Watch an exclusive clip of History channel’s 'Jesus: His Life'
The new eight-part television series “Jesus: His Life” will premiere on the History channel this month and The Christian Post has an exclusive clip.
“The story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told that helped shape Western culture,” one of the series contributors says in the clip.
“If we want to understand Western history at all, we must understand Jesus,” another says.
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“Jesus: His Life,” produced by Nutopia productions ("Finding Jesus"), will be a combination of scripted drama based off the Gospels and interviews with prominent pastors and Christian scholars, including Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church Michael Curry, and Asbury Theological Seminary New Testament Professor Ben Witherington III.
“Jesus felt what we felt, he faced what we face today,” Osteen says in the video exclusive.
The book, Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture, published by Yale University Press, cosigns the comments made on the upcoming History show.
“Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about Him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost 20 centuries," Professor Pelikan wrote in the book's introduction, according to The New York Times.
Last year, Drive Thru History shared that among the “influences that shaped Western Civilization, there’s probably no story more significant than the ‘Jesus Story.’”
“Jesus: His Life” will display Jesus' life from the perspectives of "family, friends, followers, and those whose lives cross with His," History says of the project. The clip specifically reveals those selected to tell the story of Jesus and the role they all had in his life.
Joseph - I protected Him
John - I baptized Him
Mary - I raised Him
Caiaphas - I feared Him
Judas - I betrayed Him
Pilot - I condemned Him
Mary Magdalene - I supported Him
Peter - I followed Him
The promotional featurette also shows a dramatization of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, flipping tables at the temple and getting beaten.
The series' premise is similar to the storyline of Sight & Sound Theatres' theatrical stage production “Jesus” that also focused on the people Jesus came in contact with.
History's 10-part miniseries "The Bible," produced by Mark Burnett, was one of the most popular miniseries of all time, drawing 11.7 million viewers in 2013. It led to the production of the movie "Son of God" and the subsequent TV series "A.D."
"We just know there's a hunger for this kind of material," said Roma Downey, co-producer and wife of Burnett, following the success of "The Bible." "People are hungry for stories of faith."
Distributed by A&E Networks, “Jesus: His Life” will premiere with two episodes back-to-back every week starting on March 25 at 8 p.m. ET leading up to the week before Easter.
