THE STORYTELLER'S BIBLE
Act V - The Synoptic Gospels, Scene 9
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices

Scene 9

                                    (ALL READERS SIT AND FACE DOWN LEFT)

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VOICE FOUR: The days had been quiet and the nights peaceful as Jesus and His disciples rested in the hill country east of the Jordan River. The crowds still gathered by day to hear Him preach, but there were none of the outbursts of hatred and vicious attack that had accompanied his last visit to Jerusalem. The Pharisees still came to test Him with their questions about the law of Moses, but those in the Galilee did not meet together to plot His death as those in Jerusalem had done.

VOICE TWO: Instead the scenes were almost pastoral. Mothers brought their children, hoping Jesus would lay His hands on them and bless them. Instead, He sat down and gathered them up into His lap, holding them in His arms. A rich young man came to Christ as a volunteer, eager to serve until he discovered it would cost him everything to follow Christ. He went away sorrowful, unwilling to part with great possessions.

VOICE THREE: The only real controversy during those peaceful days came from the disciples themselves. Behind Christ’s back they whispered and fought over who would be the greatest in the kingdom when Christ declared Himself the ruler of Israel. Reigning with Him seemed to be a very real prospect in those days of peace. After all, the common people loved Christ as much as they hated Herod. Just say the word and they would throw off the yoke of Roman domination. It would be easy for a man who could quiet a storm on the Sea of Galilee, walk on water, and feed five thousand men with miracle bread, to call down fire from heaven and destroy the entire Roman army. He would be King and they would reign with Him.

VOICE ONE: (REMAIN SEATED BUT TURN DOWN RIGHT) Then—He turned his face toward Jerusalem.

VOICE FOUR: (RELUCTANTLY TURN DOWN RIGHT) Right in the middle of their peaceful vacation, He led them down the road to the Jordan River and back up the other side toward the hills of Zion.

VOICE ONE: Toward Jerusalem.

VOICE TWO: (RELUCTANTLY TURN DOWN RIGHT) Certainly Passover was coming, but He made it clear this was more than just another chance to celebrate Passover in the Holy City.

VOICE ONE: We go up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and they shall condemn him to death.

VOICE THREE: (RELUCTANTLY TURN DOWN RIGHT) Jerusalem meant trouble. But it also meant excitement.

VOICE FOUR: The disciples heard what Jesus was saying about capture and death—but what they saw all around them were crowds of people, anxious to claim Jesus as their King.

VOICE TWO: Others in the crowds were not only anxious for Passover, they wanted to hear from this Galilean prophet who was arousing such controversy by His preaching and miracles, and especially by His claims that He was older than Abraham and had come down from heaven.

VOICE ONE: (SIT ON FLOOR IN FRONT OF STOOL) Almost overwhelmed by the rush and the press of the crowd, a blind beggar sat by the road in despair. He couldn’t afford to travel to Jerusalem to sacrifice, he was too poor. Even if he had the money, he couldn’t have made the trip up the steep slopes of the Judean hills in his blindness. Since he couldn’t go to Jerusalem to sacrifice he had no hope of forgiveness. His blindness had stolen from him any hope for the future. He was the unhappiest man in all Jericho.

VOICE THREE: There are many people who allow their status in life to keep them from seeking Christ, but not Bartimaeus. It would have been easy for him to say, “Why would this prophet who is being followed by such great crowds pay any attention to a blind beggar like me? Why should I try to meet Him, he’ll just ignore me anyway.”

VOICE TWO: Do you find it amazing that Jesus Christ, on His way to the cross, took time to meet the needs of a blind beggar? That’s what amazing grace is all about.

VOICE FOUR: Some people allow other people to keep them from Christ, but not Bartimaeus. When he heard that Jesus was the One causing all the commotion and attracting the huge crowds, he began to shout, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

VOICE ONE: Those around him shouted back, “Hey, old man. Quiet down. We’re trying to hear the preacher.” Obviously they weren’t in church.

VOICE THREE: That just made the beggar shout all the louder.

VOICE TWO: Do you find it strange that Christ ignored the shouts of the crowd to focus attention on the request of one blind beggar? That’s what lovingkindness is all about.

VOICE FOUR: When Bartimaeus had the attention of the prophet passing by on the road he was suddenly faced with a glorious dilemma. Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

VOICE ONE: The immediate reaction of a blind beggar would have been honed to a skill by countless days and years of pleading. “Alms. Alms for the poor.”

VOICE THREE: But somehow Bartimaeus realized that this man was capable of meeting more than his immediate needs. Instead of holding out his hand, he responded in a manner that demonstrated great faith. “Rabbi, I want to see.”

VOICE TWO: He had called him, “Son of David,” stating his acceptance of Jesus as the promised Messiah who would sit on David’s throne. Isaiah had promised that when the Messiah came He would give sight to the blind. This was a request of faith.

VOICE FOUR: I believe you are the promised Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God. Since I believe that, I know you can make my blind eyes see.

VOICE ONE: (SIT BACK ON STOOL) Faith was his own part in the miracle. But it was not the amount of the blind man’s faith that gave him sight. It was Christ, the object of his faith Who opened his blinded eyes and made him see.

VOICE THREE: And now, with opened eyes, he followed Jesus along the road.

VOICE TWO: Toward Jerusalem.

VOICE FOUR: The gospel of Mark records the Triumphal Entry immediately after the healing of blind Bartimaeus. He’s the one who tells us that the beggar followed Jesus and His disciples as they made their way through Bethany, down the Mount of Olives, and up into the Holy City.

VOICE ONE: (STAND AND MOVE DOWN RIGHT) From the top of the Mount of Olives, for the first time in his life, he saw the city, beautiful for situation, spread out across the hills in front of him. He gasped in awe at the sight of Herod’s temple, built over a period of forty-six years. Gold-plated, so as to catch and reflect every ray of the sun, it gleamed with a brilliance that struck him with a sense of awe and appreciation for the Creator God.

VOICE THREE: (CROSS DOWN RIGHT TO JOIN # 1) He had never before seen Jerusalem. His eyes had never rested on the beauty of the Golden Gate. He had never seen the glory of the temple. But it was not the sight of the temple that thrilled him most.

VOICE TWO: (CROSS DOWN RIGHT) His joy came from the opportunity to sing hosanna to the Son of David who was coming in the name of the Lord. He was there when the disciples borrowed the colt on which Jesus would ride. He was there when they spread their cloaks on the road in front of Him. He was there when they cut the palm branches from trees alongside the roadway. He was there in the crowd, shouting with unbounded joy.

VOICE FOUR: (CROSS DOWN RIGHT) Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest.

VOICE ONE: Many people had their reasons for waving palm branches that morning. Many had their reasons for shouting Hosanna. But no one had a better reason to be happy than the blind beggar— Bartimaeus.