The Gospel of John may be my favorite Bible movie of all-time. It came in under the radar, and many people still haven't heard of it, much less seen it. Yet it's in many ways the most endearing and personal portrayal of Jesus, and above all it's faithful to the text of Scripture. It combines narration with dialogue and action.

Another plus—most movies about the life of Christ are based on Matthew, Mark or Luke, but John has different content, so it feels fresh and new, though its true to the ancient words and events.

This is certainly something you could watch with unbelieving friends, or give it for Christmas. You could watch it in weekly segments and just talk about it. I love it. It comes in both the full three hour edition and an abridged for television two hour edition. Both are great. 

Here's the info on it, then check out the video clip. (Wish I had one of him laughing with his disciples, as that's very moving, but I think you'll enjoy the feeding of the 5,000.)

A momentous undertaking involving a creative constituency of award-winning artists and esteemed academic and theological consultants from around the world, Visual Bible's The Gospel of John is an ambitious motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word-for-word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible. The story of Jesus' life as recounted by His disciple John, this three-hour epic feature film draws its audience into antiquity by way of meticulous recreation, including an original musical score complete with instrumental sounds of the time. This motion picture follows the Gospel precisely, neither adding to the story from other gospels, nor omitting complex passages.

Added Friday: if you want to learn more about it, my friend Andy Naselli just emailed me a link to his blog where he gives an excellent treatment of the movie.

Here's a clip from the movie, of Jesus feeding the 5,000: