jesus christ superstar

As a child, I was raised in a Christian environment, but I was never a part of the "Christian culture." I did not own Veggie Tales movies, had no idea who David Crowder was until I moved to Waco, and never watched Jesus Christ Superstar.

Take a moment to catch your breath from all the gasping you just did.

While I was reading Mark, I was struck by how constantly Jesus was surrounded by crowds (in fact, I plan on posting about this on phpBB after this). Not crowds of dozens or even hundreds, but thousands. Jesus really was a superstar. Can you imagine? In a time where only the names of kings were known by thousands, Jesus was followed into the middle of nowhere by thousands, even when he wanted to be alone. Our celebrities often complain about a lack of privacy and the constant attention of fans, but which of them has ever been followed by a throng of that magnitude? It is incredible that Jesus was not arrested and killed by the authorities sooner. I can understand why he was seen as a threat by the authorities. The Pharisees have a song in JCS:

Priest
Good Caiaphas
The council waits for you
The Pharisees and priests
Are here for you

Caiaphas
Ah gentlemen, you know why we are here
With not much time, and quite a problem here

Crowd Outside
Hosanna! Superstar!

Annas
Listen to that howling mob
Of blockheads in the street
A trick or two with lepers
And the whole town's on its feet

All
He is dangerous! He is dangerous!

Crowd
Jesus Christ, Superstar
Tell us that you are who they say you are

Priests
He is dangerous, dangerous
That man is in town right now
To whip up some support
A rabble rousing mission
That I think we must abort
He is dangerous

Crowd
Jesus Christ, Superstar

Priests
He is dangerous
Look Caiaphas
They are right outside our yard
Quick Caiaphas
Go call the Roman guard

Caiaphas
No wait, we need a more permanent solution to our problem.

Annas
What shall we do about Jesus of Nazareth?
Miracle worker, pilgrim or fool

Priest
No riots, no Romans, no fighting, no slogans

Caiaphas
One thing to say for him, Jesus is cool

Annas
We dare not leave him to his own devices
His half-witted fans will get out of control

Priest
But how can we stop him, his glamour increases
With every minute, he's top of the pole

Caiaphas
I see bad things arising
The crowd crown him King
Which the Romans would ban
I see blood and destruction
Our elimination because of one man
Blood and destruction
Because of one man

Voices
What can we do about this Jesusmania?
How can we deal with the carpenter king?
Where do we start with a man who is bigger
Than John was when John did his baptism thing?

Caiaphas
Fools! You have no perception
The stakes we are gambling
Are frighteningly high
We must crush him completely
So like John before him
This Jesus must die
For the sake of the nation
This Jesus must die
Must die, must die
This Jesus must die


There is no doubt that Jesus was causing a commotion.

Judas sings:

But every word you say today
Gets twisted 'round some other way.
And they'll hurt you if they think you've lied.
Nazareth, your famous son should have stayed a great unknown
Like his father carving wood He'd have made good.
Tables, chairs, and oaken chests would have suited Jesus best.
He'd have caused nobody harm; no one alarm.

Listen, Jesus, do you care for your race?
Don't you see we must keep in our place?
We are occupied; have you forgotten how put down we are?

I am frightened by the crowd.
For we are getting much too loud.
And they'll crush us if we go too far.
If they go too far....

Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give.
Please remember that I want us to live.
But it's sad to see our chances weakening with every hour.
All your followers are blind.
Too much heaven on their minds.
It was beautiful, but now it's sour.
Yes it's all gone sour.

Judas only betrays Jesus because he fears the cause he joined had turned into a glamourized quest for fame and power. Judas' words ring true when both Caiaphas and Pilate call Jesus the Son of God and King of the Jews, prompting Jesus to say "You're words, not mine." His words became twisted. Jesus was not looking to be a king on earth, but with fame, his intentions became twisted in the eyes of many.

I could talk about this musical all day...

For now, I just want to say that if Judas' intentions were similar to the motives of the JCS Judas, I can sympathize. Fame is frightening, especially when others begin to twist the original cause or purpose. Judas did what he thought was right in the eyes of God, what he thought would save him from eternal damnation. He may have been a traitor, but in Judas' eyes, he was only betraying a lost and corrupted cause.

Do we corrupt Christianity when we popularize it? Do we lose the meaning when the faith is commercialized through slogan t-shirts (its you-who Christ died for)? Is the culture of Christianity hurting us rather than helping us?

Baylor is inundated with the culture of Christianity, and I intend to look for answers to those questions throughout this next week.