There will be no mercy!
(SCREAMS)
JOSEPH: My sister's only child hanging from a cross!
Joseph... We need this to end!
CAIAPHAS: We must govern ourselves
so that we are never again subjected to Roman justice.
You did nothing of any worth whatsoever.
GUARD: Make way for King Antipas.
Your position is reliant on my endorsement.
John, I'm poor and sick in my soul.
I'm glad to give you this land.
Barnabas, it's perfect.
God has a purpose for each of us. I'm meant to preach.
Be patient, Stephen. The time will come.
And didn't Jesus say, "I will rebuild this temple in three days,"
before he rose from the death you condemned him to?
Silence him. Shut him up.
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
(GRUNTS)
JOHN: No longer will violence be heard in your lands,
nor ruin and destruction within your borders.
Your walls shall be called salvation,
and your gates, praise.
No longer will the sun light your days,
nor the moon bright your night.
You will have the Lord for everlasting light,
and your God for your glory.
(CROWD WAILING)
(SOBBING)
My son is dead!
Stephen is dead! Because of you!
You and your politics!
Where is He?
Where is He now, this Messiah of yours?
(SOBBING)
(CROWD ULULATING)
MATTHEW: Why doesn't he raise him up
or ask the Lord to bring Stephen back to us?
Is it for us to test Him?
I dreamt last night that Stephen wouldn't be the last of us to die.
PHILIP: Another hungry soul that's heard the word.
God be with you.
Have you come to hear the word of Jesus?
(CHUCKLES)
No.
I am Saul.
Scholar, Jew, Roman citizen,
Pharisee, defender of the Great Temple of Jerusalem.
I have come here to teach you of the wrath
you will all bring down upon yourselves
if you do not end your blasphemy.
If.
(WOMEN CRYING)
PETER: The desert and the parched land will be glad.
The wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus,
it will burst into bloom.
It will rejoice greatly
and shout for joy.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
So, tell us, how are we so wrong in our belief?
Friend, speak with us.
BARNABAS: What's the matter, have you no tongue?
Or no brain?
Jesus of Nazareth, this peasant Messiah you love and praise,
is nothing more than a false prophet.
You dare come here and say that.
I don't say it. The Sanhedrin says it.
The Psalms of Solomon say it.
The prophecies of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel say it.
Who are you to say otherwise? Who?
Oh.
What's the matter?
Have you no tongue?
No courage?
(SCOFFS)
Be gone, little man.
ANNAS: I don't understand you, Jonathan.
You saw the slaughter, the wave of crucifixions,
saw what bloody turmoil made its home in Jerusalem.
Of course. Father, I'm not blind.
And you accept that Caiaphas, as High Priest, stands knee-deep in blood.
Blood spilled by Pilate wielding the power of Rome.
Yes, I accept Caiaphas has not handled things well.
So, why can't you accept that he must be replaced?
Jerusalem needs a man who will forge a different
relationship with Rome
to take us back to the peaceful times Caiaphas once stood for.
The Sanhedrin is looking for a man to challenge Caiaphas.
The Annas family needs that man to be you.
The whole idea of your loving family
gathered in our house to give thanks gives me indigestion.
Well, take a potion. Clear your head.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
Hmm.
Two guests of honor have invited themselves.
Although a little more notice wouldn't have hurt.
Antipas and Herodias.
(SIGHS)
HERODIAS: I had no idea the Nazarene camp was so close to the city.
And so populated.
Why would anyone leave everything they knew to live like that?
(HORSE NEIGHING)
Well, we are honored the festival of Purim has brought you to our home.
In truth, it was a useful excuse to come to Jerusalem.
To see if the city was still standing.
ANNAS: My son and I think,
as Jews, we can talk honestly about recent dark days.
JONATHAN: The people will not soon forget the blood spilled
in Governor Pilate's wave of crucifixions.
CAIAPHAS: They shouldn't forget.
But was there ever a time when the people were content?
ANNAS: If the anger of the people was fading,
there would be room for this complacent approach.
Father, we are hardly complacent.
JONATHAN: But the anger is growing,
just as the new city of tents out in the desert is growing.
You mean the camp?
JONATHAN: Hmm. There are thousands there now.
Yes. We passed it on our way here.
JONATHAN: Where will it stop?
At 5,000 converts? 100,000?
Will everybody please stop going on about these people?
(SIGHS)
Tell me, what exactly is it that you'd have me do.
Hmm?
Have them slaughtered in their tents?
ANNAS: Antipas, surely the people, and you, as their ruler,
want to see a High Priest in control of events.
JONATHAN: Not led by them.
Not governed by the whim of his Roman master.
HERODIAS: I do enjoy the smell of treachery.
ANTIPAS: Poor old Caiaphas has the look of a man preparing to face the executioner.
If it was a choice between him and young Jonathan as High Priest,
I don't know who I'd go for.
Neither.
But I'll have to give my support to one of them,
and then let Pilate have the responsibility.
SERVANT: My Lady.
SAUL: And then there was Zachary of Beersheba,
a passionate man who tried to follow the example of Moses
and lead his friends across the Red Sea.
He drowned (CHUCKLES) and so did they.
And then there was Simon from Perea, brave, well-intentioned Simon.
Well, he believed that he was sent by God,
but only made a Jew's life...
But only made a Jew's life harder under Rome.
And there was another pretender, an imposter from Galilee,
this man Jesus.
You're Peter. I've heard you preach.
You do it well. A little soft-hearted, perhaps, but...
I have a case to make against your false Messiah!
Do you want to hear it, Peter, or are you afraid
I will unpick your delusions in front of this gullible crowd?
This man is living in darkness and doesn't even know his eyes are closed.
He claims such knowledge,
but he's just stumbling in the dark if he doesn't know this,
no one can come to the Father except through Jesus.
Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.
This Jesus of yours
is nothing more than a false prophet of illiterate fishermen.
He has you all in a net of lies. PETER: John!
You use words like a trader selling stones,
but there's no heart to them, no love.
I have love for those things you want to destroy,
the Temple in the heart of Jerusalem.
Centuries of law and tradition your pathetic little band
can no more replace than a flea can fill the shoes of a man.
Speak simply.
If there is truth to your thoughts, you'll be understood.
Here's a simple truth.
If you set yourself against the Temple,
you will be destroyed by the Temple.
Simple truth.
Even if I could persuade the Sanhedrin to trust your family,
who stood by while more and more of our people were crucified.
There was nothing... And even if I was
willing to speak in your defense,
and so gain for you the support you'll need to unseat Caiaphas,
and heal the wounds you've caused,
have you no shame that you'd plot against your own son-in-law?
I have shame,
shame that I didn't act sooner to save so many from their pain,
those who died, and those, like you, who lost the ones they loved.
We ask you to not let that failing
cost more blood and suffering,
not to let the moment pass when we can act to start afresh.
My son Jonathan is a man of integrity
who would truly speak for the people of Jerusalem.
The only man who can bring both...
There's many opinions on this subject.
Both change and continuity.
Before you even think of making the case to Pilate,
you'll need the unreserved backing of Antipas.
Pilate will want his approval to maintain order.
If, with your support, we can unite the Sanhedrin behind us,
we can approach Antipas today.
You won't regret this, I promise.
This man would have you believe in a crucified Messiah.
Deuteronomy says,
"For he that is hanged on a tree
"or on a cross is accursed of God."
But God raised Him up, having loosed Him from the pains of death
because it was not possible He should be held by it.
So you claim, but who among you
has seen the resurrection? Who?
You? You? You? Only your charlatans,
who need you to believe it.
Jesus and the truth of His message are loved.
By all our people?
Not even by all of Jerusalem.
They love him so little, they executed him.
And fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy.
The Messiah is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
(ALL AGREEING)
This man thinks it's a mark of success
when those you love are executed.
He won't be happy until you're all dead...
Like Stephen.
If you stay here one moment longer, I swear...
I'm going to tear your head off.
Don't worry. I've heard enough to see that
reason won't break you from your delusions.
You will see me again, though.
Be sure of that.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
SAUL: Rabbi Gamaliel,
how can these blasphemers in the desert want to end all this?
Don't concern yourself with them.
Go to your own studies.
Improve your understanding, and then...
Yes, but they just don't see
that this, all of this, is the heart and soul of Jerusalem.
I tried to tell them, but they just won't see reason.
Then, Saul, don't spend more of your energy
trying to correct their mistake.
I see a path for you from scholar to rabbi,
from rabbi to, perhaps, a seat on the Sanhedrin.
Who knows?
These men, they do the same work as the Sanhedrin.
They toil to preserve the old while making it new.
What this fisherman, Peter,
and the others want to do, is destroy the old,
replace it with the new.
I have to find a way to stop them.
I have to.
(WHISPERING) I think that went well.
For you, an anniversary gift.
After you left our house, my wife reminded me
that it was at Purim 10 years ago that we first met.
Me as High Priest, you as Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea,
each trying to work the other out.
And here we are, still trying.
Please.
So, your father-in-law and his son
would very much like to take from you
those fine robes of office that you wear.
Now,
what are you going to do about these fanatics in the desert?
The ringleader of the cult, the man they follow, is from Galilee.
This reflects very badly on me.
They will soon tire of the hardships
that come from following their Messiah.
But what happens? Dissent becomes revolt.
The Roman response could be devastating.
Solve this problem for me, Caiaphas.
And if this attempt to overthrow you reaches Pilate,
you will have my support.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
LEAH: We know you're conspiring with my father and brother.
Should I know what you're talking about?
The three of you won't win this fight.
My husband will remain in office as High Priest,
and you will suffer for your betrayal.
Tide is turning against your husband,
and I can't stand in the way of it.
If you don't recognize that, you'll both drown in the flood.
The High Priest has more to deal with today
than you can even imagine,
and you think that I should bring him out here to talk to you?
Yes.
Come back in three days.
The answer will still be the same,
but at least it'll give me chance to forget you.
Three days, the danger to the Temple could be doubled.
What danger to the Temple?
Forgive me.
I was merely talking about the followers of the false Messiah
gathering in the desert.
Come with me.
You wanted to see me? Thank you for your good grace.
Having read much in the Temple archives
of your family's great history,
I hope that, with respect...
Could we perhaps have a little less respect?
Time kills us all. Of course.
I believe we share a common interest,
a common desire to rid Jerusalem of a pest,
the fishermen and their followers
growing in numbers and confidence
outside the city walls.
And what is it that fuels your desire to see them gone?
They offend me with their actions to undermine the Temple.
Their defiance offends me.
Their defiance of the Sanhedrin,
who could not have been more definitive
in their verdict when they said...
What exactly do you want?
The authority to
act on your behalf and solve this problem,
to remove these blasphemers so completely
that not even the stain of their memory is left behind.
(PETER SIGHS)
I just can't stop thinking about Stephen.
(SIGHS)
Stop being such a man.
What?
You see the women at the funeral?
They weep, and they wail, and they scream out their pain
so the whole world knows about it.
And while all this open-hearted grieving goes on,
the men look at their feet,
and put on their sad face.
Don't bottle it up. Let out that pain.
Honor Stephen by leading us, Peter.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SCREAMING)
What I need is for you to give me the authority
you would give the least promoted of your Temple Guard.
Authority to use how?
And 20 men from that guard.
(SCREAMING) SAUL: Their strength is their popularity.
I want to take that from them.
PETER: You have questions.
You say, "Why did He call me His rock?"
You ask, "Am I the foundation?
"Is this where His church will be built?"
There is only one foundation stone, and His name is Jesus Christ!
And His church is not here. It's not in those tents or these walls.
It's you, all of you.
You are His church.
And like those we ask to believe
even though they didn't see Him rise again,
we must push away our fear
even as we recognize the persecution we face.
We have to go to Jerusalem
and preach the word to build His church!
Recruit your own men.
(FLESH SIZZLES)
(SIGHS)
I'll pay.
Forgive me,
but wouldn't it benefit your authority to be seen as the hand at work?
We need to claim back the true message of our faith
from the families of the Temple and their masters from Rome.
They crucified the man who said to you,
"I am the light of the world.
"Whoever follows me won't walk in darkness."
And with my own eyes, I saw him.
JOHN: We just buried a man,
a good man and a friend,
stoned to death because he dared speak the truth.
JOHN: He was a young man, like you.
He shed blood and felt pain, just like you.
His mother wept tears for him, just as yours would.
But he had a burning need to speak the truth of the word of God.
SAUL: With the authority of High Priest Caiaphas,
I, Saul of Tarsus, hereby accuse
all the people here of supporting blasphemy!
Do you see this? These friends of Rome standing against us?
Is this your answer? Violence?
You underestimate me.
You will all be taken away and your name added to a list of offenders!
These people have done nothing.
Any further offense and you will all face the Sanhedrin court!
Then take us. Take our names.
We're the ones to arrest.
No.
You two can go.
These people will soon learn the danger of your company.
You and your men are no match
for the fire of the Holy Spirit that fills us.
Really?
Well, let's see whose fire burns brightest, shall we?
Take them!
(CROWD SCREAMS)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
I've weakened these fanatics by isolating them,
by turning their supporters against them.
By terrorizing these citizens of Jerusalem?
Well, there was a problem nobody seemed able to solve.
Neither have you.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
They know you'll persecute them if they listen to the preachers in Jerusalem,
so they're leaving the city to hear what they have to say.
(EXHALES)
Did you really think this man Saul
would stand in the way of our mission?
The Temple won't stand for this,
and they won't let it go on much longer.
MAN: It's not safe in the city!
ANNAS: It looks like your hero, Saul,
couldn't solve the problem of the Nazarene camp.
Where are the other two conspirators?
I didn't come to bicker.
I came to ask you to show some dignity,
to recognize that the will of the Sanhedrin is turning against you,
and ask you, for the good of this family, to stand down.
For the good of this family?
For the good of this family, you, who in his day as High Priest,
hadn't the wits to walk in step with Rome?
You, who left a mess behind him that I had to clear up.
You plot against me?
And now I must listen to the rantings of a failed and bitter old man
for the good of this family? Get out of my house,
before I forget you're my wife's father
and put a blade between your ribs.
We'll take this to Pilate.
(DOOR OPENING)
(DOOR SLAMS)
CLAUDIA: You must favor Caiaphas over his brother-in-law.
Must I?
Don't tell me what to do.
A 10-year-old alliance shouldn't be tossed aside without good cause.
Is it Caiaphas you approve of, or his wife?
I hear the two of you are becoming the best of friends.
(BOX CREAKING)
Minerva, goddess of wisdom.
Minerva, which of these men shall be High Priest,
and which one shall be left to rot in the desert?
Nothing.
(SIGHING) Very disappointing.
There is a rumor you knew of the plot against my life and did nothing.
Is that true? No, that's ridiculous.
And a rumor you have a spy here in my palace.
And another that you visit the Nazarene's camp each night
and pray with them.
All of which, it's been suggested,
makes you unfit to continue in office.
Is any of this true? None of it.
Lies are being spread by those who wish to undermine me.
You undermine yourself by failing to get a grip on...
Enough!
I will not waste my time separating truth from fiction,
like a mother with squabbling children.
Tiberius shall decide.
I met a Greek, once,
who made every decision with the toss of a coin.
Emperor's head or the divine Livia?
Shall I commend you for your ambition?
Or do I condemn you for spreading baseless rumors?
Heads, I condemn.
Livia, I commend.
(COIN CLINKS)
Heads.
Then I condemn you for making such a poor job of your treachery.
These fishermen and their followers, are they being dealt with?
They are, firmly and finally.
Unless he wants to be loved by all,
the High Priest's job is not a hard one.
He must deliver what's expected of the province of Judea by Rome
and resist the many, often irrational, demands of his people.
There are girls in the kitchen who can do that.
Dogs in the street.
Even a donkey.
Heads, you stay.
Livia,
I'll replace you with a donkey.
(COIN CLINKS)
Get that, will you, Caiaphas?
Head. Excellent.
You both may go. I need to speak with your High Priest.
And the lesson is, don't play politics unless you're good at it.
This coin,
it has two heads.
It does, doesn't it?
(CHUCKLES LIGHTLY)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
We shall see.
By order of Caiaphas,
who remains High Priest, you are removed from the Sanhedrin.
(CHUCKLING)
Even though it was your own father and brother who hatched this plot?
And you will leave Jerusalem, or find yourself arrested for treason.
This all began with the murder of the Nazarene, Jesus.
All your interfering, your scheming.
It will bring you down, eventually.
(BUBBLING)
(DOOR CREAKS OPEN)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
SAUL: I tried to reason with them, but they just wouldn't listen.
I tried to come between them and their supporters,
but it would appear they would prefer the idiotic doctrine of the Nazarene.
CAIAPHAS: This gives you my full authority to rid me of them.
Permanently.
Do whatever is necessary.
(EXHALES)
Whatever is necessary.
(SNIFFS)
Let me tell you about these people.
These people want to bring down the Temple,
the Temple,
the guiding hand in yours and my life,
the well of wisdom.
And they think nobody,
nobody will stand in their way.
They disregard the ruling of the Sanhedrin,
who called them blasphemers.
The very next day, one of them walked into the Temple itself
proclaiming his profanity.
(EXCITED CONVERSATIONS)
And although...
And although the people of Jerusalem delivered their justice,
and they stoned him to death,
they continue recruiting
the gullible and the weak-minded to their cause.
Do we say "enough"?
ALL: Enough!
Will we break their heads?
ALL: Yes!
With swords and clubs and bare fists,
we will say,
"Leave this land,
"or you will leave this Earth in a shroud of blood!"
ALL: Yeah! Yeah!
SAUL: Grab weapons!
Grab armor!
Follow me!
(CROWD CHEERING)
(CRASHING)
GUARD: Get out!
(GRUNTING)
Pay heed to this and spread the word.
These people are being arrested for aiding,
sheltering, and feeding the followers of the false Messiah.
They will be...
(GRUNTING)
They will be imprisoned.
Anyone else who does likewise will also pay with their freedom.
And don't think of scurrying off to the desert
for help from your friends.
It's their turn next.
SIMON: He's coming!
Saul's coming back!
He's bringing men with swords.
Take what you can!
Get everyone out of here.
(ALL SCREAMING)
This way. Go with them!
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
We should go back to Galilee. No.
We have to stay together.
We gather again in Jerusalem.
We have to go now.
No. I'll stay.
I will not be cowed by this man and his threats.
I won't leave you to face him alone.
He won't be alone.
This was my land. I'm staying.
And me.
There's more than one way to welcome a visitor.
See you in Jerusalem.
Please, hurry! Run!
Mix it carefully.
Too much and it won't work.
Go! Move faster. Faster!
SIMON: Take my hand.
PETER: James, go.
SAUL: (BREATHING HEAVILY) Pull it all down.
Burn it.
I want nothing left to show that they were ever here.
Now!
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(FLAMES CRACKLING)
He's leaving it too late.
No. He knows what he's doing.
MAN: Over there! Over there!
There!
Take him!
Let's see whose fire burns brightest now!
No!
I will crush you!
PETER: You will try!
You will try!