In the hour when the King Messiah comes...
...He shall stand on the roof of the temple,
and proclaim that the time of deliverance has come.
Those who believe and are faithful to God...
...will rejoice in the light that will rise upon them,
as it is written, "Arise, shine, for Thy light has come".
Only take courage and be careful to observe all things written in the law of Moses.
- Amen! - Amen!
And try not to side from them,
neither to the right hand nor to the left.
Take care only this, in all diligence,
that of love the Lord, thy God.
- Amen! - Amen!
Amen!
Blessed art thou Lord, our God, King of the universe.
Nay, only the best among men,
as it is better to be an entity of the Heavens.
Blessed art thou, O God, Lord of the Universe,
who consecrates the Sabbath, and all of lsrael's celebrations.
- Amen. - Amen.
May the Lord bless and preserve you. May He let his face shine upon you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance and give you peace.
- Amen. - Amen.
Come to my house, Rabbi, for supper. I promised my children.
Thank you.
Ah... Joseph! Ah, Joseph? Joseph?
Joseph, there's something I want to talk to you about... it's very important.
See, if you just come with me we can talk about it better...
I've read from the scriptures, it might clear.
Get away from me!
Rabbi, rabbi!
Yes, tell your mother and father they can come to see me tomorrow.
Once you've mastered the craft you will be free.
Always remember, only those who know how to use their hands are free.
Only they are not dependent on anyone else.
Joseph, could we... please?
Anna!
I shall leave you to work on your own for a minute.
Remember, don't force the wood-treat it gently.
Yes, of course.
Anna, I intended to find you when we finished work,
but I'll come with you now.
- You know that my husband... - God rest him, the best of men.
...was very fond of you.
He would have come to you himself, but in the end...
...he could hardly speak. Poor man.
What sleep he could get was disturbed by dreams about his daughter.
Alone, without her brother,
no man in the house! But now, I can't sleep.
And when I die, as I must soon...
Why do you say that?
I have a feeling that I will not live much longer.
You have years ahead of you, and you will sleep soundly tonight.
It's a great change in a man's life,
but I also know a single man is only half a person.
As for the contract and the date of the wedding...
...I leave all that to you and the rabbi.
Well, thank you, Joseph. You won't regret it.
Mary is a good girl, she'll make you a beautiful wife.
Shall we sign the contract the first day of the full moon?
And then after a year's betrothal,
celebrate the wedding in the season of the harvest...
...when the earth yields up its fruit and the heart rejoices.
With luck I may be able to see it.
Mary! Mary!
Come out Mary! They're waiting for you!
Mary! Mary! Mary, come! Come quickly!
Shawl! Your shawl!
- Thank you. - Do not be afraid.
Yes, here she is.
Beautiful.
May this betrothal,
one to the other, Joseph, Mary...
...be blessed and sanctified according to the law of Moses, and of lsrael.
- Amen! - Amen!
Who are you?
How can that be?
No man has ever touched me.
Behold the handmaiden of the Lord,
may you be done unto me according to your word.
Mary? Who are you talking to?
There's news of Elizabeth.
My cousin, Elizabeth? What news?
She's going to have a son in three months time.
She conceived the child six months ago,
on the 19th day of Tishri.
But Elizabeth was always bad.
Now, she's far too old.
- What nonsense is this, child? - Oh, but it's true.
She's going to have a son...
...and I must go and visit her.
Seems like, the release of these nations, the Egyptians, the Syrians... King Herod...
...to revert to the Jews, I wonder, is it because, as you say,
they identify future with past that they have so many prophets?
Oh, the prophets, it's the sun which breeds them.
Many of them are harmless. They preach religion, we let them go but...
...some of them preach rebellion because it is written.
Altogether, literacy has had a disastrous effect in this country,
and those we eliminate.
Rome has taught us that although this may be...
...indifferent theology, it is very good government.
Majesty, I've heard the word, "Messiah". What exactly is a Messiah?
Oh, even you have heard that awful word, Procunuas?
Well, is he a prophet or is he something even...
Well, Rome, even Rome, cannot influence men's dreams,
and the Messiah is a bad dream disguised as a solution to every problem.
It's a leveler of scores, a rewarder of righteousness,
a scourge for the wrongdoer,
it is the bringer of everlasting peace.
Then, as I understand from what you have said, a Messiah...
...is worse than a prophet,
from the Roman point of view.
Oh, from the Jewish viewpoint, too. Only, you try telling that to the Jews.
No, don't! Don't! It's much wiser not to consult them.
Just when a Messiah appears, crush it under foot like a young scorpion.
No, you can tell great Augustus, that he can rest in peace in Rome.
There will be no Messiahs, true or false, in Palestine while I am alive.
Come Mary, you'll be comfortable.
Here we go! May the Lord keep us safe on our journey!
God bless you, child.
Esther, Esther! Take this to my sister in Bethlehem.
And tell her, tell her I'll be with her for Passover.
Go safely on your journey!
Where do you want the screen, where should I put it?
Mary! I've been longing to see you.
Mary...
So it is true.
How did you know? Who told you?
A messenger from God.
And he told me another thing.
A thing even more wonderful.
You're blessed among women,
and blessed shall be the fruit of your womb.
I, too, am highly favored...
...that the mother of the chosen should come to me.
From the moment your greeting reached my ears...
...the child in my womb leaped for joy.
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my savior,
for He has looked kindly upon the most humble of his handmaidens,
and He has told me that all generations shall call me blessed.
He who is mighty has done unto me a mighty thing.
Is it true about Mary's dream?
Oh, yes, it's true. News came from Enkarim. Elizabeth is going to have a child.
- Even though she's past the age? - Oh, yes, she must be nearly fifty.
- Is she the one married to Zacharias? - Yes, that's the one. She's Mary's cousin.
- What? It can't be true! - Oh, Joseph...
...are we going to get an invitation to your wedding?
Plenty of time for that, Jonathan. The contract's only just been signed.
Only just betrothed and his beloved has left him already.
Just like her, she's always been a bit strange, not like the others.
That's something you'll have to learn to live with.
But seriously, Joseph, Mary is remarkable.
We all think so. A remarkable girl.
Give him to me, Elizabeth.
Blessed be thou, our Lord, King of the Universe,
who has blessed us with your commandments...
...and ordained us to initiate our sons in the covenant of our father, Abraham.
- Amen. - Amen.
As this child enters the covenant,
so many enter into the study of the Torah, into marriage, and into good deeds?
- Amen. - Amen.
This is the seal in flesh of the covenant between the Lord and his people.
- What is the name of the child? - His name is...
His name shall be John.
When you get back to Nazareth,
tell Joseph what you have seen and heard. What you know.
The Lord God gives life where no life is possible.
And one life shall be the son of God, and the other shall be his prophet.
Go, tell all this to Joseph.
But will he believe me? Will he believe me?
God will open his heart.
That's too much for any man to believe.
But you're not any man. You, too, are chosen.
I was sick at heart.
You ought to be my wife. But now, that vow has to be broken.
I swear I've never been with her.
What I said about Elizabeth was true.
Don't worry. I believe you.
God's will be done.
Now, are you're sure?
She told me herself.
Women are the loveliest and brightest of God's creations.
And think you would know, but you...
- Please, I need your advice. - What advice can I give?
- This is all. - Rabbi...
...may I...
It is written in the law,
if in the time of betrothal a woman sins with any other man,
let them both be taken beyond the gates of the town,
and stoned to death...
...with the abomination that be crushed out of the heart of lsrael.
Should a man marry a woman who she finds no favor in his eyes,
because she has found in heart the stain of uncleanliness,
let him write a bill of repudiation and deliver it unto her hands.
This law applies even if l haven't taken Mary into my house?
Yes. Yes, all that is needed...
...is for a bill to be written and delivered in the presence of two...
...witnesses.
No, if I do that I will expose her shame.
I can't. I can't.
I'll send her away if l must...
...but in secret.
God knoweth the secret of the heart.
Trust in Him, and accept.
Accept it, Joseph.
- The Lord will not abondon you. - Thank you.
No!
No! No!
Joseph. Joseph, son of David,
Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.
She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, the Savior.
Hey, Joseph. Joseph! The bride is arriving! Mary's here!
- With this ring... - With this ring...
- ...be thou consecrated unto me... - ...be thou consecrated unto me...
...according to the law of Moses and of lsrael.
May the Lord bless and preserve you.
May the Lord make His face shine upon you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance towards you...
...and give you peace.
- Amen. - Amen.
Would you like some grapes or some dates? I picked them myself from the orchard.
No, no, no, no, I've got one. Bless you.
Your majesty, we have always treated your country, as far as possible,
as a free and independent nation,
but the governor of Syria has decided to include Palestine in a census.
- In that event... - A census in my territories?
In Galilee, Judea, Iturea,
whatever your motives for this, they'll be misunderstood.
People will be resentful, suspicious, perhaps... Perhaps even hostile.
As consul, I am here merely to carry out instructions.
My dear consul, there seems to be one aspect of the problem...
...of which either Rome or you are entirely ignorant,
and I cannot believe it to be Rome.
The method which you propose to me of your census are contrary to our tradition.
- Tradition? - Permit me your Majesty.
I do not think that Marcus Matzo is aware of the tradition your majesty refers to.
For such official purposes as the taking of the census,
every person living in these territories...
...considers himself as belonging not to the place where he actually lives,
but to the place of origin of his family group.
His tribe... May I say tribe?
You may say tribe.
A census, therefore, means movement of every person...
...back to what he considers to be his native township, ancestral capital.
To dignify a place which is sometimes no more than a stinking dunghill!
Oh! You choose your phrases most exquisitely Gaius... Gracchus.
So, if the census were conducted according to local tradition,
you think your subjects would accept it more readily?
Oh, I see! Now we're supposed to count ourselves!
Under your supervision, I hope starting with the king?
- That is not... - No, seriously, seriously...
...have you any idea what this would entail?
The shifting of entire populations! The disruption of trade!
The divine Augustus is counting on your understanding, your Majesty.
I hope I shall not have to inform him of any lack of cooperation.
Thank the divine Augustus for his...
...unswerving benevolence.
That census is a trick to increase the taxes,
and we all know where the money ends up. In Rome!
But why should it?
- What does Rome give us? - That's not the point.
The Romans want to count us. How many we are where we are.
They want us to know that they are our rulers,
But we should have no earthly ruler. No rule but the Lord, no king but God.
It's not for you to remind us of the scriptures. Be quiet and go home.
I apologize for my son. He's too young to understand.
What are you doing to the faith of our fathers?
All over of Galilee there are thousands of Jews preparing for...
For what you're always talking about in there,
the coming of the king who will liberate us.
- Come! - And what are you doing about it? Nothing!
We accept the violence of the Romans like sheep!
- We are not worthy of the king to come! - Stop it!
The king to come will not bring violence and bloodshed.
It is written. He himself is pure from sin.
God shall cause him to be mighty through the spirit of holiness...
...and wise through the counsel of understanding.
Now come home. Stay there until you learn more respect for your elders.
Anna...
...I must go to Bethlehem.
It's my native town.
And... And Mary must come with me.
- Why? - For the census?
So even Augustus obeys God.
- The prophecy? - Yes the prophecy!
For thou, O Bethlehem, art in no ways the least of cities.
For from thee shall come forth a Shepard of my people, Israel.
If only I could come with you.
If only I...
Joseph, you'll need help when he's born.
Don't you trouble, Anna. He will be well cared for.
Everything will be done as God ordered.
They seem to be kings, Lord Melchior. From different lands.
I told you we could not have been the only ones to see the sign.
Come in peace. Where are you bound?
Wherever I am led.
I follow that star.
I'm sure that Herod keeps a strict watch on his frontiers.
He must know that we have crossed them.
I would have to tell him, as Balthazar has said,
that I follow that star, wherever it leads.
But what will we find?
All my calculations show that...
...there was to be a new heavenly creature, a new star.
It was even precise as to place and time.
So I made up my mind to set forth and see what they will behold.
You did not know?
Only that it would be something wonderful.
The stars are not distant and aloof, cut off from the lives of men.
The rising of a new star entails an immense labor in the heavens that...
...always has its counterpart on earth.
The universe is about to bring forth a prodigy beyond our understanding.
Your star, my brother Balthasar, is indeed a sign of wonder.
The divine solar master says, the next prophet...
...will show himself in a foreign land...
...and the truth he will reveal will be at first only for his own people.
- But there is only one truth. - And only one God.
All the rest are vain, or parts of Him.
The people of Israel know this.
Many of their wise men have been close to Him,
and their writings confirm my calculations.
A king is about to be born.
A king?
A king who will free us from the evils of this world.
Where will he be born?
The sacred writings point to a small town in Judea, called Bethlehem Efratta.
Rest there, I'll find a place.
- Excuse me, may I speak with you? - What do you want?
I desperately need a place for tonight.
My wife is near her time...
No, no, I can't help you. I already have too many people.
- But I've got... - Can't you see?
Come on! Close the door!
How many times must I tell you the gate should be shut?
Nothing, but there must be another place, I'll try again.
How do you feel.
I don't like leaving you alone.
Do you think you could walk a little further?
- Hold on to me... - Oh, no! No!
Stay there, stay there.
God will help us.
Listen, it's no use trailing around Bethlehem anymore.
Every inn is full up. None of them are going to take your wife in like that.
Come I'll show you. Take your donkey.
It's about time. Now do what I tell you.
If you go through that gate over there, just outside the walls...
...on the road to Jerusalem you'll come to so...
Careful... you'll come to some stables, some caves.
It's not much, I know, but you need warm and dry and plenty of fresh straw.
Look, they're down there. Can you see?
Right. Now then, if l can manage it, I'll come back later, and help.
Oh, and if anyone tries to throw you out, just say that Abigail sent you. Abigail.
Remember the name.
We'll remember. Thank you.
Look, Mary.
Oh, beautiful child.
Come on, put him there in the manger...
...and see if there is some fresh straw. That will keep him warm.
I'll take care of her, poor girl.
Now then. Hand me some water. Give it to me.
Good, that's it.
Who's that? What do you want?
This is no place for you! Get out! Get out, you hear me?
Off! Off with you! Can't you see?
The poor girl's just had a child?
That's why we've come. We were told to.
Told by whom?
We were out there in the fields. This man came to us from nowhere.
An angel. "Shepherds", he said.
"They say that Israel is a scattered flock that lacks a shepherd."
And then he said, "Tonight, the shepherd is born.
It is for you that He comes," he said. "For the poor."
That's why you came here?
Yes. The man said...
He said...
The man said, "Today, in the city of David,
the savior has been born for you.
Glory to God in the highest," he said.
And peace on earth for those who he loves.
Come!
They cross my border...
...yet not one of them sends a greeting?
Are they armed?
Not heavily, your majesty. As far as I say, they were equipped to travel fast and far.
But they were not heading here?
If not here, where?
It was Bethlehem, Your majesty.
They... They followed a star. The new star.
Bethlehem?
O thou, Bethlehem Effrata, thou art the smallest...
What was that phrase again?
Thou Bethlehem Effrata, art little one amongst the thousands of Judah.
Out of thee He shall come forth unto me, for is to be the ruler in Israel,
and His going forth, is from the beginning,
from the days of eternity.
A ruler in Israel?
Have those travelers watched all the time.
And bring me the names of all newborn children in Bethlehem.
And the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For though darkness covers the earth, and dark night the nations,
the Lord shall shine upon you.
Come, come!
I promise that everything will be done...
- ...the way we agreed. Don't worry... - It won't take long.
...I promise. Come, come!
Borsch!
And the Lord said to Abraham,
"Keep my alliance, and circumcise each child born...
...unto Israel on the eighth day of his life."
- Amen. - Amen.
This is the seal and flesh of the covenant between the Lord and His people.
And the child shall be called?
His name shall be Jesus.
Where is he?
Now I can die contented, Lord,
according to Thy word.
I am Simeon, an old man who has waited long to see his salvation.
And now my eyes have seen the child...
...who will bring the salvation thou hast prepared before all people.
A light of revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of thy people, Israel.
And a sword shall pierce your heart.
Next.
- What is your name? - Joseph by Elias.
- Where are you from? - Eskelon.
Don't forget to take your token with you.
- What's your name? - Anteo of Zavdi.
- How many children? - Seven, this is the youngest.
- How old is she? - Three.
- Move on. - And here, seven tokens.
My husband could not come, he's ill.
Well, there will be one for him, too, if you explain.
What are these tokens?
A coin to prove that you've registered.
Well, they're little tokens with the emperor's head on them.
Special orders!
We want the names of all the newborn.
Newborn?
Note their names. The newborn.
What did he say?
He wants the names of all the newborn.
Why do they want to know about the newborn?
No point in arguing with them. You just do what you're told.
Wait!
Don't be afraid.
Where is the child?
We have come a long way to greet him.
This is the king of lsrael...
...who will take away the sins of the world.
I did not know what we were to find, and coming here, a stable?
I thought my brothers were mistaken, but now I see the justice of this.
There could be no other place.
Not in glory, but in humility.
Accept these poor tokens of our homage.
Incense, to perfume the halls of the mighty.
Gold... for kingly rule.
Myrrh, the most precious herb of the East...
...and the most bitter.
And now, a word of warning.
Leave here as soon as you can.
Herod's soldiers have followed us, hoping would lead them to you.
He knows of His birth. He will seek out the child and kill him.
Go into Egypt.
It may not be for long. Herod's days are numbered.
Those travelers crossed my frontier again?
- Yes, your majesty. - Yes, your majesty.
But the child would still be here.
Kill every male child up to one year old.
Two years old.
Better the innocent should die, than that the guilty should escape.
Guilty? Your majesty, a child?
Guilty of the womb! Guilty of the stars!
I'll bring down their stars! I'll snuff them out in blood!
This is my world! I will not share it with an infant!
There is no room for two kings here! Like a newborn scorpion under foot!
You know the mark of a real king? Courage!
Even in the face of Jewish prophecy!
Bits of old parchment! Old, blind men!
Now go to Bethlehem! I make history!
- Kill! - But your Majesty!
Kill! Kill them all! Kill! Kill them all!
Leave my child, you blood thirsty murderer!
Last is fulfilled...
...that which was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.
In Ramah, was there a voice heard,
lamentation, weeping and great mourning.
Rachel, weeping for her children,
but would not be comforted,
because they were no more.
King Herod is dead.
Taken in the midst of his sins.
Struck down by the Lord to whom the power and pride of kings are as nothing.
You cannot defy God,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Yet the yoke of tyranny will not be lifted from us.
Rome will choose a king from among his sons,
and her grip will become stronger,
but you should lift up your hearts, for the Eternal will not abandon us.
He will send us a deliverer,
and His dominion is the everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,
and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed.
Come.
There, look! Do you see? Nazareth! That's where we live.
Hear, O Israel.
The eternal, our God, the Eternal is one.
Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever and ever.
And thou should love the eternal, thy God,
with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might,
and these words which I command thee shall be in thine heart.
- Amen. - Amen.
A man who's skillful in his work, will stand before kings.
And our work like every other, has a second meaning in God's eyes.
We use this to make a straight line on the wood before we cut it.
And as we use the ruler to make straight lines,
God gave us rules to keep our lives straight.
God gives the wood,
and man with his skill and invention, that God gave him,
is always finding new uses.
Sometimes wonderful uses for it,
a wheel, a plow, a ladder.
They all look simple, but they are from God.
And a ladder can sometimes reach from earth to heaven.
Joseph! Joseph, didn't you say the plow would be ready?
Coming!
Keep on with your work.
What is this?
Well, look at it.
What have you done?
This is not how I asked you to make it!
Oh, no, no! It is not the same as before!
It was supposed to be ready days ago, and now it is not ready.
No, son!
Bless God who has given us the Torah.
The Lord god will go before you.
Be strong and of good courage.
Fear not, do not be afraid, for the Lord, Thy god, will go with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you.
- Amen! - Amen!
Now you are truly a man.
Jesus by Joseph, as a new adult member of our community,
you have exercised your right to read and comment upon the scriptures.
That is your heritage.
It is the heritage of the children of lsrael.
But remember that God's word is spoken in times of light...
...and in times of darkness and persecution.
May you always read from the law in a time of joy.
- Amen. - Amen.
May God protect you.
May God bring blessings to the boy.
Romans! Here!
Romans?
No, no. Brothers, brothers, quiet!
The Roman forces are here.
Jewish bread. Better than nothing.
- Who ordered this? - Quarter master. An army must eat...
...and it's a long way from Damascus to Jerusalem.
Yeah, but Galilee isn't Roman territory!
The whole world is Roman territory!
Hey, put your sword back. Ignore them.
You'll meet with plenty of those in Jerusalem.
They're called Zealots. They're mad religious fanatics.
You there!
Remember this! The Roman army is not a pack of bandits.
And we'll be through with the likes of you in our own good time. Come!
May the curse of God fall upon these murderers!
How long must we wait? How long?
Are you to help us?
God has abandoned us.
How long?
Look, Jerusalem.
This is a lamb with no mark, without blemish.
...are not enough to please our Father, the eternal God.
A prayer from the heart is more important.
Do you remember what King Solomon said after he built the temple?
Standing in front of the altar of the Lord,
he spread out his hands and said,
"Can God indeed dwell with His creatures on earth?
Heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot contain thee,
how much less this house that I have built.
Yet attend to the prayer and supplication of thy servant, O Lord,
that thine eyes may always be upon this house, day and night.
This place of which thy bid to say...
- ...It shall receive my name." - Son!
We've been looking for you everywhere.
Why were you looking for me everywhere?
Did you not know you would have found me in My Father's house?
O Lord, I grow old.
What have thy promised to the prophets. Where are they?
"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and tell her that her time of bondage has ended.
That her penalty is paid. Salvation is at hand.
To be shouted from the mountaintops...
The teaching is clear.
Behold I send my messenger and He will clear the way before me."
Messenger before me...
Messenger.
"And the Lord will suddenly come to His temple,
"and the messenger of the covenant, behold, is here."
The people of Galilee thought that they had seen the depths of inequity...
...when their land was ruled by Herod, the man of blood.
Yet now his son and heir, Herod Antipas, the new prince of Galilee...
...strives to outdo his fathers' crimes...
...for he follows his lusts and breaks faith with God.
He dares to defy the law of Moses...
...by entering into unholy marriage with the wife of his brother.
Can we permit this? All of us will suffer for his sins!
Message for King!
Your majesty, he's here, the Baptist.
He's here?
Well?
- Well? well what? - What?
Well... leave him alone.
We'll march again! Continue!
Oh, what harm can he do?
He's been out there for years in the desert,
living on locusts and... and prayers.
He doesn't incite the people to rebellion. He asks nothing for himself.
All he wants is to remain poor and naked.
And he would do very much like everyone else does do the same.
Oh, no, when the wedding festivities over, I'll have him preach at the palace.
You can hear him with your own ears. He's a very remarkable man.
I'm glad there is somebody remarkable in Judea.
Herod!
Herod! The tablets of the law speak plainly!
You may marry the wife of your brother...
...when your brother is dead, but not while he lives!
This woman, Herodias, is the wife of your brother Philip,
and Philip lives, tetrarch in Iturea.
It is written, "I have seen thine adulteries...
...and thine abominations, woe unto them!"
Will thou not be made clean?
Send this woman back to your brother! Repent!
How can you allow this longer to continue?
No, no. We decided to be clement on our wedding day.
I'm not afraid of your power on earth, Herod Antipas!
If I do not warn you, you will die in sin.
And the Lord will ask me to account for your life!
Quickly! Into the palace!
Repent! Repent...
- The Lord blesses you! - ...for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!
Brothers, we can make use of this man!
His attacks on Herod Antipas excite people. He makes them think about lsrael.
Don't be too sure about it.
Prophets only make men think about God in Heaven.
So do we. And if we want to direct people's thoughts,
we must use what means we can.
Yes, but we Zealots want to see the power of God on earth fighting the Romans.
Does John want that?
The time has come!
The great and terrible day of the Lord is at hand!
Repent, and change your lives!
Every valley shall be exalted! Every mountain in here laid low.
The winding way shall be straightened! And the rough ways made smooth.
God lead you back from Babylon to serve Him, but you betrayed Him!
Now you are warned! Please! Please!
"I am the Lord unchanging," says the Eternal,
"and you too have not ceased to be sons of Jacob.
From the days of your forefathers you have been wayward, and have not kept My laws.
If you will return to Me, I will return to you!" says the Lord.
Do not think you will be saved by your rituals, by going to the temple.
It is not sacrifices the Lord demands!
"Bring no more vain offerings," says the Lord.
"I delight not in the blood of bullocks and of lambs".
The sacrifice God demands is a repented heart!
- What can we do, then, to be saved? - Change your hearts!
Take the right way!
The Lord says, "My ways are not your ways."
Why speak as though none of us know the way to salvation.
We know the law as well as you, and we try to obey it!
We are the sons of Abraham. We have always kept the law.
To those of you that deem themselves just and pious,
I say that you must bring the fruits of repentance!
Do not content yourself with saying,
"Abraham was our father, and that is enough to save us."
The Lord could take anyone of these stones and turn it into a son of Abraham.
Pharisees, we know you! Go back to Jerusalem!
Yes, go back to Jerusalem! He's right.
I baptize you with water that you may be purified...
...and ready for the coming of the kingdom.
Open up your hearts to God!
Receive this cleansing light!
- Save me, save me, John! I have sinned! - Have mercy on me, John. I am a sinner!
Let his water wash away your sins.
Disgrace of Israel! Go back to your husband! Go back!
John, you'll pay for it! You'll pay for it!
One day they'll stone me to death! Is that what you want?
You're tired of me, aren't you?
- No! - Yes yes, admit it, you are tired of me!
I can tell by the way... By the way you moon over my daughter. Over Salome!
- Nonsense! - You like her!
She's a child! Pig! Liar!
- No! - Coward!
- I am not a coward! - Prove it then!
Arrest the prophet. I demand that you arrest him!
Demand?
That's a strong word, my heart.
You must remember...
...John is right.
By the laws of Moses, we have sinned.
Come on, come on!
We have sinned,
and we go on sinning, and very pleasant it is, too.
Even if I wanted to, I could do nothing about his reproaches...
...until he once more sets foot in Galilee.
And then, my own, my heart, we'll throw him into prison.
Repent! Repent! Repent!
A little repenting won't do him any harm, eh?
After all, he preaches it.
Rabbi!
We have been sent by the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem,
amongst whom you have many friends and admirers.
They understood why you could not come to the temple.
It would've been wrong for you to abandon your mission, even for a single day.
The reason for the invitation was to ask you one simple question.
Who are you?
First, I will say who I am not.
I am not the Messiah.
The Messiah is yet to come.
Then, in the name of the living god, who are you?
I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
make straight the way of the Lord.
If you are not the Messiah or the prophet Elijah,
by whose authority do you baptize?
By the authority of Him who shall come after me,
whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose!
I baptize you with water...
...but He will baptize you with the holy spirit! And with fire.
His rod is in his hand and with it He will cleanse the threshing floor.
And now some scenes from Jesus of Nazareth Part II...
...which will be presented tomorrow night.
Behold, the lamb of God.
You're daughter is dead.
Do not weep.
The child is not dead.
Only sleeping.
Talitha kumi.
Rise, little girl.
I want the head of the Baptist.
Oh... no!