"By this time tomorrow, I'll be in Jerusalem for the Passover." "Don't rub it in." "And when nighttime comes" "I know." "I know." "You'll stretch out in one of your friends' feather beds." "I said that before, huh?" "About 10 times in the last hour." "You should come." "When it's Passover, you almost forget we're ruled by filthy Romans." "Now, that wasn't very nice." "What do you want?" "You're short on taxes." "We'll take it in grain." "We paid our taxes!" "[gasps" "I could have you killed for that." "Do it now, because when the Messiah comes, that's it for you..." "All of you!" "[all laugh" "I keep hearing about this Messiah, but somehow He just never shows up." "Soldier:" "You there!" "[gasps" "Carry this. [chuckles" "My horse is tired." "The law says I can make you carry it for one mile." "[horse whinnies" "You carry it, or I'll whip you like a dog!" "[laughs" "I don't know how much longer" "I can take it, Nicodemus." "Patience, Cleopas." "The Romans won't be with us forever." "When the Messiah comes" "Sometimes I wonder if there really will be a Messiah." "The Messiah shall say," ""He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the meek." "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to open the prison of those that are bound."" "I pray to see that day." "Let's get some sleep." "Tomorrow we'll go to the temple bright and early." "Man:" "Coins!" "Coins!" "Change your coins!" "These lambs are so expensive." "If you can't afford mine, go someplace else." "man:" "Fine pottery!" "Happy Passover, Amos." "Eber." "Not too happy." "We've been assigned to keep our eye on the troublemaker." "His followers claim he's the Messiah." "Can you believe that?" "A carpenter from Galilee, the Messiah?" "You can't use foreign money here." "Go to the money changers!" "One shekel for 5 of your coins." "That is not fair!" "Take it or leave it." "This house is a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves." "I've never seen such power." "Who is he?" "What did he say his name was?" "Jesus just healed a crippled child!" "Receive your sight." "I... can... see!" "He's the Messiah!" "How dare you upset the temple." "You'll pay for this." "Have you lost your mind?" "Are you possessed by devils?" "Well, speak!" "What do you have to say?" "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It took 46 years to build Herod's temple, and you think you can raise it up in three days?" "!" "I said nothing of Herod's temple." "Cleopas: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."" "Three days?" "Imagine the power it would take to do something like that." "Could Jesus be the Messiah?" "I'm afraid to hope." "Oh, I wish I could stay." "I feel like I'll be missing everything." "I'll write to you." "Whatever this Jesus does or says," "I'm sure I'll hear about it in the Sanhedrin." "Be sure to do that." "Maybe the next time we meet, the Romans will be gone, and Israel will have a new king." "He'll set the captives free." "He'll do that and more." "Godspeed, Cleopas." "This Jesus is not the Messiah!" "Man:" "He's right!" "He's right!" "Second man:" "How do you explain His miracles?" "The devil can perform miracles." "I could not believe it!" "This Jesus is a simple carpenter from Galilee." "The Messiah will come from a line of kings!" "He'll come in power and glory with a mighty army." "[all shouting [thinking He's the greatest man I've ever seen." "If my friends knew how I really felt about Jesus, they'd" "I have to speak with Him." "I have to." "You can't leave, Nicodemus." "I'm sorry, friends." "I must." "Please...carry on without me." "[gasps" "You have risked much by coming to speak with me." "Master..." "I know that no one could do the things you've done unless he was sent from God." "What must I do to be saved?" "To see the kingdom of God, a man must be born again." "How can a man be born more than once?" "Are you master in Israel, Nicodemus, and unable to understand these things?" "Master..." "Who are you?" "Just as Moses raised a serpent of brass in the wilderness, and all those who looked on it and believed were saved from death, even so shall I be lifted up." "And everyone who believes in me shall have eternal life." "Lifted up?" "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and whosoever will believe in Him, shall not die, but have everlasting life." "A report just came in about Jesus." "He was in Nazareth." "His followers continue to grow!" "Nicodemus narrating:" "Dear Cleopas, a few days ago," "I spoke with Jesus privately." "I've never felt such power." "And, yet, He said many strange things." "I don't know what to make of Him yet." "All sorts of wild stories have come in about Jesus." "No one is sure if they can be believed." "His followers say that in His hometown of Nazareth" "He stood up and read a prophecy about the Messiah, then implied that the scripture was talking about Him." "This offended the men, because they knew He was just the son of a local carpenter." "They ran Him out of the synagogue and dragged Him toward a cliff." "No one can explain what happened next." "He simply stopped them... and walked away." "He just...walked away?" "Who else can avoid being killed by a mob?" "Only the Messiah." "If this story is true" "I know it's true." "Jesus will drive out the Romans once and for all." "Do you know where I can find Jesus?" "Do you wish to be healed?" "Yes." "Then rise." "Take up your bed and walk." "Oh!" "Oh!" "I haven't walked for 38 years." "Thank you, Jesus." "Nicodemus narrating:" "Dear Cleopas," "Jesus came to Jerusalem for Passover again." "I saw Him heal a crippled man." "But what followed, nephew, was even more amazing." "Amos and Eber railed on Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, saying it was work, and, therefore, breaking the law of Moses." "Jesus replied..." "My Father performs good works every day, even today, and so do I." "Nicodemus:" "They knew what He was saying:" "that He is the Son of God." "And, Cleopas..." "I could so easily believe in Him." "The reports say that He has shown His power and miracles in every corner of Israel." "And, yet, there is something in His miracles, something more than might and majesty." "There is love... compassion... mercy... charity... even forgiveness." "And listen to His words:" ""Love thy enemy."" ""Blessed are the peacemakers."" ""Forgive one another."" "He even said, if a Roman forces you to carry his pack for a mile, you should carry it for two." "There is no vengeance in Jesus whatsoever." "Can such a man be the Messiah?" "My head tells me no, but my heart, Cleopas, my heart cries out yes!" "Carry a Roman's pack an extra mile?" "Jesus really said that?" "It's a trick." "Jesus doesn't really believe all this about loving your enemy." "He's fooling the Romans." "I can't believe Nicodemus can't see that." "Soldier:" "Hold it right there." "We're looking for a stolen sword." "Ha ha ha." "Nothing here, captain." "Oh, sorry about that, boys." "Oh, I'm not sorry." "Because every evil thing you do is coming back to you... very soon!" "[mockingly oo-ooh!" "[soldiers laugh" "Gentlemen, I'm afraid the reports are true." "Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem." "He has thousands of followers!" "They're convinced He's the Messiah." "I've heard many say they'll crown Him king." "The Romans will say we've lost control of our people." "They'll take everything away from us." "We have to do something!" "Nicodemus:" "Dear Cleopas," "I don't think you'll want to miss this." "Come as quickly as you can." "I'm leaving in the morning." "I'm coming with you." "Nicodemus!" "We came as fast as we could." "You made it just in time." "Man:" "Here He comes!" "(Song) Hosanna." "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia." "Hosanna." "Alleluia." "Singing gloria, gloria." "Alleluia." "Hosanna." "Alleluia." "Singing gloria, gloria." "Alleluia." "Hosanna." "Alleluia." "Singing gloria, gloria." "Alleluia." "Hosanna." "Alleluia." "Singing gloria, gloria." "Alleluia. (Song End)" "Rebuke your disciples, Jesus." "This is an outrage!" "If I commanded these people to hold their peace, these very stones would cry out." "Man:" "Blessed is He who comes." "Jesus of Nazareth, on behalf of the Sanhedrin, I ask you, who gave you the authority to do these things?" "I will gladly answer your question, if you will answer mine." "The baptism of John:" "was it from heaven?" "Or of men?" "If we say it came from men, these people will rise up against us." "Well, then we'll say it came from heaven." "Then he'll ask why we didn't believe John, and why we stood by when he was killed." "We--we cannot tell where the authority came from." "Then neither can I tell you by what authority I do these things." "But... listen to this parable." "A certain man built a beautiful vineyard with hedges round about it and a tower." "But the time came for him to travel to a distant country." "So he gave responsibility for the vineyard to others called husbandmen." "And when harvest time came, he sent a servant to collect the fruit of the vineyard." "But the husbandmen had come to see the vineyard as their own, so they beat the servant and sent him back." "So the lord of the vineyard sent a second servant, but he, too, was beaten." "A third was sent, and he was wounded." "So the lord of the vineyard decided to send his son, for he said to himself, this is my son." "Surely they will show him reverence and respect." "But when the son came to the vineyard, the husbandmen said to themselves, this is the son and the heir to the lord's vineyard." "Let us kill him and take control of the vineyard ourselves." "So they took the son... and killed him." "Jesus will die." "Is that what he's saying?" "He will die?" "How could you be so calm?" "We thought He was the Messiah, the Savior." "He is." "But not in the way we thought." "There is no other way, Nicodemus." "The Messiah is to come and save us." "Yes, but from what, Cleopas?" "From what?" "!" "What else is there in Israel but Romans?" "!" "Three years ago, the first time I saw Jesus," "He told me God loved the world so much," "He gave His only begotten Son." ""gave Him," Cleopas." "And if we'll believe in Him, then we'll be saved... saved from the fear of death... saved from the burden of guilt and sin... saved from a heart full of hate." "But to do that," "He must be, as He said, "lifted up."" "just as Moses lifted the serpent." "Crucified?" "What good is a crucified Messiah;" "a Messiah who lies dead in the tomb?" "!" "No." "The real Messiah will not allow himself to be killed." "[crowd shouts" "What happened?" "!" "They just arrested Jesus." "They're taking Him to be judged." "He may be your Messiah, but He's not mine." "Jesus:" "Father... into thy hands..." "I..." "I commend my spirit." "I've never sold so many spices." "I'm burying a friend today." "I need them to prepare His body." "But you've got enough to bury a king." "He was a king... a king of heaven... and earth." "They took Him just like they took any man." "They crucified Him just as easily, too." "I keep hoping His death was a dream." "But it wasn't a dream." "He fooled us all." "I so hoped He was the Messiah." "And yet, there was something in His manner, in His smile." "I can't imagine a greater man than Him." "Neither can I." "Why are you sad?" "A man named Jesus, who was a prophet, has been put to death." "And we thought He was the Messiah, come to deliver us from Rome." "Didn't Jesus have to suffer these things and then enter into His glory?" "Come, let me tell you what the scriptures have said concerning this Jesus." "Isaiah wrote," ""He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities." "a man of sorrows, well-acquainted with grief."" "So you see, friends, the scriptures plainly teach that the Messiah would suffer and die." "I can't deny what you say." "You teach with such power." "And yet...?" "How?" "How can the Messiah save us?" "How can He redeem us if -- if He's dead?" "He is not dead." "We saw Him crucified." "Let us partake." "Oh, Master!" "How many days ago was He crucified?" "Three." ""Destroy this temple, and in three days I shall raise it up."" "He was talking about himself." "He is..." "He is risen from the dead." "He died for us, Timothy." "All He suffered-- all His pain, it was for us." "He lives!" "That's enough." "You've done your mile." "And we'll carry it another." "(Song) Man:" "I know that God so loved the world so loved the world that through sweet wondrous birth" "He sent to waiting earth" "His Son that who believes His holy name and to the world proclaim shall never die never die but have eternal life." "woman:" "I know that God so loved the world so loved the world that through His noble Son great miracles were done for all the lame could walk, the blind did see" "He said "Come, follow Me and never die never die but have eternal life."" "man:" "What joy to me this sweet sentence gives." "woman:" "Oh, I know inside that my Messiah lives." "He lives." "both:" "And now I know that God so loved the world so loved the world that high on holy hill" "His precious blood was spilled for us that who shall live a life of sin then give that life to Him shall never die never die and have eternal life." "woman:" "So loved the world." "man:" "God loved the world." "( End Song)"