This movie is overall a good movie, but it sadly discredits itself through a Sinner's Prayer, lacking any words for repentance and suggesting that praying this prayer has resulted in eternal life, which is a deeply heretical teaching. The remastered version includes a slightly modified version where repentance is included, but it still suggests eternal life based on that prayer.
"To experience his love and forgiveness and receive eternal life you must receive him as God's sacrifice for your sin, and invite him to come into your life by faith. If this is the desire of your heart, you can pray a prayer of faith and Jesus Christ will come into your life. This is a suggested prayer, I will say it first:
'Lord Jesus I need you, thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen.'
If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, pray this prayer right now, where you are. Pray after me silently, as I repeat one phrase at a time:
'Lord Jesus I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen.'
Now that you have prayed this prayer of faith, and invited Jesus Christ to come into your life, you can be sure that He came in, because he promised he would if only you would ask Him. You can also be sure that your sins are forgiven, that you are a child of God and have eternal life. If you want to experience the full and abundant life which Jesus promised, talk with Him every day in prayer. Discover his wonderful plan for your life by reading the Scriptures and meet with others who love and follow him ..."
The remastered version includes additionally the following wording, but no hint of baptism is given:
"I confess and repent of my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life."
PROS
+ Overall good actors
+ Supernatural elements are shown in a very decent way.
+ Filmed on location in Israel at authentic biblical sites.
CONS
- Although the movie is generally faithful to Scripture, it still sometimes represents a patchwork of scenes. Several accounts are thrown together into new narratives which results in a potpourri.
- The account of the Transfiguration adds extrabiblical and problematic speech of Moses, who says here to JESUS that He will die in Jerusalem.
- The account of the crucifixion includes a Fast-Track-Trial which is nowhere found in Scripture and clearly wrong.
- The inscription on the cross is lacking 'Jesus of Nazareth' and only says 'King of the Jews'. While this is the reading of Luke, it is only a partial reading which the other Gospels complete. Even though this movie focusses on Luke, this cannot mean that we produce a false sign.
Iesous ho nazoraios ho basileus ton ioudaion
- Sinner's Prayer suggesting Eternal Salvation
- The film used the Good News Bible, which is highly problematic for the fact that the 1979 version (same year this movie was released) added the Apocrypha!! This means that millions of viewers were potentially introduced to the Apocrypha (a total of 4 billion people supposedly viewed this movie).
