Cultural depictions of Jesus

Jesus has inspired artistic and cultural works for nearly two millennia. The following lists cover various media to include items of historic interest, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. These entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalog. Lesser known works are not included.

For purposes of classification, popular culture music is a separate section from operas and oratorios. Television covers live action series, TV movies, miniseries, and North American animation but not Japanese anime, which appears with manga and graphic novels.

Art

Christ Carrying the Cross,
by El Greco, 1580.

Main article: Depiction of Jesus

There has been a long tradition of featuring Jesus in paintings and sculpture, ranging from the Roman catacombs and the conservative icon tradition of the Orthodox world through medieval altarpieces to modern acrylics. Many images depict the Life and Passion of Christ, especially the Crucifixion of Christ, whilst others show the infant Christ with his mother (Madonna and Child) or Christ in Majesty. Many of the most famous paintings in Western art feature Christ. The tradition continues in professional and folk art in many countries, as well as popular commercial imagery. Most images, whatever their origins, (as left) keep fairly close to the conventional appearance (and clothing) of Christ established in Byzantine art by about 400AD, which is now instantly recognisable.

The Reformed churches, which grew out of the teaching of Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and others, traditionally reject depictions of Jesus as a form of idolatry (cf the Ten Commandments).

Books

• According to Mary Magdalene by Marianne Fredriksson (1999)
• All Who Came Before by Simon Perry (2011)
• Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (1966)
• Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace (1880)
• The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas (1959)
• The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (1961)
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1880)
• Casca: The Eternal Mercenary by Barry Sadler (1979)
• Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice (2005)
• Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice (2008)
• The Day Christ Died by Jim Bishop (1957)
• The Day Christ Was Born by Jim Bishop (1960)
• The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White (1898)
• The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman (2010)
• Godbody by Theodore Sturgeon (1986)
• The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago (1991)
• The Gospel According to the Son by Norman Mailer (1999)
• The Gospel of Aphranius by Kiril Yeskov (1996)
• The Gospel of Corax by Paul Park (1996)
• The Bible by various writers
• I, Judas by Taylor Caldwell with Jess Stearn (1977)
• Jesus Video by Andreas Eschbach (1997)
• Judas Iscariot by Leonid Andreev
• Judas, My Brother by Frank Yerby (1964)
• King Jesus by Robert Graves (1947)
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (2001)
• The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis (1951)
• Live from Golgotha: The Gospel according to Gore Vidal by Gore Vidal (1992)
• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1967)
• Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice (1995)
• My Name Was Judas by C. K. Stead (2006)
• The Nazarene by Sholem Asch (1939)
• Only Begotten Daughter (1990) and The Godhead Trilogy (1994–1999) by James Morrow
• Quarantine by Jim Crace (1997)
• Riverworld by Philip José Farmer
• The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (1942)
• The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow (2005)
• The Tower: The True Story of Mary Magdalene's Rise from Demon Priestess to Christian Saint by Dr. J.D. McWilliams (2011)
• Testament by Nino Ricci (2002)
• The Urantia Book Authorship assisted by William S. Sadler (1955)
• The Wild Girl aka The Secret Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Michèle Roberts (1984)
• Yahushuwa`: A Midrash by Edmund Camacho (2007)
• A Time for Judas by Morley Callaghan (1983)
• The Greatest Story Ever Told by Fulton Oursler (1949)
• Timothy Nazreth is a short story about Jesus Christ appearing in a problem child's bedroom one night, to explain to him that He loves him. (2011)

Music

See also: Contemporary Christian music

Gospel music has remained a strong pop element in the music of religious America, of which Jesus is a frequent topic.

There have been significant (and successful) attempts to incorporate Jesus in current popular music trends, from rock to hip-hop. This incorporation happens on three different levels:

• Bands or artists who focus almost entirely on Jesus/Christianity. Most of these bands are in support of it, and their music will almost always deal with spiritual themes. A few detractors may critique, attack, or ridicule Christianity and Jesus.
• Songs that deal with Jesus/Christianity. Bands or artists may not be religious at all, but they will still produce a song (or songs) in reference to Jesus. The songs may deal with Jesus/Christianity in a positive light (e.g., "Have A Talk With God" by Stevie Wonder), a negative light (e.g., "Heresy" by Nine Inch Nails or the slogan used by the Anarcho-punk band Crass who used the slogan "Jesus died for his own sins, not mine"), or just as a tool to help provide commentary on modern society (e.g., "Jesusland" by Ben Folds).
• A simple reference to Jesus in a song. Many artists/bands will use a line in a song to show that they are Christian, but the song will have nothing to do with religion. Hip-hop artists will often give a "shout-out" to "the LORD", "Jesus", and other aspects of Christianity as well.

During the 1970s, the "Jesus Movement" produced many songs on the theme, and there have been many bands since then, both Christian and secular, which have done likewise.

Not to mention thousands upon thousands of classical works written by composers of all time periods.

Date	Title	Band	Album	Director	Notes	Charts
2006	Lord give me a sign	DMX	Year of the Dog...Again	Mark Klasfeld
2006	Hater	Everclear	Welcome to the Drama Club
2005	Plastic Jesus	Billy Idol	Devil's Playground		Cover from The Goldcoast Singers 1957
2005	Jesusland	Ben Folds	Songs for Silverman
2005	Jesus was an only Son	Bruce Springsteen	Devil & Dust		lyrics: "Jesus was an only son As he walked up Calvary Hill.His mother Mary walking beside him.In the path where his blood spilled.Jesus was an only son.In the hills of Nazareth As he lay reading the Psalms of David At his mother's feet (...)."
2004	You saved me	R. Kelly	Happy People	Little X
2004	Personal Jesus	Marilyn Manson	Lest we forget	Nathan Cox
2003	Heaven I need a Hug	R. Kelly
2003	Jesus walks	Kanye West	The College Dropout		There are three versions of the music video: version 1: church (Michael Haussman), version 2: desert chase (Chris Milk), version 3:Coodie & Chike & Kanye West
2002	Mrs. Jesus	Tori Amos	Scarlet's Walk
2001	Darkness of Christ	Slayer	God hates us
2000	Black Jesus	Everlast	Eat at Whitey's
1999	Jesus came from outer space	Supergrass
1998	Jesus in a Camper Van	Robbie Williams	I´ve been expecting you
1997	I talk to Jesus	Bon Jovi
1996	Like Jesus to a Child	George Michael	Howard Greenhalgh
1995	Selling Jesus	Skunk Anansie	Paranoid and Sunburnt	Nick Burgess-Jones
1994	Lunacy Booth	Therapy	Troublegum
1993	Are You Gonna Go My Way	Lenny Kravitz	Are You Gonna Go My Way	Mark Romanek	The Song was sung from Christ's perspective. In the video a crucification is shortly shown. Kravitz uses religious symbols and Jesus in several songs [1]
1993	Personal Jesus	Depeche Mode	Personal Jesus	Anton Corbijn	This was inspired by Priscilla Presley's book Elvis And Me, where she described their relationship. Martin Gore of Depeche Mode said: "It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships - how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?"Spin Article, volume 6 number 4 July 1990[2]
1993	American Jesus	Bad Religion	Recipe for Hate	Gore Verbinski
1993	Heart-shaped Box	Nirvana	In Utero	Anton Corbijn
1993	Shadow of Jesus	Hooters	Out of Body
1991	Mad the Swine	Queen	Headlong		lyrics: "(...)I've been there before,A long time ago,But this time I wear no sandals,Ages past I gave all you people Food and water,Three feet tall, so very small,I'm no trouble,I bring thunder and lightning,Sun and the rain For all the people in the land A message of love I bring you from up above."
1991	Jesus he knows me	Genesis	We can't dance
1987	Just another poor Boy	Chris de Burgh	Spanish Train & other Stories		lyrics: "(...) He said all men were brothers and that love could conquer all, Many gathered round to hear, many for his life did fear, In troubled times like these men seldom talked."
1987	Spanish Train	Chris de Burgh	Spanish Train & other Stories
1977	Hymn	Barclay James Harvest	Gone to Earth
1975	Sweet Jesus	Barclay James Harvest	Time honoures Ghosts
1975	We´ve been told (Jesus Coming soon)	Eric Clapton	There's one in every crowd
1974	Jesus	Cat Stevens	Buddha and the Chocolate Box
1973	Great King Rat	Queen	Queen
1973	Jesus	Queen	Queen		lyrics: "(...)It all began with the three wise men Followed a star took them to Bethelehem And made it heard throughout the land. Born was the leader of man.All going down to see the Lord Jesus."
1971	Jesus just left Chicago	ZZ Top	Tres Hombres
1972	Jesus is just all right	Doobie Brothers	Madman across the Water		Cover from The Byrds 1969
1971	Levon	Elton John	Madman across the Water
1971	Hymn 43	Jethro Tull	Aqualung		lyrics: "(...)Oh Jesus save me!If Jesus saves -- well, He'd better save Himself from the gory glory seekers who use His name in death.Oh Jesus save me!"
1970	God	John Lennon			lyrics: "I don't believe in Jesus,I don't believe in Kennedy,I don't believe in Buddha,I don't believe in mantra,I don't believe in Gita,I don't believe in yoga,I don't believe in kings,I don't believe in Elvis,I don't believe in Zimmerman,I don't believe in Beatles,I just believe in me, Yoko and me,And that's reality."
1969	Jesus is just all right	Velvet Underground
1969	Jesus is just all right	The Byrds	Ballad of Easy Rider
1957	Plastic Jesus	The Goldcoast Singers	The Goldcoast Singers

Film

The religious or biblical epic was a popular genre in the 1950s usually accompanied by towering budgets and names such as Charlton Heston, Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, or Yul Brynner.

The ensuing decade brought an attempt by a major studio to produce a religious epic in which the Christ Event was its singular focus. MGM released King of Kings in 1961, inspired by Cecil B. DeMille`s 1927 film The King of Kings. Some critics suggested the film should have been titled I Was a Teenage Jesus, due to Jeffrey Hunter's youthful appearance in the film.

Four years later, The Greatest Story Ever Told, directed by George Stevens, was completed for $25 million. Though Max von Sydow's performance as Christ was praised, the film fared poorly at the box office. Franco Zeffirelli's 1977 film Jesus of Nazareth was a highly praised television miniseries, but stood as the last major Hollywood production of Christ's life for nearly a decade.

It wasn’t until 1988 that another major studio took a gamble on a movie involving the life of Jesus, but this one involved a new wrinkle. Universal released The Last Temptation of Christ amidst protests. The pre-release publicity centered around demonstrations taking place outside of Universal after celebrated figures in the evangelical media began speaking about heretical content in the film. Theater managers across the USA were reluctant to screen the movie and no major video chain would carry it.

Screenwriter Paul Schrader adapted The Last Temptation from the Nikos Kazantzakis novel which engages in a fictional exploration between the two natures of Christ - divine and human. The film was not intended to be a Gospel portrait. The fictional aspect, which apparently provoked opponents of its release, centered around a vision presented by the devil to the Jesus of the film while on the cross. In this vision, Jesus is shown what it would have been like to marry, have a family, live until an old age, and die a natural death. The struggle for the Jesus of the film is the torment between his human wishes for a normal Jewish life and his longing to accomplish the divine mission set before him. In the film is that Jesus conquers these temptations and carries out his sacrificial death by crucifixion.

In 2004, Academy Award winning director Mel Gibson made the blockbuster film The Passion of the Christ which became one of the highest grossing movies of 2004. Jim Caviezel was cast as Jesus.

Date	Title	Country	Notes	IMDB
1898	The Passion Play of Oberammergau	USA	early black-and-white silent film, directed by Henry C. Vincent, starring Frank Russell as Jesus	[3]
1911	Jésus de Nazareth	France	early black-and-white silent film, directed by André Calmettes and Henri Desfontaines	[4]
1912	From the Manger to the Cross	USA	black-and-white silent film, filmed in Palestine, directed by Sidney Olcott, and starring Robert Henderson-Bland as Jesus	[5]
1914	The Last Supper	USA	black-and-white silent film, directed by Lorimer Johnston, and starring Sydney Ayres as Jesus	[6]
1915	The Birth of a Nation	USA	directed by D.W. Griffith, Jesus appears toward the end of the film	[7]
1916	Intolerance	USA	directed by D.W. Griffith, Jesus is portrayed by Howard Gaye	[8]
1927	The King of Kings	USA	silent film starring H. B. Warner as Jesus	[9]
1928	Jesus of Nazareth	USA	black-and-white silent film, Jesus is portrayed by Philip Van Loan	[10]
1942	Jesús de Nazareth	Mexico	black-and-white film, directed by José Díaz Morales, and starring José Cibrián as Jesus	[11]
1946	María Magdalena	Mexico	black-and-white film directed by Miguel Contreras Torres, Jesus is portrayed by Luis Alcoriza	[12]
1953	The Robe	USA	Jesus appears off-screen	[13]
1959	Ben-Hur	USA	Jesus does not speak in the movie, he is seen only from behind or in partial view	[14]
1959	El Redentor (The Redeemer)	Spain	Jesus, played by Luis Álvarez, is always shown from behind. Macdonald Carey provides the voice in the English version.	[15]
1961	King of Kings	USA	directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus	[16]
1964	Il vangelo secondo Matteo	Italy / France	directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, starring Enrique Irazoqui as Jesus	[17]
1964	Scorpio Rising	USA	A short film directed by Kenneth Anger, with archival footage from The Last Journey to Jerusalem, a low budget religious film about Jesus.	[18]
1965	The Greatest Story Ever Told	USA	directed by George Stevens, David Lean, and Jean Negulesco, starring Max von Sydow as Jesus	[19]
1971	Johnny Got His Gun	USA	Donald Sutherland portrays Jesus in a dream sequence	[20]
1973	Godspell	USA	directed by David Greene, Jesus is portrayed by Victor Garber	[21]
1973	The Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus	USA	Robert Elfstrom was both the director and the actor portraying Jesus, Johnny Cash provided the music for the film	[22]
1973	Jesus Christ Superstar	USA	film based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's opera, with Ted Neeley as Jesus	[23]
1973	The Holy Mountain	Mexico/USA	Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Numerous depictions of Christ and Christian iconography. The protagonist is made to resemble Christ and is even hung on a cross.	[24]
1979	Monty Python's Life of Brian	UK	The story of Jesus is parodied by parallel in this movie. Jesus only appears briefly.	[25]
1979	Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith	Canada	directed by Eric Till, starring Jeff East as Joseph	[26]
1979	Jesus	UK/Australia/USA	directed by John Krish and Peter Sykes, starring Brian Deacon as Jesus	[27]
1980	White 'Pop' Jesus	Italy	directed by Luigi Petrini, Jesus is portrayed by Awana Gana	[28]
1981	History of the World, Part I	USA	directed by Mel Brooks, Jesus is portrayed by John Hurt	[29]
1985	Hail Mary	France / Switzerland / UK	a modern-day retelling of the Virgin Birth	[30]
1986	Jesus - The Film	Germany	Epic film in 35 episodes, shot on Super8. The individual episodes were made by a total of 22 filmmakers from East and West Germany, directed by Michael Brynntrup	[31]
1988	The Last Temptation of Christ	USA	directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Willem Dafoe as Jesus	[32]
1988	The Seventh Sign	USA	directed by Carl Schultz Jürgen Prochnow as Jesus	[33]
1989	Jesus of Montreal	Canada / France	directed by Denys Arcand	[34]
1992	Bad Lieutenant	USA	directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Paul Hipp	[35]
1996	Kristo	Philippines	directed by Ben Yalung starring Mat Ranillo III as Jesus. The costumes, music, design and overall feel are all adapted to a local setting in Malay-influenced, pre- Hispanic Philippines.	[36]
1997	Matthew	USA/South Africa	directed by Reghardt van den Bergh starring Bruce Marchiano as Jesus. All narration and dialogue is taken word-for-word from the New International Version of the New Testament Gospel of Matthew.	[37]
1997	Orgazmo	USA	Jesus is seen cheering the lead character on at the end of the film	[38]
1998	The Book of Life	France / USA	directed by Hal Hartley, starring Martin Donovan as Jesus	[39]
1999	Superstar	USA	directed by Bruce McCulloch, Jesus is portrayed by Will Ferrell	[40]
1999	South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut	USA	Jesus can be seen as part of the American army marching in front of Kyle's house	[41]
1999	Jesus' Son	USA	Main character FH sees a vision of Christ in the chest of a man he encounters. Several other allusions to Christlike miracles are depicted.	[42]
1999	Dogma	USA	Buddy Christ is created as an icon to help revitalize the Catholic Church.	[43]
1999	Mary, Mother of Jesus	USA	is a made-for-television Biblical film that retells the story of Jesus through the eyes of Mary, his mother. It stars Pernilla August as Mary and Christian Bale as Jesus. This is produced by Eunice Kennedy Shriver.	[44]
2000	The Miracle Maker	UK/Russia/USA	stop-motion animated film with Ralph Fiennes as the voice of Jesus	[45]
2001	Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter	Canada	directed by Lee Demarbre, Jesus is called upon to aid humanity against a vampire scourge	[46]
2003	The Gospel of John	Canada / UK / USA	directed by Philip Saville, starring Henry Ian Cusick as Jesus	[47]
2004	The Passion of the Christ	USA	directed by Mel Gibson, starring Jim Caviezel, portrays the final 17 hours in the life of Jesus.	[48]
2006	World Trade Center	USA	Jesus is seen in the vision of a New York City firefighter in the film	[49]
2006	The Nativity Story	USA	Retells the Biblical account of the nativity of Jesus, following the story of Mary and Joseph until the birth of Jesus occurs.	[50]
2006	Color of the Cross	USA	Jean-Claude La Marre both directs the film and stars as Jesus	[51]
2006	Son of Man	South Africa	directed by Mark Dornford-May	[52]
2006	The Nativity Story	USA	directed by Catherine Hardwicke	[53]
2008	Hamlet 2	USA	Steve Coogan plays a high school theatre teacher who portrays Jesus in a school play.	[54]
2008	The Messiah	Iran	Retells the Islamic view of Jesus. A film directed by Nader Talebzadeh, and starring Rennie Schembri as Ahmad Soleimani Nia	[55]
2008	Anno Domini XXXIII	Malta	Retells the Biblical account of the passion of Jesus Christ. A film directed by Melvin Schembri and starring Rennie Schembri as Jesus

Television

Date	Title	Country	Notes	IMDB
2006	The Book of Daniel	USA	cancelled due to low ratings	[56]

Date	Title	Country	Notes	IMDB
2006	Ideal (TV series)	UK	Played by Mark E. Smith	[57]

Television movies

Date	Title	Country	Notes	IMDB
1980	The Day Christ Died	USA	directed by James Cellan Jones, starring Chris Sarandon as Jesus	[58]
1999	Mary, Mother of Jesus	USA	TV movie	[59]
2003	Ben Hur	USA	animated TV movie	[60]
2004	Judas	USA	TV Movie	[61]
2007	The Lost Tomb of Jesus	USA	Simcha Jacobovici stars in this documentary about the supposed findings of the Jesus family tomb. The film dramatizes certain scenes in the Bible to depict Jesus both as a husband and a father.

Miniseries

Date	Title	Country	Notes	IMDB
1977	Jesus of Nazareth	Italy / UK	TV miniseries, starring Robert Powell as Jesus	[62]
1999	Jesus	Czech Republic / Italy / Germany / USA	TV miniseries, starring Jeremy Sisto as Jesus	[63]

Theatre

• Son Of Man by Dennis Potter
• Godspell
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Cotton Patch Gospel
• !Hero the Rock Opera

Audio dramas

• The Man Born to be King (1941)
• Adventures in Odyssey, in episodes #66, #67, #137, #141, #176, #177, #183, #226, #227, #232, #302, #304, #305, #345, #346, #383, #389, #404, #413, #425, #439, #461, & #499

Miscellaneous

File:JesusActionFigure.jpg

A Jesus action figure

• The popular clothing line Urban Outfitters has launched numerous Jesus-themed apparel, their most popular being 2004's "Jesus is my Homeboy" T-shirts, which were publicized by the Hip-Hop artist Kanye West.
• The Jesus action figure has become somewhat of a meme of American culture. The action figure made an appearance in Sum 41's music video for The Hell Song. It also made an appearance in Smosh's video of the Pokémon theme song.
• John Lennon in 1966 compared his group, The Beatles to Jesus in a remark that sparked outrage and controversy particularly in the US South: "We're more popular than Jesus now." He later retracted the remark and apologized to anyone who had been offended by it.
• Many adult-oriented cartoons, such as South Park and Family Guy, use Jesus Christ as a character, in unusual situations such as a talk show host. Common associations made (e.g. The Simpsons) are of Christ as a hippie or rock n' roller, due to his popular image as a peaceful man with long hair and a beard.
• The Channel 102 series Jesus Christ Supercop featured Christ as a renegade police officer who bears a grudge against the man who killed his father, 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
• In the Spawn comic book series, The Man of Miracles appeared to humans in the form of Jesus Christ to spread a message of peace and tolerance so that armageddon could be prevented. Unfortunately, this message became corrupted by humanity, thus making armageddon inevitable.
• A Christian Mexican campaign called "Vive lo Rojo" (Live the Red) puts big signals of Jesus in a very modern and friendly way. Together with Christian messages, Jesus is portrayed with modern things such as a skater, a car or himself hearing music from an iPod.
• Jesus Christ (as "Iisus Ronaldo Hristoiu", a pun on Romanian journalist Ion Cristoiu) is the main supporting character in the Romanian-language webcomic Mîţa cu î din i [64].

See also

• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Jesus of Montreal
• Jesus of Nazareth (film)
• List of movies based on the Bible
• Jesus in the Christian Bible
• Liturgical drama

External links

• BBC unveils hi-tech Jesus
• Template:IMDb character
• Bible Films Blog: Index of Jesus Films
• The Face of Jesus / Part II - Some Examples in Popular Culture (portrayal of Jesus in popular culture with a gallery of images, photos, videos, and other examples)
• Template:De icon Tiemann, Manfed (2002): Jesus comes from Hollywood (list of more than 650 Jesus films on the electronic appendix of the book)
• Jesus in American Culture (video recordings of lectures by historian Dr. Howard Miller, University of Texas at Austin)