Description
Nicodemus tells of going to meet Jesus, and the changes it brought.
It all began the night I went to see a man called Jesus. I was an important man–a Pharisee, and not just any Pharisee. I was a member of the Sanhedrin , the Council of the Seventy, the supreme court of the Jews. It was our job to interpret the Law of
Moses for the people. We held grand debates and argued the finer points of the Law amongst ourselves. We could decide the fate of one who was guilty of breaking Jewish law. We took our job very seriously.
Written by former DramaShare member Michael Colvin
Cast: 1 m, monolog
Bible Reference: John 3
Set: standard
Sound: wireless mics if available
Song: none
Lighting: standard
SFX: none
Props: none
Costumes:
- likely traditional
Special Instructions: none
Time: 25
Sample of script:
My name is Nicodemus. Now, you’re are probably thinking, “Nicodemus? So what? Who is Nicodemus?” I can tell you that it’s hard for me sometimes to recognize myself. If you had known me from before, you would not recognize me either! I am so full of joy and happiness because of what God has done for me.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me begin at the beginning–the night I went to see a man called Jesus . I was an important man–a Pharisee, and not just any Pharisee. I was a member of the Sanhedrin , the Council of the Seventy, the supreme court of the Jews. It was our job to interpret the Law of Moses for the people. We held grand debates and argued the finer points of the Law amongst ourselves. We could decide the fate of one who was guilty of breaking Jewish law. We took our job very seriously.
While I was serving on the council we began hearing reports of the activities of this man Jesus , whom some claimed to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Now, for someone to claim himself to be the Messiah was not such a strange thing in those days. There were many claimants to the position. In fact, no self-respecting Jew would deny the fact that the Messiah would someday come. Many, myself included, hoped that time would be sooner rather than later. You see, Palestine had been far too long under the jack boot of Roman oppression. The prophets had promised that the Messiah would be a great leader, a military man who would gather an army and would make the Jewish nation the most powerful in the world. So you can understand that our expectations were very high.
I had always been interested in those who claimed to be the Messiah. All of them were very interesting, indeed. Many were just plain mad. Others were dangerous revolutionaries. Most were easily dismissed as pretenders. A very few warranted a closer look. Jesus was one of those.
Some of us pharisees had been watching Jesus rather closely. Most of my colleagues had already decided that he was not to be trusted, that he was intent upon gathering an army, and was a dangerous law breaker, besides. They watched as he broke the laws of the Sabbath, as he partied frequently with tax collectors and other sinners, and associated with prostitutes and lepers. This man was certainly not Messiah material, they said.