The Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew is the title of a four-part film adaptation of the Bible from 1993, which faithfully reproduces the eponymous Gospel according to Matthew . For the first time, a biblical book was filmed from beginning to end, sometimes with amateur actors and unknown actors.
action
The plot of the film is embedded in a fictional framework. Matthew , now an old man, tells two scribes the life story of Jesus, which he also passes on to a little girl, Ruth.
Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem as a child of Mary and Joseph, is taken by them on the flight to Egypt after Herod the Great ordered the murder of the child in Bethlehem .
Years later, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan River and began his messianic work. He gathers disciples around him, heals the sick and announces the approaching kingdom of heaven to people.
But Judas, one of his apostles, betrays Jesus to the high priests and scribes, who thereupon arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and deliver him up to Pontius Pilate . Despite initial reluctance, Pilate agrees to have Jesus crucified on Golgotha .
Jesus is raised from the dead three days after his death and ascends to heaven. Before doing this, he announced to the disciples that he would come again.
Background information
The Bible film, advertised as “demanding” in church circles, was shot in part in Morocco and near Cape Town in South Africa , a country that has so far hardly been used as a location for Bible films.
The film accurately reproduces the text of the Gospel of Matthew and every detail of the biblical plot.
So that the audience has the opportunity to check the film against the Bible at the same time, the Bible passage (chapter and verse) is continuously indicated on the edge of the picture.
Sequels
In 1994, director Van den Bergh filmed The Visual Bible: Acts from the point of view of the Evangelist Luke .
In addition, 2,003 of the specially founded for the series production company was Visual Bible The Gospel of John ( The Gospel of John ), but directed by Philip Saville , and Henry Ian Cusick in the role of Jesus of Nazareth.