Jesus (voiced by Matt Stone) is a character based on the biblical Jesus. On South Park, Jesus had his own public-access television cable TV show called Jesus and Pals. He was killed while fighting Iraqis during an attempt to rescue Santa on Christmas Eve in the episode "Red Sleigh Down." This was his last major role on the show until he was resurrected five years later in the eleventh season episode "Fantastic Easter Special".
He is portrayed as represented in Christian thought—i.e., he is the Son of God, has numerous miraculous powers (including prophecy, healing and resurrection), as well as the ability to fly and expert carpentry skills. He tells people to do good things and they will go to heaven but many church people go to Hell making Jesus moot. The exact nature of his abilities varies from episode to episode—for example, "Super Best Friends" portrays some of his most famous miracles as farces, despite still having basic powers, while in "Fantastic Easter Special," he claims to only have his powers after being killed and resurrected, so he makes Kyle kill him so he can save the Easter bunny.
Jesus is usually portrayed as being calm and self-assured, being kind and peaceable to everyone; nevertheless, he often acts more typical of South Park characters. He is often seen, for example, fighting villains, and while inept at it in "Damien", he later is shown ("Red Sleigh Down," "Fantastic Easter Special" and "Imaginationland Episode III") as being very skilled with guns, swords and a glaive (in "Imaginationland III" he leads the charge of the good imaginary characters into battle.) He makes a cameo as a soldier in South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut, implying that he's on the American side. He is also a member of the Super Best Friends, a group of religious figures who fight against the forces of evil (except for Buddha, who doesn't believe in evil).
In the Jesus vs. Frosty short which started South Park, the boys make a snowman which comes to life after they put a hat on him. The snowman kills Cartman and Kenny and even poses as Santa. Stan and Kyle are the only ones left and seek help from a baby Jesus who comes alive from a Nativity Scene and knocks Frosty's hat off. In Jesus vs. Santa, Jesus arrives from Heaven to seek retribution. He wants to get rid of Santa once and for all since people don't see Christmas as Jesus's birthday anymore. With help from Brian Boitano, the boys tell Jesus that Santa is keeping his birthday alive and they tell Santa if it wasn't for Jesus there wouldn't be a Christmas. At that point, both Santa and Jesus apologized to each other, and Jesus decided to offer Santa an orange smoothie, which Santa likes. Some footage from this short was used in the episode "A Very Crappy Christmas".
Before his second death, Jesus hosted a television talk show called Jesus and Pals on South Park public-access television cable TV. Jesus would often receive on-air calls from guests, and would be depicted as reluctant to respond to questions regarding issues such as homosexuality, euthanasia and his own crucifixion. In the episode "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka", Jesus's show entered a ratings war with Jimbo Kern and Ned Gerblansky's hunting program Huntin' and Killin'. The show's producer, in an attempt to increase ratings, fabricates controversy between guests, and Jesus and Pals turns into a Jerry Springer-style farce. During live production of the face-off between Ned and Jimbo vs. the children on Jesus and Pals, the guests and audience breakout into a brawl. It led to a huge fight until Jesus discovered what happened, and sent his producer to Hell. In Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut, when Mr. Garrison asks "who here hasn't had sex with Mrs. Cartman," Jesus and Priest Maxi exchange uncomfortable glances, implying that he, like most everyone else in South Park, has at some point had a relationship with Cartman's mother.
In the Imaginationland-trilogy he is depicted as "one of the most revered fictional characters". To add to the confusion: in previous "South Park" episodes Jesus interacted in real life with other South Park citizens, just like Santa Claus who is also shown in the "Imaginationland" episodes as a fictional character. Other famous religious icons such as Moses, Ganesha, Buddha, Joseph Smith and God are also shown as citizens of Imaginationland.
Despite the subject material, the South Park iteration of Jesus was absent from the episode "The Passion of the Jew," an eighth season episode dealing with Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ and the various responses to the film from the four principal characters as well as the rest of the town itself.
Read more about this topic: List Of Recurring South Park Characters
Famous quotes containing the word jesus:
“I allude to these facts to show that, so far from the Supper being a tradition in which men are fully agreed, there has always been the widest room for difference of opinion upon this particular. Having recently given particular attention to this subject, I was led to the conclusion that Jesus did not intend to establish an institution for perpetual observance when he ate the Passover with his disciples; and further, to the opinion that it is not expedient to celebrate it as we do.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 1:10.