I?

Oh yeah! Revisionist history.

I have lots of Bibles in my office and if you were to summarize the book of Acts from every single one of them, I’m pretty sure it would go like this:

The risen Savior ascends. New apostles hide for ten days, after which they boldly begin to preach that in Jesus’ life-death-resurrection all who believe have been reunited with God Himself. Many of the Jewish leaders reject this message and begin to treat these believers cruelly. One of the cruelest and most zealous in his hatred is Saul.
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Remember Saul from A.D.? He was that guy that Jesus came to directly. Well, if the book of Acts tells the continuing story of Jesus and His Church, then I can’t help but notice that my book of Acts kinda starts to focus more on this Saul guy and not so much on that Peter fellow. In fact, Peter in mentioned in 11 of 28 chapters (39%), while Saul/Paul is mentioned in 21 of 28 (75%).

Imagine! No Statue Standoff. No Lying Leah (Caiaphas’ wife). No Compromising Caiaphas. And no Peter-the-Non-Violent-Protester/Sit-In-Leader or Peter-the-Prime-Minister/Comptroller/Chief-Executive-Officer for the New Testament Church.

Fortunately you don’t have to imagine, just read your own book of Acts. There you’ll find a much simpler, yet far more compelling, storyline. It’s about how God’s Church spreads. No longer are His people waiting for the Him to fulfill His promise of a Savior. Sin, introduced into the world through Adam and Eve, focused all it’s power and might on Jesus…killed Him…and He is risen. No, now they have promises fulfilled.

The book of Acts is not about Peter and it’s not about Saul/Paul. It is about Jesus and His Church. Therefore it is about you. Acts places you into the storylines; whether you are a rule-following-cuz-that’s-how-I-get-God-to-like-me Jew like Peter, or whether you are a –pagan-born-and-bred-Roman-soldier like Cornelius. Your poor record can’t condemn you, neither can your lack of pedigree. Christ lived and died and rose for everyone, He fulfilled the laws for us—not so that we can live lawlessly but so that we need no longer live on fear of our failures or live the lie that we haven’t failed.

Caligula… Pilate… Claudia… Boaz… There was so much fabrication in this last episode that I don’t see how to comment on it all. A.D. – The Bible Continues. Episode 12 – The Abomination is at least well named. A.D. is an abomination for a series that claims to follow the book of Acts. Consumed (or obsessed?) by its made-up storylines, A.D. had far too much revisionism and far too little of Jesus.

Just read the book yourself. Open your Bible and read as Saint Luke traces the spread of the best news the world will ever see: That God has reconciled the world to Himself in Christ. This news was like a cool stream in the desert for those enslaved to a religion of works, constantly worried about what they must do to keep God’s favor. (As in this episode, finding a way to prevent a statue from being placed in the temple.) This news was light for those stumbling under the darkness of their own sins, like Cornelius who was plagued by the grim things he’d been ordered to do.

Cornelius. His scene with Mary and Peter was this week’s bright spot. A.D. did a good job of developing this character as cold, hard, and heartless. When he confessed to Mary that he had killed her friend with his own hands and she approached him to hug him, that made sitting through all the silly stuff worth it.

He was forgiven. Joanna told him so. Not so much forgiven by her but forgiven by Jesus in whom she had placed her own hope for forgiveness and eternal life. Forgiven for the part he played in Christ’s crucifixion and all the others he’d participated in. Forgiven for whipping Tabitha and forgiven for strangling Joanna.

I could rant on and on about the inaccuracies and falsehoods, but would rather leave things with that image of Cornelius struggling to meet the gaze of Mary while Mary simply forgives. She knows the burden of guilt and she knows the freedom Christ won and freely gives.

Let that scene stick with you. As Martin Luther regrettably observed: We daily sin much. In Jesus Christ you have been forgiven and in that forgiveness you have been set free from that guilt, free to live as a soldier or a household servant, doing the work God has given you to do for the good of your neighbor.

And when we again daily sin much, let’s hear more and more of Jesus; of His perfect life and death in our stead and of His resurrection from the wages of sin.

God grant this to us all! Amen!!