Name: The Last Temptation of Christ
ISBN: 9780684852560

Nikos Kazantzakis

The Last Temptation of Christ

Elda Mengisto

"The time had come for him to cry out 'World, arise!' He had the obligation; and most frightening of all, as he now realized, he also had the strength. It was no longer possible for him to escape by saying, I am unable! He was able, and if the world failed to be saved, the entire sin must fall on him" (372)

For a long time, I thought "The Last Temptation of Christ" was just a movie retelling the life of Jesus, until I learned of the book. The premise of the book interested me--focusing on how Jesus struggled through his own vices and temptations to save humanity from itself. What's interesting is how he is very in-tune with the world of first-century Judea, through its expectations, conflicts, and norms. 

The angst is apparent from the very beginning of the book--"Little by little the claws relaxed, unhooked themselves and freed--slowly, one by one--first his mind, then the bone and finally the skin of his head. Suddenly he felt great relief, and great fatigue" (27). It sets up for something not unlike a "Chosen one" narrative, in which Jesus receives a great calling to save humanity. What's more interesting in the first act of the book is that we see Jesus as the "cross-maker", which obviously juxtaposed with his eventual fate as the cross-bearer. He builds this first cross for the Zealot, who represents the rebels against the Roman power. The woman cursing Jesus, saying "As you crucified another, may you be crucified yourself!" (51) was pretty harsh, though.

That said, there were some mixed storylines, in which I sometimes got lost in. Mary Magdalene falls into the "fallen woman" trope, and her status is brought up by her uncle, the rabbi. What's interesting is how Jesus brought Magdalene to that state, in which she turns to other men to sustenance. When he meets up with her again, "He felt as though he had already reach the monastery in the desert, as though he had put on the white robe and begun to promenade in the deep, tranquil waters of God. Outside, the world was falling apart; within him, peace, love, and security" (93). There's an interesting clash of thoughts here--does one seek God in isolation, or amongst the world? It also relays back to his relationship with his mother--in that Jesus isolates himself from her, despite being called "the son of Mary" early on.

Another interesting thing is how Judas is portrayed as a radical--one in which he wants to see Jersualem taken back to the Jews, and he sees himself as a hero for the cause. Compared to the usual narrative in which Judas was always a bad person, this take is quite curious. His influence can be seen in Jesus declaring that he does not bring peace, but the sword, and will blot out wickedness wherever he sees it. The plan in which Judas betrays Jesus appears here too, which once again brings up the question of why Judas is condemned when it was all part of the road to salvation.

The "last temptation": quite a surprise--when Jesus bows his head during the crucifixion, I'd imagine he had just given up. The premise was a bit odd, seeing that he was already on the cross (and I was more used to the usual goings-on of the crucifixion), but the image of the life he could've had was interesting. "The sun came and stood above them. A breeze blew; several lemon flowers fell on the two naked bodies. A green lizard cemented itself to a stone opposite and watched them with its round, motionless eyes" (450). Jesus and Mary Magdalene seem happy, but this domestic life takes one away and makes Jesus assume himself as Lazarus. Judas has pungent words to tell him, "Your duty was to mount the cross--that's what I say! You boast that you conquered death. Woe is you! Is that the way to conquer death--by making children, mouthfuls for Charon!...You've turned yourself into his meat market and you deliver him morsels to eat. Traitor! Deserter! Coward!" (491). The last part stood out to me, especially this is what Judas was portrayed later on.

The Last Temptation of Christ does fulfill the Chosen one narrative, but I got lost somewhere and can't see the more radical part of the story. There's a bit of a deeper story to it, but I feel like it's something I need to read again to get (6.5/10)