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Dr. Ben Witherington, III, is Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Chattaway goes on to mention another Jesus movie showing at film festivals: The Gospel of John, the latest installment in the series called The Visual Bible.

In Phillip Saville's adaptation of John's gospel, Henry Ian Cusick plays Jesus. The film is scheduled for limited release on September 26. It will spread to other cities throughout the autumn. You can listen to an interview with producer Garth Drabinsky at this link.

A few religious press critics have already seen it. Holly McClure (Crosswalk) says, "The story is so compelling and entertaining that it doesn't feel like a long movie. And when it was over, I wanted more. Watching this movie gave me a renewed appreciation for Jesus and the struggles he went through to bring God's message to the world."

Movieguide's critic says, "There are other Jesus movies in preparation, but [this film] is the one that most Christians have been waiting for. It is inspired truth, a biblical sermon. Christians need to go into all the world to bring their friends to watch the Good News of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in The Gospel of John."

Mainstream critics caught the film at the Toronto Film Festival on "the symbolically chosen September 11." Richard Ostling (Associated Press) notes that the movie "consists entirely of John's Gospel, word for word. But that verbal straitjacket doesn't sap the drama and sometimes enhances it, creating thought-provoking entertainment."

Ron Csillag (Seattle Times) calls it "a sprawling, visually stunning work … [its authenticity] reinforced by a haunting musical score created with instruments from Jesus' time, and with hundreds of meticulously researched period costumes, using only fabrics from the era. The movie, like the book, is poetic, restless—almost otherworldly."

James Adams (The Globe and Mail) says, "Saville has done an admirable job … pulling together a handsome, polished production. Gospel's greatest overarching characteristic, besides textual integrity, is sincerity, evinced in both Christopher Plummer's measured, almost sotto voce narration and British actor Henry Ian Cusick's assured, robust portrayal of Jesus." (Commentary from religion columnist Michael Valpy is also online.)

Taking a different view, Martin Knelman (Toronto Star) calls it "relentlessly high-minded, making one yearn for the trashy sacrilege of a Hollywood biblical potboiler."

The Gospel of John , a film that follows John's Scriptural account word by word, is gaining more praise from Christian critics. David DiCerto (CNS) applauds the efforts of director Phillip Saville (Metroland): "Beautifully shot on a modest budget and with a running time of three hours, the film … eschews biblical pageantry in order to paint an intimate portrait of Christ true to its source material. The film's tasteful handling of Jesus' death achieves equilibrium between the salvific suffering and the redemptive triumph of the cross, without fixating on its more grisly aspects."

Similarly pleased, Michael Medved (Crosswalk) writes, "The Gospel of John represents such an honorable, even heroic effort that it seems almost unfair to focus on its cinematic shortcomings … but the carefully crafted images never take on a life of their own beside the solemnly recited Biblical narrative and dialogue. [It] inevitably feels like a very high class Sunday school film strip rather than an emotionally satisfying cinematic experience."

Then Medved asks a troubling question: "Why has this New Testament story failed to produce the hysterical denunciations that have already greeted Mel Gibson's upcoming (and superb) crucifixion epic, The Passion? Having seen both films, I can report that neither project deserves condemnation for anti-Semitic messages, though Jewish audiences should feel far more concerned about The Gospel of John."

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