The Last Temptation of Christ Page #8

He sees:
in the far distance, birds flying across a great

plain.

He sees:
on the flat desert, the plain of Sodom, a herd of

gazelles.

He continues to watch as we...

FADE OUT:

EXT. DESERT - NIGHT

FADE IN. Days have past. The hunger and deprivation are

beginning to show on Jesus' face. His clothes are the color

of soil.

JESUS:

I don't want... I don't want to be

alone.

He puts his head down, but hears sounds and looks into the

moonlit night. SOUNDS: of water; bracelets; laughing. Then a

large SERPENT coils at the edge of the circle, speaking in a

half-human, half-animal voice.

SERPENT:

I felt sorry for you. You were lonely.

You cried, so I came.

JESUS:

I didn't call you. Who are you?

SERPENT:

Your soul.

JESUS:

My soul.

SERPENT:

You're afraid of being alone. Just

like Adam. He called me and I reached

into his ribs and gave him a wife.

JESUS:

You're here to trick me.

SERPENT:

Trick you? To love and care for a

woman? To have a family -- this is a

trick? Why are you trying to save

the world? Aren't your own sins enough

for you? What arrogance to think

it's your duty to save the world.

The world doesn't have to be saved.

Find love.

JESUS:

I have love.

SERPENT:

Look into my eyes, look at my

breasts...

The Serpent's voice dissolves into the soft, comforting voice

of Mary Magdalene.

SERPENT:

...Do you recognize them? Say the

word. Nod your head and we'll be in

my bed together.

Jesus looks up, eyes glaring.

SERPENT:

(compassionately)

Oh, Jesus.

The Serpent suddenly explodes, leaving no trace. Jesus places

his head between his legs and begins to sob, as if he has

lost a loved one.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT - NIGHT

FADE IN. Another week has passed. Jesus' clothes are torn

and tattered by the desert winds. He awakens.

JESUS (V.O.)

After ten days the hunger went away.

He hears a sound. A LION stands at the edge of the circle.

LION:

Welcome, Jesus. Congratulations.

You've overcome the small temptations

of a woman, a family. We're both

bigger than that. A woman's not

enough, we need the whole world.

JESUS:

Who are you?

LION:

I'm you. I'm your heart. Your heart

is so hungry. It pretends to be humble

but it secretly wants to conquer the

world. I will set my four feet down,

one in Babylon, one in Jerusalem,

one in Alexandria, the last in Rome.

JESUS:

I've never wanted a kingdom on earth.

The Kingdom of Heaven's good enough

for me.

The Lion's voice transforms into Judas':

LION:

You're a liar. You've always wanted

power. When you were making crosses

for the Romans in Nazareth, your

head was exploding with dreams of

power. You said it was God, but you

really wanted to rule others. Now

you will. Any country you want. All

countries. You will rule Babylon.

You will rule Jerusalem. You will

rule Alexandria. You will even rule

Rome.

Jesus, shaking, reaches out toward the Lion.

JESUS:

Liar! Step into my circle so I can

pull out your tongue.

The Lion steps into the circle, and, as he does, disappears.

FADE OUT:

EXT. DESERT - NIGHT

FADE IN. Jesus lies sleeping. Another week has past. He's a

wasted skeleton.

An ARCHANGEL stands at the circle's edge. The Angel appears

as a normal ten-year-old boy speaking in the voice of a young

girl. Jesus strains to see through his swollen eyelids:

JESUS:

Archangel... go farther back. You're

blinding me.

ARCHANGEL:

I'm the one you've been waiting for.

Remember when you were a child, you

cried, 'Make me a God. God, make me

a God.'

JESUS:

But I was just a child then.

ARCHANGEL:

Adonai. You are God. The Baptist

knew it. It's time you admit it. I

salute you, Son, only Son of God.

Join me in power. We will rule

together over the living and the

dead. You'll give life and take life.

You'll sit on the throne and I'll

sit at your hand. Imagine how strong

we could be together.

Jesus suddenly realizes who he's talking to:

JESUS:

Satan!

The ripe tree from Jesus' dream appears behind the Archangel.

The Angel offers an apple.

Jesus bites into the apple: it turns into blood in his mouth.

The blood splashes down his chest.

ANGEL:

(smiling)

We'll see each other again.

The Archangel turns and leaves. Jesus picks up a stick at

his feet. The stick is an ax.

We see from over Jesus' shoulder. John the Baptist crouches

down into the frame, puts his hand on Jesus' shoulder and

speaks:

THE BAPTIST:

Don't be afraid. You are the One. I

was the one who came before you. My

work is finished. Now I can die. The

Lord wants me to tell you to stand

up, his day is here. Take the ax.

Run and carry the message to men.

Jesus rises and strikes at the root of the tree with an ax.

Entire scene turns red.

CUT TO:

INT. MARY AND MARTHA'S - DAY

MARY and MARTHA, sisters in their early thirties, are working

in their house. Mary sits at a weaving loom; Martha near the

fire.

The door opens. An emaciated figure in tattered clothes stands

silhouetted in the doorway. The sisters turn, aghast.

JESUS:

I'm a foreigner. From Galilee. I

need rest. The door was open. Excuse

me... I...

MARY:

We're alone. Our brother Lazarus is

out.

MARTHA:

What difference does that make? Come

in. Don't listen to her. She's afraid

of her own shadow. I'm Martha and

this is my sister, Mary. There's not

much here, but you're welcome to it.

Who are you?

JESUS:

Jesus of Nazareth.

MARTHA:

(laughing, teasing)

A good man?

JESUS:

Yes, good.

Jesus staggers over to the hearth.

JESUS:

(smiles as he sits)

...I do my best.

CUT TO:

INT. MARY AND MARTHA'S - NIGHT

Jesus, washed and wearing a new tunic, eats bread and olives.

Martha hands him a wine flask. Sitting by the fire, they

almost look like a family. Jesus raises his pot of wine in a

toast.

JESUS:

Martha. Mary. I swear to you if

there's another flood and if it's up

to me to invite you into the ark,

I'd do it. You'd both be on it.

Because tonight a stranger came to

your door. You fed him, dressed him,

made him comfortable, spoke kindly

to him, and the Kingdom of Heaven

came down and went in his heart.

They drink. Mary and Martha look at Jesus flirtatiously.

MARY:

Go on.

JESUS:

(eating)

What should I say? Silence is good,

It says everything.

MARY:

It doesn't say everything to me. A

kind word now and then helps.

MARTHA:

Do you have a wife?

JESUS:

(thinks)

No.

MARY:

If you only knew what goes through a

woman's mind when she weaves. You'd

pity her, Jesus.

JESUS:

I do know. I was once a woman, in

another life, and I used to weave.

MARY:

And what did you think about?

JESUS:

God. And you?

MARTHA:

God. But we think about men more.

MARY:

God is a man after all. And men can

be husbands.

Jesus smiles, but deliberately chooses not to pursue this

subject. There is a brief silence.

JESUS:

You know the Baptist? He died, didn't

he?

MARY:

He was killed... by Herod. You didn't

know?

JESUS:

No... I knew.

MARTHA:

They say the King was drunk and cut

off his head to satisfy a little

girl... It happened in his palace in

Jerusalem.

MARY:

No, at his palace in Tiberias.

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