Earith Storykeepers
Drama scripts:
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You can’t keep a Good Man down!
Act 1: The Empty Tomb Mary Mag = Mary Magdalene
[Need Mary, Mary Mag, Simon, Thomas, Cleopas, Elizabeth, soldier, angel & Jesus wearing a ‘hoodie’]
NARRATOR: For 3 years a very committed group of people had followed a man who had performed miracles, healed people, even raised a few back from the dead. They had watched him speak out against the religious leaders who were jealous of the way that the people flocked to see him. His name was Jesus of Nazareth.
Everything seemed to be going so well. Even though his closest followers had given up a comfortable lifestyle to follow him, it was too exciting for them to notice their own hard times.
Then it all went wrong very quickly. Judas, one of Jesus’ followers, betrayed him to the religious leaders and they arrested Jesus on false charges and lies.
Jesus was quickly rushed through an unlawful court and he was beaten, punched, whipped and finally nailed to a cross. [pic:cross]
The Roman soldiers stabbed his dead body with a spear to make sure he was dead and then his body was laid in a tomb that looked something like this: [pic:tomb]
A large, very heavy stone was then rolled across the entrance.
Because Jesus had said that he would be raised back to life in 3 days, the religious leaders ordered that a group of soldiers should guard the tomb.
SOLDIER: [STAND BY TOMB ENTRANCE – LOOK TOUGH]
NARRATOR: “There” thought the religious leaders “that will stop anyone from stealing the body and then pretending that he has risen from the dead!”
SOLDIER: [POINT SWORD AT PEOPLE] Yeah, come on! You just try it!
NARRATOR: Everything was quiet, then on the 3rd day.... [earthquake.wav]
SOLDIER: [GET DOWN ON FLOOR IN FEAR – SHIELD EYES]
NARRATOR: Suddenly there was an earthquake and a figure in dazzling white appeared at the tomb, and the heavy stone moved away from the doorway.
MARY MAG: [START TO WALK ACROSS STAGE TO TOMB WITH MARY] Why did he have to die?
MARY: He was such a good man. He hadn’t hurt anyone.
MARY MAG: [STOP HOLD ONTO MARY] Hang on a minute! The stone door has been rolled away!
MARY: And what is that strange light?
MARY MAG: [BOTH WALK TO TOMB] It’s an angel!
ANGEL: Do not be afraid because I know that you are looking for Jesus.
MARY: [POINT AT SOLDIER] Well he’s not just afraid – he’s terrified!
MARY MAG: That’s because he doesn’t want to see Jesus!
ANGEL: You won’t find him in the tomb, he has risen from the dead, just as he said he would. Have a look and then go back to the other disciples and tell them what has happened.
MARY: [LOOK INTO TOMB] That is amazing! The strips of cloth that had been around his body are lying on the floor!
MARY MAG: I want to see! [LOOK INTO TOMB] And the cloth that was around his head is folded up over there!
MARY: Come on, let’s go and find the others.
Act 2: The Rented House
[THOMAS, SIMON PETER, CLEOPAS, ELIZABETH SITTING AT A TABLE]
MARY & MARY MAG: [KNOCK ON DOOR]
SIMON PETER: Who can that be, knocking on our door?
THOMAS: [PANIC] It will be the soldiers come to arrest us!
CLEOPAS: They won’t know that we’re here.
THOMAS: [PANIC] They may have followed one of us!
ELIZABETH: If you’re right Thomas, we’ve had it!
CLEOPAS: Well let’s see who it is. [OPEN THE DOOR]
MARY & MARY MAG: [ENTER ROOM]
CLEOPAS: [CALL OUT] It’s alright, it’s only Mary and Mary Mag.
SIMON PETER: Thank goodness it’s you two.
MARY MAG: I don’t understand. The tomb is empty.
ELIZABETH: What do you mean it’s empty? There are soldiers guarding the tomb.
MARY: Jesus isn’t there.
THOMAS: [DEPRESSED] Oh no. I don’t want to hear that name again!
MARY MAG: The tomb is empty.
CLEOPAS: How come? Did the soldiers roll back the stone for you then?
MARY: No! An angel had moved the stone away and he said that Jesus had risen from the dead!
SIMON PETER: I can’t believe that. Please don’t try to fool us!
ELIZABETH: That’s not possible. He was totally.. [PAUSE] utterly [PAUSE] completely dead!
MARY MAG: We looked into the tomb and the strips of burial cloth were lying on the ground.
MARY: And his face cloth was folded up.
THOMAS: Folded! [PAUSE] Folded up! [PAUSE] How can a dead man fold up a piece of cloth?
CLEOPAS: [GROAN] Oh my head hurts! What is happening?
SIMON PETER: I’m going to have a look!
ELIZABETH: No I’m not going! Angel’s freak me out!
THOMAS: Don’t be stupid! All this talk of angels and people being raised from the dead! It will only end in tears and disappointment! I’m going to have a drink.
MARY MAG: That’s what the angel said. I don’t know what to think!
SIMON PETER: I’m going to have a look. [EXIT STAGE]
Act 3: The Gardener
[MARY MAG. & SIMON PETER GET TO THE TOMB]
SIMON PETER: [SLOWLY ENTER TOMB. SCARED] Is anybody in there?
MARY MAG: What do you think, Simon?
SIMON PETER: Well it’s just like you said. But there’s no angel. All the soldiers have gone. I will tell the others what I have seen.
MARY MAG: You go back to the disciples. I just want to stay here for a bit.
SIMON PETER: OK, but don’t be long. [EXIT STAGE]
MARY MAG: [CRY] Oh what has happened? Who has taken his body? Who would do such a thing?
[LOOK INTO TOMB. SURPRISED] Two angels!
ANGEL: Why are you crying?
MARY MAG: Someone has taken away the body of Jesus, my Lord.
JESUS: [WALK UP BEHIND MARY] Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?
MARY MAG: [KEEP HEAD DOWN] Perhaps, because you are the gardener, you can help me. Have you seen anyone carry away the body? Or if you have done it, please tell me where you have put him.
JESUS: Mary!
MARY MAG: [JOYFUL] Teacher! It’s you! [REACH OUT]
JESUS: Do not hold me, because I haven’t returned to God the Father yet. But go and tell the disciples that I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.
MARY MAG: [EXCITED] I can’t wait to tell them! [RUN OFF STAGE]
Act 4: On the road
[CLEOPAS & ELIZABETH WALKING ON A ROAD]
CLEOPAS: Who would want to take the body of Jesus?
ELIZABETH: The religious leaders wouldn’t take it, because they are afraid of the rumour that Jesus would be raised up from the dead.
CLEOPAS: Who else would do it? None of us would dare to do it. Look at how scared we all are!
ELIZABETH: Yeah, none of us want to stir up trouble. We could end up like Jesus – dead!
CLEOPAS: So who has taken his body?
JESUS: [JOIN THEM WALKING] Hello. May I join you?
ELIZABETH: Please do. We’re walking to the village of Emmaus.
JESUS: So, what are you talking about?
CLEOPAS: Everyone is talking about the same thing. The whole of Jerusalem is talking about it.
JESUS: What thing?
ELIZABETH: About Jesus of Nazareth.
CLEOPAS: He was a prophet, such a powerful speaker!
ELIZABETH: He did such wonderful miracles!
CLEOPAS: He was a mighty man of God, but the religious leaders got him killed.
ELIZABETH: And we had hoped for such great things from this man, but now he is dead.
CLEOPAS: But some are saying that the tomb is now empty and that they had seen angels.
ELIZABETH: But we don’t know where the body of Jesus is now.
JESUS: Oh come on! Why don’t you believe what it says in the Scriptures? You are foolish and you are slow to believe!
CLEOPAS: Believe what? I am confused, I just don’t know what to believe now!
JESUS: Doesn’t the Scripture tell us that the Christ, God’s son, would have to die and would return to heaven in glory and in great victory? Doesn’t Moses tell us that God would raise up a Prophet far greater than Moses himself?
NARRATOR: As they walked the 7 miles to Emmaus, the stranger told them lots of things from the Scriptures that related to Jesus. When they arrived at the village the three of them shared a meal together and when the stranger said a prayer they suddenly realised that the stranger was Jesus! They reached out to him, but he disappeared from them.
ELIZABETH: [EXCITED] That was Jesus!
CLEOPAS: [EXCITED] That was really him!
ELIZABETH: When he was explaining things from the Scriptures, my heart was so excited!
CLEOPAS: Yes, faith was growing in me and I knew he was telling the truth.
ELIZABETH: Come on, we need to go back to Jerusalem and tell them that we have spoken with him!
Act 5: Back at the Rented House
[SIMON PETER, MARY, MARY MAG SITTING AT A TABLE. CLEOPAS & ELIZABETH ENTER ROOM]
CLEOPAS: [EXCITED] Jesus has risen from the dead!
ELIZABETH: [EXCITED] Yes we have seen him and have spoken to him!
MARY: That is just what Simon and Mary Mag have been saying.
SIMON PETER: Yes, Jesus my Lord, has appeared to me.
MARY MAG: And me! Why me?
MARY: How can he be alive? How can this be true?
JESUS: [ENTER STAGE] Peace be with you all.
MARY: [SCARED] Agh! A ghost! Go away! Don’t hurt us!
JESUS: Why are you troubled when I appear? Why do you have so many doubts? Why don’t you believe that I can really be raised back to life? [HOLD OUT HANDS] Look at my hands and my feet and see where the nails went in. Do not be afraid, I am Jesus. Reach out and see that I have a proper body, not like a ghost!
MARY: It is you Jesus, how can this be?
JESUS: Have you got any food to eat?
CLEOPAS: Here have some of this fish.
JESUS: [TAKE AND EAT THE FISH] Ghosts don’t eat fish! Didn’t I tell you that this was all predicted in the Scriptures and it has all come true. Your minds were closed by doubt and unbelief, but now your minds are being opened so that you can understand and believe what the Scriptures say.
It was written about me that the Christ would suffer, die and be raised to life on the 3rd day. You are witnesses to all these things, so go and tell others of what you have seen, and tell them the message that this same God is able to forgive their sins, to all who turn to him.
NARRATOR: Jesus then disappeared from their sight.
THOMAS: [ENTER ROOM] What is happening here? You look so happy! What’s wrong with everyone?
MARY MAG: Why shouldn’t we be happy? We’ve seen Jesus! He’s alive!
THOMAS: [ANNOYED] Just drop this whole stupid idea.
ELIZABETH: It’s true! Why don’t you believe us?
THOMAS: Only if I can put my fingers into the holes in his arms and put my finger into the hole in his side, only then will I believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. Until then, this is just a dream, just a made up story.
SIMON PETER: We have seen him!
THOMAS: No, your imagination has run riot. Your wishful thinking has got the better of you.
NARRATOR: No-
JESUS: [ON STAGE] Peace be with you!
MARY: Agh! [JUMP] Why do you do that? Why do you suddenly appear? Can’t you use the door like ordinary people?
JESUS: [LOOK AT THOMAS TENDERLY] Thomas, reach out your hand and put your finger into the holes in my arms. And then put your finger into the hole in my side. Stop doubting, and believe!
THOMAS: My Lord and my God!
JESUS: Because you have seen me, you have believed. But you need to think about all those who have not seen me and yet they believe. They are the real happy ones.
NARRATOR: You may wonder what happened to the soldiers guarding the tomb. Well they went back to the religious leaders to tell them what had happened. They didn’t like what they were told, it was their worst nightmare. They thought up a plan which meant paying the soldiers a large amount of money so that they would say they had fallen asleep and Jesus’ followers had stolen the body!
But Jesus continued to appear to more than 500 people over a period of 40 days and then just before he was taken up to heaven for the last time he said....
JESUS: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the world.
THE END