Jesus Video
Encyclopedia
Jesus Video is a 1997 novel by German writer Andreas Eschbach
. Its plot revolves around the search for a hidden video camera that is believed to hold digital footage of Jesus
made by a time traveller
.
The book had very limited success as a hardcover and only became a bestseller
after being re-released under the title Das Jesus Video in paperback.
, American college student Stephen Cornelius Foxx discovers the remains of a man who seemingly died about two thousand years ago. Among the dead man's belongings is a small linen
bag that holds the user manual
for a digital video camera
. Foxx and his mentor, Professor Wilford-Smith, later find out that this particular model will not be released by its producer, Sony
, for another three years. Soon they begin to speculate that the dead man may have been a time traveller
from the future, who went back in time to film a significant event two millennia ago -- and of course, the most significant thing to film during that era was Jesus Christ
.
Media magnate John Kaun, the financier of the dig, initiates a search for the camera, which seems to be hidden at an unknown location. Stephen, however, wants to find it on his own, with help from fellow student Judith Menez and her brother, Yehoshuah. A race for the Jesus Video begins, and soon becomes more dangerous than anyone imagined, as the Roman Catholic Church
is doing all in its power to keep the video from going public.
Stephen and Judith eventually find the camera, which they discover has been guarded by a secret order of monks for centuries, but are unable to access its memory because the batteries are empty. As the military and the Vatican's agents follow them, they flee into the desert, where they eventually succumb to the heat.
The two young people are saved by John Kaun and Professor Wilford-Smith, who treat them and reactivate the camera. However, at that moment Father Scarfaro and other agents of the Church show up, take the camera, and destroy it. Scarfaro explains that if Jesus had lived today, he would only have been a troublemaker, as he was in his own time, and it would be the Church allegedly founded on his teachings who would try him.
Three years pass. Stephen gets a call from a video company that gets him very excited; he goes to meet with Professor Wilford-Smith and finally learns the truth: Wilford-Smith discovered two strange video cassettes back in 1947, but had no means to watch the footage on them as the technology had not been invented yet. Once enough time had passed for him to realize what they were, he began looking for the camera. Now, he has gotten his hands on a new Sony video player that can play the footage.
Just then, an armed commando unit enters Wilford-Smith's home and demands the cassette. The professor has no problem with them taking it, as he has already distributed hundreds of copies all over the world. The video spreads, but reactions vary greatly: for some people, the humble man in the footage, and his message of love, are deeply touching, inspiring them to completely re-think their life and their values, while others only see a blurry video of a plain, uninteresting rabbi
. Still, it sires a new sect of Christianity based on what its followers believe to be Christ's original teachings.
Another two and a half years later: Stephen and Judith, who are now in a committed relationship, manage a motel
together. They meet with Peter Eisenhardt, an author who was also part of John Kaun's team, and who, unlike them, still believes the video to be a fake. At this point, a young man named John enters in on the discussion. Before getting on his bus to the airport, he tells them that he will be going on a tourist trip to Israel -- and shows them his brand new Sony MR-01 digital video camera.
It is also noteworthy that in a letter found together with the camera's user manual, the time traveller explains that, contrarily to the initial beliefs of Kaun's team, travelling back in time was unintentional: he suddenly found himself back to Jesus time by incident, during a guided tour of Bet Shearim
archeological site. After hanging back from the rest of the tourist group to better examine some inscription
, he discovered that the town around him had changed completely.
by Lübbe Audio.
In 2002, the novel was adapted as a 2-part television movie entitled Das Jesus Video by German TV station ProSieben. However, the film differs greatly from the novel, changing many core elements; for example, Stephen discovers that he himself is the time traveller, and Judith (named Sharon in the film) accompanies him back in time.
Andreas Eschbach
Andreas Eschbach is a German writer who mostly writes science fiction. Even if some of his stories do not exactly fall into the SF genre, they usually feature elements of the fantastic.- Biography :...
. Its plot revolves around the search for a hidden video camera that is believed to hold digital footage of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
made by a time traveller
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
.
The book had very limited success as a hardcover and only became a bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
after being re-released under the title Das Jesus Video in paperback.
Plot
During an archaeological dig in IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, American college student Stephen Cornelius Foxx discovers the remains of a man who seemingly died about two thousand years ago. Among the dead man's belongings is a small linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
bag that holds the user manual
User guide
A user guide or user's guide, also commonly known as a manual, is a technical communication document intended to give assistance to people using a particular system...
for a digital video camera
Video camera
A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...
. Foxx and his mentor, Professor Wilford-Smith, later find out that this particular model will not be released by its producer, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, for another three years. Soon they begin to speculate that the dead man may have been a time traveller
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
from the future, who went back in time to film a significant event two millennia ago -- and of course, the most significant thing to film during that era was Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
Media magnate John Kaun, the financier of the dig, initiates a search for the camera, which seems to be hidden at an unknown location. Stephen, however, wants to find it on his own, with help from fellow student Judith Menez and her brother, Yehoshuah. A race for the Jesus Video begins, and soon becomes more dangerous than anyone imagined, as the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
is doing all in its power to keep the video from going public.
Stephen and Judith eventually find the camera, which they discover has been guarded by a secret order of monks for centuries, but are unable to access its memory because the batteries are empty. As the military and the Vatican's agents follow them, they flee into the desert, where they eventually succumb to the heat.
The two young people are saved by John Kaun and Professor Wilford-Smith, who treat them and reactivate the camera. However, at that moment Father Scarfaro and other agents of the Church show up, take the camera, and destroy it. Scarfaro explains that if Jesus had lived today, he would only have been a troublemaker, as he was in his own time, and it would be the Church allegedly founded on his teachings who would try him.
Three years pass. Stephen gets a call from a video company that gets him very excited; he goes to meet with Professor Wilford-Smith and finally learns the truth: Wilford-Smith discovered two strange video cassettes back in 1947, but had no means to watch the footage on them as the technology had not been invented yet. Once enough time had passed for him to realize what they were, he began looking for the camera. Now, he has gotten his hands on a new Sony video player that can play the footage.
Just then, an armed commando unit enters Wilford-Smith's home and demands the cassette. The professor has no problem with them taking it, as he has already distributed hundreds of copies all over the world. The video spreads, but reactions vary greatly: for some people, the humble man in the footage, and his message of love, are deeply touching, inspiring them to completely re-think their life and their values, while others only see a blurry video of a plain, uninteresting rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. Still, it sires a new sect of Christianity based on what its followers believe to be Christ's original teachings.
Another two and a half years later: Stephen and Judith, who are now in a committed relationship, manage a motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
together. They meet with Peter Eisenhardt, an author who was also part of John Kaun's team, and who, unlike them, still believes the video to be a fake. At this point, a young man named John enters in on the discussion. Before getting on his bus to the airport, he tells them that he will be going on a tourist trip to Israel -- and shows them his brand new Sony MR-01 digital video camera.
Analysis
One of the core themes in the book is that the picture of Jesus that the modern world as a whole, and the church in particular, have created, may be very different from what the actual man was like. Also, Eschbach points out that in the end, the message is much more important than the man.It is also noteworthy that in a letter found together with the camera's user manual, the time traveller explains that, contrarily to the initial beliefs of Kaun's team, travelling back in time was unintentional: he suddenly found himself back to Jesus time by incident, during a guided tour of Bet Shearim
Beit She'arim National Park
Beit She'arim , also known as Beth She'arim or Besara , literally The Strangers House, is the archeological site of a Jewish town and a large number of ancient rock-cut Jewish tombs...
archeological site. After hanging back from the rest of the tourist group to better examine some inscription
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, he discovered that the town around him had changed completely.
Adaptations
The novel was adapted as a 6 CD audio bookAudio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
by Lübbe Audio.
In 2002, the novel was adapted as a 2-part television movie entitled Das Jesus Video by German TV station ProSieben. However, the film differs greatly from the novel, changing many core elements; for example, Stephen discovers that he himself is the time traveller, and Judith (named Sharon in the film) accompanies him back in time.
External links
- Jesus Video on Andreas Eschbach's official website (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
)