by Linda Tiessen Wiebe

“DO YOU THINK you are who they say you are?” Debates on the humanity and divinity of Jesus have raged for centuries. Often the humanity has been pushed aside in favour of Jesus’ full divinity. The film Jesus Christ Superstar (2000) turns the question on its head, assuming the humanity and questioning the divinity. The movie casts Jesus as a modern icon, a superstar, which allows us to question who he was with the fully critical modern eye. And how we answer our questions has huge implications for how we live.

Seen through Judas’ eyes of interrogation, we see Jesus inflated with his popularity. The adoring crowds and the dazzled disciples simply encourage his self-aggrandizement, but Judas is trying to separate “the myth from the man.” He warns that Jesus has betrayed his ministry: “you’ve begun to matter more than the things you say.” Jesus retorts that no one but he understands what true power is. He tells his followers to sing songs for him and each other, for they are blessed by his presence. Later he says, “Not one of you will remember me when I’m gone”; he’s worried about his immortality project. Mary tries to comfort Jesus in the throes of meeting others' needs, but she unwittingly encourages his inflation.

This is a very human response to fame. Inflation is usually an avoidance of pain, and most of us aren’t immune to its cycles. This Jesus is a very believable “rock star.” The film takes Jesus’ humanity seriously. Whether it happened like this or not isn’t the point. The film gives us a unique opportunity to explore what Jesus’ humanity might mean.

Limitation is one of the hallmarks of being human. And the inflated rock star clearly shows his limitations. Suffering, often on the heels of inflation, is a quintessential human characteristic. Although in the film Jesus tries to avoid pain (as when he is overrun by the beggars and lepers), suffering catches up with him. In Gethsemane he says, “…what we started…what you started…I didn’t start it….” Jesus begins to separate his identity from God. He talks about once feeling inspired; now he feels abandoned. And when he finally accepts his death, the tension between himself and Judas is transformed into compassion and forgiveness for Judas’ own suffering with betrayal.