Director Martin Scorsese Says New Project Will Make Jesus 'More Accessible'

I don't care what anyone says, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time is, without question, Martin Scorsese. Don't agree? Well then, let's look at the stories this guy has brought to life: "Goodfellas," "Cape Fear," "Gangs of New York," "The Wolf of Wall Street," "The Aviator," "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver," "The Departed," and his most controversial film of all time — which is relevant to the rest of this story — "The Last Temptation of Christ."

And now, according to Scorsese, in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, he's crafting a story that will make the Lord Jesus Christ more "accessible" to people and also help to remove negative sentiments about organized religion.

I would be lying through my teeth, and thus violating the 9th Commandment, if I didn't say that, given his approach to the Lord in "The Last Temptation," I was worried about what the legendary filmmaker's new take on the Savior was going to be like. Are we going to be given the typical, modern culture ideal of "hippie Jesus" with feathered-back hair and a milquetoast nature, who dares not offend anyone and loves and accepts all people as they are? Or will Scorsese really, truly take a risk and present Jesus Christ as he actually is in the Scriptures?

As much as I love the man's body of work, I'm not too optimistic, particularly given the film's source material, which, unfortunately, is not the Bible. It's a book written by Shusaku Endo called "A Life of Jesus," which purports to examine the "motherly" attributes of Jesus. This is because Japanese culture often views fathers as harsh and, at times, cruel.

Refreshingly, the movie will only have a run time of 80 minutes. This used to be the standard film length in Hollywood years ago, but it has since gone the way of the dinosaur, having been replaced by the modern three-hour blockbuster.

The director revealed the film's subject will be the examination of Jesus' core teachings in a whole new light. And that's where the rub is. We don't need a new, innovative way to see Christ and his teachings. I'd say the opposite is what is actually needed at this point. We need to return to the teachings of the Apostles and the early church fathers, and maybe, to a small degree, some of the views of the Reformers.

"Novel and new" can sometimes be another way of saying "woke." That's the last thing we need: woke Jesus. This fake and fraudulent "functional savior" is already infecting the church with acceptance of the LGBTQ agenda and leading the church into apostasy. A popular film that portrays a similar Jesus would make this disaster worse.

“I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion,” Scorsese said during his conversation with L.A. Times columnist Glenn Whipp.

Scorsese pointed out that several of his previous works, including "Kundun," "The Last Temptation of Christ," and "Gangs of New York," focused on ways to find “redemption and the human condition and how we deal with the negative things inside us.”

He then said that it's “a fear of a society and culture that’s corrupted because of its lack of grounding in morality and spirituality. Not religion. Spirituality. Denying that.”

“So for me, it’s finding my own way in a … if you want to say the term ‘religious’ sense, but I hate to use that language because it’s misinterpreted often,” the filmmaker continued. “But there’s basic fundamental beliefs that I have — or I’m trying to have — and I’m using these films to find it.”

“Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways,” Scorsese added. “But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong. Let’s get back.”

“Let’s just think about it. You may reject it. But it might make a difference in how you live your life — even in rejecting it. Don’t dismiss it offhand. That’s all I’m talking about,” he said.

Scorsese then discussed the inherent power of forgiveness, stating it's nigh unto impossible for human beings to actually do it, though he said, "but I really believe in it."

“If we nurture forgiveness, maybe the world could change, ultimately. I’m not saying next year. It could be a thousand years from now, if we’re still around,” he said.

So what inspired Scorsese to choose this project? It was a meeting last year with Pope Francis. Scorsese made a trip to Italy, accompanied by his wife, where he attended a conference called "The Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination," after which he got a chance to meet the Pope.

He said of the meeting, “I have responded to the pope’s appeal to artists in the only way I know how: by imagining and writing a screenplay for a film about Jesus.”

Let's hope the portrayal of Christ and His teachings is accurate and brings honor and glory to His name.