Son of God

the terrific 2014 movie (20th Century Fox)

Posted by member Neil MacQueen

“Son of God” is one of the better Jesus movies available for Sunday School and youth groups. You'll see portions of it recommended in story-specific Video Workshop listings when you look up your story in our lesson forums.

• The portrayal of Jesus is warm and reverent.
• The action and dialog move quickly.
• The script sticks pretty close to the scriptures, blending material from the four Gospels.
• The typical dialect is “British” but not “King James.”
• The scenery appears to be historical and the production values are good, not cheap.
• The movie has a few flaws, but then, don’t they all.

There are 36 scenes or chapters in the Son of God DVD menu. Our outline for our Supporting Members lists what's in each scene and includes a follow-up question for each scene. They also help you know what's in the movie and where it's found when you view the movie online or download it for viewing.

If you're watching the movie ONLINE (renting through Amazon Prime, for example,) the guide will help you know where you are in the movie.

A number of lessons and Writing Team lesson sets here at Rotation.org recommend using a clip from Son of God. Our Outline will help teachers and lesson planners see what stories are in the movie --as not all of the Gospel stories are found in this one.

Supporting Members of Rotation.org can view, save, or print our comprehensive OUTLINE to the SON OF GOD MOVIE. It was created to help Sunday School teachers and youth leaders use it for teaching. We also created an "at home viewing guide" for families.

The Chosen is an engaging modern streaming "tv series" about the life of Jesus that pays special attention to the lives and self-discovery of his disciples. Rather than simply retell the events of the Gospels, The Chosen sometimes feels like a "day in the life of the disciples" as they meet and learn from Jesus, and talk to each other about their lives and what they think it all means. I particularly like the way each disciple is given a backstory and personality, and sometimes wonder "why did he choose me?"

One negative of this is that some episodes can move rather slowly. The opening episodes of Season 1 are kind of like that -- you don't see Jesus until the end of episode 2 (or is it 3?), but instead, see the backstory on Matthew, Simon, and Mary Mag develop. One of the early key characters is Nicodemus who is privately having doubts about what the Pharisees have created and taught.

How will Sunday School teachers be able to "cherry pick scenes" from this series without having seen the whole thing? That will require an OUTLINE, which I either hope to find or one day write. Stay tuned.

Created by "Angel Studios," it can be streamed free at their website: https://www.angel.com/watch/the-chosen.  It is also available on Amazon Prime for free (and maybe other online services).

Surprisingly, the dialog is modern even though the sets and dress are 1st Century. That makes the dialog and the characters feel personal and understandable to a modern audience. Jesus is portrayed as a caring and understanding friend to the disciples, as well as a mentor and powerful presence who is slowly revealing his person and purpose to his disciples.

For use Sunday School, you'll have to zero-in on a specific episode or scene in an episode. See a list of its first 26 Episodes at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._The_Chosen_episodes   As mentioned, as a teacher I know we'll need a breakdown of the episodes that's more detailed and "curated" as far as which scenes are right for sharing with kids.

The Chosen, the "largest crowd-funded media project ever," was created to be "binge watched" according to its creators. Begun in 2019, "seasons" seem to be coming out every two years. At the time of this posting, season 4 was in production. Read more about it at its Wiki.

The first season is set in 1st century Galilee, where Jesus starts to build a group for his ministry, inviting several people with different backgrounds, such as Mary Magdalene, and performs his first miracles.

The second season begins in Samaria and moves into nearby regions such as Syria and Judea, where Jesus continues to build his group and message.

In the third season, the group returns to Capernaum with the increasing popularity of Jesus troubling different societal and political groups, including the Romans and the Pharisees. Following the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sends his twelve apostles, two by two, to preach and perform miracles without him, leading to the disciples facing their biggest challenge yet. Jesus then returns to his hometown, Nazareth, which results in a shift to his ministry. At the climactic end of the season, Jesus feeds thousands and walks on water.

Jesus Christ Superstar (the film)

The powerful 1973 movie version of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice's amazing musical of Jesus' last days is still a teaching favorite in many Sunday Schools and youth groups.

Even older children find its powerful musical portrayal of Jesus engaging and memorable.

Available for viewing/purchasing/downloading online through your typical video outlets (Amazon.com). It also often shows up on movie-streaming services and network TV during Lent. Released through Universal.

For Sunday School use, you'll want to excerpt the story/scene that you want to use. That's why I wrote an outline of the movie (available to Supporting Members).

Excerpt from Rotation.org's complete outline and discussion guide to the movie:

Jesus Christ Superstar THE MOVIE is surprisingly brilliant and still appealing to young people today some 50 years (!) after its release. In fact, many pastors, teachers, and I have marveled at just how attractive and ON TARGET this production is. How did the Director who made Rollerball get it so right? Somewhere, God is smiling.

Hosanna Hey! ...the scene of Jesus' Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem is one of my favorite scenes to show children. Jesus "climb" up the rocks in the Garden of Gethsemane is another.

You walk away from this movie with a profound visual, emotional, and toe-tapping sense of the enormous political, social, religious, and military forces aligned against Jesus. The wild scene where Jesus responds to the dancing Zealots is the crux of the movie and of Jesus’ life. “Neither you Simon, nor the 50,000, nor the Romans, nor the Jews, ...understands what power is, understands what glory is, understands at all.”  There’s a week’s worth of Bible study in the lyrics of that section alone.

Supporting Members of Rotation.org can view, save, or print our comprehensive OUTLINE to Jesus Christ Superstar. It was created to help Sunday School teachers and youth leaders use it for teaching.

Live-Action Movies about the Birth of Jesus

Rotation.org's Advent lesson resource forums have many Video recommendations. Here are a couple of "live action" Birth of Christ movies our members have been recommending...

The Nativity

This 2006 film focuses on Mary and Joseph's story and the political situation Jesus was born into. This full-length movie has long been a favorite recommendation for older children, youth, and home viewing. It is often available around Advent on streaming services like Netflix. Check various streaming. It can also be rented/downloaded through places like Amazon.com See other Advent film recommendations for home viewing and teaching here at Rotation.org.

Jesus, the Beginning

A dramatic presentation recounting of God's plan to send a Messiah. It begins with Creation, continues with the hope of the prophets, and culminates in Bethlehem. From the same folks who brought us the Jesus Film. 8 minutes. View this presentation in fullscreen at https://www.jesusfilm.org/watc...ginning/english.html

Download for free by clicking the download link at the bottom of https://www.jesusfilm.org/watc....html/the-beginning/ and registering.

The Fourth Wiseman (71 minutes)

This wonderful family film has become a Christmas classic. It stars Martin Sheen and Alan Arkin and is based on Van Dyke's "The Other Wiseman" which tells the story of the fourth Wiseman who tried to catch up with the other three but kept being "sidetracked" by helping others.  After having spent the jewels he was bringing to the Messiah he finally meets Jesus for a message we all need to hear again and again.  Ages 9 and up, this is especially good for families with older children and youth. Adults will enjoy it too.

The movie can be rented and viewed online through Amazon or purchased on DVD through a variety of sources. Search for: The Fourth Wiseman Martin Sheen

Update: Vision Video has posted the ENTIRE MOVIE in low-res format on YouTube. This is good for previewing but you're probably still going to want to buy the video.

The Christ Child

Click here to view this beautiful 18-minute film fullscreen on YouTube. The film is also available as a free download in HD.

This is a moving and visually beautiful film portraying the journey to and events in Bethlehem surrounding Christ's birth. In addition to terrific scenery, warm acting, and biblically accurate sets and costumes, the film's building soundtrack is interrupted only infrequently by dialog -- and that dialog is in Aramaic! Though it was originally produced by the LDS church, the film is ecumenical. Enjoy!

Rotation.org is a non-profit, ecumenical, and volunteer-led creative resource ministry for Sunday School, kids and families. We are 100% funded by individuals and churches.

Learn more about us and become a supporting member.

More "Live Action" Movies about Jesus

The Gospel of John from the Visual Bible

If you need to teach a story from John's Gospel, check out the Gospel of John (2003) from the Visual Bible. It's played straight and noble and has good production values. The only downside of the movie for younger audiences is that the movie has to visualize many of the Gospel of John's "long speeches" that Jesus delivers.

Available for purchase as a DVD or streaming movie, it is sometimes also seen on streaming services for free around Lent.

Supporting Members of Rotation.org can view/print a complete outline of the movie which helps in scene selection.

Matthew from the Visual Bible

This is the one featuring the "laughing" Jesus as portrayed by Bruce Marciano. While it has some flaws, many children and adults are drawn to this warm, loving, and smiling Jesus. It is nearly word-for-word from the Gospel of Matthew, which makes it extra helpful as a Sunday School lesson resource.  A narrator provides the "word for word" reading when Jesus or others are not speaking. Chapter and verse appear on screen as the movie progresses. This movie is available to rent/view/download from various streaming services such as Amazon.com and on DVD from places like Christianbooks.com.

View/Print the attached DVD Chapters Breakdown, for ease of locating scenes, provided by Luanne Payne.

The Bible (2013)

Originally released as a mini-series on the History Channel in 2013, "THE BIBLE" movie's later episodes cover the story of Jesus.  The limited "Jesus" episodes of the series were expanded and released as the movie known as "The Son of God" (which is better than "The Bible" in many people's opinion).

"The Bible" movie was generally well-received for its production values, drama, and realism (though often a little too real when it comes to the violence in its early episodes).  Some episodes in the series are better than others.

The movie is widely available from many online sources as a DVD or online viewing. You can preview entire low-res copies of most of the episodes on YouTube, and purchase individual episodes there or on Amazon. It also can be found playing for free on various cable channels and streaming services during Lent.

Each of the ten episodes of THE BIBLE is 48 minutes long. Scenes are occasionally narrated to provide context and move the story forward. An over-arching theme is clearly detectable --the Fall of Humanity and Promise of Redemption.

Age wise: Many of the episodes are simply not suitable for young children, and may be challenging for older children. Violence is one issue. Clarity about "who's doing what and what is happening" in the Old Testament episodes is another issue. In general, grades 3 and up for Episode 5-10. Those episodes are good for teens and adults too. See the overview doc for specifics about episodes 1-4.

Supporting Members can view/print Rotation.org's Outline of "THE BIBLE" series which includes notes about certain episodes and scenes that you may or may not want to skip. Some of the Episodes are REALLY good.

The Jesus Film

aka "Jesus" produced by John Heyman and starring Brian Deacon 1979, 851794002042.

This popular video of Jesus is based on the Gospel of Luke. Created in 1979, it can be a little old-fashioned at times, but some scenes are particularly good to share with children.

Supporting Members can download a PDF that outlines all the Luke story scenes in the Jesus film.  -- Join today!