David Cowles
Sep 1, 2024
“And so they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were filled with awe, while those who followed behind were afraid.”
Narrator: (Quoting Isaiah) “Here is my messenger whom I send ahead, a voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord; make straight his path’.”
Direction: As the Narrator is reciting Isaiah, the words are captioned in white letters across a black screen.
Scene #1: John is baptizing pilgrims in the waters of the River Jordan. Jesus approaches and is baptized.
Chorus (of 3): “This is my beloved son on whom my favor rests.”
Scene #2: Jesus is praying alone in the wilderness, wrestling with the temptations of Satan. Learning that John has been arrested, he enters Galilee, proclaiming the Good News to everyone, everywhere.
Jesus: “The kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe the good news.”
Scene #3: As he walks along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus recruits his first apostles, Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John, fishermen and merchants from the local bourgeoisie.
Jesus: “Come, I will make you fishers of men.”
Scene #4: On the Sabbath, Jesus enters the synagogue at Capernaum, the major city in the region, and teaches the rapt congregation with authority. (We don’t hear the specifics of the teaching.) As he is speaking, an obviously troubled man interrupts and exposes Jesus’ identity:
Chorus: “I know who you are, holy one of God.”
Jesus: “Silence! …Come out of him!”
Direction: Jesus is piqued at the interruption and at the untimely disclosure and, knowing it to be the work of demons, Jesus cures the man just to silence him, but it’s too late. He’s created a stir! It’s early days but already, things are not going as smoothly as expected.
Scene #5: Jesus takes refuge in Simon’s house where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law as well as others from the town. Before dawn, Jesus slips out, hoping to pray alone, but Simon et al. soon follow.
Scene #6: Now Jesus and his tiny band roam the hills of Galilee, sticking mainly to byways and speaking only in rural villages. Along the way, Jesus meets and cures a leper, and swears him to silence.
Jesus: “Show yourself only to the priest.”
Narrator: “But the man went out and made the whole story public, until Jesus could no longer show himself in any town. He was forced to remain in deserted places, but the people continued to come.”
Direction: The Gospel of Mark includes numerous instances of Jesus performing miracles, usually swearing his beneficiaries to silence that they often break. We have staged a few of these miracles but the Director should feel free to stage additional miracle stories from the Gospel as she sees fit.
Scene #7: Jesus and his disciples are walking through a corn field; it happens to be the Sabbath. The scene suggests Van Gogh’s Wheatfield with Crows. The apostles are picking, peeling and eating ears of corn.
Chorus: “Why do they do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”
Jesus: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is sovereign, even over the Sabbath.”
Narrator: “So the Pharisees began plotting against him with the partisans of King Herod to see how they could do away with him…Then Jesus went up into the hill country and called the men he wanted, and they joined him. In all, he appointed 12 to be his companions.”
Scene #8: As Jesus and his followers continued on their way, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach:
Jesus: “Nothing is hidden unless it is to be disclosed, the measure you give is the measure you will receive…and more besides. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds…Once sown, it grows taller than any other plant and forms branches so large that birds can settle in its shade.”
Scene #9, Narrator: “Once more, a crowd has gathered around Jesus so that he’s had no chance to eat. His family set out to take charge of him for people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind. When his mother and his brothers arrive, they remain outside and send a message into Jesus.”
Chorus: “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”
Direction: Jesus is mortified at being summoned home for supper as if he were a little child. Angry, he looks for an opportunity to regain lost dignity.
Jesus: “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?... Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother.”
Direction: But the damage has been done.
Chorus: “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?
Narrator: “So he could no longer work miracles there…he was taken aback by their lack of faith.”
Jesus: Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.
Direction: Here for the first time a map of the region appears on the screen. As the film continues, the map reappears and Jesus’ movements are tracked.
Map: Jesus travels across the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida on the northern shore to the Decapolis, a group of 10 Greek speaking towns on the Southeastern shore.
Scene #10, Narrator: “As Jesus stepped ashore, a man possessed by demons, who cut himself with stones, came up to him.”
Jesus: “Come out of this man!”
Narrator: “Now there happened to be a large herd of pigs nearby. The demons went into the pigs and the herd rushed over the cliff, into the lake, and drowned, and the spectators begged Jesus to leave the area.”
Scene #11, Narrator: “So Jesus crossed back over to Gailee. Upon his arrival, Jairus, the leader of a local synagogue, approached him.”
Jarius: “My little daughter is at death’s door. I beg you, ‘Come, lay hands on her, cure her, save her life’.”
Jesus sets out but midway, messengers arrive.
Chorus: “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Rabbi further?”
Jesus: “Do not be afraid. Only have faith.”
Narrator: “He allowed only Peter, James and John to accompany him to the leader’s house where there was a great commotion with loud crying and wailing.”
Jesus: “Why this wailing? The child is not dead, she is asleep.” (Chorus laughs derisively.) “Get up my child,” and she rises.
Scene #12, Narrator: “They set off secretly by boat, searching for an isolated place. But when he came ashore, Jesus saw a great crowd.”
Chorus: “This is a lonely place, and it is getting very late. Send the people off to the farms and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”
Jesus: “Give them something to eat yourselves. How many loaves have you?”
Chorus: “Five loaves, and two fish as well.”
Narrator: “Jesus took the five loaves, looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples to distribute. He also divided up the fish. Those who ate numbered 5,000 and they ate to their hearts’ content. 12 large baskets full of scraps were gathered up at the end.
“Then Jesus left this place and went to the territory of Tyre.”
Map: Jesus route to Lebanon (Tyre), 50 miles northeast, a 3 day journey at that time.
“He found a house to stay in and would have liked to remain there unrecognized, but that was impossible. On his return, he went by way of Sidon and the Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee…”
Map: Jesus’ route through Lebanon, Syria and Jordan is incredibly circuitous. He ends up back at the Sea of Galilee but now he is back on the Eastern Shore. Emphasis should be placed on how much distance Jesus keeps between himself and his native Galilee.
Scene #13, Narrator: “…There Jesus fed another 4,000 pilgrims with 7 loaves and several fish; this time 7 baskets of scraps were collected.”
Direction: The disciples are murmuring among themselves. They appear bewildered.
Jesus: “Do you still not understand? Are your minds closed? When I broke the 5 loaves among the 5000, how many baskets full of scraps did you gather?”
Chorus: “Twelve.”
Direction: Here the map can morph or flip into a blackboard/whiteboard. As the Narrator speaks, the following image gradually appears on the screen:
‘5 loaves/5000 people →12 baskets’
Jesus: “And how many when I broke the 7 loaves among the 4,000?
Chorus: “Seven.”
‘7 loaves/4000 people → 7 baskets’
Jesus (exasperated): “Do you still not understand?”
Direction: Tensions are clearly on the rise. Jesus is testy, the disciples are squabbling among themselves, and everyone is growing restless.
Chorus: “We have left everything to become your followers.”
Jesus: “There is no one who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake who will not receive 100 times as much…and eternal life.”
Direction: But like Washington at Valley Forge, Jesus realizes he can wait no longer. He must act…or risk losing his followers. It’s now…or never!
Jesus: “Now we are going to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be given up to the chief priests and the doctors of the law. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the occupiers. He will be mocked, spat upon, flogged and killed; but three days later, he will rise again!”
Narrator: “And so they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were filled with awe, while those who followed behind were afraid.”
Director’s Note: This scene should be staged to suggest Kerouac’s On the Road, Ken Kesey’s ‘Merry Pranksters’, etc. As they proceed, crosses may barely be seen punctuating the far distant skyline.
Curtain
David Cowles is the founder and editor-in-chief of Aletheia Today Magazine. He lives with his family in Massachusetts where he studies and writes about philosophy, science, theology, and scripture. He can be reached at dtc@gc3incorporated.com
