The Last Temptation of Christ - Jesus and Paul

If you've never seen the movie or read the book, this is perhaps one of the pivotal scenes in the movie. The whole shock over Jesus having sex is silly. This book is profound (and the movie does a good job at conveying the main message of the book though the book has juicy tidbits a film just can't convey).

Jesus, having been nailed to cross, is now approached by an old man in the form of an angel. The following dialogue takes place.

ANGEL

Your father is the God of Mercy, not punishment. He saw you and said, 'Aren't you his Guardian Angel? Well, go down and save him. He's suffered enough.' Remember when he told Abraham to sacrifice his son? Just as Abraham lifted his knife, God saved Isaac. If he saved Abraham's son, don't you think he'd want to save his own? He tested you, and he's pleased. He doesn't want your blood. He said, "Let him die in a dream. But let him have his life." Come with me.

JESUS

All this pain is a dream?

ANGEL

Just a dream.

Jesus is thus shown as alive having survived being crucified.

Years later in the film, wife and children in tow, he is seen living a normal life like the rest of humanity. In what is perhaps the pivotal scene in the film, Jesus (played by Wilem Dafoe...yea, I know...) encounters Paul (played by Harry Dean Stanton...yea, I know...) preaching. Jesus is horrified at the things he is saying. After a sharp exchange, Paul says the following:

Y'know, I'm glad I met you. My Jesus is much more important and much more powerful.

If you've not seen the film or read the book the dream is not the dream we think. It is vital to understand the context in which Paul's words are written. Without this context, Paul sounds exactly like those who believe he invented the whole thing. But, when understood having grasped the meaning of the title of the book/film, Paul's words are not so earth shattering. In fact, in light of the film's ending, Paul's words are put into proper context and light is shed on them.

Here is the clip from the film:

If we wish to consider the alternative view, that Jesus survived and married and had children, or that Paul invented the faith, this is a powerful medium through which to do it. In the book, there is greater, more nuanced, deatil. The end result of such a view is given clarity and is well worth pondering.

The book was written as "the confession of every man who struggles" (from the Prologue). I don't know the film well enough to review whether or not Scorcese brought this out in the film or gave it his own spin but it is not a blasphemous book. In fact, it is well worth reading for the challenge, for the believer to face with complete and total honesty the doubts and questions we all harbor within.