BEYOND OUR WALLS

March 2003 Missions Bulletin of First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, N.M. Vol. 5, No. 3

If you’ve seen the film, JESUS, you may appreciate what an impact it often has on people, especially when viewed by those who seldom, if ever, see movies. Some claim it’s the most powerful single tool for attracting people to Christ that’s ever been developed.

Doug Barron, who grew up in First Presbyterian, and his wife, Sherry, are involved in the overseas JESUS film ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. So, while we have described some of their ministry before, it seems appropriate to say a few things about the film’s development and use. The source is Paul Eshleman’s book, I Just Saw Jesus.

You may know that this film is the most widely viewed of all full-length movies. The audio for the film has been translated into nearly 800 languages, and the film has been shown all over the world. With all of the degradation, violence, and anti-Christian sentiment we keep hearing about, we sometimes think Christianity hasn’t gotten very far. The opposite is true, and the worldwide response to the film, JESUS, is a significant part of it.

There are many impressive examples of the film’s power, one being the response of the Maasai people of East Africa. A Maasai chief accepted Christ and, determined that his warriors see the film, persuaded a JESUS film team to show the movie under touchy, even dangerous, circumstances. In a tense situation two thousand Maasai warriors watched the film. When it was over, one of the film team members, a Maasai himself, asked if any wanted to take Jesus into their lives, and almost 90 percent responded. The result has been the development of many home churches among the Maasai, who often worship under trees rather in buildings. Read Chapters 1- 3 of Eshleman’s book for an account of this remarkable development.

Prominent Hollywood film maker John Heyman, born of Jewish parents, produced this film. Though not a Christian, he became convinced of the significance of the Bible as the foundation of American law, health, education, and justice and began to film the books of Genesis and Luke. He soon became aware of the extreme cost of filming the entire Bible and wondered if he could get American churches involved. Meanwhile, Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, had been dreaming and praying about the possibility of a scripturally accurate feature movie on the life of Christ. Heyman and Bright got together, and the project was under way. Paul Eshleman of Campus Crusade was assigned to work with Heyman, who had produced Grease and other film hits. Heyman soon accepted Jesus into his own life.

Luke’s account is the most complete of the four gospels, so that’s what they used for the film line. No dialogue was invented. Throughout the film, every word Jesus spoke came from Luke’s gospel. The screenplay was completed and sent to 450 religious leaders and scholars within a month. Productions costs were estimated at nearly six million dollars, and distribution costs at another three or four million.

Where would the money come from? After several weekend presentations on how a film on the life of Christ could be used to help reach the world, Caroline Hunt, deeply touched by John Heyman’s sharing, talked with her husband, Bunker, about it. That same night they talked for several hours with Dr. Bright and decided to underwrite the film.

The filming got under way at the old fairgrounds in Tel Aviv. Thousands of items had to be prepared. Clothing, buildings, furniture, tools, roads, and all the rest had to be created. They all had to be authentically biblical for Jesus’ day, including such things as a patch of soot above a wall lamp, perspiration stains on headbands, and road dust on the hems of long garments. Wrist watches, Nike shoes, and fabrics in colors not in use in Jesus’ time had to be out-of-sight. One thousand twenty eight scenes were planned in detail.

Most of the actors and extras were not Christians, but the vast majority of them developed concern for doing things authentically and reverently. This is where the evangelistic aspect of the film had an early impact. Each new day of filming opened more of the gospel and the person of Jesus Christ to the participants, and a significant number made Christ their Lord and Savior

Veteran crew members experienced the film as one of the most difficult to make, and actors and workers suffered. Brian Deacon, who played the part of Christ, caught pneumonia from standing up to his waist in freezing water for two hours while men on ladders tried to get a dove to make a proper landing on his shoulder during the baptism scene. Actors who looked like people Christ saw were unaccustomed to organized labor, and endless explaining was required. Shoe prints had to be blotted out. Donkeys, sheep, dogs and chickens escaped and had to be rounded up. Brian Deacon spent four hours on the cross during the filming. John Heyman worked so hard that he became seriously ill, continuing his work at the limits of his endurance. Sometimes it seemed it would be impossible to complete the film.

It took a grueling seven months to finish. Then, aircraft noises, street traffic, and other sounds of civilization had to be eliminated, the musical score recorded, and the film edited. By October, 1979 showings were under way in 250 American cities. Crowds were large and many were turned away in twenty cities. By Christmas over two million people had seen the film. People found their way to Christ. Theater managers give their lives to Christ. A custodian in Atlanta let Christ take possession of his life. After a year four million had seen this film on the life of Christ, and thirty-five thousand had asked for information on becoming a Christian.

The movie began to be shown overseas, and its effectiveness continued. The first translations were begun in early 1980. The goal of each translation was for the actors to appear to be speaking in the language of the sound track, and many difficulties attended the expensive process. By 1985 over a hundred versions had been completed. To save money, narrative story-telling versions were produced for hundreds of small dialects. Then, a long-time mission pioneer and amateur technician and inventor developed a new dubbing process called computerized dialogue replacement, saving much time and money.

New difficulties had to be overcome. In some places viewers thought they were seeing speaking heads with no bodies. To others fish and camels had to be explained. Still others wanted to know who the film makers killed when they were making the movie. But the Jesus film was shown in all kinds of societies, even in Muslim countries. It was shown on national television in a number of nations, and missionaries and mission agencies began to use the film in their work.

So it is that the movie came to be a major instrument in the worldwide outreach of Campus Crusade for Christ, with our own Doug Barron and his wife, Sherry, deeply involved. You may want to read page 5 in the Missions Directory for more of the story.

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