We often ask what it would look like if Jesus were among us now. How would people respond? Would they follow him? Ignore him? Cancel him? Testament, a new TV series from Angel Studios, takes that question and runs with it—not by retelling Jesus’ life, but by dropping the Book of Acts into a world that looks a lot like ours.
The show doesn’t just update the costumes or settings. It imagines an alternate present where the early church forms under political pressure, public suspicion, and spiritual hunger. And it turns out Acts has a lot to say to our moment.
The story begins at Pentecost—here called Shavuot—as the Holy Spirit falls on the apostles in their “upper apartment.” What follows is familiar if you know Acts: public preaching, baptisms (some in swimming pools), and a growing community of believers meeting in homes and public spaces. But the world around them feels both modern and strange. There are cars and trains but no smartphones. Money comes in bars, not coins. Soldiers wear red armour like something from a dystopian movie. The vibe of the series is somewhere between Children of Men and The Hunger Games.
This mix of ancient and new can feel jarring at times, but that’s part of the point. The show doesn’t aim for historical accuracy. It wants to bring out the emotional and spiritual reality of what those early believers went through—and make us think about what it would mean for us today.
And it works.
The show’s lead character is Stephen (Charles Beaven), one of the first followers of Jesus who never actually met him. That becomes a major theme. Stephen wonders how he can believe in—or risk his life for—a man he never saw with his own eyes. That’s a question many modern Christians ask too. It gives the show weight and immediacy.
At the same time, the apostles are adjusting to life without Jesus physically present. In one scene, John slips away to Gethsemane and tells Jesus how much he misses him. Peter, when visited by an angel in prison, asks if he’s being taken back to Jesus. “No,” the angel replies—he’s being sent back out. Back into danger. Back into mission.
That back-and-forth between grief and purpose, absence and presence, feels true to the Christian life. We don’t see Jesus face to face, but we are still sent.
Testament doesn’t just retell well-known stories. It pays attention to the smaller details that most other adaptations skip over. Saul (later Paul) has a sister and nephew (see Acts 23:16–22), and here we actually meet them—Eliza and her son Asher. The show builds real family relationships, adding depth to the unfolding conflict between Saul and the early church.
We also see the power struggle among the religious authorities. Caiaphas, the chief minister, is irritated when talk of Jesus resurfaces at Pentecost. “I thought this was over,” he mutters—highlighting how little time had actually passed between Easter and Acts 2. It’s a small detail, but one that adds realism.
There’s also a moment where Stephen brings a disabled beggar, Caleb, to be healed—and he is. But Caleb isn’t thrilled to be caught in the crossfire of a religious revolution. His reluctance to become a follower, even after a miracle, gives Stephen—and us—something to wrestle with.
The show does make some interpretive choices that won’t work for everyone. For instance, it downplays how the church’s diversity grew over time in Acts—from Hebrew-speaking Jews, to Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists), to Samaritans, to Gentiles. Here, the community is multiethnic from the start. It’s a nice picture, but it skips over a key part of the book’s story arc.
Still, the series respects the biblical material. It doesn’t rush. It doesn’t flatten the complexity. And it doesn’t shy away from difficult stories—like the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, who are struck down after lying about their donation (Acts 5). That scene is handled with care and seriousness.
There are also some clever Easter eggs for Bible readers. A temple guard named Mara goes undercover as “Naomi,” flipping the names used in Ruth 1:20. And when the Sadducees mock Pharisee Gamaliel about switching sides, he replies, “Maybe in the next life”—a dry joke about their disagreement over the resurrection (Acts 23:6–8).
At its heart, Testament is about what it means to live in a world where Jesus has come, but isn’t physically here. Where the Spirit moves, but we still face resistance. Where faith often means trusting the words of others—just like Stephen did.
Acts isn’t a dusty history book. It’s the story of the church learning how to be the body of Christ in a hostile world. It’s our story, too.
And Testament reminds us that the question isn’t just “What would Jesus do if he were here now?” It’s “What are we doing, now that he is risen and the Spirit is with us?”
That question still matters. Maybe more than ever.
All eight episodes of Testament are currently available on the Angel Studios platform.
