What Was Wrong with Jesus Christ Superstar?

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical has been popular ever since its debut in 1970, from Broadway to going on tour, several films and a live concert version that aired Easter Sunday on NBC.

In case the mainstream success of Superstar is not a dead giveaway, the theology is a blasphemous mess. It comes across as a story told from the perspective of Judas, who opens and closes the opera with the first and last numbers, but even Mary Magdalene refers to Jesus as just a man.

There is nothing miraculous or even caring about this Jesus. When the sick come to him for healing, he gets angry and tells them to leave him alone. When his disciples ask him about the future, he's annoyed and says he doesn't know.

The False Portrayal of the Last Supper and Gethsemane

At the last supper, he tells them, for all you care, this wine could be my blood. For all you care, this bread could be my body. In his prayer in the garden, Jesus says he's uninspired and doesn't understand his purpose.

He says being a martyr would be better, so he tells God, take me now before I change my mind. And then he dies and becomes a superstar, but doesn't rise from the dead. As lyricist Tim Rice said, it happens that we don't see Christ as God, but simply the right man at the right time at the right place.

The Gospel of Christ: Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection

The Bible says that when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, Jesus, to seek and save the lost and redeem them by his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Whoever believes this gospel will be forgiven their sins and have eternal life.

Whoever does not believe will not be saved, but the wrath of God remains on them. Accept no imitation when we understand the text.