Friends, here are several skits I wrote for Easter. The first one is comedy; the next two are not.
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Resurrection Skit
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Two Roman Guards
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And Then the Cock Crowed
Resurrection Skit. #1. A comedy for Easter.
LUCIUS — (enters from the exit door. Picks up the microphone, begins speaking into microphone)
Ladies and gentlemen, I am your action reporter and I am on the scene here near the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, (motions to exit) investigating the mysterious disappearance of his body. We are here live and conducting interviews of people who saw the whole thing….
MARCUS — (enters, wearing combat fatigues (camouflage) and a bird house on his head, approaches Lucius) Hey, I saw the whole thing.
LUCIUS — Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have a late breaking development. (to MARCUS) Can you repeat that, sir? (points mike at Marcus)
MARCUS — Yes, I said, I saw the whole thing. Can you hear me alright?
LUCIUS — Before we go on, sir, can you explain how it is that you have your head in a bird house?
MARCUS — Yes, of course. I’m a private investigator. This was a very clever idea of mine to camouflage myself during the surveillance.
LUCIUS — camouflage?
MARCUS — See, when I stand behind a tree and lay my head on a branch my camouflage clothes blend into the background and I look just like a your common garden variety bird house. Clever, no?
LUCIUS — Clever. Well, I guess you can take the bird house off your head now.
MARCUS — No, I can’t.
LUCIUS — You can’t?
MARCUS — No, in order to avoid blowing my cover at an inopportune moment I decided to nail myself into this bird house.
LUCIUS — No kidding?
MARCUS — No kidding. I’d need a claw hammer to remove it.
LUCIUS — Well, let’s get back to the resurrection.
MARCUS — Yes, I was staked out in a tree just a few feet from the tomb. (points to exit of the church)
LUCIUS — That’s the tomb of belonging to Joseph of Arimathea?
MARCUS — That’s right. He let the Christians bury Jesus in his brand new family tomb. I was there when they wrapped the body and laid it in the tomb. Then, they rolled a big round stone in front of the opening. Boy, that sucker was heavy. They made sure no one could get in.
LUCIUS — You could see all that that through the hole in the bird house?
MARCUS — You might say I had a bird’s eye view. (laughs)
LUCIUS — Bird’s eye view.
MARCUS — Yes, I am a trained observer.
LUCIUS — Can you tell our audience why a trained observer would be staked out in front of a tomb?
MARCUS — Yes, of course. Jesus predicted that he would raise from the dead after three days. So, the boys at the Sanhedrin decided to post a guard at the tomb to make sure the Christians didn’t steal the body and make it look like a resurrection. They hired me to keep an eye on the guard.
LUCIUS — I see. Now, back to the resurrection. The people in the city reported an earthquake. Did you feel the earthquake?
MARCUS — Boy, did I. The ground shook like crazy! The guard was so scared, he hid behind me. He thought I was a tree. So, the camouflage worked, you see.
LUCIUS — You saw him behind you?
MARCUS — Well, no, I could only see the entrance to the tomb in front of me. There’s just one hole in the bird house, you know.
LUCIUS — Then, how did you know he was hiding behind you?
MARCUS — I could hear his knees knocking.
LUCIUS — Then what happened?
MARCUS — Then a clown appeared from nowhere and rolled away the stone.
LUCIUS — Wait a minute. Did you say you saw a clown?
MARCUS — Yes, uh huh.
LUCIUS — Are you sure you saw a clown?
MARCUS — Well, not exactly.
LUCIUS — What do you mean, not exactly? Did you see a clown or not?
MARCUS — Well, sort of… (shrugs)
LUCIUS — Look, you boasted that you were a trained observer. What exactly did you see?
MARCUS — Well, I got hungry after staking out the tomb and watching that Roman guard for most of the weekend.
LUCIUS — What does that have to do with a clown?
MARCUS — Well, I was eating at the time. I was feeding myself. I was hungry. I was pushing food into the bird house through the hole when the earthquake started. I tried to clear the food out of the hole. But have you ever tried clearing raisins and peanut butter out of a bird house hole during an earthquake?
LUCIUS — I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure. You still haven’t explained the clown.
MARCUS — I’m getting to that. I could see enough of the guy to know that he was a clown. He glowed really bright.
LUCIUS — Oh, brother.
MARCUS — What?
LUCIUS — That wasn’t a clown. That was an angel of the Lord.
MARCUS — Angel… clown, what’s the difference?
LUCIUS — (to audience) He’s a trained observer.
MARCUS — How’s that? I can’t hear you. I’ve got a bird house on my head.
LUCIUS — So, you had raisins and peanut butter clogging up your bird house hole.
MARCUS — Makes a great combination. You ought to try it sometime as a sandwich.
LUCIUS — Can we get back to the resurrection?
MARCUS — Oh yeah. I got most of the raisins and peanut butter out of the hole with my fingers and then I found a twig and poked it into the hole.
LUCIUS — So, then you could see?
MARCUS — Not real well. I poked myself in the eye.
LUCIUS — Look, I’m not interested in your eye.
MARCUS — Well, you ought to be. Have you ever poked yourself in the eye with a twig? That smarts!
LUCIUS — I’m sure. But did you see Jesus come out of the tomb?
MARCUS — Well, the twig got stuck in the hole. I should have stripped the leaves off of it first.
LUCIUS — So, you didn’t see anything.
Marcus — Well no. but I did see someone else there.
Lucius – Now we’re getting some place. Who did you see. Please tell my listeners.
Marcus – I’ll do you one better. I’ll let you meet her now.
(He motions to Mary at the entrance of the church and she walks in and grabs a microphone)
Marcus – Hello Mary, how are you? Do you remember me?
Mary – Yes, I do. You’re that party animal who was hiding behind a tree with that stupid birdhouse on your head.
Marcus – Party animal?
Mary – Yes. I guess it’s better than a lampshade at the party you were at.
Marcus – I wasn’t at a party. I was in camo so I wouldn’t be noticed by anyone.
Mary – I noticed you.
Marcus – Well, thanks a lot. I tried so hard to hide myself.
Mary – I think you just looked silly.
Lucius – Will you two quit bickering? I want you, Mary, to tell me and our listening audience what you saw at the tomb.
Mary – Sure. I didn’t see anything.
Lucius – Nothing? I thought Marcus just told us that you were there and you saw what happened.
Mary – Well, I came in the next morning after breakfast. I got together with Mary Magdalene and we had a huge helping of scrambled eggs with hash browns and chorizo.
Lucius – I don’t care what you had for breakfast!
Mary – You should care. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know.
Lucius – Are you two related?
Marcus – No. Can’t a guy talk about things which are important to us?
Lucius – Not on a radio broadcast. You do know that we’re live on the radio, don’t you?
Mary – What’s a radio?
Lucius – Oh brother! You guys are really something aren’t you.
Marcus – I know I am. Otherwise the Roman Centurion wouldn’t have hired me to watch that guard who was at the entrance to the tomb.
Mary – I’ll bet that made you feel important, didn’t it. I know I liked being chosen.
Lucius – Now we’re getting someplace. Mary, you say you were chosen. Was that by God to have Jesus as your son?
Mary – Yes. I see you’ve read the Old Testament. That was me who got chosen. I was only a kid at the time but I knew it was important even back then. And now I’m over forty and I still can’t believe that God chose me to bring Him to life here on earth!
Marcus – That must have really been something! What did your husband say about this?
Mary – Oh Joseph? He didn’t believe me when I told him. Neither did anyone else, as a matter of fact. But when I explained to Joe that the Holy Spirit had implanted a seed in me, it seemed to simply add to his suspicions. It took an angel of God to come down and explain it to him. After that, it was okay. It was touch and go for a while there, but now we’re getting along just fine.
Marcus – Oh that’s good. My wife and I have had some problems recently and I got to tell you…
Lucius –Will you two quit! We’re on a live broadcast here and we’re trying to get to the bottom of what happened at the tomb.
Mary – Oh yeah. Sure. I tell you about the most important thing that ever happened on this earth and all you care about is your stupid little radio program!
Marcus – Yeah, Mary. He did that with me too. He thinks he’s the center of the universe just because he’s got a microphone and a radio show.
Lucius – Well you two quit it! Just tell me, Mary, what you saw at the tomb.
Mary – I didn’t see much.
Lucius – You didn’t see much? Marcus says you were there!
Mary – I came in the next morning after breakfast to make sure nothing was disturbed. You know the Romans were on guard there to make sure that Jesus didn’t get out of the tomb and come back to life as it said in the Old Testament scriptures.
Lucius – Now we’re getting some place. So you saw Jesus there?
Mary – No. there were three of us ladies who went into the tomb which had already been opened up before we got there.
Lucius – So Marcus didn’t see anything and neither did you?
Mary – That’s right. But I did see an angel in the tomb there. He explained to us that Jesus wasn’t there, that he had risen from the tomb, just like the old scriptures had predicted.
Marcus – That makes sense. So you met an angel there.
Lucius – Please Marcus. I’ll do the questions around here. Remember you’re credibility as an observer is at question here.
Marcus – Sorry. But this is interesting. I was listening to some of Jesus’ followers the other day and they seem to really upset that this was going to happen. Makes sense to me that if this Jesus man was going to be killed because it said so in the old scriptures, they should have hidden him so they wouldn’t kill him.
And what they did to him was downright cruel. Not only did they mock him at the kangaroo court, they made him carry his own cross through the streets and up to Calvary Hill. I’d never seen the Romans be so cruel before. And they nailed him up there on the cross up there on Calvary and treated him like a common criminal.
Mary – Stop it! I don’t want to relive it again. What I must tell you is that I saw my son Jesus shortly after that in kind of a transitional state. He told me he hadn’t reached heaven yet but that I shouldn’t touch him before he got there.
Lucius – I’m sorry Mary. I’m just trying to bring the whole story to my listeners so they can understand how important this is.
Mary – Thanks. But I feel pretty good to know that He’s in a great place and that he’s up there preparing a place for me.
Marcus – I didn’t see Him either. I had so much food stuck in my bird house. But I finally got the twig out of the hole and I could see the empty tomb just fine.
LUCIUS — The empty tomb?
MARCUS — Well, it wasn’t completely empty. The wrappings from the body were laying there. I went inside and saw the same thing that Mary saw.
LUCIUS — So, you didn’t actually see the Lord Jesus rise from the dead or leave the tomb?
MARCUS — Well, no. But I do know that Jesus got raised from the dead.
LUCIUS — How do you know that Jesus was raised from the dead?
MARCUS — I heard the guard behind me gasping at the whole thing as it was happening. And I saw that clown.
Lucius – The bright light?
LUCIUS — Well, that’s it for our eye-witness account of the resurr….
MARCUS — (stumbles toward exit, hands outstretched) Which way do I go to get out of here?
LUCIUS — Watch where you’re walking, there!
MARCUS — (exits) Oh, I’ll be alright. I can see just….
(crash)
LUCIUS — (shrugs, exits) This is Lucius for radio Jerusalem. Now, back to the studio with our regular programming.
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Easter Skit #2
Two Roman Guards
The two Roman guards assigned to guard the tomb of Jesus were talking just outside the tomb.
Guards: Lucius and Marcus. Marcus is the unsympathetic Roman.
Lucius is more caring
Lucius: This guy we just crucified last Friday was supposed to be the King of the Jews. He didn’t look like much to me.. He was just a Nazarene. He wasn’t Roman, you know.
Marcus: Yeah. And did you hear what he said as he was dying?
L: Yeah. I was there, you know. He said something about his father forgiving us for what we’re doing to him. And then he said, “It is finished.” I was on duty that day and followed the whole thing—from the trial to the crucifixion. Seems to me that he was innocent.
M: Yeah. And then it clouded over and became cold and a wind came up with thunder.
L: Yeah. I wonder what caused that. That was weird. And did you hear that he said he was the King of Jews?
Marcus: Yeah. I heard that. He actually said he was their king. Boy did that ever make the prefect Pilate angry. We certainly don’t need any more kings around here. Pilate goes around acting like he’s a king.
Luc: But Governor Pilate seems to be a puppet of that head Jew priest called Caiaphas.
Mar: Who’s he?
Luc: He was at the trial and I saw him really angry—telling us Romans what to do with this insubordinate Jesus. I’ve never met Caiaphas, of course, but he seemed really angry about this Jesus guy being the Messiah the old testament was talking about. You know, Jesus saying he is the messiah, the Christ. Supposedly, Jesus said that he came to save the world.
M: Save the world from what? We already are the most powerful nation in the world, you know.
L: Oh, I don’t know. He said something about eternal life or something.
M: Don’t our gods promise eternal life already? Why would we need another god? We’ve already got Jupiter and Neptune and Juno and Venus and a bunch of other all-powerful gods.
L: We don’t need another god, but those followers of Jesus—they call him “the way.” They seem to think it’s important.
M: Yeah, I’ve noticed them. They walk around with their heads in the clouds as if we who don’t believe in their god and their Jesus are inferior to them.
L: Maddening, isn’t it?
M: Yeah. It sure is. How could their god be more powerful than ours? Doesn’t make sense. After all, isn’t it our god who made us the rulers of the world? And I think I’m in pretty good health so I don’t need another god.
L: That’s not what they’re talking about, Marcus. Even though he goes around doing miracles of healing and stuff, they keep saying something about eternal life.
M: Well, if my old age is anything like my grandfather’s old age when he was in pain and was crippled so much, then I don’t want to live forever in pain like that.
L: Yeah, I agree with you. But this guy Jesus has really made us Romans angry. He says he’s the king of the Jews. And even their leaders can’t stand the idea of him being their king.
You heard those Jewish priests insisting that Jesus be crucified! I couldn’t believe that their own elders and chief priest would insist on riling up the crowd into a frenzy to do their bidding to execute Jesus by crucifixion.
M: And I couldn’t believe that they would be so effective as to get the Jewish crowd to release that criminal Barabbas instead of Jesus who has done nothing against us Romans. Those Jewish priests and elders really got the crowd going. They got the crowd to release Barabbas instead of Jesus! That guy Barabbas was nothing in the scheme of things, you know. He is just an enemy of Rome and has nothing to do with the Jesus followers.
M: But Jesus does have a lot of followers, you know.
L: Yeah, but look who they are—just a bunch of illiterate peasants and slaves and poor people. If they were important people, then maybe I could pay more heed to them.
M: Are you kidding? You’d pay more heed to him? You do and you’ll be put up on that cross just like those three were last Friday. You don’t want that do you?
L: No, I suppose not. As a matter of fact, I KNOW I don’t want to be up on that hill, hanging from the wooden beams like those three were. And to add insult to it all, they pounded spikes into the wrists of Jesus.
M: Yeah, I saw that. That sure must have hurt. They didn’t use those spikes on the other thieves on either side of Jesus.
L: Who cares as long as it isn’t me…or you?
M: I suppose you’re right.
L: I keep hearing those followers say that he was innocent. They’re out there crying and wailing and begging for mercy from us Romans. It was pitiful. And any of us Romans who showed him kindness would be hanged for insurrection against Pilate or Emperor Tiberius Caesar. You don’t want them to know we were on the side of these peasants.
The way I saw the whole thing go down, it was a sham. I think he was innocent but was forced into being guilty by the Jewish Sanhedrin.
M: Yeah, as innocent as the robbers hanging on either side of him.
L: Yeah, but they treated him different. The Centurion told me not to touch Jesus after he died. He told us to take the other thieves to the burial ditch and just dump them in there with the other criminal. But they had us stand back and watch as his followers carefully removed Jesus themselves. And then they took him away to that cave over there. All the while, they were weeping and wailing. Just a lot of complainers.
M: Yeah. That was different. I wonder why we were not allowed to touch him.
L: I suppose it’s just as well. After all, we’re only Roman guards and not a part of their religious cult. I just stood by and watched them remove the nails and tie ropes. I want nothing to do with them. Just a bunch of fanatics and rabble rousers to me.
Besides, like I said, if I’d show any sort of sympathy, they’d probably hang me up there with them.
M: Yeah. You don’t want to go there. I have a family to support.
L: I don’t have a family like you do but I’m not interested in the pain. But I saw that you’re okay with administering pain though, aren’t you? I saw you weave a bunch of thorns into a crown and force it onto his head. I’m sure that was painful. And then we had him wear that crown, bleeding and everything, from town to Calvary, carrying that huge, heavy cross.
M: I suppose you’re right. But I didn’t enjoy doing it. I just did it because the crowd wanted me to do it. They were spitting on Jesus and throwing rocks and insults at him, you know.
L: What do you mean you didn’t enjoy it? I saw you taunting Jesus, yelling to him that if he was so great and powerful that he should just release himself from the cross and be on his way.
M: I was just getting into it. Everybody around me was doing the same thing.
L: Do you do everything that others tell you to do?
M: Not really. I just got caught up in the excitement of it all. Those Jew leaders were calling for him to die and to suffer for claiming to be their king so I just got into it. I showed him no mercy. And why should I? He means nothing to me.
L: I think you have a mean streak…and then you blame others for it.
M: Who me? No way! He’s just a peasant. And did you see how dirty he was? His sandals were filthy and his feet covered with dirt. He has not personal pride or he would have been clean.
L: You’ve GOT to be kidding! After all he’d been through: the capture and the trial and being forced to carry his own cross through the streets to the hill of Calvary. And to have blood streaming down his face and being in pain all the while! And that flogging the other soldiers gave him… I’m surprised that he was still alive after that flogging. He was sure bleeding a lot. I’m surprised he had enough energy to carry his cross through the streets like he did. And when he dropped it, I didn’t see you helping him up.
I’m hope don’t you attend MY funeral. You’ll probably just throw sand on me and then walk away before I’m buried.
M: I was just doing what I was told. Lay off me. I wouldn’t treat you that way.
L: I would hope not. But I saw you put a sponge on the end of a stick, soak it with vinegar and offer it for Jesus to drink. I think that was rather cruel.
M: Yeah, well, he didn’t drink it. He died then.
L: And that’s when the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the earth shook and the rocks split. And then lots of tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection the went into the city and appeared to many people. After I saw that, I must admit that he must have been the Son of God.
The lights of the church darken. Then come back on.
Two ladies enter the scene. Mary Magdalene and Mary mother of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene: Praise God! He is risen!
Mary Mother of James and Jesus: Hallelujah! My son, our savior, our messiah is free!
Marcus: What are they talking about, being free? He just died three days ago.
Lucius: Don’t you know anything? That’s their way of being saved. Besides that, they just came back from the tomb. And they seemed happy about it.
M: Oh yeah. I just woke up. You look like you’ve been sleeping too.
L: Yeah. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open this morning. That wine you brought last night must have had some special ingredient in it to make us sleep like that.
M: Uh oh. We’re in trouble. Don’t tell anyone we fell asleep.
The two guards proceed to the other side of the room and point to the entrance of the church as if the tomb is there.
L: By Jupiter, ruler of the ocean, those ladies are right! He’s not there in the tomb anymore. Look at the way that stone was rolled away!
M: Yeah. And look at the ropes that were holding the stone in place! They’ve been pulled apart as if by some strong force. Those ropes were not cut; they were pulled apart! And look at the seal that they put on there when they put the stone in place. It’s melted! Something really strong was at work here.
L: And it’s empty, too. Just a bunch of burial clothing in there. That criminal we crucified on Friday isn’t there anymore.
M: We’re in real trouble, you and me. The centurion will have us hung for allowing this guy to escape!
L: I didn’t do anything!
M: You fell asleep and let this happen, didn’t you?
L: Yeah, but not intentionally.
M: It doesn’t matter. The centurion will think we just fell asleep because of the wine I brought us last night when we started our shift. He’ll hang us to show others just how powerful they are—as a lesson to others that they must not fall asleep.
L: Maybe we’ll just make up a story to cover our butts.
M: Yeah. We’ll have to do that, because I have no idea how this could have happened. Let’s just tell the centurion that we were on duty but didn’t hear or see a thing. That always works in American politics. They can lie and get away with anything there.
L: Get real! With all the noise that stone would have made when it was being rolled away, you say you didn’t hear that? Are you kidding? You think they’ll believe that story if you were awake?
M: Well, we have to say something! We can’t tell him that we fell asleep! The centurion will have to punish us you know, because he is responsible to the tribune Tiberius and the prefect Pilate. And Tiberius will not look kindly on this. You and I are dead men!
L: Yeah, you’re probably right. They put us in charge of this tomb last night so we’re dead.
M: Do you know why they wanted to put Roman guards on a stupid tomb?
L: It has something to do with the Tribune not wanting another king around to lead Israel against us. He wanted to make sure that Jesus didn’t come back to be that leader. We don’t need another king—or even another religious agitator like Jesus. And to have Jesus come back to be king would be something Pilate wouldn’t put up with.
And we had to guard the tomb to make sure that his followers wouldn’t come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception would be worse than the first.
M: Okay. Let’s just practice what we’re going to say to the centurion when he comes for us.
L: Good idea.
The end.
And Then the Cock Crowed
The Thoughts of the Apostle Peter
A Story by Barry R. Willis February 2022.Edited Nov 2023
I’m sitting in this courtyard where Jesus was captured and led. It is dark and nearly dawn and we gather near the courtyard fire for light and to keep warm. Then some woman, a servant girl, comes up to me in the firelight and accuses me “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”
This sounds like a Roman plot to get me and my friends involved with the insurrection to get Jesus in trouble. I’ll bet she is a plant by the governor to get me involved in those Roman politics. Well, I’m not going to do it. I’ll just tell her no.
Jesus my friend, my Lord, my Messiah, what do you want from me? What am I supposed to do? The Pharisees have put me on the spot about knowing you, Lord. I think they want to know what I know about you so they can get more information about you. I don’t know what they’ll do with this information, but they are insistent that I am one of yours and that I admit it. Help me do the right thing.
I keep returning to my human side instead of doing what you’ve trained me to do. I feel like just telling them a little lie and get it over with. I’ll just plea ignorance. That’ll fix everything quite easily, I’m sure.
I’m often impetuous and act too often on impulse, but the others rely upon me to lead them and show them what to do and how to act. This fisherman now knows what it’s like to be a fisher of men and that I need to set the example. I mustn’t disappoint him. Still, I’d like to take the easy way out…
But telling that servant girl “no” would be a lie, and Jesus wouldn’t want that. He’s been enthusiastically enforcing the ancient law and certainly would not tolerate me sinning in this manner.
There’s Matthew over there taking notes of what’s happening. It seems he’s very meticulous about writing about what goes on here, so I’d best do the right thing and tell this girl the truth. Physician Luke is here too. And Mark and John, and of course my brother Andrew; we’re all here to find out what’s going to happen to Jesus after his arrest.
It would be a lot easier if I just made myself inconspicuous and left quietly. Yeah, that’s what I should do. That would end the confrontation with this urchin.
But then, that’s not why Jesus picked me to walk with him. It’s not the kind of act that would build character. That would be the coward’s way.
I’m torn from all this indecision.
We all know that the whole reason for Jesus to be here is to start a revolution. Not an insurrection of course, which would be a revolt against the government, but a transformation of the way people think of him. I’ve learned a lot about the kind of rebellion he is here for, and it’s certainly not his way to cower and walk away from confrontation, to avoid the people who don’t understand why he’s here. He’s always upfront and forthright about telling people why he’s here. He’s been training me and the others to be the same way.
But I’m not him! I’m just human and don’t have God’s divine spirit watching over me the same way Jesus does. After all, Jesus is the son of God and has a special blessing…certainly more than me.
But then again, just by choosing me to walk with him and learn from him gives me a very special blessing. And someday, after I learn more from him, he’s going to bless me to do more than just learn from him or perform baptisms or just be here to support him. When the time comes, He’s going to turn us loose to do his work. So, really, I do have a special blessing. All of us who follow him are blessed. And we’re supposed to extend that blessing to others of the world so they too can be an important part of his world.
What Jesus has been teaching us these last three years since I joined him is rather heretical according to the Law of Moses. Some even say that these teachings have a political motivation. That’s not true, of course, but the Romans and the priests here see him as a threat to what they’ve built up in their society all these years. This arrest is just another attempt to get Jesus to admit that he’s the son of God and they’re going to ask him directly if he definitely is the Messiah. The Sanhedrin has asked him this before, but this particular arrest seems pretty serious. They are trying to get Jesus to explain if he’s just a prophet or if what he says is that he really is the Messiah and the son of God. That would be antithetical to the teachings of the Jewish faith, according to the Pharisees.
Those chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him, but they were careful to wait for the right moment for they said, “Not during the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread or there may be a riot among the people.”
So, the Temple guards of the Sanhedrin and some Roman guards went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus led us. Gethsemane is a garden on the Mount of Olives in the eastern part of Jerusalem. They were really after Jesus! They’d paid Judas Iscariot, one of our brothers—one of his chosen followers—to identify Jesus to them by walking straight up to Jesus and kissing him.
When they came to arrest Jesus, I resisted them with my sword. I drew my sword from its scabbard, took a swipe and I even managed to cut off the ear of one of them. Jesus called me off and told me to put my sword away then he healed the ear of the arresting officer. Jesus reminded us all that “all who live by the sword shall die by the sword.” I should have known that! After all, I’ve been with Jesus from the beginning.
Here in the Jerusalem courtyard the high priest is waiting, along with all the chief priests, the elders and the scribes. The priests and the whole council have been looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. Many even gave false testimony against him and their inconsistent testimonies did not agree with each other. Some stood up and told lies against him saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” But even on this point, their testimonies did not agree.
After those confrontations by the high priest, the priest stood up before them and asks Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” Jesus remained silent and did not answer. Again, the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”
We disciples are friends, compatriots, and fellow students of Master Jesus. We are all watching and paying attention to what everyone in the courtyard says and does. And we’re writing it down just as Jesus asked us to do.
These precious friends look up to me to do the right thing, but I wonder what they’d do in this confrontation with this girl. It seems, because they’re right behind me, that they’re expecting me to do the right thing by Jesus. I’m sure they’re wondering what I’m going to say to this accusing woman, so they’ll know what to say if these accusers come up and ask them the same question. Right now, I just want to go back to fishing in Tiberius.
Matthew keeps reminding us of the importance of public witness as an essential element of discipleship. He wrote that down in his journals in a quotation by Jesus: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Well, it’s up to me, I guess. Many thoughts go through my mind before they are to be put into deed. I know that Jesus wants us to think clearly about our thoughts before acting upon them. What I’m going through now is just another example of this. Jesus taught us in the Psalms of David that “They defiled themselves by their actions and they prostituted themselves by their deeds.” Well, I certainly don’t want to do or act in any way that would reflect badly upon myself or my rabbi. He might take his blessing from me. And now that I’m one of his chosen disciples, I certainly don’t want to mess this up.
As we learned recall what Solomon once said, “I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself just the same as what the wise Solomon thought, I am determined to be wise. But it didn’t work.”
Well, it may not have worked for Solomon, but I must measure my words carefully before they are spoken to this girl. She may be only a servant girl but with all the other people in the courtyard listening, she might get us into trouble. I mustn’t respond by saying the wrong thing.
But what is the wrong thing to say? The worst that could happen if I deny knowing Jesus is she will walk away and find someone else to bother. Maybe she’ll just go to Mark or Matthew. Then they will have to figure out what to say on their own. And then I’d be held blameless in the eyes of the crowd since she’d moved on to someone else. This sounds convenient and efficient. Maybe that’s what I’ll do.
Then I remember what Jesus told me just last night about denying him three times. We were all there. Jesus told me, “I tell you the truth, Peter: This very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times you even know me.”
That’s absurd of course, but Jesus was very sincere when he said it as if he knew it was going to happen. Now I’ve seen Jesus being emotional like that many times, but this seems like a pretty trivial incident for him to weep. After all, it’s just me and this woman, this rabble-rouser, this wench of the street, this relative of the high priest. It’s not like it’s important or anything like that. So, I’m going to just get myself off the hook by denying any contact with Jesus. What harm can it do? It would just be a little fib. It wouldn’t be a real lie, you know. And I’m sure my compatriots, my companions in “the way” would agree this is the way to go.
Jesus knows I love him as a brother and that I trust him implicitly. We all do. Perhaps he is only testing me to see what I’ll do. I mean, it’s not as if Jesus is not used to being disappointed by people. I’m sure we’re a source of great frustration to him. And if I tell this lady that I don’t know him, it won’t have any repercussions. What harm can it do?
But I told Jesus then that I wouldn’t deny him so of course I won’t deny him! And I told him that last night at supper. I said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And I looked over to the others and they nodded their heads affirmatively, agreeing with me.
Again, what’s the worst that could happen? It may get him into a bit of trouble, but I’ve seen Jesus talk his way out of these situations before. He’s able to confound the Romans and Pharisees or whoever accuses him of any wrong deeds with logic that can only come from God. I remember once that when Judas betrayed him, he confused them with logic as only he could give it. He said to his potential captors, “Put away your sword. Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
And then Jesus said to the crowd and to those priests, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.”
Well, we were all scared at that time, but we knew Jesus could take care of himself. I saw it firsthand.
So here we are in this courtyard. I entered after he was led in, and we came in the presence of the high priest Caiaphas. I sat at a distance from the proceedings, close by the fire to keep warm from the chill of the night air, curious as to what would happen next. The high priest demanded that he answer his questions, but Jesus remained silent…right up until the priest said, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future, you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Caiaphas was so frustrated that he tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”
All the people in the courtyard said he should die. This was getting nasty. I saw the whole thing! I was sitting there, watching it happen. It was at that time that this servant girl, this peasant, came up to me and accused me of being a part of the Jesus of Nazareth expedition. Before I could get away, this girl said to me and the others that she knew me…loud enough for others to hear.
What was I supposed to say? So, just to get myself off the hook and not get thrown in jail myself. I told her what I had just rehearsed, “Woman, I don’t know him.”
What did I do? How could I be so foolish! Just last night, Jesus told me I would do this, but I guess I didn’t believe him or didn’t have the guts to stand up to this peer pressure, in spite of Jesus being just a few cubits from us.
I left the courtyard and proceeded out to the gateway.
There, another maid saw me, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
What have I gotten myself into? It seems that everyone in the entire courtyard there is a part of this plot to arrest, maybe even kill, Jesus. This girl insisted that she had seen me with the Nazarene and said it loud enough for the others in the courtyard to hear. She challenged me before I could get away, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?”
Well, that’s probably true that she was there and saw us together, but I certainly don’t want to get myself in trouble. I was nervous and just wanted to flee or just go fishing. I looked over to the gateway and was planning my escape. But she was loud and obnoxious and everyone in the courtyard was watching. So I had to say something! I needed to protect myself.
Yes, to protect myself. But was it simply self-preservation or was it just to get out of there to be able to fight again? I’m confused and it’s all happening so fast!
I don’t know what possessed me, but I had to do something to escape. I tried to protect myself. I told her, “I don’t even know the man.”
That got me out of the courtyard and the gateway area, but some other bystanders came over to me before I could disappear and they said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”
Well, the little lies had gotten me this far—almost out of the area—so I simply repeated what I’d told the woman earlier. I was emphatic this time. I said, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!”
Immediately the rooster crowed.
I recalled the words of Jesus: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
I glanced over to Jesus. Jesus looked at me. He looked straight into my eyes. Then I remembered what he had said about anyone who denies him: “But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”
I wept bitterly for not only had I committed the sin of lying, but I doubted Jesus to his face and betrayed my friends. I betrayed my rabbi, my master. His staring eyes went through me into my soul. I was so ashamed. I am broken.
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