'The Bible' Episode 4: Jesus, Judas Iscariot, Peter, and Nicodemus (Pt. 3)
"The Bible" Episode 4, Part 2 summary, click here.
Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, greeted by the crowd. Prophet Zachariah had prophesized that the messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey.
Then there is a dramatic scene where Jesus ascends the steps of the Temple of Jerusalem, where he sees money changers. He flips over the money table in anger, "This is not written, my house, my house shall be called a house of prayer. But you, you have made it a den of thieves."
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Jesus comes back to preach in the temple every day as Passover is just days away. Nicodemus, who has been ordered by the high priest to keep a close eye on Jesus, challenges Jesus in the temple with a trick question if Jews should pay taxes. The crowd chants "no pay" while the Roman soldiers watch carefully to see how Jesus responds. Jesus says give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (since Caesar's face is on the coin) and to God what belongs to God.
After Jesus leaves, a soldier reports to the high priest that Judas has approached them and wants to help them. The high priest upon hearing this says, "I may have found a way to deal with him."
On Wednesday, before the Last Supper, Jesus tells a child on the street that not one stone of these buildings will be left standing. The Pharisees get the report that Jesus says he will destroy the temple, and they decide to move swiftly to stop Jesus.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to talk to Jesus at night without the Pharisees knowing, while at the same time, Judas comes to talk to the high priest at the temple. Judas is told by the high priest that if Jesus was the messiah, he would unite the people, not divide them, and that the Romans will soon step in and they will slaughter the Jews, close the temple, and it will be the end of their nation if they don't stop Jesus. "What's in it for me?" Judas asks, and a solder gives him a bag of money, which he takes.
"The Bible" skips the famous scene where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples before his impending death.
During the Last Supper, as Jesus washes his hands in the basin, he sees a vision of him screaming in pain as he's crucified. He doesn't reveal to his disciples what he just saw, but he is visibly disturbed. Jesus declares that this is their last meal together before he dies and even says that someone will betray him to his enemy.
Meanwhile, Nicodemus has softened to Jesus after talking to him and is asking the high priest how do they know if Jesus is a false prophet. But the high priest dismisses his question and says that they need to remove Jesus or the Romans will destroy everything. "The life of one peasant for God's nation," the high priest says.
Jesus breaks bread and passes it around the table, and then takes a sip of wine and passes the cup around, teaching the disciples to do this in remembrance of his body being broken and his blood poured out for them.
Jesus feeds Judas a piece of bread and Judas says to him, "I will not betray you." Jesus says for him to do it quickly. As Judas leaves, all eyes are on him, and Peter tries to grab Judas' wrist, but Jesus tells him to let go. As Judas runs to the temple, he bends over and pulls out the piece of bread Jesus gave him and throws it on the ground. Satan is standing there watching Judas.
With the remaining disciples at the supper table, Jesus tells them that they will all fall away and Jesus leaves. But Peter runs after him and says, "Rabbi, I will not fall away. I will lay my life down for you." Jesus is comforted by Peter's words and earnest heart, and as Jesus hugs him, he sees a vision and tells Peter that before dawn he will deny him three times.
Judas leads the soldiers from the high priest to Jesus. There is an interesting splicing of scenes together, where Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane with his head nearly to the ground, "Father, Father, I know it must be. Father take this from me, spare me … if you will it, father, if you will it, your will is mine."
Meanwhile, the Pharisees' prayer contrasts Jesus, with them saying, "Lord I know you are pleased with me, for you sustained me. "
And the wife of Pontius Pilate is also praying to her gods.
Right when Jesus' prayer ends, the disciples approach him and he faces them as we can see his back is bright from the light of torches, meaning the soldiers are here to arrest him.
Peter attacks the soldiers and screams, "Run, Jesus, run," and cuts the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus looks at the soldier in pain with compassion, and heals him. With Jesus' eyes full of compassion looking at this soldier, suddenly a black bag is pulled over his head.
All the disciples run away, but Peter follows Jesus from a distance.
Nicodemus is trying to stop the high priest from killing Jesus, saying that it's illegal because there is no proper trial and it's not done during the daytime. But the high priest says that if he doesn't remove Jesus then Pontius Pilate will close down the temple.
The Pharisees are gathered and Jesus is charged with blasphemy. Mary the mother of Jesus is sitting in the courtyard crying, and she is joined by Mary Magdalene who tells her that Jesus has been arrested.
The Pharisees accuse Jesus of all sorts of crime and tell him to speak. But when Jesus refuses to speak, they ask him, "Are you the chosen one? Are you the son of God?" Jesus replies, "I am," and that he will sit on the right hand of God.
Jesus' statement shocks the Pharisees, who back away from him and the chief priest tears his cloak. They take a vote and most of the Pharisees vote him guilty of blasphemy and the high priest declares "Brothers, the sentence is death."
