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The Last Temptation of Christ
“Why do you have to die on the cross?” a troubled disciple asks Christ, after he has revealed his ultimate mission to his followers. Jesus’ answer sums up the approach of the entire move: “I don’t know. My Father only tells me a little bit at a time.” Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ is, frankly, the most important film ever made about Christ’s life and mission, because unlike other films about Christ, it attempts to understand the very nature of Christ’s deity. As a result, it appreciates the nature of his sacrifice on the cross with a level of poignancy never before achieved. Like the best of Scorsese’s films, it uses its subject matter as a metaphor for human nature and mankind’s constant struggle between good and evil. Never has Christ seemed so honesty human, yet so anointed with the power of God. The controversy that Scorsese’s film met upon its initial release rivals that of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. In truth, no two films could be more different. The Passion of the Christ is a film that boldly describes the nature of the crucifixion and the sacrifice that Jesus believed that he had to make in order to save mankind from their sins. The Last Temptation of Christ is a film that attempts to explore how Christ came to realize his divine identity and his mission. It offers fascinating speculation on what it must have been like for a figure to be, according to Christian teachings, both fully man and fully God. Through Christ's struggles as God made flesh, he emerges from the ordeal as sinless, having never strayed from his path. As a result, God has never seemed as personal as he does here. After all, as Christ, God literally walked in man's shoes, and experienced man's weaknesses for Himself. As God, Christ would have to be incapable of sin, as Christianity teaches that the very nature of God is perfection. But as man, he would have man’s susceptibility to temptation of the flesh. Thus, it would seem that God becoming man would be an impossible, incompatible endeavor, and The Last Temptation of Christ demonstrates how difficult the challenge must have been for Christ. Its approach to Christ’s divinity takes his duo nature very seriously. The film argues that humanity is naturally cut off from God’s voice unless they choose to seek it. Therefore, when Christ (played here by Willem Dafoe, in the performance of a lifetime) is born, he has no idea that he is God’s Son, or that his mission on Earth is to die for the sins of man. He lives a commoner’s life as a carpenter, and he wants what men naturally want: to marry and have children. Still, as Jesus prepares for this kind of life, he feels a nagging in the back of his brain that “dig into [his] brain like claws.” He knows that he is not meant for marriage or the life of an ordinary man. He doesn’t understand why he fears the consequences of sin so terribly when he is given the choice to commit wrongdoings (we know that it’s because if he did, according to Christian theology, the entire universe would cease to exist because God’s nature depends upon his incapability to sin). He eventually believes that fear has power over him and controls his actions. As a result, Jesus becomes convinced that he is disturbed and chooses to isolate himself from his friends and family. He blames God for making him so different from everyone else, as he is forced to make crosses for the Romans and live a celibate, unmarried life. Only when he finally gives into God and begins seeking after His will does Jesus begin to understand his own identity; however, he must, like any other human, seek God’s will through constant prayer and reflection in order to fully comprehend his mission. His Father only reveals His will to Jesus through glimpses and pieces: Christ learns that he the Son of God, and that he is God Himself and part of the Trinity. He learns that his mission is to preach at first love, and then encourage rebellion away from the immoral, dogmatic teachings of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law, who have perverted God’s laws. He then learns that in addition to being God’s Son, he is the promised Messiah, chosen to lead God’s people to salvation. From here, Jesus discovers that he has the ability to work miracles. He learns that he has to die, as a sacrifice for all of mankind. At first, he thinks that his death will be in a glorious battle, as he leads his followers in a war against Rome (because, after all, his human side is repulsed at the mistreatment his people have experienced under their oppressor's reign). Then he realizes, to his horror, that his Father wants him to humble himself and die on the cross, and that three days later, he will be resurrected and ascend to his Father's right hand. None of this plot summary should be spoilers if you are familiar with the life of Christ. Rather, the meat of the film is contained in how Jesus stumbles upon these revelations about himself. Because he is human, Christ desires to live the life of a human, but because he is also God, he understands the compassion and love that he has for humanity. Jesus is constantly struggling to overcome human nature in order to follow his mission on Earth, and Scorsese paints a strong, colorful picture of how difficult this struggle must be for a perfect, omnipotent being trapped in a mortal, human body. This struggle is inserted into the traditional story of Christ, which includes the Sermon on the Mount, the rescuing the prostitute from being stoned, the disciples, the miracles, the baptism from John the Baptist, the temptation in the desert, the raising of Lazarus, the entrance into Jerusalem, the betrayal of Judas, the crucifixion, the death, and the resurrection. These stories are traditionally part of Christ’s life and ministry, but they have never been shown with such originality and freshness that they are here. By reinventing the nature of Christ’s divinity, Scorsese reinvents the story of his life. As the crowd assembles to hear the Sermon on the Mount, Christ wonders, “What if I say the wrong thing? What if I say the right thing?” Here is a Christ that, as a human, is horrified that he might have the responsibility of being the Messiah, and the more miracles he performs, the more he realizes that it is true. At the same time, he is also God, and despite his fear, he teaches and ministers as a God fervently in love with all of humanity, clearly affirming his New Covenant to a lost world. That Willem Dafoe can juggle these two natures together in a balanced manner is a miracle unto itself. He is a brilliant actor given a brilliant performance that can only be described as a stroke of inspired genius. The most controversial scenes are when Jesus is on the cross, and he has his vision of the life he could have led if he had chosen to embrace his human nature and rejected his ministry. In this vision, which is the Last Temptation of the title, Jesus marries, has children, and lives a common life. At this point, the film plays as a sort of It’s a Wonderful Life, in which Jesus gets a glimpse into what the world would have become had he never been the Messiah. Some film scholars have speculated that Satan is responsible for giving Jesus this glimpse into this possible life, and certainly the final moments of the vision imply this. I believe, however, that God allowed the vision to happen to encourage Jesus while he was on the cross, and to show Christ how important his deity and sacrifice was to the world. In this vision, Jesus lives a life so underwhelming that even as a loving father and husband, he looks pathetic and misplaced. As a dying old man, the world crumbles around him, and Jesus is able to see the necessity of his sacrifice on the cross. As a result, he fully embraces his divine self as God and Savior. When he does this, the vision dissolves, and he is back on the cross, truly able to speak the words, “It is accomplished.” The vision stresses the importance of Christ’s death on the cross and contrasts it with his struggle with human nature. Even though the dream is not inlcuded in the gospels, it compliments their message and adds extra dimensions to the importance of Christ's sacrifice to the Christian religion. Only Scorsese could have taken the life of Christ in such a bold, unconventional direction and make it work so well. If The Passion of the Christ stirred up feelings of anti-Semitism, Last Temptation was met with attack from fundamental Christians, who could not imagine that Christ would have been tempted to look lustfully at a woman or question whether or not he really was the Messiah. I understand their discomfort. Any film that pushes the boundaries of the nature Christ cannot help but stir the waters of faith and tradition. That said, based on my research, I have found that this film is no more blasphemy than The Passion was anti-Semitic. Traditional Christianity depends upon three fundamental beliefs: A) Jesus was God made flesh. B) Jesus never sinned, and thus was the only person who could have paid the price of man’s sins. C) Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected, and only through his love and grace can salvation from one’s sins be obtained. This film does not contradict any of these claims, and it even enhances the nature of Christ's love for mankind, showing him willing to give up his own humanity to save others. Some moments that could potentially contradict these ideas can be dismissed as inoffensive after careful examination. At the beginning of the film, before Jesus fully understands his own divinity, he calls himself a sinner, but it is made clear later that he never sinned and simply believes himself to be a sinner because he felt that God had cursed him. Later, as Jesus comprehends his mission, he calls himself the Lamb of God, signifying that he understands that he is purified and sinless. I've also heard some complaint that we never actually see the resurrection, but this is certainly not a problem. Though it is never seen, it is implied with bright, flashing colors and the sound of bells in the film's closing moments. Plus, the resurrection is thoroughly discussed by Christ himself as the final phase of his mission on Earth. I suspect that it is not included because the point of the film is Christ’s divinity and not his mission. Thus, his resurrection is always present, always assumed, but never shown. Other than these brief moments, there is no way that The Last Temptation of Christ could be interpreted as straying from the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. Christ’s divinity is not as stake; rather, Scorsese simply challenges the nature of Christ’s divinity, and speculates on possible struggles that being both man and God could have brought. I
realize that this article has been less of a review and more of
a description of Scorsese's emphasis on Christ's struggle to overcome
his humanity and embrace his divinity. Perhaps this is just as
well, as the struggle is the key difference between this Christ
and the Christ seen in other film interpretations. In those films,
Christ comes to Earth completely God-like and without any sign
of human weaknesses. He never stumbles, he is never tempted, and
he never sins. Perfection for Christ is not only in his personality,
but it is naturally easy. In Last Temptation, Christ
struggles with human weakness, he fights temptation, he searches
after God’s will, and he emerges from the ordeal perfected
and sinless. Christ taught in the Bible, “Be perfect, as
your Father in Heaven is perfect.” Such a lifestyle seems
impossible, but because The Last Temptation of Christ
shows us that Christ himself had to struggle with this concept,
yet nevertheless prevailed in fulfilling his journey and mission,
we realize that with God’s help (and Christ’s grace,
according to Christians), we can emerge perfected as well. Cast: A Universal Pictures release.
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Written by Paul Schrader, from the
book by Nikos Kazantzakis. Music by Peter Gabriel. Rated R, for
violence, nudity, and sexuality. Running time: 164 minutes. Original
United States theatrical release date: August 12, 1988. Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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