Three Specials Focus On Jesus’ Life And Death

For the past 20 or so years, television producers usually have shied away from dealing with religion and, more specifically, Christianity. When the subject was dealt with, more often than not it was in an allegedly humorous vein.

In recent years, however, there have been signs of change. People of faith have been popping up in several dramatic shows (i.e, “Christy” and “Amazing Grace”), and the media in general seems ready to take a more serious look at religion and the important part it plays in many people’s lives.

That is never more evident than in the three programs cable’s Arts & Entertainment service has scheduled for the Easter season, the most important time of the year for Christians. All three focus on the life and times of Jesus.

Today, A&E will present two of the three specials. First up at 10 p.m. is “Wounds of the Cross: Miracle or Myth?,” an episode of the “Investigative Reports” series. That’s followed at 11 p.m. by “Mysteries of the Bible: The Execution of Jesus.” On Easter Sunday at 9 p.m., A&E will premiere a special two-hour “Biography” chronicling the life of Jesus.

The three A&E specials, featuring numerous Biblical scholars, examine what we do know about Jesus and what we do not know about him.

“Wounds of the Cross,” hosted by Bill Kurtis, is the story of stigmata, a phenomenon where people suffer wounds on their hands, head, feet and sides similar to the wounds suffered by Christ on the cross. These wounds simply appear on the person for no apparent reason.

The report says that more than 300 stigmatics, including St. Francis of Assisi, have been documented. Kurtis and reporter Ted Harrison look at all possible explanations, interviewing both medical experts and people of faith. Some stigmatics turn out to be hoaxes, but others remain unexplained and a puzzle to science.

Says Harrison in his summary, “While a skeptic can deny the marks of stigmata have anything to do with God and can maintain that they appear only on hysterical subjects, what cannot be denied is that they exist.”

“The Execution of Jesus,” narrated by Richard Kiley and Jean Simmons, explores many questions that still haunt scholars and believers about the last days of Jesus. Why was Jesus, a preacher, subjected to the death reserved for Roman political prisoners?

It looks at the 1990 discovery of funeral urns that some scientists believe contain the remains of High Priest Caiaphas, the man who surrendered Jesus to Pilate for execution. It also looks at the discovery of the first physical evidence confirming the existence of Pilate.

“Jesus: His Life,” excellently narrated by Jack Perkins, takes us from Jesus’ birth to the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The special tries - but fails - to fill in the missing years of his life.

The special also notes the differences (some, say, contradictions) in the accounts of Jesus’ life in the four gospels. Scholars give their own spin on the stories. Never does the special try to debunk the stories of Jesus, although some things in the scholarly approach might not set well with all Christians. One “expert” calls Pilate’s offering Barabbas or Jesus to the crowd “a piece of Christian fiction.”

But all seem to agree that Jesus was someone quite special. Two thousand years later, his teachings still influence the way many of us - including non-believers - live.

Perkins asks, “Must one know all the facts about Jesus to believe in him? Of course not.

“But one can’t help but want to know more about someone whose life in some way has touched us all regardless of our own beliefs.”