It is challenging to choose one book by Kazantzakis. This book’s merit is that the internal struggle between flesh and spirit (evil, selfishness – good, brotherhood, sympathy, compassion) is not presented as a dichotomy but rather as a decision to follow the path God has destined (“The doors of heaven and hell are adjacent and identical".
Even though it is based on the Gospels, the novel proposes Jesus as a human character, in constant tension. There is no heroism in him; instead, he is a plain man haunted by his Mission. At the very last minute, he even fantasizes about escaping his fate and living a “normal” life away from the burden of being the redeemer of humanity.
Every man and woman have their own struggle, and Kazantzakis remarks the need to fight the enemy inside each one of us: “If the soul within us does not change, Judas, the world outside us will never change. The enemy is within, the Romans are within, salvation starts from within!”
It is also remarkable the treatment of Judas’ betrayal. The Bible proposes him as a traitor, as a symbol of evil, as Jesus’ counterpart. Kazantzakis, instead, portrays Judas as one of the principal personages for redemption. In one of the dialogues with him, Judas asks: “If you had to betray your master, would you do it?”. Jesus’ reply is one of the most moving scenes in the book: “No, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to. That is why God pitied me and gave me the easier task: to be crucified.”
Kazantzakis was born in Crete under the Ottoman Empire. He always fought for Greek independence and against all forms of imperialism, and that does not escape this book: “Love is not unarmed,” said Jesus, looking at the centurion’s cold blue eyes, his freshly shaven cheeks, and fat, short-fingered hands. ‘Love too makes war and runs to the assault.’”
Aesthetically, it is an exquisite text (as all of Kazantzakis’ works); this statement from Report to Greco (2012) summarizes it all: "Beauty is merciless. You do not look at it; it looks at you and does not forgive" .
Ps.: There is a well-known movie by Martin Scorsese that does not measure up, but it is still highly recommendable.