Act VI - The Gospel of John, Scene 4
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices
The Gospel of John - Scene 4
VOICE TWO: Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to Him that night.
VOICE ONE: He knew Judas would betray Him with a kiss.
VOICE FOUR: He knew the temple guards and Roman soldiers would work together to arrest Him.
VOICE THREE: He knew the Scripture would be fulfilled which He Himself had spoken just minutes earlier, “While I was with them I protected them.” He would be the only one arrested and John asserts that the words of Jesus spoken earlier that same day had as much authority as the words of Moses or Isaiah which had been canonized for hundreds of years. “This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled.”
VOICE TWO: Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to Him that night, but this was not some kind of psychic experience where He looked into the future. He knew what was going to happen because He had planned the future.
VOICE ONE: He had set His face toward the cross and would finish strong.
VOICE FOUR: While all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
VOICE THREE: Including Peter.
VOICE TWO: Oh, he followed. But he followed afar off.
VOICE ONE: At the courtyard of the house of Annas, John, who was known to the high priest, gained immediate access. The girl at the gate recognized him and waved him in. Peter was stopped and told to wait outside. As soon as John realized Peter was no longer right behind him, he went back and told the girl to let him in.
VOICE TWO: So the girl turns to Peter, “Are you another of this man’s disciples?”
VOICE FOUR: With John, his best friend standing right by his side Peter says, “He may be a disciple, but I’m not. Not me. Not on your life. I am not.”
VOICE THREE: While Peter was denying friendship with Christ, the Lord was remaining true to His friendship with Peter. When asked by the high priest concerning His disciples and His doctrine, He answers the doctrine part but says nothing about His disciples. He was protecting them as He had promised.
VOICE TWO: Peter went from “I will lay down my life for you,” to “I am not” within twenty-four hours.
VOICE ONE: Jesus remained true to the task He had chosen for Himself from eternity past.
VOICE FOUR: A relative of Malchus stands near the fire and has been watching Peter closely. It had been dark in the Garden of Gethsemane, but the fire from the lanterns and torches had illuminated faces just like the fire burning in the courtyard was doing now. Something about the firelight flickering on the face of Peter brought back and memory, and after due consideration he was ready to make the accusation.
VOICE THREE: Didn’t I see you with Him in the olive grove?
VOICE TWO: Peter’s worst fears had been realized. He quickly gave up his convictions when confronted with his mistakes. Peter didn’t deny having cut off the ear of Malchus, he denied having ever been in the garden at all. He didn’t want to acknowledge his long history with Jesus the Messiah. It was all over.
VOICE ONE: Or was it.
VOICE FOUR: Peter’s denial didn’t catch Jesus by surprise. He had predicted it.
VOICE THREE: And immediately a cock crowed.
VOICE TWO: The crowing of the cock signaled the start of a new day, but the rising of the sun did little to warm the spirits of those caught up in the events of the previous night. Scarcely eight hours had passed since Jesus yielded to His captors in the Garden of Gethsemane.
VOICE ONE: (CROSS LEFT TO STAND IN FRONT OF THE OTHER READERS) With the dawning, the crowd that had mocked Him and spit in His face at the house of the high priest felt confident enough to take him before the Roman authorities. They led him once again through the streets of Jerusalem, hounding Him from place to place.
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VOICE FOUR: There was only one reason to take Him to Pilate.
VOICE THREE: They could not legally require the death penalty, and so they took Him to Pilate not for judgment but for condemnation. They simply wanted him to approve what they had already agreed upon—that Jesus must die.
VOICE TWO: The Jews hated the Fortress. They hated Pilate. But they hated Jesus even more.
VOICE ONE: Pilate would sit on the judgment seat that day, but Jesus would be the judge and Pilate would be the one on trial.
VOICE FOUR: The first concession Pilate made to the rulers of the Jews was his consent to meet with them on the steps of the Praetorium rather than in the hall of judgment. They wanted to remain ceremonially clean so they could still observe Passover and entering the hall would have rendered them unclean. Yet even with that concession he was not willing to simply rubber stamp their decision.
VOICE THREE: What charges are you bringing against this man?
VOICE TWO: Pilate’s demand for a hearing turned the temple officials sullen. The two accusations before the Sanhedrin had involved threatening to destroy the temple and blaspheming by claiming to be God. Instead of repeating those charges they attempted an end run, “If he were not a criminal we would not have handed him over to you.” In other words, “Just take our word for it. He is evil.”
VOICE ONE: The answer angered Pilate. If this was simply a matter of Jewish law and they didn’t even have a charge that warranted public statement, he wanted no part of the process. They weren’t going to make him look weak. He wasn’t going to become their pawn.
VOICE THREE: All right! Take him and judge him according to your own law!
VOICE TWO: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.
VOICE FOUR: As much as they hated to admit it, they needed Pilate.
VOICE ONE: But neither one of them was in control. John says the word of Jesus signifying what death He would die was being fulfilled.
VOICE FOUR: Pilate thought he was avoiding a decision. The Jews thought they were manipulating him, forcing him to make that decision. But in reality no other decision could have been made. Jesus had already said that he would die by crucifixion, and His Word could not be broken.
VOICE THREE: Throughout the trial Pilate shuttled back and forth from the front steps of the Praetorium to the judgment hall where Christ stood. To Christ he framed the question that resulted from their charge. Are you the king of the Jews?
VOICE ONE: The main concern in that question for a Roman governor was the threat of an uprising. The main concern for the Jews was that a claim to be the Messiah meant he was also claiming the right to the throne of David. It was a charge they could both interpret their own way.
VOICE TWO: If Pilate thought He was simply a pretender for the throne of a minor Roman province, that would probably be enough to bring the death penalty. Rome tolerated no interference with its governance. But if Pilate really wanted to understand the claims of Christ to be the King of kings and Lord of lords—that would definitely be a mark in Pilate’s favor when Christ came to judge him.
VOICE FOUR: Are you really wanting to know who I am? Are you asking for yourself, or did others put you up to this?
VOICE THREE: Am I a Jew? Do you think this claim to be a Jewish Messiah is of any concern to me? All I want to know is whether or not you are a threat to the empire, and to me.
VOICE ONE: To entertain the thought that Jesus was the King of all the universe would have been to consider the fact that Jesus was his King as well, and Pilate had no interest in yielding reign over his life to anyone.
VOICE FOUR: Once Jesus knew what question Pilate was really asking, He proceeded to answer the question concerning the kingdom. He was not a threat to Rome, “My kingdom is not of this world, if it were my servants would fight.”
VOICE THREE: Scarcely listening to His explanation, Pilate seized on the one accusation that would allow him to compromise with the Jewish officials outside. “You are a king, then?”
VOICE FOUR: Knowing Pilate is deliberately misunderstanding Him, Jesus says yes, “For this reason I was born, to be a king and to testify to the truth.”
VOICE ONE: This was not just a general statement concerning the importance of truth. This was a claim to being Truth. “I am the King,” He says. “I am the Truth.”
VOICE THREE: Once again Pilate faces a decision, and once again he fails to decide. Rather than considering the claim of Christ he asks curtly, “What is truth?” and heads back outside to face the rulers. To his credit he tries once more, declaring Christ not guilty. “I find no fault in this man.” Those words should have been followed by, “I release Him,” but instead they were followed by, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?”
VOICE TWO: The followers of the high priest called instead for the release of Barabbas, and Pilate ordered Christ, who he had just declared innocent, to be flogged.
VOICE FOUR: It was a pathetic beginning, but it only grew worse. Rather than taking the leadership he was supposed to provide, Pilate vacillated between what he knew to be the truth and satisfying a group of people he despised. They actually threatened him with blackmail at one point, telling him that if he let Christ go they would make sure Caesar knew that he was not Caesar’s friend.
VOICE THREE: Finally Pilate ordered a coronation, a mocking, sadistic crowning of the one he sneeringly continued to call the king of the Jews. He was mocking Christ and he was mocking the Jewish nation. Right along side of him were the roman soldiers who came up with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. He met the greatest moment of decision in his life with a sneer on his lip, and his men followed him.
VOICE ONE: As the rulers continue to manipulate Pilate toward their desire for the death penalty, they finally reveal the charge of blasphemy. Suddenly Pilate, who had never shown any respect for their religion, grows more afraid. Rushing back into the judgment hall he poses yet another question for Christ.
VOICE THREE: Where are you from?
VOICE FOUR: This was not a question concerning hometowns. It was a question of origins. Did he really come from heaven?
VOICE ONE: When Jesus didn’t answer, Pilate once again lost his temper.
VOICE THREE: Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you? Don’t you know who I am? I shouldn’t be afraid of you. You should be afraid of me.
VOICE FOUR: But it was Pilate who was on trial, not Jesus. You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above.
VOICE TWO: Pilate was powerless. God was the One in charge. He had already decided what would happen, and Pilate could do nothing about it.
VOICE THREE: Still Pilate vacillates. He tried to set Him free, but the Jews reminded him of his political connections, “You are no friend of Caesar,” and he backed down.
VOICE ONE: Pilate was not judging Christ that day, Christ was judging him. Jesus was in control. Pilate failed to decide for Him.
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