“ARE WE TALKING?”
Matthew 16:13-20
The Rev. Ms. Laurie A. McNeill
Montclair, New Jersey
August 21, 2005
If, by chance, you happened to see “Jesus” – the movie – at theaters in 1979, you might have
been lonely. The movie flopped at the box office. The film was shot in Israel to give it an authentic
look. Nevertheless, the movie failed to achieve its goal of presenting the story of Jesus in a medium that
would reach a vast audience.
A white actor and a British narrator distracted viewers from believing they were seeing the way
Jesus might have spent his days in the Holy Land. In the scene where the body was placed in the tomb
after the Crucifixion, the actor portraying Jesus failed to hold his breath. His heaving chest belied the
concept that Jesus had been put to death.
In spite of the fact that the film “Jesus” would be scaled as a B-movie in Hollywood, it has been
viewed by 6 billion people around the world. 6 billion! And those numbers are growing. As a result of
the saturation evangelism implemented by Christians in the United States, the number of households
being exposed to “Jesus” continues to rise.
Saturation evangelism is the strategy of a group of evangelical Christians. Saturation
evangelism is their attempt to place the story of Jesus before every person living in the United States.
Saturation evangelism has as its centerpiece a DVD of the 1979 movie: “Jesus.”
Evangelical Christians intend to place Jesus in every mailbox in our nation. The states of
Alabama, South Carolina and Hawaii have been covered. (A doctor in Alabama spent over a million
dollars to place the movie in every home in that state.) Digital video discs of “Jesus” are being
distributed like AOL trial subscriptions. My home state of North Carolina is being reached one county
at a time. At this pace, every resident will be exposed to “Jesus” by the year 2040. (“Trying to Put
Jesus in Every Mailbox: Film Distribution by Evangelical Project Reaches 20 Million,” by Shaila Dewan,
The New York Times, August 16, 2005, p. A9)
The Jesus Video Project is a modern response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I
am?” (Matthew 16:15)
Jesus knew, in his day, there existed a variety of interpretations as to his identity. He was
perceived by many to be another prophet like John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah. There was not a
uniform understanding of who Jesus was.
Simon Peter, the disciple, supplied the answer, telling Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of
the living God.” Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, the son of the living God. Although Peter
provided an answer affirmed by Jesus, the question has remained relevant since the days of Christ. The
question persists: “Who do you say that I am?
Those who practice saturation evangelism may come across as saying Jesus is a white man
breathing in a tomb, but at least they dare to answer Jesus’ question. Proponents of the Jesus Video
Project are bold to promote a composite of who Jesus is. The Christians who engage in saturation
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