INTERVIEW AT EMMAUS
TV PROGRAM

Written by Evelyn Tower

CAST:
Anchor person on the Israel Nightly News
Reporter
Mr. amd Mrs. Cleopas

Scene: TV JERUSALEM studios, switching to
A Home in Emmaus

Anchor person: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, this beautiful
evening in April. We have heard strange news indeed! Word has gone out
that a recently crucified man named Jesus of Nazareth, put to death for
rebellion against the government of Rome, has somehow got out of his
tomb and is not dead at all. In fact, his friends claim that he was, in
fact, dead, but has miraculously come to life and that they have seen
him. Can this be true? Our roving reporter, Hannah Peterson, has an
interview with a couple who have agreed to tell their story.
Camera on Mr. and Mrs. Cleopas
Reporter: Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Cleopas. I understand that you
have had a fantastic experience.
Mr. Cleopas: Yes, indeed, we have, and we’re ready to tell the world!
Mrs. Cleopas: It was different from anything we’ ve ever known before!
Reporter: Suppose you begin at the beginning, then.
Mr.Cleopas: Well, we were in Jerusalem several days for the Passover,
and we heard and saw the awful things that happened. We saw our beloved
Master taken by soldiers, tried and found guilty. It was shocking,
dreadful!
Mrs. Cleopas: We saw our dear Master nailed to a cross between two
robbers!
Reporter: Back up a minute. If your Master was so good, why was he
tried like a criminal and sentenced to death?
Mr. Cleopas: The High Priest and the rulers didn’t like him.
Reporter: Now, didn’t they say he went around healing the sick and
giving sight to the blind? How did that get him in trouble?
Mrs. Cleopas: He said God was his Father, and he pointed out the greed
and selfishness of the leaders. And when he said he was the Son of God,
they were so mad they had to get rid of him.
Reporter: How could they do that? Israel is under Rome’s power, and the
High Priest did not have power to kill Jesus of Nazareth.
Mr.Cleopas: They made it look like a plot against Rome, so Pilate the
Roman Governor had to pronounce the sentence. He didn’t think Jesus a
plotter at all.
Reporter: That’s not proper Roman justice! Rome has good laws!
Mrs. Cleopas: The crowd yelled “Crucify him!” so loud that Pilate
decided to give in. Silly man, he got a pan of water and washed his
hands, as if that took the blame away from him.
We women followed Jesus in tears, but he told us not to weep for him
but for ourselves and our children. Jesus was always thinking of others
first.
Reporter: All right, so did Jesus really die on the cross?
Mr. Cleopas: Yes, indeed, he did -- we saw him dead, and some of us
watched Joseph of Arimathea take down his body and put it in a
tomb.There was a double guard there to make sure nobody took the body.
Reporter: What day was he buried?
Mr. Cleopas: Friday evening. We were so sad, we stayed with friends
another day, to mourn him.
Reporter:When did you leave Jerusalem to come back home to Emmaus?
Mrs. Cleopas: Sunday, the first day of the week. We had to get home
after the Sabbath and tend to things, take up our lives again.
Reporter: Then, what happened on the way? This is the story I’m looking
for.
Mr. Cleopas: We were walking the seven miles home, gloomy and sad, and
a stranger came to walk beside us. We didn’t know him, but he seemed
interested in what we’d been talking about -- the wonderful Master
Jesus was, and how awful the things that happened to him. He asked
questions as if he’d not heard anything about it! So we told him the
whole gruesome tale, how our dear Master was captured, tried late at
night, condemned to death, and crucified. We told him that some women
claimed they’d seen an angel in the empty tomb, but we didn’t believe
it.He listened carefully, and then he scolded us!
Reporter: Scolded you! For what?
Mrs. Cleopas: For not believing him when he told us beforehand what was
going to happen. He DID say he was going to be killed and rise again,
but we couldn’t take it in. Whoever rose from the dead before?
Mr. Cleopas: Well. you remember, dear, Jesus’ friend Lazarus was made
alive again.
Reporter: I heard that story once, too -- is it true?
Mr. Cleopas: Yes, indeed. To get back to Jesus, after he called us
foolish for not believing the prophets, he went through the whole
Scripture, pointing out that Moses told Israel to look for another
prophet to take his place. He went through the Psalms and showed how
David called him “Lord”, and he talked about the Suffering Servant that
Isaiah foretold. He was so wonderful in explaining Jesus’ death and
resurrection to us, that we invited him in to supper when we got home.
Mrs. Cleopas: When we sat down and he broke the bread in blessing, we
recognized him all at once! Nobody else broke bread quite that way! We
were amazed!
Reporter: You mean, it really was Jesus?
Mr. Cleopas: Indeed it was! In a new body, or we’d have noticed. But
then, he disappeared without going out the door. We were so excited, we
got up and walked all the seven miles back to Jerusalem!
Reporter: For goodness’ sake, why?
Mr. Cleopas: Don’t you see, that meant new life for us, too! Then we
remembered odd things he’d told us, like waiting in Jerusalem till we
got Heavenly power. Told us about the Holy Spirit, about being his
witnesses and everything. We had to get with the other disciples and
make sure everybody got the word.
Reporter: And did others have the same experience?
Mrs. Cleopas: In different ways. Mary Magdalene saw him in the garden
and thought he was the gardener till he spoke to her.Then she was too
happy for words.
Mr. Clopas: Simon saw him and was telling us about the experience, when
all of a sudden, jesus stood there and said”Peace!” To assure us that
he was real and not a ghost, he showed his scars, and then he ate a
snack to convince us. It was glorious!
Reporter: So, where is Jesus now?
Mr. and Mrs. Cleopas together: Gone back to Heaven. We saw that too!
Reporter: And what will your group do now?
Mr. and Mrs. Cleopas: Tell the whole world, our Lord is risen!

Switch to Israel Nightly News
Anchorperson: There are rumors that some of the disciples are being
jailed for their loyalty to Jesus of Nazareth. We will hear more of
that, later on.


END

Written and directed by Evelyn Tower in our drama workshop, My Father’s Playhouse.
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
1627 Monument Ave.
Richmond, VA 23220
www.grace-covenant.org