| A one-act play set in Jesus' time with a modern element. Easter story.
The Road To EmmausWritten by Debra Bruch
CHARACTERS Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
SCENE The play is set in Jerusalem, just a few days after Christ's ascension. The play is structured like a newscast, with Jill being the reporter. Part One is a rather loose interview with Cleopas, one of two people who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Part Two is a more formal interview with Annas and Lucius. Part Three is meant to include the audience as people who have gathered to worship. There is no real separation between performers and audience.
Part OneJILL: Hello! Jill Burns here from Back In Time newscast reporting to you live from Jerusalem in the year 33 A.D. We have a strange situation here. As you know, the Governor executed three criminals last week. Rumor has it that one of those criminals didn't die. I have here with me a man named Cleopas who claims to have seen this criminal just yesterday. (To Cleopas.) Can you tell our viewers what you saw? CLEOPAS: Well, uh, we were going to Emmaus --- JILL: Your friend here? CLEOPAS: Yes, this is Gideon. We were on our way to Emmaus when we met a stranger. JILL: And who was this stranger? CLEOPAS: Well, at first we didn't know. I mean, we didn't recognize him, but he was Jesus of Nazareth. JILL: The criminal. CLEOPAS: Well, the man who was executed. JILL: Why didn't you recognize him at first? CLEOPAS: I don't know. We just didn't. JILL: Maybe it was a man who looked like him. CLEOPAS: Oh, no! It was Jesus. JILL: How do you know? CLEOPAS: We both --- Gideon and I --- recognized him after a while. JILL: So why didn't you recognize him right away? CLEOPAS: I don't know. We were talking about him and --- JILL: You were talking about him when he came up to you? CLEOPAS: Yes. JILL: And you still didn't recognize him? CLEOPAS: Well, no. We were talking about his death and we weren't expecting to see him. JILL: You expected him to be dead, then? CLEOPAS: Well, yes. But he explained things to us. I mean, he explained the Messiah, the prophesies about the Messiah, and what he's been doing here until that terrible day. JILL: Then what happened. CLEOPAS: Well, we were hungry and asked him to stop and eat with us. So he did. JILL: Is this when you recognized him? CLEOPAS: Well, no. It was when we broke bread with him. That's when we recognized him. JILL: What was so special about that? CLEOPAS: Well, I don't know for sure. Things clicked. I mean, he explained things to us, and then when he broke the bread, we remembered his last supper. And then we recognized him. JILL: Both of you together? CLEOPAS: Yes. JILL: Then what happened? CLEOPAS: He left. He was gone. JILL: You mean he walked away? CLEOPAS: No. He was just gone. JILL: Why do you think he would do that? CLEOPAS: I don't know. Maybe it was because we didn't need to see him anymore. JILL: Why do you say that? CLEOPAS: Gideon and I came back here. JILL: Yes, you have begun to stir things up here. Aren't you afraid? CLEOPAS: Not really. JILL: Why not? CLEOPAS: Because I know that Jesus didn't die. JILL: You really think he's walking around now? CLEOPAS: Well, no. He's alive, but not like you and I are right now. JILL: This is ridiculous! CLEOPAS: No it's not! Jesus didn't die. He broke the bands of death. So I know there's nothing to be afraid of when I die. Because Jesus conquered death. JILL: So what are you doing here now? CLEOPAS: We plan to tell people what happened to us on the road to Emmaus. JILL: (To the audience.) Well, things are certainly happening here. This is Jill Burns from the Back In Time newscast reporting to you live from Jerusalem. Stay tuned for further developments.
Part TwoJILL: Hello! This is Jill Burns from the Back in Time newscast reporting to you live from Jerusalem. Today we offer you a special report about the recent happenings in Jerusalem. We have with us a man named Annas who is a high priest of Caiaphas, and a centurion named Lucius. Good day, gentlemen! ANNAS: Hello. JILL: Annas, you're a high priest here in Jerusalem? ANNAS: Yes I am. JILL: And you witnessed the death of Jesus of Nazareth? ANNAS: Well, no. I helped sentence the criminal. JILL: How do you know he died? ANNAS: Well, look around you? Nothing's changed. JILL: Yet rumors are spreading like wildfire. ANNAS: Oh, that's just the talk of a few seditious rebels who can't accept the fact that their so-called redeemer is dead. LUCIUS: Not true! ANNAS: Listen, you. When we leave here you're gonna tell us who these people are. JILL: Hey, there's no sense in threatening people here. ANNAS: Okay. Okay. Look. The people you're talking about are nobodies. They are a little people. A confused people. They won't last long. LUCIUS: I think they will. ANNAS: What do you know about it? LUCIUS: I saw him die. JILL: Wait a minute. Lucius, you saw him die, and yet you believe that he's alive? LUCIUS: Yes. JILL: What part do you play in all this? LUCIUS: I helped crucify him. ANNAS: You did? LUCIUS: Yes. I saw this man die. And at that very moment, I knew he was the Son of God. JILL: How did you know that? LUCIUS: I don't know. ANNAS: Rubbish! LUCIUS: Maybe it is rubbish to some people. Ten minutes before he died I thought it was rubbish. But now I don't. JILL: What has changed with you? LUCIUS: Everything. My philosophy of life. I've had to look back on things. I've had to ask questions and find new answers. And I had to do that because it didn't make sense to me. ANNAS: Look around you, man! Nothing has changed! You're a centurion, a soldier --- LUCIUS: I was, but I'm not any more. ANNAS: Stupidity! You gave up your career for a dead man! LUCIUS: No. I gave up who I was for somebody else. ANNAS: And you really believe that changes things? LUCIUS: Yes. ANNAS: The Romans still rule this country. The children here still starve! Your king is dead --- or is no longer here! What good is it? LUCIUS: Maybe things change when people begin to believe in something else. ANNAS: Nonsense! Nothing changes. And believing in something doesn't change the world. LUCIUS: You can talk all you want. But there are people here who are thinking. People are figuring out what happened, and when they do, you won't be able to stop it. Because Christ is alive in them. ANNAS: You are a foolish man! This Christ thing won't last six months. We will round up the rebels and we'll kill them. Then you'll see how things change. Mark my words. When these people die, this Jesus will truly be buried. No one will care about him. No one will believe in him. And then it will all be over, finished. JILL: That's all the time we have, gentlemen. Thank you for coming! Both of you. (To the audience.) This is Jill Burns from B.I.T. reporting live from Jerusalem. I'll be with you again tomorrow.
Part ThreeJILL: Good morning. This is Jill Burns from the Back In Time newscast reporting live from Jerusalem. Today is the Sabbath day and we are here with the rebels. They are all doing something highly illegal today. How do you feel about that? PERSON #1: About what? JILL: About doing something illegal. . . . You're worshipping. PERSON #1: Oh! I don't care. We have to do something. JILL: And this is what you're doing? PERSON #1: It's part of what we're doing. JILL: What purpose do you see in doing this? PERSON #1: Well, there's a lot of people against us right now. We worship together to strengthen ourselves. JILL: For what? PERSON #1: So we can go out into the world. JILL: And do what? PERSON #1: Tell people the good news. JILL: What good news? PERSON #1: That Jesus Christ is alive. JILL: Do you really believe that? PERSON #1: Yes. JILL: Have you seen him? PERSON #1: I saw him once before the cross. But I haven't seen him since. JILL: Then how do you know he's still alive? PERSON #1: Because I know, that's all. JILL: Some people would say that you're just following a fad. PERSON #1: I don't care what other people might say. JILL: But how can you tell people the good news? PERSON #1: All I know is that when I heard that other people saw him after the cross, I believed it. And then when I believed it, I knew it was true. JILL: Well, what good is it? PERSON #1: People have hope. People have life and freedom and peace and truth. JILL: You never did answer my question. PERSON #1: What question? JILL: How can you tell people the good news? PERSON #1: By loving them. By commitment. By meeting people's needs. By sharing what we know so that they can at least have a choice. JILL: Thank you. I --- wait a minute! Something's happening here. PERSON #2: (Addressing the entire audience.) We're here to worship and celebrate the life of Christ. Let's join hands and sing "Hallelujah!" (The company might want to do some other things here to get into a worship experience. But end up joining hands and singing.) JILL: Ladies and gentlemen, the feeling here is phenomenal! Without fear of being heard, these people are singing! Wait! I hear something! (Annas bursts in with two other people as soldiers. They try, unsuccessfully, to break up the meeting.) ANNAS: Stop it! Stop it! (The singing continues.) This Jesus Christ is dead! Do you hear me? He's dead! . . . All right! Either disperse now or die! Do you hear me? . . . I'm warning you! You stupid people! Three of you will die today! Who will die for this Christ? Answer me! Three of you stand now! Who will die for Christ? (The actor doing this will have to feel the experience and adjust to it. If no one stands, then tell them to choose someone to die. If no one stands after that, then drag someone you know to his or her feet. Get three people and leave with them. If everyone eventually stands, then you leave alone, defeated. Give people the time to make choices. Don't rush this at all.) PERSON #2: (After Annas leaves.) Let's pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us. (They do.) (Finish the worship service. Then when it's all done:) JILL: We've witnessed a remarkable thing here! This is Jill Burns from B.I.T. reporting to you live from Jerusalem. I must confess that I don't see how this thing can end. Have a good day.
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