Risen
The first forty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is told through the eyes of Clavius, a Roman Centurion charged by Pontius Pilate to investigate rumors of a risen Jewish Messiah. Clavius is commanded "to find the body, dispel rumors of a risen Messiah and prevent an uprising in Jerusalem," according to a press release. And so begins the Greatest Detective Story Every Told.
As our Roman Centurion interviews the Apostles and other historic Biblical characters, he bears witness to the legendary and miraculously true events that followed the Resurrection. As the situation becomes more and more urgent, our Centurion becomes deeply affected by his investigation and his doubts are cast into doubt. He cannot deny what he's witnessed, or rather, what others tell him they had witnessed. So his witness is really like second hand witness, but that's okay because Jesus wins in the end.
When Jesus (they call Him by the Jewish version "Yeshua" throughout the movie) rejoins his 11 disciples, we get to imagine Clavius unofficially welcomed into their ranks. While this may be mere speculation historically, it's a grand gesture to the non-Christians out there to imagine themselves in his place. It's like extending an olive branch that has written on it, "You too can join Me if you hear people talk about My incredible adventures and believe them anyway!"
Things to watch for:
Studies show 90-95% of modern atheists reject God for emotional reasons, not scientific, historical, or logical. They do so because they want to rationalize their sin and still sleep peacefully when they lay their heads down at the end of the day. Atheists hate guilt and will do anything to avoid it. Watch for the emotional elements in the story. It's not difficult as they outweigh by far any factual elements.
Things to talk about with your children:
History is hard. It's a confusing subject. Some people say one thing is true, others argue against it. We weren't there, so we can never really know. Evidence is only as good as the person who interprets it, and people are fallible anyway. For this reason, Jesus talks to our hearts, not our heads. Our heads get confused and that's why Jesus loves those who don't think too hard, those who simply let Him be the boss (Proverbs 3:5).
I give this movie four stars!
(I couldn't stand hearing "Yeshua" one more time! AAAARRRGGGHHH! So annoying!)