The Last Temptation of Christ Page #7

JESUS:

How can I be the Messiah? First of

all I wanted to kill those people

when I saw them torturing Magdalene.

Then when I opened my mouth, out

came the word 'love.' Why? How can

we tell?

JUDAS:

Alright. You say God talks through

you and right now I believe you.

There's another one he talks through.

JESUS:

The Baptist.

JUDAS:

We'll go to see him. He stands out

there every day preaching 'He is

coming, he is coming.' As soon as he

sees you he'll know who you are.

He'll know if you're the one.

JESUS:

I'm afraid, Judas. Stay here.

Judas spreads his blanket on the ground.

CUT TO:

EXT. GALILEE - NIGHT

Later that night. Judas and Jesus are asleep in each other's

arms. Then Jesus appears to wake. On the ground in front of

him is an apple. He reaches for it, takes a bite, extracts

some seeds and the core. He scatters them on the ground. He

watches where they fall.

And now we see:
a tree has grown, ripe red apples hanging

from its every branch.

CUT TO:

EXT. RIVER OF JORDAN - DAY

Jesus and his followers reach the edge of the Dead Sea.

Andrew, a disciple of the Baptist, points ahead.

ANDREW:

Up ahead. The water forms a pool in

the caves. I'll show you.

JESUS:

You're tired. Stay here.

ANDREW:

No, I'd better come. It could be

dangerous.

JESUS:

NO. I want to go alone.

Jesus walks through the burning heat toward the caves. Judas,

following behind, runs to catch up.

JUDAS:

What about me! I'm supposed to be

with you.

JESUS:

Come on.

They walk down a slope. Jesus in front. Judas behind. John

the Baptist's voice echoes in the distance.

Offscreen Voice:

THE BAPTIST (O.S.)

'Behold, I will raise up evil against

you out of your own house, and I

will take your wives before your

eyes, and give them to your neighbor,

and he shall lie with your wives in

the sight of this sun.'

(2 SAMUEL XII, 11)

They push their way through a mixture of lower class

Israelites, Ethiopians (painted nails, eyelashes, etc.),

Chaldeans (brass rings in their noses, etc.) Some who have

been or are about to be Baptized are naked.

CUT TO:

EXT./INT. BAPTIST'S CAVE - DAY

Jesus and Judas approach. They enter a small cave like an

antechamber in which the light has a slight greenish tint.

In the larger cave, the BAPTIST is preaching. Jesus gasps

when he first sees him: a wild man, unkempt, unwashed, (hair

like a Rastafarian). He shouts in the wind:

THE BAPTIST:

"Roll on the ground, bite the dust,

howl! The Lord of Hosts says: 'On

this day I will command the sun to

set at noon; I will crush the horns

of the new moon and spill darkness

over the earth. I will reverse your

laughter, turn it into tears, and

your songs I will turn into

lamentations. I will blow and all

your finery -- hands, feet, noses,

ears, hairs -- will fall to the

ground.'"

He's awesome. Even Judas is taken back. He grabs Jesus:

JUDAS:

God. He sounds like the Messiah.

JESUS:

No, the Messiah won't have an ax in

his hand.

Judas pushes Jesus forward.

JUDAS:

We'll see. Go in front. Let him see

you.

Jesus walks slowly toward the Baptist, his eyes fixed on the

prophet. The crowd flails and shouts; one half-naked woman

slashes herself with sharp stones (throws herself on the

ground, etc.).

JESUS (V.O.)

Even from behind, I knew I had seen

him before. Where? When? Was it a

dream? Yes, it was. But in the dream

he was all dressed in white.

Jesus steps behind the Baptist. John suddenly turns at him.

THE BAPTIST:

Who are you?

JESUS:

(his voice anxious)

Do you recognize me?

THE BAPTIST:

Who are you?

JESUS:

Have you read Isaiah? Do you know

the prophets? What does Isaiah say?

THE BAPTIST:

He says, "Prepare the way of the

Lord." Are you telling me that's

you?

JESUS:

I don't know.

(demanding)

Tell me.

The Baptist looks around: the crowd wails in SILENT MOTION.

A sudden calmness. We see them from Judas' P.O.V. Judas

strains to hear but can't. The Baptist knows Jesus.

THE BAPTIST:

Why are you here?

JESUS:

To be baptized.

THE BAPTIST:

I don't dare. If you are the Master,

you should baptize me.

JESUS:

Baptize me.

Jesus kneels at John's feet, throws off his robe (his

nakedness partially hidden by people in the foreground).

Judas looks on.

CUT TO:

EXT. RIVER OF JORDAN - NIGHT

Jesus and the Baptist sit in the cave by a fire built near

the baptismal pool. An eerie blue-green light falls on the

walls of the cave; their faces are reflected in the pool

water. A group of pilgrims camp in the back of the cave.

Music is heard.

Jesus and the Baptist are weary from hours of debate.

JESUS:

Isn't love enough?

THE BAPTIST:

No. The tree is rotten. You have to

take the ax and cut it down.

JESUS:

If I was a woodcutter, I'd cut. If I

was fire, I'd burn. But I'm a heart

and I love.

THE BAPTIST:

I'm a heart also but I can't love

what's unjust. I can't love evil.

What I can't love I attack. God

demands it. God demands anger.

JESUS:

Anger? Aren't we all brothers?

THE BAPTIST:

You think love is God's only way? Go

to the Dead Sea. Look in the bottom,

you'll see the two whores, Sodom and

Gomorrah. God was angry. He threw

fire at them, turned over the dry

land and the sea swallowed them up.

That's God's way. 'On the day of the

Lord, blood will flow from wood, the

stones of the houses will come alive

and kill their owners!' That day is

here. He gave me the ax, now I give

it to you.

Jesus, frightened, turns away:

JESUS:

That's not the answer.

THE BAPTIST:

(aggravated)

No? Then what is the answer?

JESUS:

I don't know. I think it's love.

THE BAPTIST:

Well I know. And if you won't listen

to me who will you listen to? To

God? The God of Israel's a god of

the desert. If you want to speak to

him, then you go to the desert.

JESUS:

(a beat)

I'll go to Idumaea.

THE BAPTIST:

But be careful. The desert's full of

sweet voices and death.

The Baptist walks over to Jesus.

JESUS:

Thank you Baptist.

John kisses Jesus on the mouth.

JESUS (V.O.)

His tongue felt like a burning coal

in my mouth.

Judas watches from a hole in the ceiling of the cave. From

his P.O.V. he can't hear anything.

Jesus walks away, not looking back.

CUT TO:

EXT. IDUMAEA DESERT - SUNSET

Jesus runs across the desert as if pursued. He stops, pants,

continues. The earth underneath is cracked. The whole

landscape shimmers with heat under a huge white sun. (SPECIAL

EFFECT). The image is tinted warm red.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT - NEXT DAY

Jesus wanders through the wild, uninhabited terrain. The

sun, like a blast furnace, blows sand into his face.

He starts to draw a large circle.

JESUS (V.O.)

I'm not going to leave this circle.

I won't leave until you talk to me.

No hums. No thunder. No headaches.

Just talk to me in human words.

Whatever path you want, I'll take.

Love or the ax or anything else. Or

if you want me to stay here and die

I'll do that too. But you have to

tell me.

He sits in the center of the circle.

He sees:
the sun, looming huge in the sky, seeming to be

unnaturally close to him. (SPECIAL EFFECT).

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