By Lionel De Leon
A rock opera, telling the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, taken directly from the scriptures. (Only a portion of the script is shown below. The full script, plus music, can be obtained by visiting the author's website. See the foot of the script for details.)
(as in the original production)
Narrator
Jesus
Disciple, Crowd, Soldier, Jew, Cleopas, Spy, Jesus' Brother, Zebedee's Son,
Angel (can all be doubled)
Disciple, Crowd, Soldier, Jew, Jesus' Brother, Zebedee's Son, Caiaphas, Peter,
Angel (can all be doubled)
Samaritan Woman, Crowd, Sick Woman. Zebedee's Wife, Cleopas' Wife, Weeping Woman
(can all be doubled)
John the Baptist
Satan
Pontius Pilate, Crowd, Soldier (doubled)
Andrew, Crowd, Spy, Jesus' Brother, Jew (doubled)
Crowd, Soldier, King David, Angel (doubled)
Criminal on the Cross, Jew (doubled)
Angel
Angel
Mary Magdalene, Jew (doubled)
Criminal on the Cross
John the Baptist's Disciple
John the Baptist's Disciple, Crowd, Soldier (doubled)
Crowd, Weeping Woman (doubled)
Crowd
The Narrator enters from behind closed curtains onto the proscenium and sings directly to the audience. He is wearing traditional Jewish clothing from the time of Christ (circa 1-30 A.D.)
Song: "CHILDREN OF GOD"
NARRATOR
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been
made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines
in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
(The curtain opens. John the Baptist is standing in the Jordan River, baptizing followers. He is wearing a tunic made from camel's hair. The narrator walks toward John the Baptist as he sings. )
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
(Jesus enters from stage right and kneels in prayer. )
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- he gave the right to become, he gave the right to become, he gave the right to become children of God, children of God.
Song: "MAKE STRAIGHT"
John the Baptist comes out of the river and begins to preach to his followers with enthusiasm.
JOHN THE BAPTIST and CROWD
He who has an ear, let him hear.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord. A voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare
the way for the Lord' make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
I am the voice of one calling in the desert,
(John the Baptist returns to the river and begins baptizing his followers, who have formed a line.)
Make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord.
CROWD
Repent!
JOHN THE BAPTIST
(John the Baptist stops baptizing to preach again. )
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. His winnowing fork is in his hand,
and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and
burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
(John begins baptizing his followers again, singing to each one twice, once before he baptizes and once as they depart. )
Make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord, Lord, Lord
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
(Jesus stands and walks toward John, stopping a medium distance from him.)
Make straight the way for the Lord,
CROWD
make straight the way
JOHN THE BAPTIST
make straight the way for the Lord.
JOHN THE BAPTIST and CROWD
He who has an ear, let him hear. He who has an ear, let him hear. He who has
an ear, let him hear. He who has an ear…
(John the Baptist stops singing abruptly when he notices Jesus, freezing for a moment in disbelief.)
Song: "WELL PLEASED"
NARRATOR
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John
tried to deter him, saying …
(John kneels before Jesus.)
JOHN THE BAPTIST
I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
(Jesus pulls John to his feet.)
JESUS
Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
(John resists Jesus at first, feeling unworthy.)
Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
(John baptizes Jesus and the lights fade to a narrow bright spot that shines down on Jesus from above, symbolizing the Spirit of God.)
NARRATOR
Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom
I love; with him I am well pleased."
(The stage lights flash in unison with the narrator, as if they are the voice
of God.)
This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased, I am well pleased,
I am well pleased.
Song: "IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD"
(Stage lights fade to one bright and narrow overhead spot. When the lights come up, Jesus is praying in the desert. Satan appears and paces behind Jesus, sizing up Jesus' condition and plotting temptations.)
NARRATOR
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to
him and said,
(The stage lights are reduced to two spotlights, one on Jesus and the other on Satan. Jesus is praying and Satan rudely interrupts him. )
SATAN
If you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of
God, tell these stones, tell these stones to become bread.
(Jesus stands and faces Satan.)
JESUS
It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word, but on
every word, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
(Satan brings Jesus to the top of the Temple and taunts him.)
NARRATOR
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point
of the temple.
SATAN
If you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of God , if you are the Son of
God throw yourself down. For it is written:
`He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their
hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'
(Jesus faces Satan and calmly answers his dare.)
JESUS
It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' `Do not put
the Lord your God to the test.'
(Satan takes Jesus to the top of a mountain and points to kingdoms on the horizon. He tries to tempt Jesus with worldly possessions. )
NARRATOR
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms
of the world and their splendor.
SATAN
All this I will give you, all this I will give you, all this I will give you
if you will bow down and worship me, if you will bow down and worship me.
(Jesus becomes angry at Satan and casts him away. )
JESUS
Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve
him only.
(Satan tries to come toward Jesus, but angels push him back. Satan realizes he can't win this battle and leaves. )
ANGELS
Worship the Lord your God
JESUS
Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
ANGELS
Worship the Lord your God
JESUS
Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
ANGELS
Worship the Lord your God
JESUS
Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
(The angels move toward Jesus after Satan leaves.)
ANGELS
Worship the Lord your God
(The angels touch Jesus and restore his power. They exit and the lights gradually dim to black.)
NARRATOR
Then the devil left him, and angels came.
Song: "FOLLOW ME"
(The stage lights come up to show Simon and Andrew casting nets. They are working hard, having a difficult time and not enjoying their day. Jesus walks toward them.)
NARRATOR
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
(Jesus stands at the shore and calls to Simon and Andrew. )
JESUS
Come, follow me, follow me, follow me, come, follow me, follow me, follow me,
and I will make you fishers of men.
(Simon and Andrew immediately drop their nets and follow Jesus. )
NARRATOR
At once they left their nets and followed him.
(Matthew is sitting at a tax collector booth. Jesus walks toward him. Simon and Andrew are leery of Matthew because he's a despised tax collector. )
NARRATOR
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's
booth.
(Simon and Andrew leave with indignation when they see that Jesus wants to associate with tax collectors. Jesus calls to Matthew.)
JESUS
Follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me.
11
(Matthew leaves his booth and follows Jesus without caring what happens to his collected monies.)
NARRATOR
And Matthew got up and followed him.
(Jesus calls more disciples. Each one immediately follows him.)
JESUS
Follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me.
Follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me. Follow me.
Song: "LAMB OF GOD"
(Jesus and his followers walk by John the Baptist, who has Andrew and another disciple around him.)
NARRATOR
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus
passing by, John the Baptist points out Jesus to his disciples.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Look, the Lamb of God! Look, the Lamb of God! Look, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!
(John the Baptist's disciples follow Jesus, who turns around and confronts them.)
NARRATOR
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around,
Jesus saw them following and asked …
(Jesus speaks to one disciple and then the other, then both as he questions their intentions.)
JESUS
What do you want? What do you want? What do you want, do you want, do you want?
(John the Baptist's disciples look at each other and then answer Jesus with a question.) 12
JOHN'S DISCIPLES
Rabbi
NARRATOR
(which means Teacher)
JOHN'S DISCIPLES
where are you staying?
JESUS
Come, and you will see.
(John the Baptist's disciples follow Jesus.)
NARRATOR
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was
about the tenth hour. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who
heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
(Andrew runs off to find his brother Simon.)
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have
found the Christ."
(Andrew, Simon, John the Baptist and the disciples are all following Jesus and attracting a crowd.)
ANDREW
We have found the Christ.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Look, the Lamb of God!
ANDREW
We have found the Christ.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
The Lamb of God! The Lamb of God! Look, the Lamb of God!
ANDREW
We have found the Christ.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the sin of the world!
ANDREW
We have found the Christ! We have found the Christ! We have found the Christ!
Song: "BLESSED ARE"
(A large crowd begins to follow Jesus, so he leaves with his disciples to a quiet place where he sits and they join.)
NARRATOR
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples
came to him, and he began to teach them,
(Jesus sings to his disciples. They are in awe of his wisdom and knowledge.)
..............................................
Copyright Lionel De Leon, all rights reserved.
Note: This is the not the full script. The full script, plus music and other aids, may be obtained by visiting the author's website, http://messengerproject.com
History of "The Word"
Lionel De Leon began writing verbatim songs from
the NIV Bible in 1996. He was inspired to write a rock opera about the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus taken directly from Scripture. This musical
was developed over an eight-year period and completed in 2004. The lyrics are
taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV Copyright 1973, 1978,
1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About the Composer
Lionel De Leon was born on November 21, 1954, in Cherry Point, North Carolina
and raised in Orange County, California. Interested in music from an early age,
Lionel began writing songs in his early teens and pursued a career as a secular
singer-songwriter. He is an alumni of the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase and
his music was showcased on Los Angeles radio stations. Lionel also received
awards from the Billboard Annual Songwriting Contest. He started a nonprofit
corporation in 2001, "Messenger Project," that promotes the Bible through music
and the recording arts. Lionel continues writing songs from the Bible and offers
the music free at his website, messengerproject.com.