(From a series of posts working through the Visual Bible's Matthew).Chapters 22 and 23 nominally take place in and around the temple. The section opens on a close up of a lion with red smoke pouring out from between its paws. I'm not entirely sure what this statue has to do with anything (I'm not aware of a lion statue known to have been present in the temple or even Jerusalem. There is a Lion's Gate, but the lion engraved on it is not like this as far as I am aware). It is however, reminiscent of Last Temptation of Christ where a statue of Caesar is surrounded by more copious amounts of smoke.
These chapters are almost entirely Jesus speaking, aside from a few points of narration and the questions from his opponents. First up is the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. By the time Jesus reaches the end, where he describes the inappropriately dressed man as being bound and thrown outside to weep and gnash his teeth, actor Bruce Marchiano is fighting back the tears. It gives a more compassionate view of Jesus, but it does raise questions about his God and his relationship to him.
At this point, Jesus encounters opposition from several different Jewish groups: Pharisees, Herodians, Saducees and perhaps the teachers of the law. Unfortunately, the film doesn't really distinguish between the different groups. They all look the same. There is one distinction, the Pharisee / Herodian who asks Jesus about paying taxes does so in a West Country accent (south-west England). This is very distracting, like listening to the video of Darth Vader in Star Wars before James Earl Jones re-did the voice. It's this man himself who gives Jesus the coin, and when he's done Jesus throws it back to him. It's not a big moment, but a nice touch nonetheless.
Jesus then deals with the question about the resurrection from the Saducees. Then there's a cut, another shot of the lion statue, before we move to a scene on the steps of the temple. This will be the setting for the rest of this chapter and all of the next. Jesus answers the question about the greatest commandment, and then replies with a questions about David's "the LORD said to my Lord". Jesus ends the passage and kissing the grumpiest (and seemingly leader) of the Pharisees on the cheek. The Pharisee does not react at all, except perhaps to look even more put out than he did before.
Then it's time for the seven woes. It's one of the harshest passages in Matthew's Gospel, and Marchiano really goes for it, yelling "You snakes. You Brood of Vipers", but with sadness and sorrow as much as with anger. If anything Marchiano is even madder here than Irazoqui is when he delivers this passage. Ultimately though it all ends in tears, as Jesus weeps over Jerusalem sat on the floor. Compositionally, whereas the confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisee in chapter 21 saw them on higher ground and him lower down, this time Jesus is higher, stood a top the steps in what is presumably meant to be the temple whilst the Pharisees look on from below. They have already started storming off, but somehow stay to hear the end of Jesus' words. The grumpy Pharisee is getting madder and madder, but the reactions vary amongst his compatriots. One older Pharisee even cowers at one point, shielding his face as Jesus launches a fresh tirade. Strong stuff.
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