Reformed Reflections
"The muse descended and so was created Jesus Christ Superstar."?
People are becoming more interested in Jesus Christ than ever before. Just a few years ago, God was supposed to be dead. The death of God fad did not last very long. Only a few theologians still discuss the death of their object for study. There is now a renewed interest in religion and this will continue and expand. Jesus is in . Many people talk and sing about Him. Young people especially are intrigued by Him. The Jesus movement is still growing. And you have of course people who capitalize on the popular mood that is curious about and even fascinated with Jesus Christ.
Several years ago, Tim Rice and Andrew Webber wrote and composed the rock opera Superstar, that became a three million selling double album. It turned into a monstrous Broadway success, sold out through the winter months. In this Broadway hit, directed and conceived by Tom O'Horgan of "Hair" fame, Jesus Christ provides the theater with a bizarre spectacle. It is a fantasy dreamed up by the composer and author. Jesus is seen through the eyes of Judas the betrayer. The show's most provocative theme is:
He's a man - he's just a man
He's not a king - he's Just the same
As anyone I know.
Gaudy costuming, the glitter and the light effects make the show vulgar. What is vulgarity? It is for instance, according to Webster, "seating a chimpanzee at a formal dinner." The most dramatic scene in the spectacle is Jesus rising from the stage floor in a hidden elevator, wearing a $20,000.00 glittering robe.
They haven't used so much lam since Liberace. Jesus Christ Superstar? In the theater they see a super hoax!
Where do we learn of Jesus? Who is He? He is only what the Bible says He is. We must go there to discover Jesus. Who is Jesus? The Bible says that He is the Son of the living God. He came to the world in meekness, without pomp., glitter or show. He lived for others. He died for the sin of all who believe. There is no cheap drama in His life, ministry and death. He rose again from the dead and is now in heaven with God His Father.
He will come again not as Superstar but as Judge and Saviour. He will usher in the new heaven and earth.
The Bible emphasizes the humanity and the deity of Christ. He is the Christ, the Son of Man, who wept at the grave of His friend Lazarus. He is the Christ, the Son of God, who called His friend from the grave, who forgave sins, and sinned not, though He was tempted like every man, Who is Jesus? "(In) these days God has spoken to us through His Son to whom He has given everything, and through whom He made the world and everything there is. God's Son shines out with God's glory, and all that God's Son is and does marks Him as God. He regulates the universe by the mighty power of His command. He is the one who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down in highest honour beside the great God of heaven." (Hebrews 1:2,3, Living New Testament)
Johan D, Tangelder
January, 1972
