All language subtitles for Jesus.His.Life.S01E01.720p.WEB.h264

- The story of Jesus is
the greatest story ever told.

It helped shape
western culture.

Teacher.

Leader.

Savior.

- Lazarus, come out.

I am the resurrection
and the life.

One of the most
influential

figures in history.

- Jesus says the current world
is wrong,

and we need to change it now.

- Get out!

- Where is he?
- After him!

- Jesus was potentially
a threat to the Roman Empire.

For over
2,000 years,

the story of Jesus Christ

has touched the lives of
billions around the globe.

- Jesus felt what we felt.

He faced what we face today.

Though much is known
about Jesus and the age

in which he lived,

he continues to inspire
new insights today.

- If we want to understand
western history, at all,

we must understand
the story of Jesus.

Now, for the first time,

his story is told through
the eyes of those

who knew him best.

- My name is Joseph.

I'm leaving the home I love,

to save my son.

His name is Jesus.

Before he was born,

I didn't know the dangers
he would face.

- Ahh!

- On the eve of Jesus' birth,
the Roman Empire--

it's expanding rapidly.

It's essentially
the great superpower.

- Rome's brought peace
and culture to the world,

but it's also
an incredibly ruthless master.

It destroys any opposition.

- In the east
of the Roman Empire,

in the ancient Jewish homeland
of Judea,

the Romans have established
a brutal client king

named Herod the Great,

and the Jewish people
are far from happy.

Rumors of a coming Messiah
are everywhere,

as predicted
in the Old Testament.

- In the years before
the birth of Jesus,

I had plans
to make a life for myself.

A simple one.

All I wanted was to work,
raise a family,

build a house in Nazareth
for the woman I loved,

and I couldn't wait
for my wedding day.

- The Joseph of
the New Testament

is an extraordinary person.

He plays an incredibly
important part.

- You're not finished?
- Yeah.

Could do with
that water, though.

- Aw, come on.
Thought you'd be done by now.

- Uh-huh.

- Joseph is from Bethlehem
of Judea.

This is just
outside of Jerusalem.

When we meet him in
the Gospel of Luke, however,

he's living in Nazareth
100 miles to the north.

The traditional story
that everybody learns

in Sunday school

is that Joseph is a carpenter,

but that's not
really accurate.

The Greek calls Joseph
a tekton,

which means he's
basically in construction,

so Joseph wasn't
necessarily sawing wood.

He could have been any kind
of construction worker.

- One reason Joseph
is important to me is the fact

that God chose a common man
to do something uncommon.

Here's a man
that was considered ordinary.

Worked with his hands.
Worked with tools,

and yet God chose him to play
an incredible part in history.

- How long's that broad
of yours been at her cousin's?

- Too long.

- Joseph's a good guy
attempting to make ends meet

who is preparing to marry this
young lady

by the name of Mary.

- In the Bible, we read

that Mary's actually living
with her cousin Elizabeth.

She actually leaves home
and goes to stay with Elizabeth

for about three months.

- It seems to be
the typical life of someone

who is Jewish who was living
in Palestine, at that moment,

but there is
an extraordinary turn

that changes the trajectory
of Joseph's life.

- Joseph?

- Mary.

Well, what do you think?

It's almost finished.

- Mary goes away
for three months

and then returns,
and now she's pregnant.

Imagine being Joseph

and hearing that from
your fiancée.

That must have just ripped
Joseph's heart out.

- It would have been
exceptionally difficult

for Mary
to tell Joseph what happened.

The idea of this young woman
that is betrothed

carrying a child,
and the child is not Joseph's,

puts her in
a very dangerous place.

- Jewish law is based,
in large part,

on the laws that one finds
in the Hebrew Bible,

and those laws are very, very
strict about sexuality,

about fidelity,
about pregnancy.

Some of these laws make
very, very clear that people

who engage in sexual behavior

that is not approved of
will lose their lives.

- Please. Listen.

It happened one night,

before I went to stay
with Elizabeth.

- Mary.

Do not be afraid,

for you have found
favor with God.

If you choose
to accept His plan,

you will conceive,
in your womb,

and give birth a son.

- The Annunciation is
the announcement

of the birth of Jesus to Mary,
by the angel Gabriel.

This is the beginning
of the story of Jesus.

- How can this happen?
I am a virgin.

- Nothing is impossible
with the Almighty.

The Holy Spirit will visit you.

The child you bear will become
the greatest of men.

He will be called
the Son of God.

- The angel Gabriel is one
of the archangels

in early Christianity,

and he represents the power
and strength of God.

Gavri'el means "the power
or force of the divine."

The word for angel in Hebrew,

in biblical Hebrew,
is "mal'ach."

And mal'ach can mean angel,
but it can also mean messenger.

- Why has He chosen me?

- You are pure
of heart and soul.

Will you accept this gift?

- Here am I,
servant of the Lord.

- Notice that when
she says "yes"

to the angel, she doesn't ask
her husband or her father.

She says it on her own,
so this is a very strong woman,

even at a young age.

- The Annunciation
is exceptionally important.

It takes the birth of Jesus

out of the realm
of simple human causation

and really places it in
the realm of a divine mandate.

- Do you expect me
to believe this?

- It's the truth.

- Do you take me for some
idiot apprentice boy?

- It is God's will.

- Joseph is a pious person.

Like most early Jews,
he does believe in miracles.

He just doesn't expect 'em
to happen, in his case.

- Get out.

- Joseph.

- Get out!

I built this house for you!

I loved you.

So much.

How could any man
accept her story?

How could I possibly believe

that she was carrying
the son of God?

- When Mary says,
"I'm pregnant.

You're not the father,"

Joseph probably reacted
in a typical male fashion.

That's why I love the story,

because it does
not sugarcoat it

as making Joseph
holier-than-thou.

- Ahh!

Ahh!

Mary had betrayed me.

She had concocted
this ridiculous story

to hide her sin.

Even so, I could not
condemn her.

I loved her.

- Nazareth
is a very small town.

It had about 200 to 400
people,

so everyone in Nazareth
would have known one another.

Mary's pregnancy
out of wedlock, essentially,

would have brought shame
and scandal on the family.

- Can I speak to Mary?

- Joseph's dilemma now

is whether or not to out
Mary for adultery.

If he outs her,
she could be killed.

Adultery is a crime punishable
by death.

- The fear, for Mary,

if Joseph exposes her
as being pregnant

by someone other than him
is that she could face death.

- I'm a decent man.
- I know that.

- I'm not going to expose
you to shame.

- I feel no shame.

- Joseph is conflicted.

He doesn't immediately
believe the story

about the Holy Spirit.
I mean, who would?

He doesn't buy it,
and then, on the other hand,

he doesn't want to hurt her.

- I will keep your secret...

and dismiss you quietly.

- Many men would have publicly
declared, "She is unfaithful."

Joseph doesn't do that,
which demonstrates a level

of character and integrity,
of compassion.

- A decent man.

A fool with no wife
and an empty house.

That's what people would say.

- In the ancient world,
people understood dreams

to be a mechanism through which

God reveals information
to people.

- Joseph. Son of David.

Do not be afraid
to take Mary as your wife.

The child conceived within her
is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son,
and you are to name him Jesus.

He will save His people
from their sins.

- When the angel calls Joseph
a son of David

this has
very significant meaning.

- King David was
the most important.

The holiest, the greatest
Jewish king of Jewish history.

- Mary. Mary.

Mary!

- Joseph?

- Mary. Mary.

- By naming Joseph a member

of the house of David,
his son, Jesus,

is perfectly positioned,
by his lineage,

to one day be the holy king.
The messiah.

- I think your angel
came to me.

- And the Jewish people were
longing for a king,

a hero, someone to come
wipe out their enemies

and establish the kingdom
of God on Earth.

- I should have never
doubted your word.

- It's not my word.

It's the word of God.

- I was told the baby
should be called Jesus.

- Jesus' name, Yeshua,
is basically

the same name as Joshua,
in the old testament.

It means "Yahweh saves."

There is something messianic,
from day one, about that name

and, one should expect,
about this child, as well.

- I decided to marry the woman
I loved

and take the path God had
chosen for me,

come what may.

all: Yay!

- I had no idea
of the dangers to come.

- The political situation,

on the eve of Jesus' birth,
is not good.

Judea still has a little bit
of independence,

but it's basically
in the process of being

swallowed up
by the Roman Empire.

- Joseph? What is it?

- And if Rome said "jump,"

you asked, "How high?"

- Hey, you. Get out.

I said get out!
Go!

- On the eve of Jesus' birth,
Augustus Caesar

is the first Roman emperor,

and Rome
is almost at its apogee.

- The Roman Empire covers
three continents.

20% of the world's population.

This is equivalent to about
30 modern countries.

Rome is determined
to control Judea,

because it gives them
a buffer zone

between Rome
and their archrivals

the Persian Empire,
to the east.

Persia basically
being modern Iran.

- The Emperor Augustus
has issued a decree

that a census be taken
of the entire Roman Empire.

All land, slaves, and cattle
in the province of Judea

must be registered.

You are ordered to return

to the town of your birth
immediately!

Anyone failing to follow
this command

will be dealt with accorngly.

- A census is one of the Roman
methods for finding out

how many people are
in an area.

Therefore, how much money
they can raise by taxation.

The Romans like to squeeze
people till the pips squeak,

so there's a great resentment
for the taxes

that are paid to Rome,
from Judea.

- For Mary and Joseph,
the census means

that they have to travel
from Nazareth

all the way back down
to Bethlehem of Judea,

because this is Joseph's
ancestral hometown.

There are two major problems

with the census described
in the Gospel of Luke.

The first is that the census
takes place about a decade

after Jesus
has already been born.

The second problem is that
Roman censuses did not require

people to return
to their ancestral home.

Most scholars think that Luke
used this census as a device

to get Mary and Joseph
to Bethlehem,

because the prophecies say
that the messiah will be born

in the city of David,
in Bethlehem of Judea.

- Scholars have debated this,
but in fact,

we do have evidence
of tax records from Egypt

that the Romans would require
people to group together,

according to
their ancestral groupings.

If part of the family had moved
to some other town,

they needed to come back and
register with the full family.

And so, the way Luke tells the
story is perfectly plausible.

- As we left on the road
to Bethlehem,

I had no idea if we would
ever see home again.

- The trip from Galilee
to Judea was very dangerous.

They have to travel 100 miles,
over hills and valleys.

Many inscriptions
on tombstones

in this region state
that people were killed

by bandits along the road.

- This was not
a pleasure trip.

It was an onerous duty
they felt compelled to do,

and they barely got there

before it was time for Mary
to give birth.

- The traditional
Christmas card of Jesus

being born in a barn,

on the outskirts of town,
is just wrong.

- Joseph.

- We've been ordered
to register in Bethlehem,

by the Romans.

This is my wife, Mary.

- Is there somewhere
we can rest?

- Sorry.
You can't stay here.

The house
is full of our family.

- The text that always
gets translated--

there was no room
at the inn--

should be
better translated as,

"There was no room
in the guest room."

- She's pregnant.

Baby's due anytime.
Please.

Anything.

- So they're invited to stay,
instead,

down on the ground floor
where the animals are kept,

and that's where Jesus
is born.

- Childbirth is always
dangerous,

and it's particularly
dangerous

in pre-medical societies.

- Some food.

- There's no real understanding
of bacteria,

the danger of infections.

- Joseph?

- Mary?

- Cesarean sections were known
and practiced,

but the mother simply died.

- It is time.

- Millions of women
died in childbirth.

- When Jesus was born,

this changes everything.

- In Luke's birth narrative,
we are told that

this is the birth
of the savior of the world.

- You want to hold Him?

- How could I tell her

that I was scared
to touch Him?

Scared

that I couldn't love Him

like a real father.

How wrong was I.

- Joseph chose to raise Jesus,

even though he wasn't
his own biological child.

It shows us that Joseph
was a selfless man.

A man of love.
A man of great compassion.

- Do not be afraid!

I bring good news,
for all the people.

To you is born, this day,
in the city of David,

a savior

who is the messiah.

- The Gospel of Luke
has shepherds visit Jesus,

because Luke wants his readers
to see

Jesus as a descendent
of King David

who was also a shepherd

called in from the field
to lead his people.

- Can we see the child?

- These are not, you know,

people whose hands
are soft and gentle.

These are hard-working--these
are people who fend off wolves.

I think that's the message,

that this God,
in human flesh--

this is about a love
that is meant for us all.

- The angel had sent
the shepherds to us.

He had told them
of Jesus' birth,

but they were not
the only ones

who were to learn
of the child.

- The Gospel of Matthew
introduces us to the magi.

The wise men.
Typically understood

to be astrologers
coming from the East,

to Herod the Great, because
they saw a star in the sky.

An omen of something special.

- Herod's the king of Judea,
appointed by Rome.

He's an absolutely ruthless
dictator

who massacres any opposition.

- Think Stalin. Kim Jong-un.

Meeting Herod the Great
must have been terrifying.

- At the time of the birth
of Jesus,

King Herod the Great
is the king of Judea.

He came to power because

of the backing
of the Roman Empire.

He's essentially
a puppet king,

and the Jews hate him for it.

- He dominated Judea
and the Eastern

Mediterranean for 50 years.

Everything about him is
titanic and over-the-top.

He has a huge harem.

500 beautiful women.

He is highly intelligent.

Greedy. Megalomaniacal.

He ruled with an iron hand,

and he delivered what Augustus
and the Romans wanted:

peace in Judea.

- Your majesty, the soldiers
are bringing the magi.

They are looking
for the messiah.

- He immediately panics
and summons together

all the chief priests

and the scribes
and begins to ask them,

"What is said about
the coming messiah?"

The wise men, or magi,

are said to be from the East,
from Persia,

but there may be a hint
as to their true origin

from the gifts that they bring:

gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

These last two are incenses,

and they may have been traded
along the incense route

that actually goes across
the desert

of the Arabian Peninsula

and into the Mediterranean.

One of the oldest trade routes
in existence,

and if this is the case,
these wise men may have been

from what we would say
is modern-day Yemen today.

- My priests tell me that you
have come to worship a child

whom you believe
is king of the Jews.

- Yes, your highness.

- Am I not the king
of the Jews?

- From the point of view
of the wise men,

it's a consultation that they
would like to have avoided,

but felt they needed to do,

because they were
in foreign territory.

- We followed a star that rose
in the East.

Our charts tell us

that it heralds the birth
of the messiah.

- My priests have searched
the prophesies.

It is written that the messiah
will be born in Bethlehem.

- Herod's very insecure
about his Jewish-ness.

His father is an Edomite and
therefore a second-class Jew.

His mother is actually
an Arab, so his greatest fear

is that another candidate will
come to be king of the Jews.

Someone from the legitimate,
sacred house of David.

- When you find Him,
bring me word.

- Herod the Great understood

that the Jews don't see him
as a legitimate king.

He sees this as
an absolute existential threat

to his reign,

and he wants to stamp it out
immediately.

- [murmuring]

We often see Christmas cards
of the three magi

standing over the baby Jesus
at his birth,

but the fact is not only
does Matthew not tell us

how many there were.

The magi don't come till after
Jesus has been born,

so it could have been days;
it could have been weeks;

it could have been months;
it could have been years.

- We brought gifts.
- We don't want your gifts.

- Please.

Take them.
- Thank you.

- The gifts of the magi--
gold, frankincense, myrrh--

are gifts suitable for a king,

from birth to death,

from womb to tomb.

Frankincense, used in worship,

is a symbol of prayer
ascending to God.

Myrrh.

Used as an odor retardant
for the burial of a king.

Gold. Well, what king
doesn't need resources?

- The diverse and different
peoples of the Earth

coming to behold their God.

The magi are a way
of the Bible saying

that God loves you all.

- Who told you where
you would find us?

- King Herod.

- What does he know
about our son?

- He told us where
we could find the child

who will be
the king of the Jews.

- Herod knows
of Jesus' destiny?

You came to pay homage.

You brought us fine gifts,

but you put my son's
life at risk.

- Herod the great has no limits

in what he'll do to hold on
to power.

He's utterly ruthless.

- When Mary and Joseph realize
that Herod the Great

knows about the birth of Jesus,

they are immediately afraid
for the future of their child.

- Where are you going?
- We have to leave.

- Back to Jerusalem?

- No.

I had a dream last night

warning against meeting
with Herod again.

We will travel home
by a different route.

May the wise Lord protect you
on the journey ahead.

- Herod was a monster who had
murdered his own wife and son

to protect his throne.

What was to stop him from
doing the same to my family?

- Joseph keeps getting these
dreams, in Matthew's gospel.

He gets the dream
that tells him

the child is a miracle of God,
and then he gets a dream

that tells him to flee
Palestine and go to Egypt.

- Your highness.
- Speak.

- The wise men have fled.

- What?

- They have taken another road
back to the East.

- Send men into Bethlehem

and seek out all the children
there under the age of two.

Put them all to death.

There will be no new king
of the Jews!

- Herod says, "I want you
to take out the children

who possibly could be
the messiah."

Here you have a grown man

who is intimidated
by a little baby.

- Mary?
- Hmm? What?

What is it?

- Get the baby.
We have to leave now.

- The so-called
Massacre of the Innocents

doesn't appear
to be historical,

so why do we have this story?

Well, Matthew is obsessed with
making Jesus look like Moses,

so in the same way that Pharaoh
kills all the children,

but Moses escapes in a basket,
Herod the Great is now coming

to kill all the children
in Bethlehem.

- A lot of people
have dismissed the idea

of the slaughtering
of the innocents.

In fact, we know

Herod did all kinds
of atrocious things like this.

- Come on! Get out!

- Executes three of his own
children.

The Roman Empire
is quite happy

for Herod the Great
to rule,

providing there is calm.

- Not my son!

- You can do what the hell
you like in Judea,

but if there's any trouble,

we want you to crush it
ruthlessly.

That's the Roman way.

- Mary, come.

- Who is there? Who?

Who is there?
Who?

- Ahh!

- Okay. Go.
Go, go, go, go.

- The Bible doesn't say
precisely when

Mary and Joseph flee
to Egypt with Jesus.

They could have just
barely gotten away

from Herod the Great's men.

There is a long history,
in the biblical text,

of Egypt as a place
where people could flee,

in times of trouble,
from Judea.

- It's a long, old hike.

It's going to take days
and days and days,

but they had resources
for travel.

There was gold.

- We don't know exactly where
they went in Egypt,

but there are clear places
that could have provided

any number of safe havens
and refuge.

- There was a huge population
of Jews in Alexandria.

They would, naturally,
have gravitated towards them

when they arrived.

- The holy family
become refugees,

and this is also important,

because when they return
it will fulfill a prophecy.

A prophecy from the
Old Testament book of Hosea

that says, "Out of Egypt
I have called my son."

- I wonder when he'll see
the home I built for him,

or if he ever will.

- His integrity
is what speaks so loudly.

He makes this commitment
to a child who is not his,

and Joseph becomes,

I believe, a beautiful model
for fatherhood today.

Where would we be,

if we had more men
who operated like Joseph?

- The happiest times, for me,
are when I forget,

for a second, that Jesus isn't
my flesh and blood.

That I'm the ordinary father
that I'd always hoped to be.

And I remember that my boy
is a miracle,

and that it's my duty
to protect Him,

until he can fulfill
His destiny,

because in my heart, I know,
on this Earth, at least,

Jesus is my child.

That I will always,
always love Him as my own.

- The story of Jesus

is the greatest story
ever told.

[camel grunts]

- Get out, you sinner!

- Where is he?

♪

male announcer:
For over 2,000 years,

the story of Jesus Christ
has touched the lives

of billions around the globe.

[whip cracks]

- [screaming]

- Jesus felt what we felt.

He faced what we face today.

♪

- If we want to understand
Western history at all,

we must understand
the story of Jesus.

announcer:
Now, for the first time,

his story is told
through the eyes

of those who knew him best.

- I am here to warn you.

- John the Baptist
is the link

between the Old Testament
and the New Testament.

He comes preaching
a fiery message

of the coming of Jesus.

- You. What's your name?

- I am Jesus of Nazareth.

- Jesus' baptism by John

is one of the most important
moments in the gospels.

This is the turning point
for Jesus.

[water splashing]

- [grunts]
[cage rattling]

- He's a troublemaker
that's stirring up the people.

John the Baptist has to go.

♪

[sword whooshes]

[epic orchestral music]

♪

♪

[somber music]

♪

- I was put on Earth
to do one thing.

One divine purpose.

To prepare the way
for the Lord.

I should've seen there was
more to Jesus than I knew.

[cymbal shimmering]

♪

- John the Baptist emerges
in dark days

for the Jewish people.

♪

King Herod the Great is dead.

Most of Judea is now part
of the Roman Empire.

It's understandable
that in times of doubt,

of disillusionment,

that a preacher
of great inspiration

like John the Baptist
would emerge.

- Clear the way through
the wilderness for the Lord.

Make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and every
hill shall be made low.

- John the Baptist
is the forerunner of Christ.

He's the guy who paves the way,

who sets the stage
for Jesus Christ himself.

- Clear the way through
the wilderness for the Lord.

- He is very much in the mold
of an Old Testament prophet,

a wild man
living out in the wilderness

eating honey and locusts,

preaching a fiery message

of the coming
of the Kingdom of God

and the Messiah.

- The crooked
shall be made straight

and the rough ways made smooth.

♪

- John the Baptist
was well-known.

He's in the gospel narratives,

but from historical sources
such as Josephus,

we know that he had
a very large following.

- John the Baptist's father
was a priest,

and this was traditionally
a hereditary role.

So he must have rejected
this role

and become this fiery
prophetic figure,

preaching what we would call
today social justice.

- And our flesh shall see

the salvation of God!

♪

Andrew.

♪

- One of the things
that John does,

and this is where
he gets his name,

is actually immersing people
in the Jordan River.

♪

- Repent,

for the Kingdom of Heaven
has come near.

[suspenseful music]

- John was baptizing people
for this renewal.

It is a renewal moment.

It is the ritual of the moment
of saying that you are reborn,

that are you a new person,

that you are washing away
that which is old.

♪

[water splashing]

[uplifting music]

♪

- [laughing]

- John's message
is really simple:

repent your sins,
receive baptism,

receive purification,
and you will be saved.

[cheers and applause]

♪

[suspenseful music]

♪

[all cheering]

- You.

What's your name?

♪

- I am Jesus of Nazareth.

♪

- Welcome, Jesus.

- When Jesus meets
John the Baptist,

this is the first time
we see Jesus as an adult.

According
to the Gospel of Luke,

Jesus and John the Baptist
were cousins.

- But in our earliest gospel,
the Gospel of Mark,

they don't seem
to be related.

When John the Baptist
sees Jesus,

he doesn't recognize him
at all.

♪

- I had always thought
that my task was to find him.

[uplifting music]

♪

Instead, he found me.

♪

Did I not see
who he really was?

- All the gospels tell us
that people

were desperate
to be around Jesus.

- Thank you... brother.

- There must have been
something

naturally compelling
about him,

and I would imagine
that John the Baptist

felt that intense holiness
as well.

♪

[new age music]

♪

- Eat.

♪

This is the way.
It's all we can do.

- It's what we must do.
- Yes.

- The gospels make it seem
like the encounter between

John the Baptist and Jesus
was very short.

But in reality,
it's likely to have been

a much longer period
of them being together

and learning from one another

and becoming part
of the same group.

- There are indications
that Jesus was, for a time,

one of John's disciples.

Their relationship probably
went through different stages:

friend, mentor,

and then, in the end,
the teacher becomes the student

and the student becomes
the teacher.

- Your eyes--your eyes
shall see your teacher.

He won't be hidden
to you anymore.

♪

When I met Jesus,
I felt kinship.

Here was a man of my spirit.

♪

I wasn't alone in my message.

♪

[sighs]

[uplifting music]

♪

I am the voice

of one crying out
in the wilderness!

- You can understand
why the Judeans,

crushed by Roman rule,
disgusted by the venality

of the high priests
in Jerusalem,

would turn to a preacher
like John the Baptist.

- Whoever has two coats must
share with anyone who has none.

♪

All the arrogant and every
evildoer shall be stubble.

♪

The day that is coming
shall set them on fire.

♪

- I think John the Baptist
inspired Jesus.

Jesus saw something in John
that caused him

to rethink his mission
on Earth.

He felt, "Maybe I should
be doing this too."

♪

[water bubbling]

- John the Baptist
was expecting a Messiah

in the apocalyptic sense,
someone who was

going to come down
from the heavens

and burn up the Romans

and reestablish
the Kingdom of God on Earth.

♪

- You tell us
that there is another,

the one that has yet to come.

They think it's you.

- Some people thought
that John

was the Messiah himself.

♪

But John did not believe that.

- Andrew, what do you know
of the Messiah?

- He was very clear:

"I am not the ultimate.

I am not the--
the final stage here."

- See, I'm not worthy
to carry his sandals.

♪

I baptize you with water.

He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire.

- This is a Messiah who is

going to turn the world
upside-down.

This is an aggressive,
disruptive action

that John the Baptist
is anticipating.

- I am not the Messiah.

♪

But I have been sent
ahead of him.

♪

[adventurous music]

♪

- He is a revolutionary
preparing people

for another revolutionary...

by the name of Jesus.

♪

- Well, I should be
baptized by you.

Why are you coming to me?

- This is how it should be.

♪

- The big question
in the Gospels

is why Jesus needs
to be baptized.

If John is baptizing
out of repentance

and Jesus is sinless,
why is Jesus getting baptized?

♪

To my mind, it seems
that he may have wanted

to start his ministry

in a very dramatic
and public way.

♪

- Jesus' baptism by John
is a huge moment.

What is gonna happen
when you have the charismatic,

infamous John the Baptist
on the stage with Jesus?

♪

♪

- When John baptizes Jesus,

he probably doesn't know
what's going to happen.

He doesn't know it's gonna be
such a pivotal moment,

when everything changes
for him and for Jesus

and for the rest of the world.

♪

- The Bible says
that we hear

this booming voice of God
coming out of the heavens

saying, "This is my son
in whom I'm well pleased."

♪

[uplifting music]

♪

- [yelling]

- That's the first time
we see God directly interacting

with Jesus from the scriptures.

♪

- Jesus saw something,

but he would not
tell me what.

Something had happened
to him.

Something separated him
from me,

and I did not understand.

- In some Gospels,
the people who are with him

understand what's happening.

In others,
it's more of a private event.

But certainly Jesus
understands his identity,

which is revealed to him very
clearly for the first time.

- My brother.

- Jesus seems to realize
what God's plan is.

He seems to surrender
to the future

that God has in store for him.

- All four gospels suggest
that this encounter

between Jesus and John
is absolutely pivotal.

Before then,
Jesus didn't have a ministry.

After then, Jesus began
to take on his ministry

with both hands.

- What couldn't I see?

♪

What couldn't I see?

[chuckles]

- Jesus realized,
I can't remain sheltered

in Nazareth anymore.

I've got to do
what John is doing,

and I've got to take
an unpopular message

to the people,
even if it kills me.

[suspenseful music]

[bell ringing]

[horse snorting]

[ominous music]

♪

- He set out before sunrise.

♪

- I knew by then that he was
no simple carpenter...

but I could not say more
than that.

And before I could ask,
he was gone.

♪

[epic music]

♪

- Immediately after
Jesus' baptism by John,

we're told that he is driven
into the desert

for 40 days and 40 nights.

- The number 40
is very important here.

Moses fasted for 40 days

as he was writing
the Ten Commandments,

and then the Israelites
were in the wilderness

for 40 years,

and so this was, once again,
a reflection of something

that happened
in the Old Testament.

♪

- The Judean desert

is one of the hottest places
on Earth,

with temperatures routinely
over 100 degrees.

- Praise the Lord.
God Almighty.

[sniffling, panting]

- There is a tradition
in the early church that says,

"You go to a mountain
to find God.

You go to a desert
to find your soul."

- [panting]

- And after 40 days,

when he is as hungry
as hungry can be...

[suspenseful music]

♪

Then the Devil shows up.

♪

- Satan,
according to both Jewish

and Christian tradition,
is a fallen angel.

He was originally
a good creation of God,

but he went wrong.

♪

- The word Satan comes from
the Hebrew word "Hasatan,"

which means "the adversary,"

who stands against
the created order,

an enemy of the divine

and an enemy of humanity
as well.

- If you are the Son of God,

command these stones
to become loaves of bread.

- In the 40 days
in the desert,

Satan tempted Jesus
three times.

The first temptation
that Satan offered Jesus

was telling him,
turn stones into bread.

[somber music]

- [moans]

[stone clatters]

- This is a reference to when
the Israelites were lost

in Exodus in the desert.

They were hungry,

and God gave them
manna from Heaven.

But it's also a reference
to the temptation

of Adam and Eve
when they were offered fruit.

The second temptation
is that Satan takes Jesus

to the high point
of the temple.

- [panting]

♪

- And he tempted Jesus
to leap from it,

knowing that God
would save him.

♪

- Do not test the Lord my God.

♪

- Thirdly, Satan offers Jesus

the rule of all the kingdoms
of the world,

an earthly empire.

- If you worship me...

- This is a reference
to the Roman Emperor,

ruler of the entire
Roman world.

♪

- Worship me.

[echoing]
Me...

- Away with you, Satan.

I worship only the Lord God,
and I serve only Him!

♪

[panting, whimpering]

- Satan offers Jesus
everything

a would-be Messiah
might want:

power, fame, comfort,
a life of ease,

but Jesus rejects that
definitively.

Resisting those temptations
shows really that Jesus

is ready to start
his public ministry.

[uplifting music]

♪

[ominous music]

- Following
the baptism of Jesus,

John is also inspired,
and he decides to up his game.

After all his time
preaching in the wilderness,

telling Jews to repent,
he decides to take on

the political leaders
of the time.

- Jesus inspired me.

I would drag immorality
out of this land by the root.

I knew where I would start--
in Tiberias.

♪

- So he has to go
to the place of sin,

the locus of all iniquity,

and those are the cities
in Galilee.

- Most of Judea is now ruled
directly by a Roman Governor,

but Galilee is different,
it's to the north,

and it's ruled
by a Roman client ruler,

the Tetrarch of Galilee,
Herod Antipas.

He was one of the sons
of Herod the Great,

and when Herod the Great died,

Antipas had longed to inherit
the whole kingdom,

but instead,
he'd been disappointed

by the Roman Emperor,
Augustus.

He'd just been given a third,

and hence,
he was not the king of Judea

but the tetrch of Galilee.

[ominous music]

Antipas is the ideal target.

His lifestyle is decadent,

and John believes
that if he can persuade Antipas

to repent
of his notorious sins,

that might filter down
to the people too.

- John decides to march right
in and stick it to the man,

and that's a dangerous thing
to do

when the man is Herod Antipas.

- Herod Antipas!

I am here to warn you!

- John is taking a big risk.

The Herods
are a dangerous family.

They have a history of killing
anybody who takes them on.

[suspenseful music]

- The Jews hate Herod Antipas
for a number of reasons.

For one, he built Tiberias

on a graveyard,

which is against
Jewish custom,

and while Jews are struggling,

Herod Antipas is living
this life of opulent luxury

in a palace.

But there's something else
that Herod Antipas did

that really made
the Jews hate him,

and that is,
he married Herodias,

the wife of his half-brother,
Herod the Second.

- And now you ignore God's will

with your new
incestuous marriage.

It is an affront to Jewish law.

- Herodias liked powerful men.

When she met Herod Antipas
and they fell in love,

she couldn't resist marrying

the powerful tetrarch
of Galilee.

So she ditched her husband
and went off with him.

He ditched his wife,
an Arab princess.

He's locked her up in prison,

and it was this that outraged
the Jewish people

and outraged
John the Baptist.

They regard it as incest.

- Do you hear me,
Herod Antipas?

It is unlawful
to have your brother's wife.

- It's humiliating.

- He's insulting you,
and he's insulting my mother,

and yet you do nothing?

- Salome, Herodias' daughter

from her previous marriage,

is a young lady who is now
part of the royal court

of Herod Antipas.

♪

- What do you expect me to do?

The people love him.

- But this isn't just about
a woman's hatred

for John the Baptist.

This is really about power,
of course.

Herod Antipas is actually in

an extremely fragile
situation.

His only reason for existing

is to ensure
that there's peace in Galilee.

John the Baptist looks like

he could be gathering
a rebellion.

- Repent! Repent!

For the Kingdom of God
has come near!

[grunting]

- Herod Antipas knows

that if there was a rebellion
in Galilee,

the Romans would get rid
of him,

and all he wants to do
is keep power.

- As a result,
John the Baptist

is a giant pain
in Herod Antipas' backside.

Pains in the backside
need to be gotten rid of.

[dramatic music]

- Herod Antipas has
John the Baptist imprisoned

in his mountain fortress
of Machaerus,

one of the fortresses
built by his father,

Herod the Great,
where he could hide

in case he lost his throne.

♪

- It's a 40-mile walk
from Jerusalem

and a hundred miles
from Tiberias,

through a punishing desert
road along the Dead Sea.

Getting to Machaerus
is not easy.

- We're talking
about an impregnable fort,

hundreds of feet up
on a cliff,

overlooking a Dead Sea
that is so salty,

nothing can grow in it.

♪

- Its incredible walls,
its dungeons,

all of that is something

out of a "Game of Thrones"
scene.

- [grunting]

- It cuts John off
from his followers.

[lock clanging]

It's the perfect place
to store a troublemaker.

- [yells]

- In the ancient world,

you didn't worry too much
about human rights.

Prison was horrible,
miserable.

You didn't get three meals
a day and yard time.

[man screaming]

- Please, please, please.

[chains clinking]

- [groaning]

[water sloshing]

[moaning]

[dramatic music]

- This was punishment.
It wasn't, uh, rehabilitation.

Prison was meant
to break you.

[ominous music]

You were essentially
dependent upon food

that your friends
or relatives brought.

♪

- The Lord is coming
with fire!

♪

And his armies
with clouds of dust!

♪

- Teacher.

- Andrew, why are you here?

♪

- To give you this.

- [panting]

- And to tell you that a great
prophet has risen among us!

- Who?

♪

- You know him.

♪

It's Jesus.

[uplifting music]

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

- After John the Baptist
is arrested,

Jesus basically picks up
the baton and runs with it.

John the Baptist
was the big movement,

and once John is arrested,

Jesus says, "This is my turn.
This is my time."

- He preaches in Galilee.

To forgive your enemies,
bless those that curse you.

♪

- Love your enemies.

Do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you.

If someone slaps you
on one cheek,

you turn to them
the other, also.

Do to others as you would
have them do to you.

- Jesus came back with me
to my home.

- He goes back to Galilee.

He even recruits some of John's
followers like Andrew,

who became
one of Jesus' disciples.

- For John the Baptist,
we have an image

of a prophetic voice
from the wilderness.

Whereas with Jesus,
Jesus goes to the people.

Jesus goes into the homes
of his prospective followers.

- Everyone's living
at subsistence level.

You're one bad harvest
or you're one bad boat ride

away from starvation.

- Brother!
- Andrew.

- According to
the Gospel of John,

Andrew introduces Jesus
to his brother, Peter.

- We've been working all night
long but caught nothing.

- Put out into deep water,

and let your nets down
for a catch.

- Jesus had an uncanny ability

to meet people where they are

and to try to speak
in their language

to recruit disciples.

[suspenseful music]

♪

- [chuckles]

From now on,
you'll be catching people.

♪

- I've never seen
anything like it.

It was a miracle, John.

[uplifting music]

- John the Baptist
has a very deliberate idea

of who the Messiah
was going to be,

that he was going to usher
in this age of fiery judgment,

and he has this person
in front of him

who's preaching
a message of kindness

and love and forgiveness.

This doesn't square at all

with what John the Baptist
believed in.

♪

- Ask Jesus this.

[ominous music]

"Are you the one who is to come
or are we to wait for another?"

♪

- Herod Antipas has arrested
John the Baptist

because he's pressured into
doing so by his wife Herodias.

[lock clicks]

[suspenseful music]

[chains clinking]

- Herod
has fundamentally violated

some very important
moral issues

in the Jewish faith.

- You can't get any more
questionable than the fact

that he married
his own brother's wife,

even while his brother
was still living.

- [panting]

- And so he's intrigued
by John the Baptist,

sort of seeking
John the Baptist's teaching.

- Maybe Herod Antipas
was genuinely interested

in listening to the message
of John the Baptist,

or maybe it was
a political calculation.

There's a history of leaders
listening to Jewish prophets.

If Herod Antipas listened
to John the Baptist,

repented of his marriage,

then maybe the people and God
would forgive him of this sin.

- [groaning, panting]

♪

- I've been very curious
to meet you.

♪

- It's not too late for you.

♪

- What can I do?

♪

Be baptized?

♪

- He knows
what he wants to do,

but it's not Herod,
it is his wife,

is the one that has it out
for John the Baptist.

♪

- Let me show you the way.

[panting]

♪

I have the ear
of Herod Antipas.

If he is seen to repent,

if I can cleanse him
of his sins,

I can still serve.

♪

Hey, I shouldn't be in here!

♪

[grunting]

- Herodias seems to be
scheming her way to the top.

- [grunting]

- She's prepared to use
anything to achieve her ends.

- John the Baptist has to go.

♪

[ominous music]

♪

[water dripping]

- We can't tell how long
it took

for John to recognize Jesus
as the Messiah.

- [groaning]

- I mean, he had
his own ministry.

So it was probably hard for him
to let go of his status.

♪

[chains clinking]

- The beatings meant nothing.

The greater agony
was not knowing.

♪

Waiting for Andrew
to return with my answer.

- Even in the midst
of a beating,

he refuses to let go
of who he is.

♪

- You spoke with him?

- He's cured many people.

He can even rid people
of evil spirits.

- [gasps]
Tell me.

- We were in Capernaum.

[dramatic music]

[whooshing]

- [groaning]
No, no, no, no!

- Be silent,
and come out of him!

♪

[uplifting music]

♪

- Taking care of the poor,
the widows, the orphans,

the disenfranchised--
Jesus is asking John

to rethink what it means
to be the Messiah.

- Do you have a message
that I can take back to him?

[solemn music]

- He must become greater...

♪

...and I must become less.

♪

- All of his work
is all coming together.

He is thinking
that there is someone

outside of this jail,

by the name of Jesus,

who is doing work
that no one has ever seen.

♪

- John at this point
is convinced

that Jesus is the Messiah.

[chains click]

- I must make my way
back to him.

I will bring followers
from this fortress.

I will see him
with my own eyes.

- John's mission therefore
was a more hopeful one,

not just rescuing himself,
but seeking to rescue others.

But that's not the end
of the story.

[upbeat music]

- [cheering]

♪

- Machaerus is not
just a jail--

it also is a palace
where Herod Antipas could go

and entertain his followers
or hangers-on.

- [laughing]

- [laughs]

[clapping]
Come on!

- Herod Antipas gives Herodias
something of the lifestyle

that she's really looking for:

somebody who actually has
some genuine influence,

not only in Roman Palestine
but with the emperor too.

[suspenseful music]

- So, it's simple:

Herodias has to get rid
of the man who threatens this,

and that man
is John the Baptist.

- She and her daughter together
conspire to bring him down.

♪

The gospels paint for us
this absolutely lurid scene.

It's alcohol-fueled.

♪

Herod is schmoozing
with dignitaries.

♪

[distant clanging]

♪

- [laughing]

[upbeat music]

♪

[woman vocalizing]

♪

♪

[rhythmic clapping]

♪

[woman vocalizing]

- Salome is dancing.

and I don't mean just doing
the Texas Two Step.

That is turning on
Herod Antipas

and all of his friends.

The Jews would have understood
this to essentially be incest.

♪

- [stammering]
Wait, wait.

- And Herod Antipas
is so enthralled

with what his stepdaughter,
Salome, is doing,

that he says,

"Anything you want, one wish,
I'll give it to you."

♪

- Anything?

- Whatever you ask of me.

♪

- And what does she ask for?

She asks for what her mother
tells her to ask for.

[dramatic music]

♪

- I want you to give me,
at once...

♪

The head of John the Baptist.

[dramatic music]

- Herod makes a promise,
a very public promise,

that he'll give Salome
the head of John the Baptist

on a platter.

But Herod really doesn't want

to execute John the Baptist.

- And, of course,

because he's made
this declaration

publicly at a party,

Herod Antipas doesn't want
to look like a weakling,

so he actually says,

"Go and bring me

John the Baptist's head
on a platter."

♪

[clanging]

♪

[lock clicking]

♪

[shackles clicking]

♪

- Now is my chance
to show my worth.

♪

I must not fail.

♪

[dramatic music]

[grunting]

♪

- I don't think
John wanted to die.

I think he was afraid.

I think--I think he was sad,

but I also think
John understood his role.

- Understanding the profundity

of the sacrifice
that was to come,

understanding that John
and Jesus were on the verge

of a moment that would
change the world....

♪

- Did I do enough?

♪

I hope so.

♪

- [yells]

[dramatic music]

♪

[eerie music]

- [sobbing]

♪

- As Herodias and Herod
are looking into the eyes

of John the Baptist's
decapitated head,

I think Herodias felt
accomplished and successful.

She got what she wanted.

[solemn music]

♪

- They killed him.

John the Baptist is dead.

♪

- John the Baptist's death
would have been

a bitter blow for Jesus.

Not only are they cousins,
according to the Gospels,

and that John the Baptist
was probably Jesus' mentor,

but they were friends,
and so he would have missed

John the Baptist's presence

at a very important time
in his life.

- Lord.

Teach us to pray
as John did his disciples.

- In Luke's Gospel,

one of Jesus' disciples
asks him,

"Lord, teach us to pray
as John taught his disciples,"

and then Jesus gives us
the Lord's Prayer.

♪

- Our Father in Heaven...

[uplifting music]

Hallowed be your name.

♪

Your kingdom come...

- The Lord's Prayer
is important to this day

I think because it connects us

to this larger tradition
of prayer.

As Jesus prayed
and taught his disciples,

he's following the pattern
of John the Baptist.

- Your will be done on Earth
as it is in Heaven.

♪

Give us this day
our daily bread.

- John's legacy is one
of a good and faithful servant

but a fiery one at that.

He never pulled any punches.

He never spoke anything
but the truth,

no matter where he was.

He said he was there
to prepare the way

for the one who was to come,

and that's exactly what he did.

He was a faithful servant.

♪

- Today, every single time

a Christian is dipped
in that water

or sprinkled with that water
and is baptized...

♪

There's a little bit
of John the Baptist there.

- John had laid
the groundwork.

The seeds that he placed
around Palestine

were taking root.

♪

- I was put on Earth
to do one thing.

One divine purpose.

I knew Jesus as a student
and as a friend.

♪

I had always thought
that my task was to find him.

Instead, he found me.

♪