The Last Temptation of Christ

Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis, the Greek novelist has tried to re-create the life and times of Jesus Christ from the gospels and his imagination. He tried to strike a balance between the divine and the human.

He portrays, Jesus, the son of the Carpenter as a Cross maker in the beginning of his younger days, who made cross for the Roman authorities who ruled Israel, for crucifying his own people. The People of Nazareth were cursing him. But he considers it as his duty and God’s will, and executing the God’s will. He considers himself only as an instrument of God.

One day he decides to set out of his home in search of truth. He wanted to go to a distant Monastery in the desert. On the way he meets Mary of Magdalena who was his child hood friend and now taken to the profession of prostitution due to his rejection. He met her to ask her forgiveness and proceeds his journey to the desert.

From the Monastery he returns as an acetic, wearing a white robe walking on bare feet. He comes back to Nazareth, mounts Calvary and tries to give a sermon. There was a strong opposition for the Public and a man called Zebedee. But Judas comes to his rescue. The novelist has portrayed Judas as a strong character, who was working for the freedom of Israel from Romans, even by violent means, Judas is a member of a secret sect who wanted have an armed rebellion against Romans.

Judas asks Jesus whether he is truly the Messiah, the son of God. They wanted to Clarify the matter with John the Baptist. So, Jesus, Judas and his other disciples such as John, Andrew etc. starts a journey to River Jordan in Search of John the Baptist. Jesus had a meeting with John the Baptist and it was told that John has accepted his as his successor and baptizes him in River Jordan.

Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and further he wanted to go alone to desert in search of God. He went desert and had a communion with God and returns. On his way he back he takes the hospitality of the family of Lazarus, where he come to know about the murder of John of the Baptist by the ruler Herod at the instance of his Step daughter Salome.

Jesus met his disciples again and continues his journey He saves Mary of Magdalena from the frenzy of a crowd who wanted to kill her by stone Pelting and Orders “He who is without sin can cast the first stone “. He commissions Mathew to write the account of his preaching and declares himself as the Son of the Man and prophesies about the imminent advent of Kingdom of God.

Finally, he tries to clean the Temple of Jerusalem from the evil of commercialization which leads to his trial and Crucifixion . In Th Cross he had vision of his temptations and realizes that it was only a hallucination, the novelist up held the greatness of his sacrifice.

Kazantzakis tries to portray the life and times of Christ, balancing the human and divine elements and there may be many disagreements to his approach.