The Book of Jesus

Chapter Fourteen

The Resurrection of Lazarus
The Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus
Jesus is Anointed at Bethany
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Walking in the Light
The Unbelief of the Jews
The Barren Fig Tree
The Temple Merchants
The Withered Fig Tree

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The Resurrection Of Lazarus

NARRATOR.: Now there was a man who was sick named Lazarus from Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was this Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. The sisters sent word to him and said:

MESSENGER.: Lord, the man whom you love is sick.

NARRATOR.: When Jesus heard this is said:

JESUS.: This sickness will not result in death, but for the glory of God in order that the Son of Man might be glorified by means of it.

NARRATOR.: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When Jesus heard the news that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was residing for another two days. After the two days, he said to his disciples:

JESUS.: Let's go into Judaea again.

NARRATOR.: The disciples said to him:

DISCIPLES.: Master, the Jews lately have tried to stone you. Why do you want to back there again?

JESUS.: Aren't there twelve hours in the day? If a man walks in the day, he will not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles because there is no light in him.

NARRATOR.: These things he said and afterwards he said to them:

JESUS.: Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I am going so that I may wake him from his sleep.

DISCIPLES.: Lord, if he's asleep, he'll be all right.

NARRATOR.: However Jesus was speaking of his death. But they thought that he had spoken about Lazarus taking a rest in sleep. Jesus then said to them plainly:

JESUS.: Lazarus is dead! I am happy for your sakes that I was not there in order for you to believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.

NARRATOR.: Then Thomas, who was called Didymus [the twin] said to his fellow disciples:

THOMAS.: Let's also go so that we may die with him. When Jesus came to where Lazarus was, he found out that he had been laid in the grave for four days already. Now Bethany was close to Jerusalem, about two miles. Many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out and met him, Mary however, remained in the house. When she came to Jesus she said:

MARTHA.: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know, that even now, whatever you would ask of God, He will give it to you.

JESUS.: You brother will rise again.

MARTHA.: I know he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

JESUS.: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he were dead. And anyone who is alive and believes in will never die. Do you believe this?

MARTHA.: Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into the world.

NARRATOR.: After she had said this, she went home and called her sister Mary aside in private and said:

MARTHA.: The Master has arrived and he wants to see you.

NARRATOR.: As soon as she heard this, she quickly got up and came to him. When Mary arrived at Jesus' location and saw him, she fell down at his feet and said to him:

MARY.: Lord, if you had been here, my brother won't have died.

NARRATOR.: When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews, who had accompanied her, weeping also, he groaned in his spirit and was troubled.

JESUS.: Where did you lay him?

JEWS.: Lord, come and see.

NARRATOR.: Jesus wept and the Jews said:

JEWS.: Look how much he loved him!

NARRATOR.: Some of them said:

JEWS.: Couldn't have this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have prevented this man from dying?

NARRATOR.: Jesus groaning in himself again came to the grave. It was a cave and a stone lay over it.

JESUS.: Take away the stone.

NARRATOR.: Martha, the sister of the dead man said to Jesus:

MARTHA.: Lord, by now he will smell, for he has been dead for four days.

JESUS.: Didn't I tell you that if you would believe, you would see the Glory of God?

NARRATOR.: They then took the stone away from the entrance to the cave where the dead man was laid. Jesus lifted his eyes up and said:

JESUS.: Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but on account of the people who are standing here I said it, so that they might believe that you have sent me.

NARRATOR.: When he had said this, he cried out with a loud voice:

JESUS.: Lazarus, come out!

NARRATOR.: The man who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with the grave cloths and his face covered with a napkin. Jesus said to them:

JESUS.: Unwrap him and let him go.

John 11:1-44

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The Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

NARRATOR.: At seeing these things, many of the Jews who had come to Mary, believed on him. However, some of them went to the Pharisees and told them about the things Jesus had done. The Chief Priests and the Pharisees gathered together and convened a council.

PRIESTS.: What are we going to do, this man has performed many miracles? If we leave him alone, everyone will believe in him. The Romans will then come and take away both our positions and our nation.

NARRATOR.: One of them, whose name was Caiaphas, being the High Priest for that year said to them:

CAIAPHAS.: You don't know anything at all! Haven't you considered that it is better for our people that one man should die in order that the whole nation not be destroyed.

NARRATOR.: He spoke this not of himself, but because he was the High Priest that year. He in fact prophesied that Jesus was going to die for that nation. Not for that nation only, but that he was going to gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. From that day onward, they plotted together for a means to put Jesus to death. Because of this, Jesus did not openly walk among the Jews, but went from there to Ephraim, a village near the desert and stayed there with his disciples. The Jewish Passover was drawing near and many of the people from the surrounding area went up to Jerusalem to purify themselves. Looking out for Jesus they said to one another as they stood about in the Temple:

PEOPLE.: What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?

NARRATOR.: The chief priests and Pharisees had been given their orders: Anyone who had knowledge concerning the whereabouts of Jesus, must inform them so that they could arrest him.

John 11:45-57

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Jesus Is Anointed At Bethany

NARRATOR.: Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had died and whom had been raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him in the house of Simon the leper. Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those who sat at the table with him. While they were eating, Mary came in with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the ointment on Jesus' head and anointed his feet, wiping them with her hair as he reclined at the table. The house was full of the scent of the ointment. When the disciples and some of the others who were there saw this they said to one another in indignation:

DISCIPLES.: For what purpose was this ointment wasted?

NARRATOR.: One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot who was Simon's son and the man who was to betray Jesus spoke up:

JUDAS.: This ointment could have been sold for over three hundred denarii. Why wasn't it sold and the money given to the poor.

NARRATOR.: The people then started talking against her. Now Judas had said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was also in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions. But Jesus, knowing what was happening said:

JESUS.: Let her alone, why are you making problems for her? What she has done for me is indeed a good work! It was for the day of my burial that she kept this scent. You will always have the poor with you and you can be kind to them whenever you want to, but you will not always have me. She has done what was in her power to do. She has come beforehand to anoint my body and prepare it for burial. I tell you most sincerely, wherever this good news is proclaimed throughout the world, what she has done will be told also, in remembrance of her.

NARRATOR.: A large number of Jews had heard that he was there and came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Because of this, the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus. When he had said these things he left and went ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Maatthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; Luke 19:28; John 12:1-11

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Jesus Enters Jerusalem

NARRATOR.: The next day when they approached Jerusalem, in sight of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, as it was called; Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them:

JESUS.: Go into to the village facing you and as soon as you enter it you will find the colt of a donkey that no one has ever ridden tied up there. Untie it and bring the colt to me. If anyone says to you, 'What are you doing? Why are you untying the colt?' You are to say this; 'The master needs him for a while, but he will send the colt back when he is finished.'

NARRATOR.: The disciples went off and found everything just as he had told them. They found a colt tied outside a door where the two roads met. As they were untying the colt, some men standing there, of whom one was its' owner said:

OWNER.: What are you doing untying that colt?

DISCIPLES.: The master needs it!

NARRATOR.: The men let them go and took the colt to Jesus. The disciples threw their garments over the colt's back and helped Jesus onto it and he sat on the garments. This was to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9:

"Rejoice greatly, Oh daughter of Zion. Shout with gladness, Oh daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your King comes to you. He is victorious, he is triumphant. He is humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

At first, these things were not understood by his disciples. But after Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that this was in fact how they had received him. As he moved on, many, many people spread their cloaks on the road, others cut down branches off the trees and spread them on the road like a carpet. As he approached the downward slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole group of disciples joyfully began to rejoice and praise God at the top of their voices for all the mighty works they had seen.

DISCIPLES.: Blessed be the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens!

NARRATOR.: When the crowds who had come up for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm and went out to meet him. The crowds who went in front of him and the crowds who followed him were all shouting:

CROWDS.: Hosanna to the Son of David... Hosanna... Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord...Blessed is the Kingdom of our father David...Blessings on the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord...Hosanna in the highest heavens!

NARRATOR.: Some of the Pharisees who were among the crowd said to him:

PHARISEES.: Master, tell your disciples to stop!

JESUS.: I tell you, that if they were to keep silent the stones would start to cry out.

NARRATOR.: As Jesus approached and was in sight of the city he wept over it and said:

JESUS.: If you had only known, only you. If you had even at least realized today, your day, the things that are yours for your peace. But now, they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will raise fortifications all around you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will level you and dash your children inside your walls to the ground and they will not leave one stone standing on another within you. All of this, because you did not know the time of your inspection.

NARRATOR.: All who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead gave witness to what had happened and what they had seen. It was also on account of this that the crowds came out to meet him because they had heard that he had given this sign. The Pharisees then said to one another:

PHARISEES.: You see, there is nothing you can do! Look, the whole world is running after him!

NARRATOR.: When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar.

PEOPLE.: Who is this?

CROWDS.: This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.

NARRATOR.: Jesus proceeded to the temple and looked all around at the situation, but as it was now late, he went to Bethany with the twelve.

Matther 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19

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Walking in the Light

NARRATOR.: There were also at the Festival some Greeks who had gone up to Jerusalem to worship. Approaching Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, they made a request to him:

GREEKS.: Sir, we would like to see Jesus.

NARRATOR.: Philip then went to tell Andrew and together Andrew and Philip went to tell Jesus. He replied and said to them:

JESUS.: The hour has now arrived for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you most sincerely, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will remain only a single grain. But if it does die, it will yield a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life will lose it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it unto eternal life. If a man serves me, he must follow me. Wherever I am, my servant will be there also. If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him. Now my soul is troubled and what can I say, "Father save me from this hour?" It was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify you name!

NARRATOR.: And there came a voice from heaven saying:

"I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."

People who were standing there and who heard this said, 'It was a clap of thunder'. Others said, 'It was an angel speaking to him'. Jesus replied:

JESUS.: It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Now is the judgment of this world. Now is the prince of this world to be cast out. And I, if I will be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.

NARRATOR.: By these words he indicated the manner in which he was going to die. The crowds replied:

CROWDS.: We have heard out of the Law that Christ will remain forever. So how can you say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up?" Who is this Son of Man?

JESUS.: The light will be with you only a little while longer. Walk, while you have the light or the darkness will overtake you. He that walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you still have the light, believe in the light and you will become sons of light.

NARRATOR.: Having said this, Jesus left them and hide himself from them.

John 12:20-36

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The Unbelief of the Jews

NARRATOR.: Although he had worked so many miracles [signs] in their presence, they still refused to believe in him. This was to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah when he said:

"Lord, who could believe what we have heard said, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

Yes, they were not able to believe because as Isaiah further said:

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart so that they would not see with their eyes, or understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them."

These things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, there were many who did believe in him, even among the chief rulers. But because of the fear of the Pharisees and fear of being expelled from the synagogue, they did not admit to it. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said:

JESUS.: Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in the One who sent me. And anyone who sees me, sees Him that sent me. I have come as a light to the world so that anyone who believes in me need not live in the darkness any longer. If any man hears my words and does not believe them, it is not I who will judge him. Because I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The person that rejects me and does not receive my words has one that judges him and that one is the word that I have spoken. This will be his judge on the last day. For what I have spoken, I have not spoken of myself. But the Father who sent me, He gave me a commandment; what I should say and what I should speck. And I know that His commandment means everlasting life. I therefore speak even as the Father said to me, so I speak.

John 12:37-50

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The Barren Fig Tree

NARRATOR.: The next day, in the early morning, as they were leaving Bethany and were returning to Jerusalem, he felt hungry. On the way, he saw a fig tree in the distance with leaves. He went up to the tree to see if there could be any fruit on it. When he came up to it he found nothing on it but leaves; because it was not yet the season for figs. He said the fig tree:

JESUS.: May you never bear fruit again from this time onward, no one will ever eat fruit from you again.

DISCIPLES.: His disciples heard him say this and at that instant the fig tree withered.

Matthew 21:18,19; Mark 11:12-14

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The Temple Merchants

NARRATOR.: They reached Jerusalem and Jesus went into the Temple of God and began driving out all the merchants who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry any equipment through the Temple. And he taught them and said:

JESUS.: Is it not written: "My House will be called by all the nations the house of prayer." But you have turned it into a den of thieves.

NARRATOR.: The scribes and chief priests heard this. Every day he would teach in the Temple and they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by the things he taught and hung on his every word. So chief priests and the scribes, along with the support of the leading citizens, proceeded to find a way to destroy him, but they did not see how they could accomplish it. And the blind and lame came to him in the Temple and he cured them. When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things he was doing and heard the children crying out in the Temple, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they became indignant and said:

PRIESTS/SCRIBES.: Do you hear what they're saying?

JESUS.: Yes. Haven't you ever read, that out of the mouths of children and babies at the breasts has your praise been made perfect.

NARRATOR.: With that he left them and as it was evening he went out of the city to Bethany where he stayed for the night.

Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48

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The Withered Fig Tree

NARRATOR.: The next morning, as they passed by, the disciples saw the fig tree withered to the roots and were astonished at how quickly it had withered away. Remembering what had happened, Peter said to Jesus:

PETER.: Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered away.

JESUS.: Have faith in God. I tell you most sincerely, if anyone should say to this mountain, "Get up and throw yourself into the sea" and has no doubt in his heart but believes and has faith that the things which have been asked for will occur, he will have whatsoever he has asked for. Therefore I tell you, whatever things you desire and pray for, believe that you have them already and you will have them. And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anyone, in order that your Father who is in heaven may forgive your trespasses also.

Matthew 21:20-22; Mark 11:20-26

" Jesus Christ is the only way "