[Costumes: Angels wear gold body-paint on their exposed parts and have white hair. Some have a silver (alfoil), circular medallion on their foreheads with a green, glowing segment in its centre. It is secured by string covered with body paint over the forehead and made invisible as possible over/under the hair. They have white clothing (baptismal gowns?) with a gold band around chest or waist. They each have a distinctive appearance eg gold headbands such that individuals are easily recognisable.]

[Red flashing lights, spine-chilling, evil-sounding, confused music]

Narrator:

The forces of evil have mustered,
Line upon line with murderous intent:
Fiendish myriads with fearsome force,
Aligned in fury against their Foe,
Arrayed to crush the Son of God.
Satan and demons with awesome power,
Hideous gods and hate-crazed ghouls,
Beastly spirits and wicked powers:
Countless fiends take lethal aim;
Flaming arrows of devilish rage,
Amassed to destroy the Holy One.

From above the Almighty laughs
He mocks their evil schemes;
Outwits their darkened minds,
Twists their wrath in His plan of love,
And makes them pawns in their own demise.

Scene: Heaven

Michael [dejected]: O Gabriel, it's been 30 earth-years and the sight of that empty throne still breaks my heart.

Gabriel: The pain sears through each of us.

Michael: I had no idea angels could feel such grief. I didn't think heaven - this whole dimension - could be so [struggles to find a suitable word] - empty. I know we have so much to rejoice in, but without the Son of God . . .

Gabriel: Heaven's never been like this, but we must be brave, Michael.

Michael: Earth! What's so special about that tiny speck ....

Gabriel: Come, now Michael, you -

ANGELS [Running in]: It's happened!

Gabriel & Michael: Yeaaaa! You beauty! Hallelujah! [Clapping, cheering, dancing, whistling, jumping]

ANGEL 1 At last! After thirty long earth-years!

ANGEL 2 It's a new era - Jesus baptised with the Spirit of God!

ANGEL 3 Now at last He has the power future Christians will enjoy!

ANGEL 1 What an achievement! Thirty sinless years on that sin-infested planet as a baby, a boy, a youth -

ANGEL 3 Without even the Spirit's anointing!

[All cheer and celebrate]

Gabriel: Could I have a little quiet please? [Angels begin to quieten.] I have an announcement. To mark this unique occasion, Chebon has been chosen to distil into words the feelings of all of us. [All cheer.]

Chebon: Earth-born observers who think they know Jesus of Nazareth are about to receive the shock of their lives. [Other angels murmur agreement.] They imagine He is one of them. [Angels smile, shake heads in disbelief.] Earth has no conception of His humiliation these 30 years. [Angels nod in sad agreement] But HEAVEN knows and we will not fail to celebrate His empowering this day, [angels get excited] for it is one step closer to the restoration of the glory which rightly belongs to the only Son of God, through whom, and for whom, all things in every universe exist, and whose rightful role is to reign in unlimited splendour over every inhabitant of every world forever and ever. [Angels cheer.]
But for 30 earth-years the eternal Lord has been abased. Only now, at the completion of the Spirit-baptism, is His power equal to the potential of His future followers. But now, supercharged with the Spirit, pulsating with holy power, He is primed to explode into earth-stunning ministry. That planet will never be the same again. [Angels cheer.]
Jesus of Nazareth, ablaze with the Spirit, is a beacon so bright He'll be seen by every succeeding generation of earth-dwellers, century after century until the termination of planet earth.

[All clap and cheer Gabriel raises his straightened arm above his head, his arm angled slightly forward. Chebon then moves closer to Gabriel and does the same. In silence their palms touch for a few seconds. Chebon then about-turns, military-style, and walks off.]

Gabriel: Arch-angel Uriel from the music corps has been commissioned to compose a song for this great occasion. [All clap and cheer] Let's see how quickly we can learn this sparkling new song. [All cheer]

Song: [Tune: Jesus, how lovely you are, with last two lines reversed.]

Uriel: Son of Man, how you've longed for this hour
Now you're anointed, empowered from on high
Now is your love matched by infinite power
You'll raise the dead and bring heaven nigh.

Uriel [with other angels humming in harmony]:
Spirit of God, for redemption you've come
For all earth's people you pour out your love
Power Divine upon God's only Son
You have come like a heavenly dove.

Gabriel [looks at Uriel]: That's stunning! [Looks to other angels] Isn't it? [All clap]

Gabriel [looks at Uriel]: We've picked up the tune now. Have you got the words for us? [Words flash on screen until all verses have been seen.]

Gabriel: Wow! This is too good to keep to ourselves, lets get all heaven singing

[Uriel turns to conduct audience]:

Uriel [near end of musical introduction]: Everybody!

All: Son of Man, how you've longed for this hour
Now you're anointed, empowered from on high
Now is your love matched by infinite power
You'll raise the dead and bring heaven nigh.

Spirit of God, for redemption you've come
For all earth's people you pour out your love
Power Divine upon God's only Son
You have come like a heavenly dove.

Son and Dove, now you're blended in time
You are united, all-powerful and wise
Perfect love binds this union divine
Filling the love in the Father's eyes.

Yet our joy is tempered with awe
As we dare ponder your mission of pain
Trial upon trial as your agonies soar
You'll shed your blood as mankind you reclaim.

Father God, your heart feels this pain
Your Son surrounded by hardship and foe
He'll be abused in [his] body and name
As he redeems those who hate Him so.

[Angels bow in attitude of reverent worship]

Gabriel [after a few seconds of silence]: Let the celebrations continue!

[Streamers, fanfares, high excitement, angels turning mid-air somersaults, (an angel dummy flashing through the air on a half-lit stage?), special effects]

New Scene: Earth

Jesus: When someone invites you to a feast, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Not so with you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man [points to Himself] come not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you when men hate you for my sake. Leap for joy in that day, because great is your reward in heaven.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.

Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Give, and it will be given to you. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Peter: We have left everything to follow you! What will there be for us?

Jesus: I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on thrones, judging Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and eternal life as well.

ANGEL 1 [to other angels, unable to be heard by humans]: What fantastic teaching! I could listen to it for hours!

GABRIEL [laughing]: You have been! The sun's going down!

ANGEL 1: Really?

ANGEL 2: No-one in any universe has lived those words like that Man.

GABRIEL: They are truly living words. They not only bring life, but they fall from the lips of God become man, who IS the Living Word.

ANGEL 2 [after a slight pause]: You know, I think I could put some of those beautiful truths into a song.

ANGEL 1: Oh great! Let's hear it.

ANGEL 2: It's only a few lines.

GABRIEL: Oh, come on.

ANGEL 1: Yes.

ANGEL 2: Well...OK. [Plays weird-looking instrument which gives unusual sound produced by synthesizer.]

All those who choose
All things to lose
Will forever gain.
Those who give,
Really live.
And those who serve
Without reserve
Will forever reign.

[ANGEL 1 and GABRIEL cheer]

ANGEL 1: But it's too short. Come on Gabriel, you're good at songs, how about some more verses?

GABRIEL: Well, let's see... Sing your verse again.

[ANGEL 1 sings verse 1 again]

GABRIEL:

The nail-pierced Christ
Will pay a price
Far beyond anyone,
So it's right,
In our sight,
That He'll be praised
And forever raised
Far above ev'ryone.

Chorus [Gabriel actually says 'Chorus']:

He'll give His all,
That all His foes
May be forgiven.
He has given all,
So all to Him be given.

ANGEL 1: Thanks Gabe, you've made the next verse easy.

Jesus has loved
[So] far above
All in every sphere;
On His foes
Love bestows.
So Him we love
[So] far above
All in every sphere.

Chorus

[All sing the full song, chorus sung only after second and third versees.]

New Scene: Heaven

Chebon: [Alone, dejected] I don't know...

A2: [Walking in] What's wrong?

Chebon: I've been on earth patrol. Have you ever been?

A2 [sadly]: No, I've never left this dimension. [Excitedly] Powering through the dimensional interphase must be sensational!

Chebon: It's spectacular alright. And the galaxies aren't bad, but the moment you touch down on that sin-infested planet - Ooooo [shudders in revulsion].

A2 [begging, intensely interested]: Tell me about it.

Chebon: The human race is so perverse. You know, besides Jesus, not one on the entire planet is morally perfect!

A2: None?

Chebon: Unbelievable isn't it. I'll tell you how bad things are. Imagine two humans hate someone. Both wish the person were dead. One would never dream of committing murder simply because he's afraid of society's penalty for that crime. The other one ignores the penalty and commits murder. Humans would regard the first one as quite respectable and the second as depraved.

A2: Surely not! One is considered more moral because he's a bigger coward?

Chebon: That's right. Their morality is so crude - it makes my skin creep. They call rape a terrible crime -

A2: [wondering what this is leading to] Right . . .!

Chebon: - and have the audacity to call seduction, 'love!'

A2: What? Making someone a willing partner in sin - violating someone's marriage, or whatever, theatening someone's eternity - that call that LOVE?

Chebon: Oh yes! They often encourage lust - think it's healthy! They're blind to that evil and yet consider themselves moral just because they have an inkling of how bad rape is.

A2: That's appalling!

Chebon: Isn't their hypocrisy astounding! I could spend earth-days listing their hypocrisies. Most of them realise it's wrong to break their nation's imperfect laws, but they think it's quite acceptable to break God's perfect laws. They might acknowledge it's wrong to exploit another human, but they think it quite alright to exploit GOD. They are constantly plundering the planet He made, breathing the air He created, eating the food He's provided for them, living in bodies He's given them, yet they snub Him and consider themselves self-made people. Every good thing they have ever experienced comes from the One they selfishly ignore. Even the slippery illusion of pleasure they feel when sinning is possible only because God gave them the capacity to experience pleasure. Yet they ignore their loving Creator and even have the audacity to blame Him when such a lifestyle doesn't work!

A2: Corrupt to the core!

Chebon: Utterly. There's no basic difference between them and Satan. Like the devil himself, each of them has violated God's laws.

A2: How could God, possibly uphold justice and eliminate evil without wiping out the entire human race?

Chebon: Beats me! But it's got something to do with Jesus' earth-mission.

A2: All of heaven is abuzz with this. Please, Chebon, you must know more ...

Chebon: Even the celestial intelligentsia have puzzled long and hard over this mystery.

A2 [half whispered]: Wow! This must be big. Come on, spill the beans.

Chebon: Well I'm no expert in holy law ... I know that by visiting earth, the Son of God has become the only sinless person on His adopted planet.

A2: Yes...

Chebon: Somehow, though the only innocent person there, He will become the scapegoat for all humanity's sin.

A2: Wow!

Chebon: Somehow, by Jesus suffering the world's greatest injustice, it becomes legal for the innocent and the guilty to swap destinies.

A2 [Absolutely flabbergasted]: Wow!

Chebon [After an appropriate pause]: Oooooh, I feel a song coming!

Earth needs:
Hate to die but the hater to live
Fighting to stop but the fighter freed
Hurting to halt but the hurter reformed

Chorus: Offenders released yet justice to reign
Guilt destroyed but the guilty restored
Sin to be slain but the sinner reclaimed
An impossible dream without Jesus
Earth's a bad dream without Jesus

[A2 (at Chebon's signal) joins in for the second and subsequent choruses]

We want:
Greed to dive but the greedy revived
Deceit to drown but the liar saved
Sinning condemned but the sinner set free

We want:
Rape to end and the rapist to mend
Abuse to cease and the pervert made new
Theft to fail but the robber to win

[They dance to the music, then suddenly stop]

Chebon: Did you hear something?

Kokbiel [hidden]: Pssst!

[Chebon and A2 look around - can't see anyone.]

Kokbiel: Pssst! [Waves] Over here!

A2: [Loudly] What in heaven...!

Kokbiel: Shhh! [Looks around.] I don't want the others to hear. I've just got to talk to someone.

A2: Whatever is it?

Kokbiel: You know how everyone's expecting Jesus to come back here shortly?

A2 [mystified]: Yes

Kokbiel: Well the rumour's wrong.

Chebon: That's no rumour. God has promised!

Kokbiel: [Excitedly] He's promised! You beauty! [Suddenly getting serious] But how come? I thought Jesus was on earth to take upon himself humanity's full penalty for their sin.

A2: He is!

Kokbiel: Then how can Jesus come back here?

A2: Why not? He'll pay their penalty and then take His rightful place on heaven's throne.

Kokbiel: But no-one seems to have thought this through. Think about it - what's the penalty - the logical consequence - of sin?

A2: Death.

Kokbiel: Sure, sure, Jesus will die, but there's more than that.

A2: Well, there's banishment from the holy presence of God.

Kokbiel [impatiently]: Yes, God will forsake His dear Son when He's crucified, but there's more.

Well ... everyone who sins is under a curse.

Kokbiel [impatiently]: Of course anyone dying on a cross is cursed! You're avoiding the issue! What about spending an eternity in Hell?

Chebon: [Laughs] Oh, so that's what's worrying you! When a sinner is banished to Hell he's paid the penalty but he lacks the power to escape. No matter how much a sinner suffered he could never achieve the holiness needed to enter God's presence. But Jesus, armed with the power of a sinless life, is able to absorb within Himself the full legal consequences of sin and escape! He's never surrendered to Lucifer. The devil has no power over Him!

Kokbiel: Oh fantastic! What a relief!

Chebon: What's more, the whole point of Jesus' mission is to deliver humanity. He has to do everything for them - not just be righteous for them and suffer and die for them. He has to defeat death for them, rise for them, enter heaven for them, intercede for them, sit on the throne for them, release the Holy Spirit for them, reign for them, return for them ...

A2: They need Christ, as their eternal high priest in heaven as much as they need Jesus as their sacrificial lamb.

Chebon: Where were you when Gabriel was explaining all this?

Kokbiel: [Gleefully] You weren't sitting where I was or you'd have been daydreaming too! I couldn't get my eyes off this cute, stunningly beautiful - [As he says the last sentence he makes an hour-glass shape with his hands.]

Chebon: What? [In horror mixed with disbelief] Yipes! You must have had too many earth assignments! We're angels! We don't go around having crushes on each other!

Kokbiel: [Indignant] There was this cute flower growing next to me ... and I couldn't help daydreaming about the exquisite skill of our Creator.

Chebon: A flower!

A2 [making hour glass shape with his hands as he speaks]: What's THIS business? [referring to the hour glass shape.

Kokbiel [with both hands now moving more in parallel in an s-shape]: It was blowing in the wind.

Chebon: Oh! [In disgust] Well, the Lord's doing far greater things now than creating flowers. And after Jesus returns to heaven, God can annihilate everything that's marred and polluted beautiful earth - everything that's caused pain and suffering and sorrow and ... Wow! What a day that will be. The whole universe will be restored to beautiful harmony and sinless perfection, as if evil had never wrecked everything.

Kokbiel: I can't wait!

Chebon: Yes, but each day's delay gives earth-people another chance to receive Jesus' pardon. Not just Satan, but every human has defied their Creator and contributed to earth's mess. It wouldn't be fair to destroy Satan for his disobedience and ignore the disobedience of humans. Those who don't accept Jesus' pardon will have to be destroyed along with Satan and the rest of earth's evil. [Said with tears in voice] Otherwise God would be guilty of favouritism. A perfect judge -

Kokbiel: I remember that bit. A perfect judge must be impartial, no matter how much He loves the accused.

[Chebon salutes Kokbiel (like Gabriel saluted Uriel) and Kokbiel leaves happily - possibly in a comical way eg skipping.]

A2 [puzzled, reluctant to speak]: Chebon ...

Chebon: My explanation to Kokbiel doesn't entirely satisfy your searching mind, does it?

A2: I'm sorry, Chebon.

Chebon: No apology needed. This is a most worthy - indeed a most wondrous - subject on which to engage one's intellect.
Perhaps it would help for you to think of it this way. We're at war with Satan, right?

A2: Yes.

Chebon: And a major battlefield is an insignificant planet whose inhabitants the Creator has great plans for because He made them in His very image.

A2: Right

Chebon: Well at present Satan has captured the entire race.

A2: Only because they let him.

Chebon: True, but some now want to be freed. So God has arranged a prisoner-exchange - the entire human race in exchange for His only Son.

A2: Wow! [or whistle or some such thing]

Chebon: We all gasp at that one. Anyhow, the Son will be handed over to the enemy to be violated, tortured, terrorised - Satan is permitted to do to Him, body and soul, whatever his evil genius can invent. [Chebon breaks down]
I'm sorry, I think I can continue now. And in return every human can walk free. All they need do is acknowledge that they are part of Christ's prisoner exchange. When Satan has done his worst with the Son of God, the seemingly defeated Son will overpower Satan and burst through death. By then Jesus will have fulfilled to the letter His part of the transaction. If Satan's too weak to keep Jesus captive, that's his problem, but the Lord will have won the legal right to force Satan to keep his side of the agreement and free every human who no longer wants to be Satan's prisoner. With the hostage crisis resolved -

A2: God is free to blow Satan out of the sky at the moment of His choosing.

Chebon: You've got it! And every human who has not decisively left Satan's camp before that time -

A2: Will be wiped out with him.

Chebon: It's a dangerous thing to play with God's patience.

[A2 nods and pauses to allow time for the above sentence to impact the audience]

A2: Thanks Chebon! You've made it so simple.

Chebon: Far too simple. I can only bring from darkness into the shadows a tiny facet of a mystery so vast that even our top intellectuals have failed to plumb its depths. I long to know more. Everything I glean about this masterpiece of divine love and wisdom makes me want to love God more.

Song:

O boundless wisdom of matchless God,
Finite minds can only marvel.
Precious wisdom of perfect God,
At your ways we fall in praise.
So much I do not know,

Truths beyond my grasp,
But what of you I truly know
Makes me gasp in awe.
Almighty mind of mighty God,
Wonders hid in mystery,
May I peek beyond the cloud
And more glories see.
Almighty mind of mighty God,
Endless wisdom of matchless glory,
Precious wisdom of perfect God,
Wonders hid in mystery.
The more I look the more I find
Wisdom bathed in majesty.
O endless power of boundless mind,
Let me slip behind the cloud
And more glories see.
There's much I do not know,
Much I cannot grasp,
But what of you I truly know
Makes me gasp in awe.
Almighty mind of mighty God,
Wonders bathed in mystery,
May my dull eyes pierce the cloud
And more glories see.
O boundless wisdom of matchless God
Finite minds can only marvel.
Precious wisdom of perfect God,
At your ways we fall in praise.
New Scene: Heaven
A1 and A2 rolling on floor in fits of laughter.
A3 [enters]: What's the joke?
A1: It's unbelievable! [Starts laughing again.] Satan - [laughs uncontrollably.] Oh, you tell him! [Continues laughing.]

A2: What's the perfect time in the Jewish calender for Jesus to die?

A3: Well, let's see ... this will be the ultimate sacrifice. Most sacrifices are offered ... er ... during the Passover. Hey, wait - the Passover - that's commemorating the time when God intervened in human history to deliver His people Israel from bondage.

A2: Yes! As Jews look back to that point in time, so God's people will forever look back to the time when Jesus died to deliver them from the greatest bondage.

A3: Come to think of it, there are so many parallels between the Passover and the ultimate sacrifice. There's the shedding of blood of a male lamb without blemish. There's -

A1: And don't forget it's the time when hordes of pilgrims from all over the world converge upon Jerusalem. The city will be crammed with witnesses.

A2: And it's only a few weeks before Pentecost, the ideal time for the outpouring of God's Spirit.

A3: Yes! There's no doubt about it, the perfect time would be the Passover. Hey, that's just a few earth-days away!

A2: Well, just yesterday, earth-time, the Jewish leaders decided that under no circumstances would they arrest Jesus during the Passover.

[A2 starts giggling again.]

A3: They did?

A1: Yes, because of all the pilgrims. You know how the crowds flock around Jesus. There'd be a riot if they tried to arrest Him with thousands of potential supporters around.

A3: Oh, no!

A2: And it's more than just the ideal time. Jesus has already publicly predicted that He'll die during this Passover! [Laughs.]

A3: That's a catastrophe! How can you laugh? You should be ashamed -

A1 [laughing]: Calm down. There's more.

A2: Yes, just today Satan entered into Judas - SATAN would you believe! He's persuaded Judas to betray Jesus. [Laughs.]

A3: I don't get it.

A1: Well Judas, belonging to Jesus' inner circle, can lead the Jews to Jesus when He's away from the public eye. So there'll be no riot! They won't have to defer His arrest!

A3: Wow! So Jesus really will die at the right time and all because of Satan? [Laughs.]

A1: How vain can you get - Satan imagining he could defy the omnipotent God!

A2: Satan's created havoc, but God has always had the upper hand.

A1 [laughing]: There's Satan, using all His evil genius to destroy the God he hates and he ends up furthering God's purposes!

A2: And hastening his own destruction!

A1: Oh that devil! Even when he wins he loses! Everything he hurls at God boomerangs back onto his own head!

A3 [in awe]: What a fearful thing it is to rebel against the Almighty.

[One angel sings the first two lines, then by gesturing gets the others to join him. When they come to the new lines, this angel sings by himself, then gets the others to join in. While they sing they dance]

A2: O that devil,
Even when he wins he loses.

All: O that devil,
Even when he wins he loses.
O that devil,
Even when he wins he loses.

A2: He's armed to the teeth with boomerangs.

All: He's armed to the teeth with boomerangs.
He's armed to the teeth with boomerangs.

A2: What a fearful thing it is

All: What a fearful thing it is
What a fearful thing it is - abruptly ends - All look to A2 who's deep in thought, then sings:

A2: To fight the Lord.

A1: What a foolish thing it is

All: What a foolish thing it is
What a foolish thing it is
To fight the Lord.

All look to A3 who points to himself and mouths 'Me?'

A3 [Pauses to think]: What a futile thing it is

All: What a futile thing it is
What a futile thing it is
To fight the Lord.

A2: What a fearful thing,

A1: What a foolish thing,

A3: What a futile thing,

All: To fight the Lord.
What a fearful thing
What a foolish thing
What a futile thing
To fight the Lord.

O that devil,
Even when he wins he loses.
O that devil,
Even when he wins he loses.
He's armed to the teeth with boomerangs.
He's armed to the teeth with boomerangs.

[One angel throws an imaginary boomerang in mock rage. He follows its circular route with his eyes until it hits his head and knocks him out.]

[Angels cheer, then sing and dance to the following song, punching air at 'power']

Who can deny all the - power of God
Who can defy all the - power of God
You can rely on the - power of God
There's no reply to the - power of God

Chorus: By the blood of His Son the victory's won
He overcomes evil with good.
He frees the guilty and see justice done
Who would think that He could!

Always delight in the - power of God
Never make light of the - power of God
Infinite might is the - power of God
Devils take fright at the - power of God
Satan is foiled by the - power of God
Demons recoil at the - power of God
They have no choice it's the - power of God

Let us rejoice in the - power of God

A: Let's celebrate together

[Words flash on screen and audience joins in]

Last Chorus:

By the blood of His Son the victory's won
He overcomes evil with good.
He frees the guilty and see justice done
Who would think that He could!

He frees the guilty and see justice done

He overcomes evil with good

All sing while dancing

Scene: crucifixion

Crowd: What's happening? It's getting dark! It's an omen! That's no eclipse! I've never seen such a thing. You can feel the evil.

Angel:

Well may the sun grow dark:
Unthinkable things transpire.
Purity and Corruption trade places.
Innocence and Guilt swap destinies

Well may the sun grow dark:
The Spotless Virgin raped by sin.
Endless Glory extinguished by shame;
Beloved Son and Father ripped apart.

Well may the sun grow dark:
All creation teeters.
He who holds the stars
Is now in death's cold sway.

Well may the sun grow dark:
The heavens reel in horror.
The blessed One cursed;
Immortality surrenders to Death.

Grow dark, great sun.
Weep, you heavens.
Bow down you mountains.
Your Creator dies.

ANOTHER ANGEL [Enters, glances fleetingly at the crucified Christ, then turns his back, recoiling in horror and anguish]:

No! This should never be! Innocence made guilty. Holiness crushed by sin's curse as if humanity's sins were His own! The Perfect One smeared with humanity's shame - scorned, spurned, cursed.

O God, what is humanity that you should suffer this much? Stop! ... Please! Don't do this ... No-one is worth this much agony - NO-ONE! [Said with a blood-curdling shout.]

JESUS My God, why have you forsaken Me?

Angel: God, how can you do this? All the outrage ever felt when the objects of your love were cheated, abused, violated - anger fuelled by infinite love - fury so intense that only you can contain it - you now hurl upon your darling Son? WHY?

[Pause.]

Seconds scream like hours. How long must this torment continue? HOW LONG?

[Pause. Then looks back fleetingly at Jesus.]

He suffers in silence but I cannot be still. This is no ordinary man! [Shouted in a mixture of anger, frustration, and disbelief that it's happening.]

God, let me intervene. Let me spare your Son - your only Son - your precious Son... [Sobs]

Narrator:

Behold your crucified King
Source of all beauty,
Spring of life,
Cascading goodness,
Gushing love
Tinged with blood,
Upon a sin-stained swamp
That was once His precious jewel.

While demons mock and men revile,
Into the naked, beaten Christ,
Satan's venom drains:
Lethal fangs expel their bile
Till not a drop remains
For humanity.

JESUS: It's finished!

ANGEL: It's done! He's drained that dreaded cup.
Not one dreg remains.

It's paid! Sins debts are cancelled.
The ransom's paid in full.

A: Consumed! Cruel fires burn out for lack of fuel.
Nothing's left that isn't charred.

It's stilled! God's wrath is fully spent -
spewed out upon His holy Son.

A: He's dead! Hell's fury at last is ended.
Not one cruel blow has missed its mark.

Twice dead! Dead in body and dead to God.
Nought remains but rotting flesh.

Song:
Hell's power is lost;
Death's sting has died:
Impaled upon a cross,
Embedded in a bleeding side.

[A TREMBLING SERPENT BITES INTO THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST. IT THEN GOES LIMP AS THOUGH DEAD AND AT THE SAME TIME JESUS' HEAD DROPS AS THOUGH HE, TOO, IS DEAD. THE SERPENT BECOMES THE SPEAR IN JESUS' SIDE.]

[THE SONG IS SUNG AGAIN. THIS TIME, A HUGE SCORPION STINGS JESUS. IT'S STING GETS TORN OFF AND REMAINS IN JESUS' SIDE. THE SCORPION SHRIVELS UP AND DIES. THE STING BECOMES A SPEAR WHICH A ROMAN SOLDIER RIPS OUT OF JESUS' BODY.]

[THE SONG IS SUNG A FINAL TIME. DANGEROUS PROJECTILES ARE HURLED AT THE CRUCIFIED SAVIOUR. A MULTITUDE CROUCHING DIRECTLY BEHIND THE CROSS SAFELY SHELTER.]

Arrogance crumbles before a humble Christ

Violence quivers
In the hands of peace.
The lion is vanquished by the lamb,
The serpent by the dove.
Depravity quashed by purity;
Hate consumed by love.

All who cling to Christ are safe:
Shielded by His mangled form.
In Him they put their faith:
For them His flesh is torn.
He suffered for their guilt,
The filth in which they wallowed.
Deadly darts that enter Him
Touch not those who Him will follow.

Second Narrator: They pull the nails and the corpse falls to the ground - a stinking pile of sweat and blood. They heave the crumpled mass. It flops onto a sheet. They straighten the limbs, desperately fighting waves of nausea. They lug the body to a nearby grave, then tightly bind the lifeless shell - head, eyes, nose, mouth, neck, shoulders, arms, trunk, legs, feet - body cold, eyes set, chest silent, gaping wounds - head, back, side, hands, feet - all refuse to bleed. The professional executioner had drained every drop with that final thrust and twist of the spear. They bind with the corpse 75 pounds of aromatic spices to fight the stench of death. No need to struggle with the massive stone. The armed squad has arrived to check the body, seal the tomb and remain on guard until relieved by the morning shift.

Our goal in this next act is a challenging but exciting possibility. Though new Christians will be built up and mature Christians entertained, the primary aim is for sceptics to find themselves laughing at how ridiculous it is to deny Christ's resurrection - for them to find their own beliefs laughable.

In this context, humour is extremely powerful. With the Spirit's enabling, unbelievers will laugh themselves into the kingdom of God!

This will require much prayer and hard work. Timing - waiting for the audience to respond - is important. Laughter is also important as this will act as a catalyst, generating laughter in the audience. It may pay to have an angel present whose primary role is simply to produce on cue a somewhat comical but believable laugh.

Kokbiel: [Alone on stage, sheet of paper in hand, looks at it.] HE'S not here. He's not HERE. He is not HERE. He is risen.

[Gabriel, A2 and A3 walk in half way through the above but stay at edge of scene, looking quizzically at each other, trying to figure out what Kokbiel is doing.]

Kokbiel: [Using different intonation and gestures] He's not here. He is risen. [Pause] He is not - [He sees the other angels and gets VERY embarrassed] Oh - ah - didn't notice you.

A2: What in heaven are you doing, Kokbiel?

Kokbiel: Oh - um - just practising my lines.

GABRIEL: [Laughing] Fair enough, that's the greatest announcement the universe will ever hear.

Kokbiel: [Taken aback] Yes, I guess it is. I never thought of it like - [suddenly gets very nervous] Oh, boy, I'd better practice some more! [Goes to one side and mouths and acts the words again]

A2: This empty grave bit will knock them dead - figuratively speaking.

GABRIEL: What do you mean?

A2: Everyone will HAVE to believe when Jesus rises from the dead.

GABRIEL: No-one ever HAS to believe.

A2: They can't deny the facts.

GABRIEL: They'll find a way.

A2: [Mystified] How?

GABRIEL: They'll dismiss it as an hallucination.

A3: No way! - spread over 40 days with 500 witnesses?

Kokbiel:[Getting drawn into the conversation] 500?

A3: That's how many the risen Lord will appear to. And His disciples will touch Him and eat with Him. Some hallucination! [All laugh.]

A2: And that still doesn't explain the empty grave.

GABRIEL: They'll say the disciples stole the body.

A2: [Laughs] The religion with the highest conceivable morals based on the biggest swindle in human history? You're joking! Simple fishermen putting one over a hundred generations? [Acts out the next sentence while uttering it.] Tiptoed past blind guards I suppose! [All laugh.]

A3: Oiled the stone so it wouldn't be heard! [All laugh.]

A2: Who could believe that not one of the 500, even when dying a martyr's death, would let it slip that it was all a hoax?

A3: In it for the fame I suppose! They'll be in big demand alright. The Jews will be demanding their lives. The Romans will be demanding their heads. Christ's yellow-livered deserters taking on the Jewish leadership and the entire Roman empire for a sham!

A2: Maybe they're in it for the money. They could write best-sellers. How to Win Foes and Infuriate People.

Kokbiel [laughs]: Or How I earned My First million Bruises. [All laugh heartily.]

A3: With books like that they could earn enough to keep them in bandages for weeks! [All laugh.]

A2: And cash is cold comfort when you're looking death in the face.

A3: Christianity is set to explode. If the Jews think they've killed their problem they're in for a shock. They're running scared. They'd pay big money for someone to prove it's a hoax.

Kokbiel: No, Gabriel, no-one could believe they're in it for fame or fortune.

A2: And if they're into fraud, the first thing they'll change is their own account of their actions. Those dull-minded disciples would be so wise and holy in the gospel tradition they leave posterity. If truth's not important to them then the denying, deserting disciples would in their gospels be loyally supporting Jesus when He's sentenced to death. The Sons of Thunder would portray themselves as calmly in control. Loud-mouth Peter would ensure he's the epitome of diplomacy in the revised version. Liars don't paint themselves as bumbling idiots!

A2: Gabriel, no-one could deny that those scatter-brains are sincere.

GABRIEL: They'll say Jesus was merely unconscious when they took Him down from the cross.

[All except Gabriel burst into fits of laughter]

A3: So He survives not only a horrific flogging followed by crucifixion, but a spear driven through His heart. He convinces experienced Roman executioners that He's dead. Then He fools His mother and followers who'd give anything to find a sign of life as they prepared His body for burial.

Next, He manages to breathe through a hundred pounds of spices and tightly bound grave cloths. Then He bursts through His bonds, and with nail-crushed hands single-handedly rolls back -

A2: From the inside mind you -

A3: A stone so huge several women couldn't budge it.

Kokbiel: Not bad for someone so mutilated before His crucifixion that He couldn't drag His cross even to avoid another beating.

A3: Then He eludes armed guards, staggers out on nail-pierced feet, gaping wound in His side, back flayed, bruises and lacerations from head to foot, blood dripping everywhere -

A2: If you could imagine blood left in that tortured frame.

A3: Looking the most pathetic human wreck, He somehow breaks through a bolted door and in His emaciated condition manages to convince even the most sceptical of the disciples that He's conquered death!

[All laugh.]

A3: Finally, He gives His followers the slip and manages to die in such a way that His body is never found.

A2: The world's greatest moral Teacher becomes the world's greatest con artist? I think not!

GABRIEL: They'll say it was simply someone who looked like Jesus.

A3: Oh no! It's getting worse! Not only Jesus' closest earthly friends, but His very mother was just inches from Him when He died. Then they prepared His body. Soon they'll be handling the risen Lord, examining the nail holes, speaking with Him and eating with Him over a period of 40 days. And His own brothers - brought up with Him from infancy - who didn't believe before, will suddenly become believers after His resurrection appearances. That's not mistaken identity, that's insanity.

[All laugh.]

GABRIEL: You're right, of course, but many will still refuse to believe.

Kokbiel: Why?

GABRIEL: Do you remember once when Jesus was teaching the people He said, 'If anyone desires to do God's will, he will know whether my teaching is from God ...' Spiritual truths are hidden from everyone unwilling to obey God. It's insane, but these people close their minds to reality because they would rather be enslaved by their favourite sins than enjoy intimacy with their loving Creator. They prefer ignorance to truth.

Kokbiel: Even though that truth would fill them with never-ending joy and eternal fulfillment?

GABRIEL: Yes, Kokbiel, even though it's the most exciting truth in the universe.

A1: Then why is Jesus doing all of this?

GABRIEL: Because some will be willing to face reality - to admit their need of God and to let go of selfishness long enough to discover the matchless joy of knowing God - to exchange a life of shame and mediocrity for eternal glory and divine excellence.

[Pause.]

A2: Hey, Kokbiel, it's almost time for your announcement.

[Kokbiel panics.]

Scene: Empty tomb, after first line, the risen Lord is visible. Angels cheer or clap etc where indicated.

Narrator: [Said with high excitement]

What's this?

The vanquished has vanished.
The corpse walks! [big cheer]
The Victim is Victor! [cheer]
The cross has lost. [small cheer]
The nails have failed. [cheer]
Right has won. [small cheer]
Good has triumphed. [small cheer]
Justice is done! [big cheer]
The scourged to death
Has surged through death. [cheer]
The One brought down
Now wears the crown. [cheer]
From grave of stone
To Great White Throne. [small cheer]
From Hell He's soared;
Jesus is L-O-R-D! [ huge cheer - angels turn cartwheels, leap etc - high excitement, celebration]

NEW SCENE - Upper Room

Thomas: I'm telling you, Jesus is dead, [he spells it] D-E-A-D and dead men stay dead.

Matthew: Oh Thomas, you're not still going on about that are you?

Thomas: Yes, I'm going on about! It's a full week since you claim you last saw Jesus. Isn't it about time you all came to your senses? And especially you, taxman. John floats around with his head in the clouds and Peter's got a mouth big enough to swallow anything, but I expected more of you, Matthew. I always thought of you as a hard-nosed facts and figures man, and here I am, still waiting for you to ditch your ghost story and snap back to reality.

Matthew: Thomas, these eyes saw Him. With my own ears I heard Him as we spoke with Him for perhaps 30 unforgettable minutes!

Thomas: Oh, sure! He walked right through a locked door!

Matthew: That's a breeze compared to opening that tomb from the inside. No human could do that.

Thomas [believing Matthew has finally 'seen the light']: Now you're talking, taxman! At last you agree that we're talking impossibilities here. I tell you, I was really worried about you!

Matthew: Thomas! The body's gone - despite all those guards. How - and why - would anyone do such a thing?

Another disciple: And the grave clothes were carefully removed and left behind. Who in their right mind - with the guards there and everything?

James: We've seen Him, Tom. And we spoke with Him - in this very room.

Thomas: An apparition - a vision!

Matthew: We all simultaneously had the same hallucination?

Thomas: Well ... mass hysteria!

James [Chest out, hands on hips]: Oh, I'm emotionally unstable am I! A blubbering nut-case?

Thomas [very nervous about James's aggression]:

Well, not quite hysteria - sort of auto-suggestion.

James [prodding Thomas on the chest with his finger]: I've got a suggestion for you, egghead!

Matthew: Cool it, James. It does sound incredible. [Pause]

But Thomas, it's not just us who saw Jesus, the women -

Thomas: Women! Those emotional wrecks couldn't see for tears!

Woman [hands on hips, sarcastic, indignant]: Well, thank you!

Matthew: They touched Him, Tom. They held His feet.

Thomas: Yeah? Did YOU touch Him.

Matthew: N...no - but I saw His wounds.

John: He breathed on me.

Matthew [suddenly remembering]: Yes, that's right. He told us about God's Spirit and breathed on us. Hallucinations don't breathe.

Woman: What about when He walked with Cleopas and his companion to their house in Emmaus.

Thomas: Sure! Walked 7 miles on feet that had had nails driven right through them!

[One or two groan, shake heads.]

Matthew: But Jesus is healed. He's risen from the dead!

Thomas: Baloney.

John: Jesus broke bread with them.

Matthew: And He ate with us.

Thomas: Look, you can talk till you're blue in the face -

Matthew [looking around]: Where's Peter? Hey, mouth! [Calls him over by beckoning. Peter and John walk over. Matthew puts his hand on Peter's shoulder.] Set this guy straight, will ya? Explain the new understanding of the Scriptures Jesus has given us.

John [to Peter]: Hey, before you do, new thoughts have been spinning round my head lately, can I try them out on Thommo?

Peter: Go for it!

John: The way it see, the whole sacrificial system instituted by God has death and resurrection built into it.

Thomas: Eh?

John: Well, take the Day of atonement. Two goats are chosen. They're innocent. They have done nothing to contribute to human sin, yet one is slaughtered for our sin and afterward the other is presented ALIVE before the Lord for our atonement. We need a substitute who will die in our stead, but after that sacrificial death we need a living substitute to complete our atonement.

Then there's the ceremonial cleansing of a leper. Two clean birds are taken. One dies and its blood poured out. The living bird is dipped in this blood and then released, bearing the marks of recent death upon its wings. Is it just me? That sounds like death and resurrection to me. And only after both the death of the bird and the release of the living can the now-cleansed leper join God's people.

Thomas [to Matthew]: What's he raving about?

Peter: The sacrificial system foreshadows Jesus because Jesus is the final - the ultimate - sacrifice.

Thomas: How dare - that's blasphemy! Human sacrifice! Scripture categorically forbids it. It's an abomination to God!

Matthew: That's because anything worthy of sacrifice must be without blemish. A normal human sacrifice is defiled by sin and is a senseless waste of human life. But Jesus was unlike any other human - perfectly sinless.

Thomas: A NORMAL human sacrifice! I can't believe I'm hearing this! Ghost stories are one thing, now you're talking like pagans!

Peter: Scripture over and over shows that human sacrifice is a concept close to the heart of God.

Thomas: Oh, come on!

Peter: Who asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac? Satan? Pagans?

Woman: It was GOD'S idea.

Thomas: You can't bring that up! The Lord planned all along to stop Abraham from going through with it. He intervened and Isaac lived.

Peter: And after Jesus' death, God intervened and Jesus lives.

Thomas: OH! (disgust)

Matthew: You can squirm as much as you like, Thomas, that whole episode in Abraham's life was initiated by God.

Peter: And what's circumcision if it isn't the shedding of human blood to seal a divine covenant?

Woman: This principle is woven into the very fabric of creation. Our Creator made us so that the binding covenant of marriage is sealed through the shedding of virgin blood.

Matthew: And the new covenant the Master spoke about during the Passover Feast could only be sealed by the shedding of innocent human blood.

Peter: What about God's ruling on anyone guilty of manslaughter? They were confined to the city of refuge, unable to leave year after year, until the high priest died. Nothing but the physical death of the high priest could remove their guilt.

Woman: And Jesus is our high priest, whose death -

Thomas: You've flipped! [Woman fumes.]

John: What about in Elisha's day when Moab was attacked. [Tell this as a gripping story - other disciples show intense interest.] The king of Moab knew there was no escape. He was surrounded, hopelessly outnumbered and the invading hordes were closing in for the kill. In desperation that pagan king grabbed [acts it out by grabbing nearby disciple] his firstborn son and slaughtered the lad before the eyes of the enemy, then used that boy's carcass as a sacrificial offering. Suddenly, all the invading soldiers lost interest in fighting and left in peace. The Moabites were saved.

Thomas: The armies withdrew in disgust, horrified at such a godless act.

John: Maybe so, but it worked. Countless lives were saved because of a ritual human sacrifice.

Thomas: Oh..! [Disgust]

John: Haven't you ever puzzled over why the Lord recorded that incident in holy Scripture? Was it because He planned to one day sacrifice His own Son so that multitudes would be saved?

Peter: And remember how Jesus spoke about the sign of Jonah. When Jonah was in the fish's belly, Scripture speaks of him being in hell, and after 3 days he emerged alive and because of that thousand of people were saved from God's judgment.

Matthew: And then there's Isaiah's 'Man of Sorrows', wounded for our transgressions, made an offering for sin.

Thomas: That's referring to our nation.

[Others groan, shake heads, say things like 'But it says he was righteous! Isaiah said he was no deceit in him. Israel wasn't innocent!]

Matthew: Even if Isaiah were referring to Israel, -surprisingly innocent Israel - it's still HUMAN suffering and death as an offering for sin.

Peter: And the 'Man of Sorrows' really dies! Isaiah says he was cut off out of the land of the living. He poured out His soul unto death. He made a GRAVE with the wicked, it says, and with the rich IN HIS DEATH. But then it says He shall PROLONG His days.

John: If that's not death and resurrection of a sinless human for the forgiveness and salvation of God's people, I don't know what it is!

James: Yes, Tom, explain that!

Peter: And then there's that marvellous Scripture -

Thomas: Ah (disgust) I've had all I can stomach. Scripture calls human sacrifice an abomination and that's the end of the matter.

Woman: Thomas Didymus, you're stubborn, conceited -

John: And have the brains of a mud brick!

[Others cheer.]

James: And you've been about [indicates with fingers close to Thomas' face] this close to having your head -

Matthew: James!

Peter: How could the death of animals remove our guilt? Sure we desperately need a substitute, but it's humanity that's sinned. It's humanity that faces the death penalty. And no-one under the death-sentence could bear the penalty for someone else. Earth needs a sinlessly holy human willing to trade places with sinners. How could anyone or anything be an effective intermediary between God and man except Jesus, the sinless sacrifice?

[Others cheer, whistle, clap, shout such things as 'Good on ya, rock! You tell him, mouth!]

Thomas: What's happened to you lately? We used to be able to talk. Now you've suddenly become know-alls.

[Pause]

Look, you've been under a lot of stress, you had your hopes -

James: So we're all grief-stricken fools then? We've cracked? Is that it?

John: We can't tell the difference between a ghost and a real live person?

Matthew: Or in 3 days we forgot what Jesus looks like?

Peter: Or we'd been on a drinking binge when we thought we saw Jesus?

James: Yeah, Thomas, just what are you accusing us of?

Thomas: Look! I told you before and I'll tell you again: unless I hold him with these arms, put my finger in the holes in his hands and put this fist in his wounded side, I'll NEVER believe!

[Jesus walks in behind Thomas' back. Others see Him, but not Thomas.]

I'm not into distorting the holy Word of God. I'm not into superstition. I'm not into emotionalism. I'm not into making a fool of mys- [Turns around and sees Jesus. Wide-eyed, he gingerly touches Jesus [comical].

It's ... [then falls at His feet. Others giggle.]

Jesus: Thomas, [places his hand in front of his face] put your finger in these holes, put your hand in my side.

Thomas: Jesus, my Lord and God!

[Pause]

Jesus: Let's have something to eat!

[They laugh and cheer. Some come up to Jesus and joyfully embrace Him. Some shake His hand. Others slap His back.

Jesus takes a mouthful and with food still in hand says:]

You've heard my teaching. You've seen my miracles. You're witnesses to my defeat of death. I now appoint you to go to the ends of the earth, telling everyone, so that they, too, may believe and have eternal life.

[Jesus then raps the following:]

As the Father sent me, I'm sending you.
My time on earth is nearly through.
I take my Spirit and I give it to you.
You have my word, to the word be true;
It's life and peace, and fresh as the dew,
Filling your heart with joy ever new,
Giving you light and all wisdom, too.
My life in you makes all things new;
Empowered and holy, the world needs you.
You're my body and I need you.

As the Father helped me, I'm helping you.
The things I've done you'll surely do.
I have all power and I hand it to you.
Believe my word and I say to you;
There will be signs, and not just a few:
Raising the dead is what you will do.
You'll speak in tongues with words ever new,
With mighty works and healings, too.
Demons and evil will flee from you.
You can do it, 'cause I'm in you.

As the Father loves me, I'm loving you.
Complete my joy - love others, too.
I give you life and I'm praying for you.
You have my power - it will see you through -
So speak the words I've given to you,
Spreading my name to Gentile and Jew;
Living my life as I told you to,
They'll see my light come shining through.
What e'er the trial, you will come through:
By my Spirit, I'll be with you.

New Scene: Heaven

Uriel: Let's try that again, starting at verse 53.

KOKBIEL [to an angel next to him]: Oh, I love these hundred-verse hymns. I can't sing enough about Jesus!

Uriel: I appreciate your enthusiasm, Kokbiel, but keep your eyes on me this time.

KOKBIEL: Yes, Sir.

ALL [Tune, Jesus, how lovely you are]:

Jesus, you cause demons to run
You are exalted, with radiance divine
You outshine the noonday sun
Jesus, what a victr'y you've won

Jesus, it makes our hearts race
To see your beauty, your wisdom and grace
You delight all who seek your face
You take earth's sin and make it chaste
Jesus, most powerful by far

You are Creator, Sustainer of all
You made the furthest star
Jesus, how precious you are

['Saviour', what a glorious name
You are victorious, o'er all you excel
You cancel all sin and shame
Jesus let us spread your fame

Jesus, you're our guide and king
You are so gracious, trustworthy and true
Into your hands we yield everything
From you all perfections spring

Jesus, in your light we see
Your gifts are matchless, so precious and free
You give so abundantly
And you make all darkness to flee

Jesus, how matchless your might
You are all-knowing, majestic and right
You dwell in unapproachable light
Holy, yet for earth you fight]

[As they sing the next verse, Kokbiel is holding his hymn sheet so high that it's obvious he can't see Uriel. Uriel notices it and, while conducting with one hand tries in vain to get Kokbiel's attention.]

Jesus all of heaven you fill
With love and contentment and more glories still
Perfect is your most holy will
Jesus, in amazement we kneel

[At the end of the verse Uriel signals the choir to stop, but the music continues until just before Kokbiel sings his surprise solo. Uriel folds arms, looks up sideways, resigned to the fact that Kokbiel will make a fool of himself.]

KOKBIEL [singing loudly]: Jesus, how -

[Kokbiel looks up and around mystified and then very embarrassed.]

Uriel: Thank you Kokbiel, if it's alright with you, we'll turn to Medley 7483

Kokbiel [still embarrassed]: Oh, quite alright.

[Choir then sings portions of previous songs in the musical]