Stories about Jesus on Holy Saturday

I wasn't sure what to call the Saturday in between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I Googled it and learned it it called Holy Saturday. I probably should have known that. Anyway, I was thinking about the various stories I have read about the life of Jesus. Of course, many people are familiar with the 4 Gospels of the New Testament. But there are other stories. The Jefferson Bible comes to mind. Apparently, our third president had trouble with the "supernatural" elements of the Jesus story. He cut and paste (literally) the portions of the Gospels that related to the morals and teaching of Jesus. He left out the virgin birth, the miracles and the resurrection. For sure, it is a different way to look at Jesus. In this version, Jesus' message is front and center.

A number of years ago, Martin Scorsese adapted Nikos Kazantzakis' novel, The Last Temptation of Christ. I did not read this novel, but I did see the film. The story was controversial because as Jesus was dying on the cross, he has a moment where he imagines his life taking a different turn. He fantasizes that he married Mary Magdalene and they have children. Ultimately, Jesus does not succumb to these fantasies and dies on the cross for humanity. Some people felt that Jesus, being free from sin, would never have such fantasies. What, I think, the story attempts to deal with is the tension in the Christian perspective of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is God, but Jesus was also a man. It is a fascinating point that bears further reflection.

My favorite novel that deals with the Jesus story is Quarantine by Jim Crace. Yes, the title of that novel inspired the name of this blog. Quarantine tells the story of Jesus' 40 days in the Judean wilderness. Those of you that have read the Gospels are familiar with this story. However, Crace severely departs from the traditional texts. It is a re-imagining of the story with a very different outcome. Many Christians will undoubtedly be greatly offended by this tale. However, the reason I love this story is because Crace is able to delve into that very human yearning of faith in a fresh way. Yes, he turned a sacred story on its head, but I think that Crace's deviations from the Gospels were not simply to rile the Christian faithful. Rather, he was attempting to depict real truths of the human spirit. I think he succeeded.