![\"gospelofjohn-timestwo\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/227\/2015\/07\/gospelofjohn-timestwo.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThere aren\u2019t that many word-for-word film adaptations of the Bible out there, but the genre \u2014 which got its start with The Genesis Project\u2019s adaptations of Luke and the first half of Genesis in the 1970s \u2014 has grown to the point where we now have two very different films based on the same biblical text, namely the gospel of John.<\/p>\n
The first of these films was produced by The Visual Bible in 2003, and the second was produced by The Lumo Project in 2014. (The Lumo Project\u2019s film was released to Netflix<\/a> in December of last year and is coming to DVD October 6.)<\/p>\n The appeal of films like these is supposed to be that they are more \u201caccurate\u201d than the usual cinematic treatments of the New Testament. As The Visual Bible put it in one of their press kits when they released adaptations of Matthew and Acts back in the 1990s: \u201cNo scriptwriter\u2019s liberties. No interpretations. No dramatic license.\u201d<\/p>\n But of course, that was an absurd claim. Every camera angle, every line reading, every cut from one shot to another is an interpretation of some<\/i> kind. And nothing proves the point like comparing these two very different versions of John\u2019s gospel.<\/p>\n One thing that especially intrigues me is how both of these films go beyond the text by incorporating visual elements that actually come from the other (very different) gospels or even from later Christian tradition. Every word we hear<\/i> comes from John\u2019s gospel, yes, but some of the things we see<\/i> come from somewhere else.<\/p>\n Both films, for example, show the baptism of Jesus even though John\u2019s gospel never mentions it. Interestingly, in The Visual Bible, Jesus essentially baptizes himself<\/i>, without any help from John the Baptist. So the film, like the gospel, resists saying that John baptized Jesus \u2014 but it still can\u2019t resist showing some<\/i> sort of baptism.<\/p>\n Similarly, The Visual Bible beefs up the role of Mary Magdalene by placing her at the Last Supper and having Jesus address specific lines of dialogue to her \u2014 and it suggests, through her change in costumes, that she had a sinful past prior to becoming a disciple. Not only is this last tradition nowhere to be found in John\u2019s gospel, it is nowhere to be found in the Bible<\/i> \u2014 and yet, there it is, within the film.<\/p>\n But if The Visual Bible introduces just a couple elements that can\u2019t be found in John\u2019s gospel, The Lumo Project \u2014 which will eventually include adaptations of all four gospels \u2014 makes a point of integrating John with the rest of the New Testament, by including flashbacks from the other gospels, flashforwards to the book of Acts, and bits of action that are never mentioned<\/i> by John but still fit inside his narrative.<\/p>\n To be sure, The Lumo Project can\u2019t harmonize the gospels entirely<\/i>. For example, in John\u2019s gospel, Mary Magdalene is by herself when Jesus and the angels appear to her after<\/i> Peter visits the empty tomb, whereas in Luke\u2019s gospel the angels appear to multiple women before<\/i> Peter visits the empty tomb. In cases like that, The Lumo Project\u2019s Gospel of John<\/i> simply sticks to John\u2019s version of the story.<\/p>\n But where The Lumo Project can<\/i> harmonize the gospels, it does, so I\u2019ve captured some images from the film to show how it juxtaposes the non-Johannine visual elements with the text of John\u2019s gospel, which is read in voice-over by a narrator. And I have also captured images from the equivalent passages in The Visual Bible, to show how its interpretation of those scenes differs from The Lumo Project\u2019s:<\/p>\n JOHN 1:10-13 \u2014 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows images of baby Jesus in a manger (as per Luke 2<\/a>)\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026being visited by the Magi (as per Matthew 2<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible shows images of Jesus\u2019 shadow (and sometimes his feet) that overlap with point-of-view shots of the people he is observing as he walks past them:<\/p>\n JOHN 1:32-34 \u2014 Then John gave this testimony: \u201cI saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n John\u2019s gospel never actually says that Jesus was baptized. But the Lumo Project shows John the Baptist kneeling in the water as Jesus approaches (which may hark back to the bit in Matthew 3<\/a> where John says he needs to be baptized by Jesus)\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026and then it shows John baptizing Jesus (as per Mark 1<\/a>, Matthew 3<\/a> and Luke 3<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible shows Jesus baptizing himself without<\/i> any help from John:<\/p>\n Note: In both films, John the Baptist says he saw the Spirit come down like a dove, but we do not see the dove itself (or any other symbol of the Spirit) in either film.<\/p>\n JOHN 3:30 \u2014 \u201cHe must become greater; I must become less.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows John the Baptist, the speaker of these words, being thrown into prison (as per Mark 6<\/a>, Matthew 14<\/a> and Luke 3<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible simply shows John the Baptist speaking these words:<\/p>\n Note: John 3:24 does state that John the Baptist spoke these words to his followers sometime \u201cbefore John was put in prison.\u201d So the imprisonment of John the Baptist is<\/i> mentioned in the text \u2014 but it is not part of the narrative action<\/i> within the text.<\/p>\n JOHN 3:34-36 \u2014 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows Jesus reading from the scriptures (as per Luke 4<\/a>)\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026and being thrown out of the synagogue (also as per Luke 4<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible simply shows Jesus and his disciples walking:<\/p>\n JOHN 5:21 \u2014 \u201cFor just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows Jesus raising a girl from the dead (possibly the daughter of Jairus, as per Mark 5<\/a>, Matthew 9<\/a> and Luke 8<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible simply shows Jesus talking to the priests:<\/p>\n JOHN 5:28-29 \u2014 \u201cDo not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows Jesus coming across a funeral procession and raising a man from the dead (possibly the son of the widow of Nain, as per Luke 7<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible still shows Jesus talking to the priests:<\/p>\n Note: In this passage, Jesus is referring not to the people he will raise from the dead during his ministry, but to the resurrection of all people on the Day of Judgment \u2014 so The Lumo Project\u2019s visuals here don\u2019t quite<\/i> communicate what the text is about.<\/p>\n JOHN 14:16-20 \u2014 \u201cAnd I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, with wind rushing through the apostles\u2019 hair (as per the \u201cviolent wind\u201d in Acts 2<\/a>)\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026and tongues of fire appearing above their heads (also as per Acts 2<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible simply shows Jesus talking to his disciples:<\/p>\n JOHN 18:11 \u2014 Jesus commanded Peter, \u201cPut your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n All four gospels mention that one of Jesus\u2019 followers cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest. John\u2019s gospel is the only one that gives names for these men: Peter was the one who attacked the servant, and the servant\u2019s name was Malchus.<\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows Jesus healing this servant (as per Luke 22<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible does not show the healing, because John\u2019s gospel never mentions it. Instead, we see Malchus fall to the ground in pain, and Jesus is arrested:<\/p>\n JOHN 18:27 \u2014 \u2026at that moment a rooster began to crow.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows Peter crying (as per Mark 14<\/a>, Matthew 26<\/a> and Luke 22<\/a>):<\/p>\n The Visual Bible does not show Peter crying, because John\u2019s gospel never mentions it. Instead, the camera just zooms in on Peter\u2019s face when the rooster crows:<\/p>\n JOHN 19:16 \u2014 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Lumo Project shows Pilate washing his hands (as per Matthew 27<\/a>):<\/p>\n Then, in one of the film\u2019s more impressionistic touches, Pilate dries his hands with a cloth and tosses that cloth into the bowl\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026and the film dissolves to an image of the bowl filled with blood:<\/p>\n The Visual Bible does not show Pilate washing his hands, because John\u2019s gospel never mentions it. Instead, the film simply cuts from Jesus\u2019 face\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026to Pilate\u2019s, while we hear the crowd shouting in the background:<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n