The Last Temptation of Christ Page #6

JESUS:

I'm the farmer. The farmer's me.

ZEBEDEE:

Wait a minute. I get it. Don't tell

me. We must be the stones. We're the

ground, is that it? That's just fine.

And two and two makes four.

(to crowd:
)

Another lunatic.

JOHN, Zebedee's youngest son, who has an air of perpetual

abstraction, leaves his father and approaches Jesus.

JOHN:

Rabbi, tell me. If you're the farmer

and we're the stones, what is the

seed?

Jesus is baffled.

JOHN:

What's the seed?

JESUS:

(surprised)

Love one another. Love one another!

This is too much for the crowd to take.

ANDREW:

Alright, let's say we accept that.

Maybe that's even good advice. But

for some other world. Not here. we're

starving. Feed us first, then talk.

While the crowd makes noise, Judas steps near to Jesus and

talks to him so the others can't hear.

JUDAS:

What are you talking about, love?

This is your message? We should all

love the Romans? That's like putting

our neck on the knife.

Jesus takes a step forward, going with the momentum of his

strong feelings.

JESUS:

Listen, I used to think God was angry

too. But not any more. He used to

jump on me like a wild bird and dig

his claws into my head. But then one

morning he came to me. He blew over

me like a cool breeze and said 'Stand

up.' And here I am.

ZEBEDEE:

Go to hell!

MAN IN CROWD:

These are all stories for children.

They can't help us.

Jesus starts into the crowd, confronting them directly.

JESUS:

What are you hungry for? And you,

you're thirsty. What are you thirsty

for? For justice. Justice.

ANDREW:

And bread.

JESUS:

Bread too, bread too. I'm telling

you, whoever's hungry for justice,

whoever's thirsty for justice...

they're the one's who'll be blessed.

They'll be filled with bread. They'll

never be thirsty again.

Jesus works his way through the crowd, really winning them

over. He points at somebody else.

JESUS:

And you. You're in mourning. But

mourners will be blessed. You'll

have God's comfort, you won't need

it from men.

Now he addresses the crowd at large.

JESUS:

And the meek... they're the ones

who'll be blessed. And the

suffering... they'll be blessed too.

and the merciful, and the peacemakers.

And the poor, and the sick, and the

outcasts... you will all be blessed.

Because Heaven is yours.

Now the crowd is really with him.

JESUS:

But believe me. The ones who are

laughing now...

He indicates a couple of skeptics in the crowd.

JESUS:

...will be crying later. The ones

who are fed now will be hungry soon.

And the rich... will be poor forever.

The crowd, agitated and excited, starts to run off.

FIRST VOICE:

Let's kill the rich!

SECOND VOICE:

Why bother with the rich? Kill the

Romans.

JESUS:

(protests)

I didn't say death. I said love! I

said love!

ZEBEDEE:

(motions to his son)

Let's go.

JOHN:

No. Go on without me.

JAMES looks as if he wants to stay too, but Zebedee pulls

him by the arm and stalks off. John and Andrew stay behind

with Peter, Philip and Judas.

Mary Magdalene stands next to Jesus now.

MAGDALENE:

Rabbi. I can help. Let me go with

you.

JESUS:

(interrupts)

No. Stay here. Tell people about me.

Show them how to live.

He kneels and wipes her bloody feet with his tunic.

CUT TO:

EXT. SEA OF GENNASARET - DAY

Another day. Jesus leads his little band along the seashore:

Peter, John, and Andrew walk with Jesus; Judas and Philip

follow. Two peasant women, a street urchin and a couple of

dogs bring up the rear. They approach Zebedee, who works

with James, Nathaniel and two other fishermen.

ZEBEDEE:

(to John)

Where have you been? We've been

working all morning.

John steps over to his brother James and starts pulling him

away.

JOHN:

What are you doing this for, after

what we heard. Come with us.

Zebedee grabs James' other arm.

ZEBEDEE:

What do you think you're doing?

He swats both John and James on the ear. The other disciples

laugh.

JUDAS:

(laughing)

Watch it, Zebedee, you'll lose another

son.

JESUS:

Zebedee, do you really need them?

You can hire other men. They won't

be your sons, so you'll have to pay

them...

ZEBEDEE:

Pay them! I can't afford to pay them.

I can't afford to pay anybody. Look,

my nets have been empty for weeks.

JESUS:

Look at them now.

The nets are teeming with fish.

ZEBEDEE:

How'd you do that?

JESUS:

Maybe the current changed.

(pause)

Zebedee, let your sons come with me.

They can fish for men.

CUT TO:

EXT. SEA OF GENNASARET - AFTERNOON

Later the same day. Jesus and the disciples, now with James

among them, walk past a stand of tall reeds.

CUT TO:

EXT. GALILEE - NIGHT

The disciples sleep in an olive grove. Jesus, awake, sits on

a nearby knoll, looking into the night.

Judas walks over and sits next to him:

JUDAS:

Rabbi, can I talk to you?

He sits next to him.

JUDAS:

I'm not like these other men. I mean,

they're good enough. But they're

weak. How are they going to fight

for you? They couldn't even fight

for themselves. Where'd you find

them? One's worse than the other.

This is no army.

JESUS:

I don't need soldiers.

JUDAS:

You wanted me. And if I love somebody,

I'd die for them. If I hate somebody,

I'll kill them. I can even kill

somebody I love if he does the wrong

thing. Do you understand?

JESUS:

I understand.

JUDAS:

The other day when you said turn the

other cheek to the man that hit you,

I didn't like that. Only an angel

could do that, only an angel or a

dog. I'm a free man. I don't turn my

cheek to anyone. You do need soldiers.

JESUS:

Will soldiers make me free?

JUDAS:

You want freedom for Israel?

JESUS:

I want freedom for the soul.

JUDAS:

First you free the body, then the

soul. You know that. The Romans come

first.

JESUS:

The soul is first. If you don't change

what the soul needs, you'll only

replace Roman domination with another

domination and nothing'll ever change.

First you have to change man inside.

Then man can change what's around

him. It's wanting wealth and power

that makes the soul want to dominate

others. That's the wanting we have

to change, we have to free the soul

first. With love.

JUDAS:

We all want that eventually. But

right now the only way is to start

from the bottom. You build a house

from the foundation up...

(he turns)

Who's there?

Andrew, sleepy-eyed, walks over, concerned:

ANDREW:

It's me, Andrew. Is everything...

JESUS:

(interrupting)

Go back to sleep. Judas and I are

talking.

Andrew turns and leaves. Judas waits, then speaks.

JUDAS:

I still don't know who you are.

JESUS:

Neither do I.

JUDAS:

You can't look to the others for

answers. All they can do is follow

you. It's between you and me. When I

went to kill you in the monastery,

God took my strength away. That's

what made me think, even if I didn't

want to... that's what made me think

you might be the one. The Messiah.

Maybe you are, maybe you aren't,

maybe you don't even know yourself

if you are. That's why I said to

myself, be patient for once in your

life. See what he does, see what he

says, and if he's not the Messiah

there's plenty of time to kill him.

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