The Churches’ Media Council (CMC), which represents all representatives major Christian churches and groups in the UK, told BosNewsLife its chairman, Reverend Joel Edwards, has written to a hundred national church leaders urging them to prepare for the broadcast of BBC1’s series The Passion.
"From time to time opportunities arise nationally that provide significant moments for the Christian faith to engage with our culture. One such opportunity will be the forthcoming BBC series The Passion,” he wrote. He expects the series to make “a huge national impact" over the Easter season.
The series, which starts on Palm Sunday, March 16, will be scheduled in peak time on BBC1 and is likely to attract audiences of up to 10 million viewers, the CMC said. It focuses on the last week of the life of Jesus, who Christians believe is God’s Son, with the last episode to be aired Easter Sunday, March 23, dramatizing His post-resurrection appearances.
FAMOUS CAST
The series was made by award-winning drama producer Nigel Stafford-Clark, with a cast that includes British comedy drama ‘Cold Feet’ star James Nesbitt, as Roman governor Pontius Pilate who the Bible says approved Jesus’ crucifixion, and British television soap opera ‘EastEnders’ actor Paul Nicholls as Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus in to the hands of Roman authorities, according to Scriptures.
The part of Jesus is played by the relatively unknown Joseph Mawle, who at 33 has roughly the same age as Jesus during the events of The Passion.
The CMC said the series was for Christians a "golden opportunity to contribute to a contemporary public discussion about Jesus," and it urged churches not to launch theological discussions about The Passion. "This is an extremely vivid piece of drama, said CMC Director Andrew Graystone.
PASSOVER CROWDS
"You feel you are right there, in amongst the Passover crowds, alongside the disciples as Jesus comes out with these simple but earth-shattering messages. And then of course, he’s taken away and makes the ultimate sacrifice, and like the disciples, you’re left to decide what you are going to do about it," he said.
Some hundred Christian leaders will be invited to preview The Passion in February and a panel of speakers has been formed to contribute to national press, radio and TV discussions, said CMC, which supports a special website www.rejesus.co.uk to help local churches prepare for the series.
Graystone urged Christians to "cancel all leave" and prepare a welcome for the series, describing it as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity" to engage the whole nation in a public conversation about the Christian message, which claims there is eternal life for anyone accepting the risen Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. "This Easter the whole country will be talking about Jesus. Not about church politics or the finer points of theology, but about Jesus," he added. (Read more news on bosnewslife.com).
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