A Full-Cast Audio Drama of Matthew 1 to 9
The script of a full-cast audio drama adapted from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 1 to 9 (World English Bible, public domain), with Dale Tummins and his friend Phil written in. Every word Jesus speaks, and every word of the angel and the voice from heaven, is Matthew's own, trimmed for the ear; Dale and Phil are ours. There is no narrator. Scene, sound and music cues are as performed. Free, not for sale.
Music: matthew theme.
Scene: village night.
Sound: door knock.
AN OLD MAN (sleepy) Who's knocking at this hour? Joseph?
JOSEPH I saw your lamp. I'm sorry.
AN OLD MAN Don't be sorry, come in. You'll let the cold in.
Sound: door creak.
AN OLD MAN Three days you've not been at the bench. Ezra's yoke is still in pieces, and Ezra's been round twice.
JOSEPH Mary is with child.
(A pause.)
AN OLD MAN And it isn't yours.
JOSEPH It isn't mine.
AN OLD MAN Then the law is plain. Take her before the elders. Everyone will know you were wronged.
JOSEPH Everyone will know her. I won't make her a public example.
AN OLD MAN Then what will you do?
JOSEPH Put her away quietly. A writ, two witnesses, no crowd. She goes to her mother's people, and nobody has to say anything.
AN OLD MAN You're a righteous man, Joseph. It'll cost you, being righteous quietly.
JOSEPH She says it's of God. The Holy Spirit, she says.
AN OLD MAN And what do you say?
JOSEPH (sighing) I say I'm tired. Good night, old friend.
Sound: footsteps away.
(A pause.)
Scene: village night.
Sound: dream swell.
THE ANGEL Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
THE ANGEL She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.
(A pause.)
Sound: rooster.
Sound: door knock.
AN OLD MAN Again? The sun's barely up.
JOSEPH Tell the rabbi there's to be a wedding. Mine. As soon as he'll have us.
AN OLD MAN Last night you were putting her away.
JOSEPH Last night I was asleep. It's a boy. His name is Jesus.
AN OLD MAN How can you know a thing like that?
JOSEPH I'll be at the bench by noon. Tell Ezra he'll have his yoke.
Sound: footsteps away.
(A pause.)
AN OLD MAN (whispering) Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel.
(A pause.)
Scene: caravan camp.
Sound: star shimmer.
A MAN Third night, my lord. I didn't believe the charts on the first.
THE WISE MAN Charts don't lie about a star. Men lie about charts.
THE WISE MAN Westward, over Judea. It's a king's star. A king born, not a king crowned.
A MAN Judea has a king. Herod. He won't thank anyone for bringing him another one.
THE WISE MAN We aren't going for Herod. We've seen his star. We're going to worship him.
A MAN Then it's a long road, my lord. What do we bring?
THE WISE MAN Gold. Frankincense. And myrrh.
A MAN Myrrh? For a birth?
THE WISE MAN For a king. All three. And find us camels, and men who know camels.
A MAN The market opens at dawn.
(A pause.)
Scene: caravan camp.
Sound: camel groan.
A MAN Next. How long have you worked with camels?
DALE All my life. Mostly around them. Not touching, but around.
A MAN Which end do you lead from?
DALE The polite end.
A MAN Get her to kneel.
DALE Down. Down, girl. Sit. Sit, please. I'm a guest in this country, I'm asking nicely.
Sound: camel spit.
DALE Some of the best ones take a minute to warm up.
A MAN And you?
PHIL Phil. I don't really know camels. I've read a bit. Hello, sweetheart. You've got sand in your eye, hold still.
Sound: camel kneel.
A MAN She doesn't do that for me.
Sound: sneeze.
PHIL I'm allergic to her. It's fine. She's worth it.
A MAN You're both hired. The brown one is yours, Dale. She leads.
DALE Which way are we headed? I'll want to plan my route.
A MAN West. We follow a star.
DALE Which road is that on?
A MAN It isn't on a road.
DALE I'll bring a map anyway, in case it's cloudy. One more thing. What's the title?
A MAN Camel hand.
DALE I was thinking wise man.
A MAN There are three wise men.
DALE Has anybody said that? Out loud? Officially? Has anyone written down three?
A MAN No.
DALE Then there's room. A fourth wise man rounds you out. Three's a lopsided number for a trip.
A MAN Camel hands get paid. Wise men don't.
(A pause.)
DALE Then I'll be the wise man who gets paid. Somebody has to keep the others honest.
A MAN And camel hands sleep with the camels.
DALE Then the fourth wise man sleeps with the camels. It's a humble order.
Sound: camel bite.
DALE (proud) That's affection. That's how they show it.
PHIL Dale, you're bleeding.
DALE We're bonding.
Music: sting comic.
Scene: desert caravan.
Sound: camel spit.
DALE Phil, ask them if they've got a map. I can't ask. I'm a wise man, it'd look bad.
PHIL They're following the star.
DALE A star doesn't tell you where the wells are. A star doesn't tell you anything. It just sits up there being bright at you.
Sound: camel spit.
DALE Fourteen. I'm keeping count so I can tell her mother.
Sound: pencil scratch.
PHIL Day nineteen. The brown camel only spits when Dale talks. Tomorrow's test, Dale doesn't talk.
DALE I'm not doing that test.
Sound: camel spit.
PHIL Fifteen.
PHIL She hasn't had water in six days, and she's fine. It isn't water in the hump, you know. It's fat.
DALE Then I've been sitting on fat for nineteen days?
PHIL Yes.
DALE No wonder she's upset. I'd spit too.
(A pause.)
DALE What are they bringing him? The steward wouldn't tell me. He said it's for the king.
PHIL Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
DALE Gold for a baby. He'll put it in his mouth. Frankincense is a smell, and babies have got their own smell, they don't need help. What's myrrh?
PHIL A resin. You put it on the dead, before they're buried.
(A pause.)
DALE That's a strange thing to bring a baby.
PHIL Yes.
(A pause.)
DALE Well, I'm bringing something. Four wise men, four gifts. It's tidy. It's got to say Dale, though.
PHIL What says Dale?
DALE I had a nice rock, but I lost it at the last well. I've got my good sandal. I could sing him something.
PHIL Which sandal is the good one?
DALE The one I'm not wearing. I'm saving it. I'll keep deciding.
Scene: jerusalem street.
THE WISE MAN Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.
A WOMAN (whispering) Born king? Keep your voice down.
AN OLD MAN Herod's the king. Herod's been the king since my mother was a girl.
A WOMAN Strangers asking after a new king. Go inside, all of you. That'll be trouble for the whole city by tonight.
Sound: crowd murmur.
DALE Nobody's offered us so much as a fig. Back home, a fourth wise man gets a fig.
PHIL Dale, I don't think they're happy we came.
DALE They will be. Give them time to hear who I am.
Sound: footsteps stone.
A SCRIBE You. The men from the east. The king will see you. This way, and quietly.
DALE (excited) Phil. He's heard about me.
Scene: herod palace.
HEROD Where will the Christ be born?
A SCRIBE In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet.
A PRIEST You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come a governor who shall shepherd my people, Israel.
HEROD Bethlehem. Half a morning's walk from my door. And none of you thought to mention it.
A SCRIBE It's written, my king. Anyone could read it.
HEROD Anyone didn't. The strangers. Bring them through the side door. I'll see them alone.
Scene: herod palace.
Sound: camel groan.
DALE Up. Up, not here. Not in front of the king. She's tired, Your Majesty. She's come a long way to see you.
HEROD Leave it. Sit, my friends. When did the star appear? The night it first rose. Exactly.
THE WISE MAN Near two years ago, by our reckoning.
(A pause.)
HEROD Two years. You're certain.
THE WISE MAN We've watched it every night since.
HEROD Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.
DALE Your Majesty, you're a lot nicer than they said in the street.
HEROD What did they say in the street?
(A pause.)
DALE Nothing. Good things.
HEROD How many wise men are you?
THE WISE MAN Three.
DALE Four.
HEROD And what does the fourth one bring the child?
DALE It's a surprise. I'm still deciding.
HEROD So am I. Four of you, then, to remember the way back to me.
Music: sting danger.
Scene: desert caravan.
Sound: star shimmer.
THE WISE MAN (laughing) Again! It's come again!
A MAN South, my lord. Toward Bethlehem.
THE WISE MAN Follow it. Follow it!
Music: star theme.
DALE Now it moves. Two years it sits there, and now it moves, after a king's already told us where to go.
PHIL Dale.
DALE I'm just saying a map wouldn't have shown off like this.
Sound: star shimmer.
(A pause.)
THE WISE MAN (whispering) Here.
Scene: bethlehem house.
Sound: door knock.
JOSEPH Yes?
THE WISE MAN We've seen his star. We've come to worship him.
(A pause.)
Sound: chest open.
THE WISE MAN Gold.
Sound: censer swing.
THE WISE MAN Frankincense.
Sound: jar set down.
THE WISE MAN Myrrh.
(A pause.)
Sound: blanket unfold.
DALE (whispering) The camel's spare. It's clean, mostly. He looked cold.
JOSEPH Thank you.
DALE (whispering) From the fourth one.
Scene: caravan camp.
THE WISE MAN Wake up. Wake up. We don't go back to Herod.
A MAN My lord?
THE WISE MAN We were warned in a dream, all three of us. Not through Jerusalem. Not near him. We go home another way.
DALE (sleepy) I had a dream too. I was a wise man.
(A pause.)
DALE Another way. That's what I said on the way in. I said, Phil, there's got to be another way.
PHIL You said there's got to be a quicker way.
DALE Another, quicker. Same idea. I'll let them have it, though.
Sound: camel spit.
PHIL Sixteen.
Scene: bethlehem house.
Sound: dream swell.
THE ANGEL Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
(A pause.)
JOSEPH (whispering) Mary. Mary, wake up. Wrap him warm. We're leaving tonight.
JOSEPH Don't light the lamp. Bring only what you can carry. The gifts, yes. They'll feed us a long while.
(A pause.)
JOSEPH And the blanket. The nights will be cold where we're going.
Sound: door creak.
Sound: donkey bray.
JOSEPH (whispering) Hush. Hush now. Walk on.
(A pause.)
Scene: herod palace.
A SCRIBE They've gone, my king. East, by another road. They never came back through the city.
HEROD Thirty years I've held this throne. And three stargazers make a fool of me in a week.
A PRIEST My king, the prophet only said a governor would come out of Bethlehem. He didn't say when.
HEROD Then I'll say when. Captain.
A MAN My king.
HEROD (calm) Take your men to Bethlehem, and all the country around it. Every male child, two years old and under. By the time I learned from the wise men.
(A pause.)
A MAN My king.
Sound: footsteps stone.
(A pause.)
Scene: village night.
(A pause.)
Music: lament.
A WOMAN (crying) A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning.
A WOMAN Rachel weeping for her children. She wouldn't be comforted, because they are no more.
(A pause.)
(A pause.)
Scene: village night.
Sound: dream swell.
THE ANGEL Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are dead.
(A pause.)
JOSEPH Mary. Herod is dead. We're going home, out of Egypt.
Sound: donkey bray.
A WOMAN Judea? You don't want Judea. Archelaus has it now. Herod's son.
JOSEPH Then not Judea. North, to Galilee. Thank you.
Scene: village night.
Sound: door knock.
AN OLD MAN (sleepy) Who's knocking at this hour?
Sound: door creak.
AN OLD MAN Joseph? Joseph! We thought we'd buried you. Mary, come in, come in out of the cold.
AN OLD MAN And this is the boy. Hello. Hello, little one. Where did you get such a fine blanket?
JOSEPH A friend. His name is Jesus.
AN OLD MAN Ezra's still waiting on his yoke, you know.
JOSEPH (laughing) Tell him tomorrow.
AN OLD MAN (gentle) Welcome home to Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth.
(A pause.)
Scene: desert caravan.
Sound: coins count.
A MAN Your wages. And keep the camels, both of them. The brown one won't go with anyone else.
DALE She'll go with me.
A MAN She'll go with Phil.
PHIL Thank you. I'll look after them.
DALE What are you going to do with two camels?
PHIL Raise a few, maybe. Her grandchildren will be good tempered.
DALE Not if they take after her.
PHIL They'll take after the other one.
DALE Can I borrow some of your wages? Mine went on figs.
PHIL We were only in Jerusalem one day.
DALE Nobody gave me one. I had to buy them.
(A pause.)
DALE Phil, do you think he liked the blanket?
PHIL I think he'll use it.
DALE That's what I thought. Gold, he'll lose. A blanket, you keep.
DALE When they tell this one, they'll say four wise men.
PHIL I don't know if they'll say how many.
DALE Even better. If nobody counts, anybody could be in it.
(A pause.)
DALE Best trip I ever went on. I didn't do anything, and I think it went really well.
PHIL I think so too.
Sound: pencil scratch.
PHIL Last day. The star's gone. The camels don't seem to mind. Dale's kept his good sandal.
Sound: camel bite.
DALE She's going to miss me.
Music: tender.
Scene: tax booth.
Sound: coins count.
DALE Thirty years, Phil. Thirty years and you still haven't given me my camel back.
PHIL Your camel's been gone a long time, Dale. This is his grandson.
DALE Then I'll take the grandson. It's what his grandfather would've wanted.
Sound: camel spit.
PHIL He has his grandfather's opinions.
MATTHEW Dale. Is your friend paying the fish tax, or just visiting?
DALE Visiting. Give him the partner's discount.
MATTHEW There's no partner's discount.
DALE The junior partner's discount, then.
MATTHEW There's no junior partner. Two baskets of sardines, Phil. Four coins.
PHIL Three. One basket is mostly a crab.
Sound: coin single.
MATTHEW Three. Take the crab with you.
DALE Matthew, if I'm going to deal with the public, I'll need a title.
MATTHEW You've got one.
DALE What is it?
MATTHEW Dale.
DALE I was thinking of something with partner in it.
MATTHEW I was thinking of something with quiet in it.
MATTHEW Dale. Half of Capernaum walked down to the Jordan to hear some prophet, and they all left owing me. Go and find them.
DALE A business trip.
MATTHEW A collection trip. Take the bag. Bring it back heavier.
DALE I'll need expenses.
MATTHEW You'll need to walk.
DALE Phil, you're coming. Bring the grandson. Somebody has to carry me.
PHIL He won't carry you, Dale.
DALE Then he can carry the bag, and I'll sit on the bag.
Scene: jordan river.
JOHN THE BAPTIST (shouting) Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
Sound: river wade.
AN OLD MAN The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make the way of the Lord ready. Make his paths straight.
A WOMAN Isaiah's words. I never thought I'd live to hear them shouted.
DALE Phil. Ask him where he got that coat.
PHIL It's camel's hair, Dale. Anybody's camel.
DALE That's what a man in a stolen coat would want you to think. Ask him which camel. If it's ours, I want a sleeve.
Sound: camel groan.
PHIL Easy. Easy. It's nobody you know.
DALE Sir, what's in the little pouch?
A MAN Locusts. That's all he eats. Locusts, and wild honey from the rocks.
DALE I'll try one. For the expenses.
Sound: locust crunch.
(A pause.)
DALE You'd want the honey with it.
A MAN Honey's up in the rocks, with the bees.
PHIL I can't go near bees, Dale. I swell up.
DALE Then hold my place in line. I'm getting baptized. Matthew's paying.
PHIL Does Matthew know?
DALE Matthew sent me on a business trip, Phil. Everything's an expense on a business trip.
Sound: water splash.
A MAN I moved the stone between my field and my brother's. Nine years ago. Every spring a little more.
A WOMAN I told my mother the goat ran off. I sold the goat.
DALE Phil, what do I confess? I want it to sound good.
PHIL It isn't supposed to sound good, Dale.
DALE Everything's supposed to sound good. Otherwise why say it out loud?
Sound: crowd murmur.
AN OLD MAN Pharisees. And Sadducees with them, all the way from Jerusalem.
A WOMAN Them? In the river? I'll believe it when they're wet.
A PHARISEE We've come to see this baptizer for ourselves. Make room.
JOHN THE BAPTIST You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!
JOHN THE BAPTIST Don't think to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father, for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
(A pause.)
JOHN THE BAPTIST Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.
DALE Good. Somebody had to tell them.
PHIL He said every tree, Dale.
DALE I'm not a tree, Phil. I'm in tax.
Sound: river wade.
DALE Phil? Where's my place?
PHIL I gave it to a lady with a baby.
DALE Excuse me. Official business. Tax booth, Capernaum.
A MAN Back of the line.
DALE I was up near the front. I went for a locust.
A WOMAN Back.
DALE Phil, give me your place.
PHIL I'm not in the line, Dale. I'm holding the camel.
DALE Then get in the line, and give me your place.
JOHN THE BAPTIST I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
JOHN THE BAPTIST His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.
DALE (excited) Phil. Did you hear that? He's hiring.
PHIL Hiring.
DALE Sandal carrier. He's not worthy, fine, but I'm not fussy. That's a title, Phil.
Sound: river wade.
(A pause.)
JOHN THE BAPTIST (calm) I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?
JESUS Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.
(A pause.)
Sound: water splash.
(A pause.)
Sound: heavens open.
Sound: dove wings.
A VOICE FROM HEAVEN This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
(A pause.)
DALE (whispering) My dad never said anything like that to me. He said I was a good height.
(A pause.)
Music: tender.
Scene: wilderness wind.
(A pause.)
THE TEMPTER If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.
(A pause.)
JESUS It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God's mouth.
Scene: temple height.
Sound: wind gust.
THE TEMPTER If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and, On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don't dash your foot against a stone.
JESUS Again, it is written, You shall not test the Lord, your God.
Scene: wilderness wind.
(A pause.)
THE TEMPTER (calm) All the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.
(A pause.)
JESUS Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.
Sound: wind gust.
(A pause.)
Music: tender.
Scene: boat night.
ANDREW They've taken John. Herod's men came down to the river and took him.
SIMON PETER Who told you that?
ANDREW Everyone on the road. And the one John baptized, the one from Nazareth. Forty days in the wilderness, they say, forty days and nights with nothing to eat.
SIMON PETER Nobody lives forty days on nothing.
ANDREW He did. And now he's left Nazareth. He's living here, by the water.
SIMON PETER Here? Why would anybody come to Capernaum?
AN OLD MAN The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who sat in darkness saw a great light.
(A pause.)
SIMON PETER Pull, then. We'll see what we see in the morning.
Scene: galilee shore.
Sound: water splash.
SIMON PETER Again, Andrew. Throw it again.
ANDREW That's nine times. There's nothing out there but water.
MATTHEW One basket in ten, Simon.
SIMON PETER One in ten of nothing, Matthew. Write that down.
DALE Put him down for a basket anyway. Out of respect for the booth.
SIMON PETER Out of respect, Dale, I'll put you in the lake.
DALE Matthew, he threatened an officer of the booth.
MATTHEW You're not an officer of the booth.
DALE Simon, next time you go out at night, I want the seat at the front. For the breeze.
SIMON PETER The front of my boat is a hole, Dale. Sit in it and you'll be under the lake.
DALE Then I want the seat next to the hole.
PHIL Hold still, Andrew. Your foot's in the hole I'm mending.
Sound: sneeze.
ANDREW Bless you, Phil.
PHIL It's the fish.
SIMON PETER It's always the fish with you.
PHIL Sometimes it's the crabs.
Sound: quill scratch.
PHIL Lake calm. No fish. Andrew's foot through the net again. A heron by the rocks has caught four.
SIMON PETER Is the heron paying tax, Matthew?
MATTHEW If it lands on the booth.
Sound: crowd murmur.
JESUS Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Sound: footsteps sand.
(A pause.)
JESUS Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.
(A pause.)
Sound: nets drop.
ANDREW Phil. Hold this.
Sound: footsteps sand.
MATTHEW Simon. Simon, your basket.
DALE (shouting) Simon! Fishing for men is still fishing! It's still taxed!
(A pause.)
AN OLD MAN (shouting) James! John! The nets are only half mended!
A MAN Let them go, Zebedee.
AN OLD MAN Who's going to finish the nets?
DALE Not me, Zebedee. I'm in tax.
(A pause.)
PHIL Dale. Would you mind the camel?
DALE Where are you going?
PHIL To listen.
DALE Phil, he said fishers. You don't fish. You mend.
PHIL Then they'll need their nets mended.
Sound: nets drop.
Sound: footsteps sand.
Sound: camel bite.
DALE (shouting) Phil! Come back and mind your own camel!
DALE Fine. Somebody has to tax the fish.
MATTHEW Somebody has to catch the fish first, Dale.
(A pause.)
MATTHEW He didn't ask them for anything. Not a coin. Not a basket.
DALE Then how does he eat?
MATTHEW I was wondering that.
(A pause.)
Sound: crowd murmur.
A WOMAN Is he here? They told us he'd be by the water.
AN OLD MAN Eleven days from Syria, carrying him on that mat.
A MAN Mind his leg. Gently. Gently.
A WOMAN My boy has the falling sickness. They said every kind. They said he heals every kind.
A CHILD Mama, is this the place?
A MAN Make way. We've walked from the ten towns, past the Jordan.
A WOMAN Jerusalem. We came all the way from Jerusalem.
DALE Matthew, don't we charge a road tax for coming in from Syria?
MATTHEW No.
DALE There should be. We'd be rich by the Sabbath.
DALE I'm getting up on the booth. I want to see.
MATTHEW Get off the booth, Dale.
(A pause.)
Sound: crowd gasp.
AN OLD MAN (crying) Eleven days we carried him. Eleven days. Let him walk home.
(A pause.)
MATTHEW They're not here for us, Dale.
DALE Nobody's ever here for us. That's what I like about the booth.
Sound: stool scrape.
DALE Where are you going?
MATTHEW Nowhere. I'm not going anywhere. Watch the booth.
DALE Junior partner, while you're not going anywhere?
MATTHEW Watch the booth, Dale.
Music: sting comic.
Scene: hillside crowd.
DALE Excuse me. Tax booth, Capernaum. Excuse me. Official.
A MAN Sit down.
A WOMAN That's my husband's place. He's gone down for water.
DALE Then he's given it up. That's the rule with places.
A WOMAN Up.
DALE Sir, is there any chance you could be shorter?
A MAN No.
PHIL (whispering) Dale. There's room here, by me.
DALE That's the back, Phil. I didn't walk up a mountain to sit in the back. I'll take it.
Sound: crowd murmur.
(A pause.)
JESUS Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
(A pause.)
JESUS Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Sound: wind gust.
JESUS Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
(A pause.)
JESUS Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
(A pause.)
JESUS You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden.
JESUS Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
(A pause.)
DALE (whispering) Light of the world, Phil. I always knew. I'd shine better from the front, though.
PHIL (whispering) Shh.
JESUS You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
DALE (whispering) If the tall man hits me, I'll turn the other cheek. Then you hit him.
PHIL No, Dale.
JESUS You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you.
JESUS For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?
DALE He mentioned us.
A MAN Shh.
DALE He mentioned the booth, Phil. On a mountain.
(A pause.)
JESUS Pray like this.
Sound: crowd prayer.
JESUS Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
JESUS Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
JESUS Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
(A pause.)
JESUS Don't lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
JESUS For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
DALE (whispering) He knows about the strongbox. Somebody told him about the strongbox.
PHIL He isn't talking about the strongbox, Dale.
DALE He said rust, Phil. The hinge is rusty. Nobody knows about the hinge.
JESUS No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Mammon.
DALE (whispering) Two masters. I've only got the one, and he won't even make me partner.
JESUS See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you of much more value than they?
(A pause.)
JESUS Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
Sound: quill scratch.
PHIL (whispering) Consider the lilies. They don't toil, neither do they spin.
JESUS But seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
(A pause.)
JESUS Don't judge, so that you won't be judged. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye?
DALE That's Matthew. Speck and beam. I've been telling him for years.
PHIL First remove the beam out of your own eye, Dale.
DALE I'm going to tell him you said that.
JESUS Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
DALE (whispering) A better seat. Something near the front.
(A pause.)
Sound: back knock.
A MAN Knock on me again and see what opens.
(A pause.)
JESUS Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Sound: rain storm.
JESUS The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn't fall, for it was founded on the rock.
(A pause.)
JESUS Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell, and its fall was great.
Sound: flood crash.
(A pause.)
Sound: crowd murmur.
AN OLD MAN Did you hear him? Not like the scribes.
A WOMAN The scribes tell you what somebody else said. He just says it.
A MAN Like it's his to say.
(A pause.)
PHIL I'd like to build on the rock, Dale.
DALE We'll need a permit.
Music: sting comic.
Scene: hillside crowd.
DALE Phil, keep up. If we're first to the bottom, we get a good spot for whatever's next.
PHIL He said ask, and it will be given you.
DALE I asked. Under my breath, for a better seat. I got the tall fella.
PHIL Maybe it's still coming.
DALE It'd better get here before the tall fella does.
Sound: crowd murmur.
A WOMAN Stay back. He's unclean. Stay back from him.
A MAN Don't let him near the children.
AN OLD MAN Let him pass. He's going to the teacher.
A LEPER Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.
(A pause.)
JESUS I want to. Be made clean.
Sound: crowd gasp.
A LEPER (crying) My hands. Oh, my hands.
JESUS See that you tell nobody. But go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.
(A pause.)
DALE Tell nobody. Phil, who should I tell nobody first?
PHIL Nobody, Dale.
DALE I'll start with Matthew. He never listens anyway.
DALE And I missed it. The tall fella again. I think he follows me.
Scene: tax booth.
Sound: coins count.
MATTHEW Two for the basket, one for the boat.
A MAN The boat? It's the same boat as last week.
MATTHEW And it paid last week. Two and one.
Sound: crowd murmur.
A WOMAN A Roman. What does a Roman want with the teacher?
THE CENTURION Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.
JESUS I will come and heal him.
THE CENTURION Lord, I'm not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
THE CENTURION For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, Go, and he goes. And another, Come, and he comes. And I tell my servant, Do this, and he does it.
(A pause.)
JESUS Most certainly I tell you, I haven't found so great a faith, not even in Israel.
JESUS I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven.
JESUS Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.
Sound: footsteps stone.
(A pause.)
A CHILD (excited) Master! Master! He's up. He's sitting up and asking for bread.
THE CENTURION When?
A CHILD Just now. This very hour.
(A pause.)
A MAN Well? Two and one?
MATTHEW Go on. Take your fish.
A MAN Without paying?
MATTHEW Go.
A MAN Are you feeling all right, Matthew?
MATTHEW No. Go on, before I feel better.
Scene: galilee shore.
ANDREW How is she?
SIMON PETER Up. The fever's gone. She's already feeding him.
ANDREW She wouldn't feed me when I had a fever.
Sound: crowd murmur.
A WOMAN Is he still here? My brother can't walk this far.
A MAN Then carry him. He's healing every one of them.
AN OLD MAN Bring the troubled ones too. He says one word to them, and they go quiet.
AN OLD MAN It's what the prophet Isaiah said. He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.
SIMON PETER To the other side, he says. Andrew, get the boat ready.
A SCRIBE Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
JESUS The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
A MAN Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.
JESUS Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.
(A pause.)
DALE Phil. I'm going too. Within reason.
PHIL There's no room in the boat, Dale.
DALE Where's the best seat?
PHIL It's a fishing boat. There isn't a best seat.
DALE Every boat's got a best seat. You just have to get under it. Hand me that net.
PHIL I mended that net this morning.
DALE Then it'll hold me.
Sound: nets drop.
PHIL That's a new hole.
DALE That's my elbow. Pull it over my feet.
PHIL (sighing) I understand.
Scene: boat night.
(A pause.)
DALE (whispering) Phil. Phil. Is he asleep?
PHIL (whispering) Yes.
DALE (whispering) Lucky him. I'm in here with a fish, and it keeps staring.
PHIL (whispering) It can't stare, Dale. It's dead.
DALE (whispering) Then it's taking it very personally.
Sound: sneeze.
ANDREW Bless you, Phil.
DALE (whispering) Don't say anything else. You'll give us away.
DALE (whispering) How long to the other side?
PHIL (whispering) Depends on the wind.
DALE (whispering) Good. No wind tonight. I checked.
Sound: wind gust.
ANDREW Wind's turning.
SIMON PETER That's not the wind turning. Get the sail down!
Scene: storm sea.
Sound: thunder crack.
SIMON PETER (shouting) Bail! Andrew, bail!
Sound: wave crash.
ANDREW She's filling faster than we can throw it out!
DALE (shouting) Save me! Don't forget the man under the nets! Save the man under the nets!
PHIL Dale, hold on to me. Hold on!
Sound: wave crash.
SIMON PETER Wake him. Somebody wake him!
SIMON PETER (shouting) Save us, Lord! We are dying!
(A pause.)
JESUS Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?
Sound: storm stops.
Scene: boat night.
(A pause.)
ANDREW What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
(A pause.)
SIMON PETER Row. Just row.
Sound: paddle strokes.
(A pause.)
DALE (whispering) Phil. Next time, I'm sitting wherever he sleeps.
Music: tender.
Scene: crowded house.
A MAN Don't push. There's no more room in here.
AN OLD MAN Is it true about the Roman's servant?
A MAN Up and eating, they say. And the teacher never even went in the house.
Sound: roof dust.
A WOMAN Who's up there? You're getting dirt in my hair.
DALE (muffled) Sorry. Best seat in the house.
PHIL Dale, how did you get up there?
DALE Stool, on a barrel, on a donkey. Then the donkey left.
PHIL Whose donkey?
DALE Not mine. I think that's why it left.
Sound: stool clatter.
DALE And now the stool's left.
DALE Phil, pass me up a fig. I'm going to be here a while.
PHIL I can't reach.
DALE Throw it, then.
(A pause.)
DALE Not at my face.
Sound: mat rustle.
A MAN Make way. Make way, we've got a man here who can't walk.
A WOMAN There's no room. We were here first.
A MAN He's been lying on that mat since the spring. Make way.
AN OLD MAN Gently with him. All four of you, gently.
JESUS Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.
Sound: crowd murmur.
A SCRIBE (whispering) This man blasphemes.
A PRIEST Not here. Remember it, and not here.
JESUS Why do you think evil in your hearts?
JESUS For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up, and walk?
JESUS But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
(A pause.)
JESUS Get up, and take up your mat, and go to your house.
(A pause.)
Sound: mat rustle.
Sound: crowd gasp.
Sound: footsteps stone.
AN OLD MAN Glory to God.
A WOMAN Glory to God, who gives such authority to men!
A SCRIBE (whispering) Did you see it?
A PRIEST I saw it. That's what worries me.
DALE (muffled) Phil? What happened? Everybody's gasping, and all I can hear is feet.
PHIL He walked, Dale. He picked up his mat and walked home.
(A pause.)
DALE Ask him if he's finished with the mat. I could slide down on it.
Sound: door creak.
THE RULER My daughter has just died. But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.
(A pause.)
Sound: footsteps stone.
A WOMAN He's going with him. Come on.
A MAN Out, everybody out. Follow them.
DALE Phil? Where's everybody going? Phil? I'll wait here, then. I've got no choice, but I'll wait.
(A pause.)
DALE This is fine. It's a good roof. Tomorrow somebody'll want to sit up here, and I'll already have the spot.
Scene: jerusalem street.
A MAN Let them through. It's the ruler's girl. Let them through!
THE RULER Please. This way. It isn't far.
AN OLD MAN Stop pushing!
A MAN Who's pushing? Everybody's pushing.
A WOMAN (whispering) If I just touch his garment, I will be made well.
(A pause.)
AN OLD MAN He's stopped. Why has he stopped?
JESUS Daughter, cheer up! Your faith has made you well.
A WOMAN (crying) Twelve years. Twelve years.
Scene: crowded house.
Sound: mourners flutes.
AN OLD MAN So young. So young.
JESUS Make room, because the girl isn't dead, but sleeping.
Sound: crowd scoff.
A MAN Sleeping, he says. We've been playing for her since noon.
PHIL Please. Let him in to her.
A MAN Let him in? She's gone, friend. We were there.
THE RULER Out, please. Everyone. Out.
Sound: door creak.
(A pause.)
Sound: breath gasp.
(A pause.)
A CHILD Father?
THE RULER (crying) I'm here. I'm here.
Music: tender.
Scene: tax booth.
A MAN The ruler's girl. Did you hear?
A WOMAN Everybody's heard. They're saying it in every village round the lake.
AN OLD MAN I've been fishing this water sixty years. Nothing like it, ever.
A MAN My cousin says the man with the mat won't put it down. He takes it everywhere now.
A CHILD Can I go and see the girl?
A WOMAN You leave that poor girl be. She's had a day.
Scene: village night.
Sound: pencil scratch.
PHIL Capernaum. The man on the mat walked home carrying it. A woman sick for twelve years, well. A little girl got up and asked for her father. I've stopped writing down what I think will happen next.
DALE And I was on the roof.
PHIL You were on the roof, Dale.
DALE Best seat in the house, and I heard all of it through dirt.
DALE Plus I got a splinter, a sunburn, and a pigeon sat on me for an hour. I didn't want to move it. It was the only one who stayed.
PHIL I'm sorry, Dale.
DALE How do I get down?
Sound: camel groan.
PHIL Step on his back. Slowly.
DALE Does he know it's me?
PHIL He's very calm tonight.
Sound: camel bite.
DALE He knows it's me.
Music: sting comic.
Scene: tax booth.
Sound: coins count.
DALE All I'm saying is, a sign. Matthew and Tummins. You'd go first. I'm not proud.
MATTHEW There's no sign, Dale.
DALE Matthew and Junior Partner, then. Smaller letters. Down in the corner.
MATTHEW There's no sign, Dale.
DALE I'm not asking for much. One, my name somewhere. Two, I get the stool on Fridays. Three, you laugh when I say something.
MATTHEW It's my stool.
DALE Then just one and three.
MATTHEW You owe the booth for a fish.
DALE That was a business fish.
MATTHEW You ate it.
DALE I ate it on business.
A MAN Two for the basket, one for the boat. I know, I know.
Sound: coin single.
MATTHEW Dale. That night on the lake. Phil says the wind just stopped.
DALE The wind stops all the time.
MATTHEW Does it.
(A pause.)
DALE Not like that, though.
MATTHEW No.
(A pause.)
MATTHEW He's walked past this booth three times this week.
DALE Probably wants to ask about the partnership. People hear things.
Sound: crowd murmur.
A WOMAN Out of the road. He's coming through.
A MAN Is he stopping? Why's he stopping here?
(A pause.)
JESUS Follow me.
(A pause.)
Sound: stool scrape.
Sound: coin single.
DALE Matthew? You didn't close the box.
Sound: footsteps sand.
(A pause.)
DALE Matthew. Who's minding the booth?
(A pause.)
DALE Senior partner.
Sound: coins count.
DALE First thing I'm doing as senior partner is forgiving myself that fish.
A MAN Where's Matthew gone?
DALE Off. I'm senior partner now. That'll be three.
A MAN It's always two and one.
DALE New management.
A MAN I'll come back when Matthew's back.
DALE He's not coming back.
(A pause.)
DALE He's not coming back, is he.
PHIL Dale. Matthew's giving a dinner. At his house. Tonight.
DALE Is there food?
PHIL He's roasting a whole lamb.
DALE Then the booth's closed. Senior partner's decision.
Scene: jerusalem street.
Sound: room laugh.
A PHARISEE Matthew from the booth. And every other tax man on the lake, by the sound of it.
A SCRIBE And worse than tax men. Half of them I wouldn't let in my yard.
A PHARISEE And the teacher reclining with them. Eating with them.
A SCRIBE A teacher who knows the law, at that table.
A PHARISEE Then perhaps he doesn't know it as well as they say.
A SCRIBE Ask the fisherman at the gate. He'll have to answer for him.
Scene: dinner party.
Sound: cups clink.
A MAN (laughing) Matthew! Who's taking our money now?
DALE Me. Senior partner.
A MAN Who's he?
MATTHEW Dale.
A WOMAN I've never sat at a table with a teacher before. Not once in my life.
AN OLD MAN Nor me. They cross the street when they see me. Pass the bread.
Sound: bread break.
DALE Phil, which seat's nearest the lamb?
PHIL Sit down, Dale. Anywhere.
A MAN You're on my cushion.
DALE Best cushion in the house. I've tried four.
DALE Matthew. Before I eat. A going-away present, for leaving the booth.
Sound: blanket shake.
MATTHEW It's a blanket.
DALE Where you're going you'll be sleeping out. He's got nowhere to lay his head. I heard him say so.
DALE I gave one to a baby once, years ago. Out east. He looked cold. I think he liked it.
(A pause.)
MATTHEW Thank you, Dale.
DALE You can say partner. Nobody's listening.
MATTHEW Dale.
Sound: door knock.
A PHARISEE You. Fisherman. Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
(A pause.)
JESUS Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.
JESUS But you go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(A pause.)
DALE (whispering) Phil. I've had a cough since the boat.
PHIL (whispering) I know, Dale.
Scene: village night.
Sound: camel groan.
PHIL He's yours, Dale.
DALE The camel?
PHIL You've asked me for thirty years.
DALE I know. I didn't think it'd work. Where are you going?
PHIL Wherever they go. I want to hear the rest of it.
DALE Where will you sleep?
PHIL Wherever he does.
DALE Take the camel, then. He's good on a long walk.
PHIL He has nowhere to lay his head, Dale. I'll manage without a camel.
DALE He can have the camel's spot, then. It's out of the wind. I'll move the camel.
Sound: camel bite.
DALE Same mouth as his grandfather.
PHIL He'll come round. His grandfather did, in the end.
DALE His grandfather bit me every day for a year.
(A pause.)
PHIL Dale. The baby you gave the blanket to. Out east.
DALE What about him?
(A pause.)
PHIL Nothing. It was a good gift.
Scene: hillside crowd.
Sound: crowd murmur.
A WOMAN Is he coming to our village too?
A MAN He's going to all of them. Every village, every synagogue.
Sound: pencil scratch.
PHIL Another village. The sick come out of every door, and he heals every one. So many people, and so tired. Harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
JESUS The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
JESUS Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.
(A pause.)
DALE Phil. Those laborers. I'd do that.
PHIL Would you?
DALE I've got a camel now. Does it pay?
PHIL Not in money, Dale.
(A pause.)
DALE Junior laborer, then. For now.
Music: end credits matthew.