This animated movie is presented by The Voice of the Martyrs and distributed by Vision Video. As of Easter 2021, it can also be rented or bought on Amazon. It was formerly entitled Jesus: He Lived Among Us. Then the animation was enhanced and the title changed to God With Us. It has been translated into 14 other languages, besides English. From the audio selections you may choose English, Spanish, Turkish, Bosnian, Dutch, Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Hindi, Bangla (Muslim or Traditional) or Urdu. On the DVD, subtitles from 12 different languages can be selected, including English, Spanish, Finnish, Albanian, Azerbaijani, Tartar, Georgian, Tajik, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, or Serbian.
​The story is told through the eyes of the apostle John. It begins with John imprisoned in his old age. His opening words about the importance of his story are very meaningful. He begins telling the story of Jesus, beginning with the circumstances of Jesus’ birth and the fact that He was “God with us.” The story shows John the Baptist speaking powerfully before Jesus’ ministry is introduced, the baptism of Jesus, and God’s voice confirming Jesus’ Sonship. Then it vividly covers the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness just before His ministry begins.

The children watching will then see the calling of the disciples. The miracles performed by Jesus are well portrayed. His teachings are clearly stated. The antagonism of the Pharisees pops up early in the portrayal of His ministry. Their determination not to believe in Jesus is clearly shown.

In keeping with the heart of The Voice of the Martyrs, the cost the disciples paid in leaving behind their lives is brought out. The antagonism of the Pharisees evolves into attempting to destroy Jesus’ ministry by trying to trap Him with trick questions. Nicodemus’ opposition to the rest of the Pharisees’ position and his visit to Jesus at night to inquire about salvation is shown.

Jesus begins to reveal his imminent death to His disciples. The story shows that some of the people who followed after Jesus began to turn away because what they really wanted was an earthly king.

Next the story moves on to the final week before the crucifixion. Jesus’ stern condemnation of the Pharisees and His sorrow over their rejection of Him is displayed.

Then comes the Last Supper and the betrayal by Judas. Jesus predicts Peter’s denial. He sweats drops of blood as He prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Then He is arrested. John, in his younger days, goes to observe the trials of Jesus. The disciples are devastated. Judas confesses to the Jewish leaders, to no avail, that he has betrayed an innocent man. He is then shown hanging from a tree.

While Jesus stands before the crowd with lacerations on His body, the crowd demands that Jesus be crucified. Jesus trudges to the hill where He will be crucified. While He is nailed to the cross, the passage about Jesus being “pierced for our transgressions,” from Isaiah 53:4-6, is quoted. Thunder and lightning ensue, and the veil of the temple tears in half.

After Jesus’ death, He emerges from the tomb while Roman soldiers look on. Mary breaks the news to the disciples that Jesus is alive.

The elderly John completes the story. Jesus appears to the disciples. He says’ “Blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

The story then reverts back to John imprisoned. Emphasizing again the theme of The Voice of the Martyrs series, the writers have John explain that he is the only one of the disciples who was not martyred. He says he cannot deny what he has seen with his own eyes. He ends by asking “Now that you have seen the story, what will you believe?”

In this presentation the animation is nicely done, the dramatic voices are effective, and the characters are interpreted well. This animated movie is said to be designed for ages 7 and up. I believe there may be some children under the age of 9 who may not be quite ready for the emphasis on martyrdom. The movie lasts 90 minutes, but the time seems to go by quickly.

If you wanted to make an intermission, a good place to stop would be right after the Jewish leaders give Judas 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus and Jesus then enters Jerusalem with the crowd waving branches. Hit the “stop” button right after a man asks who He is, a woman answers “It’s Jesus—Jesus of Nazareth,” and another man asks, “The miracle worker?” Then when you start it up again, it will resume with the Jewish leaders saying that “the situation is getting seriously out of hand.” That would make the first segment about 50 minutes and the second about 40 minutes. The Triumphal Entry, which we celebrate on Palm Sunday, would fall at the end of the first part.

If it works out better for you, you could show the first part of God With Us on Palm Sunday weekend and the second part on Easter weekend. To access the scene where you want to resume via the scene selection, highlight scenes 8-14 and hit “Enter.” When scenes 8-14 are pictured, highlight the second scene (Scene #9 showing Jesus pointing). If it has been a while since you showed Part 1, you may want to go back to Scene #8 (depicted by a picture of Nicodemus). That will take you back to Nicodemus’ visits to Jesus.

Below is a trailer to show you the quality of the animated movie called God With Us.

Videos suggested at the end of this video are not necessarily endorsed by this website