Last Temtation of Christ -- unboxed spoilers

[robo99]

@Rubystreak

The fact that, IIRC, he dies at the end on the cross? He recognizes that beautiful child as Satan and rejects the vision, snapping back to where he was, crucified and dying. I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong.

Well, yes. I figured God had a change of heart. The way I’ve seen the movie, Christ does indeed succumb to Satan’s temptation and lives his life and then God forgives Christ and puts him back on the cross. God actually ends up working through Satan in giving Christ a gift (his life) before he is killed. I never saw that scene as a vision and I never saw that Christ rejects it - I just see that whole episode as a gift. Now, I don’t know if there’s a last temptation in The Bible so maybe people are taking their understanding of that book and applying it to the movie.

[Liberal]

I loved that exchange because it describes exactly how religions are formed, and why they exist at all. Plus (from a Fundie point of view) it’s FAR more blasphemous than anything the protestors were complaining about! I always get a chuckle thinking about the Fundies, who of course never bothered to watch the movie, complaining about Jesus having sex with Mary and all that, completely oblivious to that little bombshell of a speech, where the most revered person in the New Testament (after Christ himself) proudly states that his religion is all a bunch of horseshit.

It is hard to imagine a heart so bleak as to be joyful over such a thing, let alone a psyche so cold as to announce it. It is like being happy to see parents discover that their child has leukemia, and taking the microphone to jeer them for how foolish they’ve been to invest so much love.

[moriah]

@Rubystreak

I really liked the book and the movie of Last Temptation. A recovering Christian, I have always retained a benevolent and sympathetic image of Jesus; he was, after all, only human, and the pain of his last few hours must have led to at least one moment of regret and enraged betrayal. After all, my most vivid memory of Easter mass (which I have not attended in lo these past 2 decades) is when Jesus cries out “Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani!”

Nitpick: You heard it on Palm Sunday (more technically correctly called “Passion Sunday”). On Passion Sunday, the Passion of either Matthew, Mark, or Luke is read. On Good Friday, the Passion of John is read. That quote of Jesus is only found in Matthew and Mark.

On Easter, the story of the empty tomb is read.

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@robo99

Are there any clues that those scenes are just a vision? The two times I’ve seen the movie, in my eyes he actually succumbs to Satan’s temptation. Are you sure you’re not making an interpretation based on The Bible?

I’ve read the book and and seen the movie, that’s my take.

Peace.

[cornflakes]

It seemed to me that the coming off the cross part was straight out of An Ocurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, with Jesus being tempted to believe that his crucifixion wasn’t necessary. Nikos Kazantzakis may have meant it as a fantasy or he may have meant that God returned Jesus to the cross, but I doubt that it really matters.

It isn’t until Paul calls Jesus on the carpet that he realizes that he must be crucified or else Christianity will be a sham.

[Rubystreak]

Just rewatched TLTOC on Bravo, and the ending is a bit ambiguous. Jesus is at the end of his life, Jerusalem is burning, and Judas comes in to chastise him. Satan tells him he accepted life, rejected God’s plan, and now he has to die like a regular, period. He crawls out of his house into the street and begs God to let him die on the cross, comparing himself to the prodigal son, wanting to come home again. Boom, he’s back on the cross at the same moment he left it to lead his life; he says, “It is accomplished,” then dies.

Was this just an “Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge” moment, or was it God forgiving him and letting him assume the mantle of messiah again? It wasn’t clear to me this time. I think it could go either way, might have to consult the book for a definitive answer. In the end, though, Jesus did get to eat his cake and have it too, IMO; he experienced a full life of love and fatherhood, then also be the redeemer of the human race. Seems that it worked out for him and God either way, whereas Satan’s gambit was a total failure and served only to harden Jesus’ resolve at the crucial moment. Or maybe Satan hadn’t counted on God forgiving Jesus. In any case, ambiguity is an acceptable interpretation for me, I guess.

Originally posted by moriah
*Nitpick: You heard it on Palm Sunday (more technically correctly called “Passion Sunday”). On Passion Sunday, the Passion of either Matthew, Mark, or Luke is read. On Good Friday, the Passion of John is read. That quote of Jesus is only found in Matthew and Mark.

On Easter, the story of the empty tomb is read.*

Thanks for correcting me, and good on your for keeping all of that straight. Me, I’ve tried to block it all out, so I’ll take your word on it. That Mass, however, did have a strong effect on me, for me to remember it when I’ve forgotten so much else.