NARRATOR
Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha. Lazarus was very sick. The sisters sent a message to Jesus asking him to come and heal him. They trusted Jesus, but Lazarus died before Jesus arrived at their house, in fact, he had stayed on two extra days before making the journey to see them. The women had great respect for Jesus, but they could not understand why he had shown no urgency towards their heartfelt request.
MARY
You came too late,
our brother is dead.
“He’ll be alright…
don’t worry.” you said.
MARTHA
I thought you were coming!
MARY
What took you so long?
MARTHA
We trusted you, Jesus,
but your plans have gone wrong.
MARY
It’s not like we didn’t
give you a warning.
If you had been here,
we wouldn’t be mourning.
MARTHA
I thought you loved Lazarus
and I thought that you cared.
You could have come sooner,
his life could have been spared.
MARY
When we needed you most,
you were far, far away.
What was the reason
for this careless delay?
MARTHA
You were busy elsewhere.
MARY
You were out of town.
MARTHA
I’m so disappointed
that you’ve let us down!
(Jesus gets up but remains looking at the floor. He speaks softly)
JESUS
You feel disappointed?
Well, so do I.
(He covers his face with both hands and his stomach muscles start to retract rapidly. He sits down with his hands still over his eyes. His shoulders are visibly shaking.)
MARTHA
I think we’ve upset him,
he’s started to cry!
(Mary, unsure of what to do, bends down to put her arms around him but raises up again and looks at Martha. Jesus begins to weep aloud.)
MARY
I cannot believe
the noise he is making.
He’s weeping so much,
his whole body’s shaking!
(Jesus stops crying and gets up)
JESUS
Why don’t you trust me?
Why don’t you believe?
If you had more faith,
there would be no need to grieve.
Your brother’s not dead,
that’s why I weep…
for your unbelief.
Your brother’s asleep.
I promised you
that things would be fine.
The power to heal
and restore is mine.
You’ve been with me so long,
yet you don’t understand
that the gift of life
is within my hand.
MARY
But Jesus, he’s dead
so how could we tell?
After so many hours,
can you make him well?
MARTHA
We’ve bound him already,
we’ve laid him down.
We’ll be laughed at by
everyone in the town!
(The four bystanders enter from UP RIGHT. They are talking amongst themselves, unaware of what is going on. When Jesus starts to pray, they stop near Mary and Martha and look back and forth at Jesus and the tomb. One of them appears to be asking Martha what’s going on then, they whisper to each other and look back at Jesus.)
JESUS
Take no notice of
what everyone thinks.
MARTHA
But he’s been dead four days!
His whole body stinks!
(Jesus moves to the centre standing diagonally with his back to the RIGHT CENTRE.)
JESUS
Forgive them, Father,
they thought they knew best,
by wrapping his body,
laying him to rest.
Help them to see
your sovereign plan
behind taking the life
of this dear young man.
Take their faith
to a higher level.
When they see him rise,
let them praise and revel.
Let them glory like never before.
May they always remember
everything they saw.
(Jesus points to UP RIGHT where the 2 helpers enter to remove the stone. They slide it across until it is UP LEFT.)
Take away the stone
that blocks the cave.
I am the Resurrection
and I came to save.
(pause)
Lazarus! Breathe!
Get up and come out!
Your sisters and friends
are full of doubt.
Let them all see
you were only sleeping.
Hear their rejoicing,
instead of their weeping.
(Lazarus has been hiding behind the board and now enters from UP LEFT. He stands UP CENTRE until his grave clothes are removed.)
God sent me from Heaven
and this you now know.
Loosen his grave clothes.
He’s alive, let him go.
(Everyone is excited and animated as they stare at Lazarus. Lazarus moves towards Jesus and embraces him for at least 15 seconds. As the lights fade, he is seen embracing his sisters and the bystanders.)
-The End-
