Jesus Video
First edition cover
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| Author | Andreas Eschbach |
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| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Genre | Mystery Thriller |
| Publisher | Schneekluth |
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Publication date
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1998 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 608 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | |
Jesus Video is a 1998 novel by German writer Andreas Eschbach. Its plot revolves around the search for a hidden video camera that is believed to hold digital footage of Jesus made by a time traveller.
The book had very limited success as a hardcover and only became a bestseller after being re-released under the title Das Jesus Video in paperback. In 1999 it won the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis in the German Novel category.
A combination prequel and sequel novel with the German title Der Jesus-Deal was published in 2014.
During an archaeological dig in Israel, American college student Stephen Cornelius Foxx discovers the remains of a man who seemingly died about two thousand years ago. Among the dead man's belongings is a small linen bag that holds the user manual for a digital video camera. Foxx and his mentor, Professor Wilford-Smith, later find out that this particular model will not be released by its producer, Sony, for another three years. Soon they begin to speculate that the dead man may have been a time traveller from the future, who went back in time to film a significant event two millennia ago—and of course, the most significant thing to film during that era was Jesus Christ.
Media magnate John Kaun, the financier of the dig, initiates a search for the camera, which seems to be hidden at an unknown location. Stephen, however, wants to find it on his own, with help from fellow student Judith Menez and her brother, Yehoshuah. A race for the Jesus Video begins, and soon becomes more dangerous than anyone imagined, as the Roman Catholic Church is doing all in its power to keep the video from going public.
Stephen and Judith eventually find the camera, which they discover has been guarded by a secret order of monks for centuries, but are unable to access its memory because the batteries are empty. As the military and the Vatican's agents follow them, they flee into the desert, where they eventually succumb to the heat.
The two young people are saved by John Kaun and Professor Wilford-Smith, who treat them and reactivate the camera. However, at that moment Father Scarfaro and other agents of the Church show up, take the camera, and destroy it. Scarfaro explains that if Jesus had lived today, he would only have been a troublemaker, as he was in his own time, and it would be the Church allegedly founded on his teachings who would try him.
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Wikipedia