Just yesterday I was reading in Acts where the Lord told Ananias to go and visit Saul/Paul. This sounded so downright bizarre to Ananias, though in the middle of a divine visitation and the wow that experience must be, he's so thrown by it he actually questions the Lord. God's way seemed foolish to Ananias. But I love the Lord's response, "Go!" - the exclamation point not added by me but within the text itself.

And I'll tell you, what could be more foolish than a struggling actor who few people had ever heard of, and a director from the southern tip of Africa. I mean, why not Daniel Day Lewis or Andy Garcia, or any number of guys who fit the picture and have skills and a name that would draw the world's attention. Why not Steven Spielberg to direct, or James Cameron, or again, any number of internationally acclaimed and celebrated directors. I mean, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the greatest story ever, ever, ever. Let's get a couple of Academy Award winners in here, for crying out loud!

But if there's one phrase that could sum up the entire 'Matthew' production, it is that phrase, 'the foolish things of the world.' Yes, the Lord built it entirely with blocks that appear foolish, me being the most foolish. And here's the thing gang - so that no man could claim or be given the glory, but only He, the living God, oh praise to His wondrous name!

Last week I had dinner with the director, Regard Van den Berg, out here in L.A., then took him to the airport to catch a flight back home to Cape Town. It was most everything we talked about - how utterly 'foolish' it all was, and in that, how utterly magnificent and evident the Lord was. Everything from choosing me to play Jesus to the Moroccan villagers we used for bit roles who, even if they could speak English, were so nervous they could barely make an intelligible sound. Oh how we laughed and laughed, and lifted praise to our remarkable Father.

I'll never forget in that first week of filming, doing the scene where Jesus heals the boy with a demon (Matthew 17:14-18). I don't remember the guy's name that we used to play the boy's father, but he was one of the Moroccan crew leaders and he had a great look for the role. But best of all, he was one of the few Moroccans who spoke fluent English, so Regardt chose him for this scene as it had a good amount of dialogue.

Well, this guy learned that dialogue like a real pro, and when we walked through the scene for camera, he was spot on, word for word, bingo, every time. But when we settled down for that first take, Regardt called, "Action," and this guy looked in my face and said something along the lines of, "Lord, have mercy on my son! He has often fire often water falls fire disciples."

I'm telling you, I'm not exaggerating in the least - in fact, it was probably more convoluted than that. The poor guy was so incredibly nervous, I remember his face was shaking like a leaf as I cradled it in my hands, and his eyes were frozen like two little bb's.

And oh, how the crew enjoyed it! They all knew him and as you could imagine, they just exploded in laughter for the longest time. The poor guy just stood there mortified. And it happened again, and again, take after take, more nervous with each one, butchering the lines even more each time. It was hilarious, and what a challenge it was for me to just hang on and maintain some shred of concentration.

And he never did get it right. With the clock ticking and the schedule already impossible, we just had to trust God, take what we got , and move on, thinking to dub his voice in the studio. So when you watch the scene and you see that close-up of me staring intently into this man's face, know that what I was really hearing in the moment was, "He often fire often water disciple often - come!"

But that's just a tiny example of how 'on-a-limb' we were out there all the time. And then there's me quaking inside at the enormity of the whole thing, confident only in that I was walking in a purpose the Lord had for me, but so aware of my lack of qualification to walk it. I'll tell you, if there was one thing both Regardt and I knew out there, and again, we just laughed so hard about this the other night, it was that we had nothing to offer God in this endeavor except our begging Him in prayer - and I mean, begging Him - to take us in His mighty grip, and provide, and lead, and dictate, and somehow through the stumbling of our best efforts, unfold the fullness of His Son for the people to see and understand, to draw close to and rejoice in, to be set free and abide in - Jesus!

Yes, it was in complete foolishness that 'Matthew' was born. And what an awesome privilege it was to be so included. So much so that here I am several years later and it still takes my breath away and sends me to my knees in astonishment. "Oh, thank You, Father. All I can think to say is thank You. " Praise, praise, praise to the mighty, living, and everlasting God!

Go To Top
         
Filming "Matthew" was such a magnificent spiritual adventure... But I'll tell you, it was an incredible travel adventure as well.

Before 'Matthew,' I'd barely been out of California, but then here I was with my feet on Moroccan soil. I could hardly believe it was happening!

I remember looking hard out the airplane window as I flew from Zurich to Casablanca, straining to catch my first glimpse of the African continent. When I finally saw it, it took my breath away. You must understand, through all the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom shows I'd feasted on as a kid, Africa was one exotic beyond exotic place that I'd never dreamed of actually seeing.

But there it was, and before I knew it I was on the ground strolling through third world marketplaces, talking with people I'd only seen in the pages of National Geographic. It was like walking through a dream.

Have you ever seen a hill of fly-covered sheep's heads with a price sign above them? I have, and the locals were scooping them up like they were going out of style.

How about a man stuffing a goat into the trunk of his car? Yep, I saw it. He'd just purchased the poor kid (pun fully intended), and had to get him home somehow, I guess.

And then there's the day we were filming in the desert. Standing high on a mound, I saw a puff of dust far in the distance. I peeked through the camera's long lens and couldn't believe my eyes - there across the expanse of sand and sun, a camel caravan crossing from somewhere I couldn't see to somewhere else I couldn't see. It was like looking back in time, and it was incredible. Day after eye-popping day - incredible.

In the above photo, Bruce Rudnick, 'Matthew' production designer, Matthew Roberts, the actor who played young Matthew, and myself, enjoy a day of shopping alongside the locals in a Quarzazate marketplace. Can you believe it?!

         

The entire day, through all the brutality I was experiencing, all I could think was 1) as terrible as this is, it's nothing compared to Jesus 2000 years ago, and 2) He did it for me. He did it for me. For me!

What a thing to consider - what a thing to be slapped in the face with - the reality, as opposed to the religion - of the cross of Jesus Christ. I will never forget the mutilation I felt in my face. I will never forget the hell of being tossed and kicked around by the 'Roman Soldiers.' I will never forget hanging from that crossbeam and counting the seconds till they took me down.

It was terrible beyond description. And I was just faking it. I remember having my make-up touched up over and over (photo above) by our make-up artist, Colin. He was so gentle and respectful. And then there's Bruce Rudnick. He stood by me through the entire ordeal (above photo, background right), praying for me, reading me Scripture after Scripture.

I would look out from the cross that day and see many people weeping - cast, crew, bystanders, Moroccan extras. In fact, I remember one Moroccan extra pulling me aside and saying, "I cried for you today."

Buster, our second unit cameraman rose from his eyepiece and began to bark at director, Regardt, that what we were doing was wrong. He would say, "We can't show Jesus like this!" Regardt would reply, "But that's the way it was, Buster, and we're not even coming close."

I could go on and on with stories of what it was like that day, but suffice it to say, it was terrible. All the way around, terrible.

I remember when it was all done, back in my hotel room, standing in the bathtub as Colin removed the make-up from my face and body. It took him over an hour, and when he was finished, my skin felt like it had been peeled raw.

Jesus, and what he did for the likes of me. Jesus!

Go To Top
         
On the humorous side, as you know, for the first half of filming, we worked in rural Morocco. Well, you can imagine there were some interesting challenges in that, the language barrier for one (another was bathroom facilities, but we won't get into that . . . well, maybe later if I get brave . . . .). /p>

But there was one afternoon when we were filming Jesus healing the paralytic man. I remember we were in this gorgeous little village - it had probably been there for 1000 years - and as was his custom, Regardt hired locals as extras to fill out the crowds that were following Jesus. Unemployment in Morocco is out of sight, so the people were more than thrilled to make a day's wage.

So the cameras rolled and the paralytic man was miraculously healed ("Take up your mat and go home." Can you imagine?!). After the healing was securely in the can, it was time to turn the camera around for a shot of the crowd reacting to the healing. Regardt arranged all the villagers the way he wanted, instructed them through Moody, his Moroccan first assistant director, then yelled, "Action." Nothing. Nothing at all. The entire group stood there, stone-faced and frozen, like cardboard figures. Regardt cut the scene. He explained to Moody that he needed them to explode in joy and excitement at what they have just seen - a paralyzed man walking! He got ready for a second take, yelled another, "Action!" Again, nothing.

I don't know what the problem was - it was dead winter in Morocco and very cold that day, so perhaps they were not just acting frozen but actually frozen! I don't know, but I tend to think they just got so frightened with that big lens staring straight at them, they clammed up. But after take three, and four, and five, and, and, and . . . . it was all getting simultaneously hilarious and strenuous. We had a full day ahead of us and we were getting deeper and deeper into a time crunch.

Well, I just happened to be standing next to the camera in costume, and for some reason I had a wild-hair thought. Regardt rolled the camera again and I started dancing around like an absolute idiot in an effort to get a reaction out of them - any reaction. It worked - they all started laughing and pointing and clapping each other on the back and in the context of the paralytic being healed, when edited together it all looked perfect. Praise God.

But what I didn't know was that the still photographer, Robbie Botha was looking on through the zoom lens of his Nikon. He caught every moment of my shameless display, and here it is for you and all the world to have a good laugh at my expense.

Enjoy!
Glory to Jesus!

Go To Top