Passion Sunday - the Passion in six scenes

1 Jesus arrives in Jerusalem

Mark 11.1-11

Voices: narrator, Jesus.
Invite the audience to be the crowd and shout out praises.

Narrator The disciples arrived at the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on their journey towards Jerusalem and they came to the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead, and told them:

Jesus Go to the next village and just as you get there you will find a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you what you’re doing, just tell them that the Lord needs it and will send it back at once.

Narrator The disciples did what Jesus asked of them. They went and found the colt tied to the door of a house. As they untied it some people asked them what they were doing, and they replied just as

Jesus had told them. They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it and helped Jesus get on. The crowd gathered by the roadside, spreading their cloaks and the branches they had cut in the fields on the ground, and they began to shout out:

Crowd 1 Hosanna!

Crowd 2 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Crowd 1 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Crowd 2 Hosanna in the highest heaven!

Narrator: The cries of the people continued as Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. 

Crowd Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!

2 Jesus is anointed

Mark 14.1-11

Voices: narrator, chief priests and teachers of the Law, Jesus.
Invite the audience to be the angry voices.

Narrator In the quietness of the shadows, the chief priests and teachers of the Law gathered. They were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.

Chief priest and teachers But we mustn’t do it during the festival, or the people might riot.

Narrator It was now two days before the Feast of Passover. In a noisy room where friends were chatting, Jesus was eating at the house of a man called Simon, when a woman came in with a precious jar filled with expensive perfume. In the silence of shocked witnesses, she broke open the jar and poured the ointment over Jesus’ head. In a murmur of unrest, angry voices were raised, asking,

Angry voices Why waste such perfume? It could have been sold for three hundred denarii or more, and the money given to the poor!

Narrator But one voice was raised above the others.

Jesus Why are you scolding her? She has done a good thing for me. You will always have the poor with you and you can be kind to them whenever you wish, but you won’t always have me. She has done what she could and anointed my body for the grave. Truly I tell you, what she has done today will often be told and remembered.

Narrator Into the stillness of outside, one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, went to find the chief priests and agreed to betray Jesus. They were very pleased to hear it and promised him money in return, so he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

3 A last supper

Mark 14.12-25

Voices: narrator, Jesus, disciples.

Narrator The disciples looked around the table, doubting each other, questioning themselves. They each remembered how they had prepared for this evening just as Jesus had said – two of them had found a man carrying a water jar just as Jesus had told them, and he had shown them to this large room upstairs, and they had prepared the Passover meal for this, the first day of the Unleavened Bread, exactly as Jesus had asked them to. They had all gathered in the evening to eat together. But then what they hadn’t prepared for... Jesus’ words to them all. 

Jesus Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me now.

Narrator All of the disciples were upset, asking,

Disciples (one after another) Not me, surely? 

Narrator But Jesus kept saying,

Jesus One of you. One of the twelve. One who is eating with me now.

Narrator They just couldn’t believe what they were hearing. And then as they continued to eat, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. He broke it, and gave some to each of them, saying,

Jesus Take, eat.

Narrator Then he did the same with a cup of wine. The disciples looked at each other again, confused and saddened. What did he mean? He told them,

Jesus This is my blood, as promised, shed for many. I won’t drink wine again until I drink it in God’s kingdom.

4 A garden, betrayal and arrest

Mark 14.26-52

Voices: narrator, Jesus, Judas.
Invite the audience to change their facial expressions according to what type of night it was.

Narrator It was a strange night. First, the meal with friends, Jesus’ words about betrayal still ringing in the disciples’ ears, then out into the night air, not home, but to the Mount of Olives. Jesus began again, this time telling them that they will all fall away, and Peter, in particular, will deny Jesus three times this very night! It was a long night.

When they got to Gethsemane, Jesus asked some to sit, and others – Peter, James and John – to watch while he prayed. But they just couldn’t stay awake, however hard they tried. It was a sad night. Jesus was full of sorrow as he cried out to God in the garden. 

Jesus Abba, Father, take this cup from me, because you can do anything. But your will be done, not mine.

Narrator It was a frightening night. Jesus said:

Jesus The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up and see, my betrayer is here.

Narrator Judas appeared with the chief priests, scribes and elders, and a crowd carrying clubs and swords. Judas approached Jesus.

Judas Rabbi.

Narrator And he kissed him. This was the sign for the crowd to seize Jesus and arrest him. Fighting broke out and one servant had his ear cut off.

It was a confusing night. Why had Jesus been arrested at night like a robber? Who was the young man who followed and then ran away? What should the disciples do now? And what will the morning bring?

5 A trial and denial

Mark 14.53–15.15

Voices: servant girl, Peter, high priest, Jesus; or use two voices for ‘inside’ and ‘outside’.
Invite the audience to make the sound of the cockerel. 

Narrator Inside, Jesus was being questioned by the high priest, in front of the chief priests, elders and scribes. Outside, Peter had followed them at a distance and was now sitting in the courtyard with the guards, keeping warm by the fire. Inside, members of the council were trying to find evidence to put Jesus to death, but they couldn’t find any. The witnesses tried to lie but their stories didn’t add up. Outside, a servant girl was looking at Peter more closely.

Servant girl You were with Jesus of Nazareth, weren’t you?

Peter I don’t know what you mean (moves away).

Narrator The cock crowed. Inside, the high priest began to question Jesus himself about what the witnesses were saying, but Jesus remained silent. Outside, the serving girl began to talk to other people about Peter, but again he spoke out, and denied it. Inside, the high priest asked again,

High priest Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’

Jesus Yes, I am!

Narrator Outside, bystanders began to question Peter about whether he was one of Jesus’ followers, but he swore, saying

Peter No, I am not! I do not know the man you’re talking about!

Narrator And the cock crowed again. Inside, the high priest shouted with anger and the people condemned Jesus to death. Outside, Peter remembered that Jesus had told him that he would deny him three times before the cock crowed twice. Inside, Jesus was spat at by the people and hit by the guards. Outside, Peter, Jesus’s friend who had denied knowing him, just as Jesus said he would, broke down and wept.

6 Crucifixion and burial

Mark 15.16-47

Voices: narrator, Pilate, Jesus, centurion.
Invite the audience to shout, ‘Crucify him!’

Narrator As soon as it was morning, the whole council met and delivered Jesus to Pilate. Pilate questioned Jesus:

Pilate Are you the King of the Jews?

Jesus You have said so.

Narrator But Jesus would not answer any of the other accusations made against him, and Pilate was amazed. Pilate gave the crowd a choice. He asked them if they would like to save Jesus, or Barabbas, who was a murderer. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd against Jesus and they chose Barabbas. Pilate asked again,

Pilate Then what shall I do with the man you call King of the Jews?

Crowd Crucify him!

Narrator The guards mocked Jesus, dressed him in a purple cloak and crown of thorns, saluted him, hit him and spat at him. They led Jesus to Golgotha, and Simon of Cyrene helped to carry the cross. When they got there, they crucified him, alongside two robbers. The charge read, ‘King of the Jews’. And many continued to mock him.

After three hours of darkness, Jesus cried out to God in despair. The people watched to see what would happen. Jesus cried out again with his last breath and died. At that moment, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, and a centurion saw it all and declared,

Centurion Truly this man was the Son of God.

Narrator When evening came, Pilate let Joseph of Arimathea have Jesus’ body. Joseph wrapped Jesus in a linen cloth and laid him in a tomb cut from the rock. A stone was rolled against the entrance to the tomb.

This must be the end...surely?