As this holy week gets under way, and I keep hearing that The Passion of the Christ is being shown in various places, I wanted to share another "Jesus" movie and it's companion book with you.  They changed my life.

The Matthew Movie, taken word for word from the NIV version of the book of Matthew, stars Bruce Marchiano as Jesus.  Out of all the "Jesus" movies I've ever seen, this is by far my favorite. This "Jesus" is not somber, sad, or judgemental, but bursting with overwhelming love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc. A perfect picture of the fruit of the Spirit.  I fell in love with Jesus all over again.  I wanted desperately to be like Him, impacting my world with His love and grace.  Then it hit me, if He lives in me, I am His hands and feet.  He is walking around in my body.  These are things I knew in myhead, but this movie left me feeling not only that I'd seen a wonderful account of His life, but that I actually saw Him in a life-changing way. 

I've always wondered if the men who portray Jesus in all those movies were even really Christians.  Marchiano's book In the Footsteps of Jesus, makes his love and devotion to Christ abundantly clear. The book tells how he came to play this role, how he memorized the entire book of Matthew by "accident" and the many ways the Holy Spirit was evident throughout the filming process.  Whether you read the book or watch the movie first, I recommend doing both if you want to see Jesus in a fresh, new way.

Marchiano's Home Page is here.

Making of the Matthew Movie is here.