 Family Theater presents Dan O'Hurleyhee and Robert Young. From Hollywood, the Mutual Network in Cooperation with Family Theater presents the Passion and Death of Christ, starring Dan O'Hurleyhee, and now here is your host, Robert Young. Thank you, Tony LaFranco. Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must become an important part of our lives if we are to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families, and peace for the world. Family Theater urges you to pray, pray together as a family. And now to our transcribed drama, The Passion and Death of Christ, starring Dan O'Hurleyhee as the narrator. Afterwards, when he had made an end of saying all this, Jesus told his disciples, you know that after two days the Pascal feast is coming. It is then that the Son of Man must be given up to be crucified. At this very time, the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the court of the High Priest, whose name was Caiaphas. And there they plotted to bring Jesus into their power by cunning and put him to death. Yet they still said, not on the day of the feast, or perhaps there will be an uproar among the people. But then while Jesus was in the house of Simon the Lepper at Bethany, a woman came to him with a part of very precious ointment and poured it over his head as he sat at table. The disciples were indignant when they saw it. What is the meaning of this waste, they asked. It would have been possible to sell this at great price and give arms to the poor. This Jesus knew and said to them, why do you vex the woman? She did well to treat me so. You have the poor among you always. I am not always among you. When she poured this ointment over my body, she did it to prepare me for my burial. And I promise you, in whatever part of the world this gospel is preached, the story of what she has done shall be told in its place to preserve her memory. But at that one of the twelve, Judas, who was called a scurriot, went to the chief priests and asked them, what will you pay me for handing him over to you? Whereupon they laid down thirty pieces of silver. And he, from that time onwards, looked about for an opportunity to betray him. On the first of the days of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, where will thou have us make ready for thee to eat the paschal meal? And Jesus said, go into the city, find such a man and tell him, the master says my time is near, I and my disciples must keep the paschal feast at thy house. The disciples did as Jesus bade them and made all ready for paschal meal there. When evening came he sat down with his twelve disciples, and while they were at table he said, believe me, one of you is about to betray me. They were full of sorrow and began to say one after another, Lord, is it I? He answered, the man who has put his hand into the dish with me will betray me. The son of man goes on his way as the scripture foretells of him, but woe upon that man by whom the son of man is to be betrayed, better for that man if he had never been born. Then Judas, he who was betraying him said openly, master is it I? Jesus answered, thy own lips have said it. And while they were still at table Jesus took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat, this is my body. Then he took a cup and offered thanks and gave it to them saying, drink all of you of this, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is to be shed for many to the remission of sins. And I tell you this, I shall not drink of this fruit of the vine again until I drink it with you new wine in the kingdom of my father. And so they sang a hymn and went out to Mount Olivet. After this Jesus said to them, tonight you will all lose courage over me, for so it has been written. I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of his flock will be scattered, but I will go before you into Galilee when I have risen from the dead. Peter answered him, though all else should lose courage over thee, I will never lose mine. Jesus said to Peter, believe me, this night before the cockroaches thou wilt thrice disown me. Peter said to him, I will never disown thee, though I must lay down my life with thee. And all the rest of his disciples said the like. So Jesus came and they with him to a plot of land called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit down here while I go in there and pray. But he took Peter and the sons of Zebedee with him. And now he grew sorrowful and dismayed. My soul, he said, is ready to die with sorrow. Do you abide here and watch with me? When he had gone a little further, he fell upon his face in prayer and said, my father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass me by, only as thy will is, not as mine is. Then he went back to his disciples to find them asleep and he said to Peter, had you no strength then to watch with me even for an hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing enough, but the flesh is weak. Then he went back again and prayed a second time and his prayer was, my father, if this chalice may not pass me by, but I must drink it, then thy will be done. And once more he found his disciples asleep when he came to them, so heavy their eyelids were. This time he went away without disturbing them and made his third prayer using the same words. After that he returned to his disciples and said to them, sleep and take your rest hereafter. As I speak, the time draws near when the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go on our way. Already he that is to betray me is close at hand. And all at once while he was speaking, Judas, who was one of the twelve, came near. With him was a great multitude carrying swords and clubs who had been sent out by the chief priests and the elders of the people. The traitor had appointed them a signal, it is none other, he told them, than the man whom I shall greet with a kiss, hold him fast. No sooner then had he come near to Jesus than he said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. Jesus said to him, My friend, on what errand has thou come? Then they came forward and laid their hands on Jesus and held him fast, and at that one of those who were with Jesus lifted a hand to draw his sword and smote one of the high priests' servants with it, cutting off his ear, whereupon Jesus said to him, Put thy sword back into its place. All those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Dost thou doubt that if I call upon my father, even now, he will send more than twelve legions of angels to my side? But how were it so, should the scriptures be fulfilled, which have prophesied that all must be as it is? And Jesus said to the multitude that are, You have come out to my arrest with swords and clubs as if I were a robber, and yet I used to sit teaching in the temple close to You, day after day, and You never laid hands on me? All this was so ordained to fulfill what was written by the prophets, and now all his disciples abandoned him and fled, and those who had arrested Jesus led him away into the presence of the high priest Caiaphas, where the scribes and elders had assembled. Peter followed him at a long distance, as far as the high priest's palace, where he went in and sat among the servants to see the end. The chief priests and elders, and all the council, tried to find false testimony against Jesus, such as would compass his death. But they could find none, although many came forward falsely accusing him, until at last two false accusers came forward who declared, This man said I have power to destroy the temple of God, and raise it again in three days. Then the high priest stood up and asked him, Has thou no answer to make to the accusations these men bring against thee? Jesus was silent, and the high priest said to him openly, I adjure thee by the living God to tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus answered, Thy own lips have said it. And moreover I tell you this, you will see the Son of Man again, when he is seated at the right hand of power, and comes on the clouds on heaven. At this the high priest tore his garments and said, He has blasphemed. What further need have we of witnesses? Mark, well you have heard his blasphemy for yourselves. What is your finding? And they answered, The penalty is death. Then they fell to spitting upon his face and buffeting him and smiting him in the cheek, saying as they did so, Show thyself a prophet Christ, tell us who it is that smote thee. Meanwhile Peter sat in the court without, and there was a maid-servant came up to him and said, Thou too wasst with Jesus the Galilean, whereupon he denied it before all the company, I do not know what thou meanest. And he went out into the porch where a second maid-servant saw him and said to the bystanders, This man too was with Jesus the Nazarene, and he made denial again with an oath, I know nothing of the man. But those who stood there came up to Peter soon afterwards and said, It is certain that thou art one of them, even thy speech betrays thee. And with that he fell to calling down curses on himself and swearing, I know nothing of the man. And thereupon the cock-crew. Then Peter remember the words of Jesus how he had said, Before the cock-crews thou wilt thrice disown me. And he went out and wept bitterly. At daybreak all the chief priests and elders of the people laid their plans for putting Jesus to death, and they led him away in bonds, and gave him up to the governor, a conscious pilot. And now Judas, his betrayer, was full of remorse at seeing him condemned, so that he brought back to the chief priests and elders their thirty pieces of silver. I have sinned, he told them, in betraying the blood of an innocent man. What is that to us, they said? It concerns thee only, whereupon he left them, throwing down the pieces of silver there in the temple, and went, and hanged himself. The chief priests, thus recovering the money, said, It must not be put in the treasury since it is the price of blood, and after consultation they used it to buy the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. It is upon that account that the field has been called Hasseldamer, the field of blood, to this day. And so the word was fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet Jeremy, when he said, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of one who was appraised, for men of the race of Israel appraised him, and bestowed them upon the potter's field as the Lord had bidden me. Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus told him, Thy own lips have said it. And when the chief priests and elders brought their accusation against him, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, Dost thou not hear all the testimony they bring against thee? But Jesus would not answer any of their charges, so that the governor was full of astonishment. At the festival the governor used to grant to the multitude the liberty of any one prisoner they would choose, and there was one notable prisoner then in custody whose name was Barabbas. So when they gathered about him Pilate asked them, Whom shall I release Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ? He knew well that they had only given him up out of malice, and even as he sat on the judgment seat his wife had sent him a message, Do not meddle with this innocent man. I dreamed today that I suffered much on his account. But the chief priests and elders had persuaded the multitude to ask for Barabbas and have Jesus put to death. And so when the governor openly asked them, Which of the two would you have me release? They said, Barabbas! Pilate said to them, What am I to do then with Jesus who is called Christ? They said, Let him be crucified! And when the governor said, Why? What wrong has he done? They cried louder than ever, Let him be crucified! And so finding that his good officers went for nothing and the uproar only became worse Pilate sent for water and washed his hands in full sight of the multitude saying as he did so. I have no part in the death of this innocent man. It concerns you only. And the whole people answered, His blood be upon us and upon our children. And with that he released Barabbas as they asked. Jesus, he scourged and gave him up to be crucified. After this the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the palace and gathered the whole of their company about him. First they stripped him and arrayed him in a scarlet cloak. Then they put on his head a crown which they had woven out of thorns and a rod in his right hand and mocked him by kneeling down before him and saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spat upon him and took the rod from him and beat him over their head with it. At last they had done with mockery. Taking him of the scarlet cloak they put his own garments on him and led him away to be crucified. As for his cross they forced a man of Sarini, Simon by name, whom they met on their way to carry it. And so they reached a place called Golgotha, that is the place named after the skull. Here they offered him a draft of wine mixed with gall, which he tasted but would not drink. Then crucified him, dividing his garments among them by casting lots. There then they sat, keeping guard over him. Over his head they set a written proclamation of his offence. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. And with him they crucified two thieves, one on his right and one on his left. The passers-by blasphemed against him, tossing their heads, Come now, they said! Know who would destroy the temple and build it up in three days, Rescue thyself. Come down from that cross, if thou art the Son of God. The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way. He saved others, they said. He cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel, he has but to come down from the cross here and now, and we will believe in him. He trusted in God. Let God, if he favors him, succor him now. He told his eye and the Son of God. Even the thieves who were crucified with him uttered the same taunts. From the sixth hour onwards there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, E'erly, E'erly, Lama Sabactani, That is, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Hearing this, some of those who stood by said, He is calling upon Elias. And thereupon one of them ran to fetch a sponge which he filled with vinegar and fixed upon a rod and offered to let him drink. The rest said, Wait, let us see whether Elias is to come and save him. Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. All at once the veil of the temple was torn this way and that from the top to the bottom and the earth shook and the rocks parted asunder and the graves opened and many bodies arose out of them, bodies of holy men gone to their rest who after his rising again left their graves and went into the holy city where they were seen by many. So that the centurion and those who kept God over Jesus with him when they perceived the earthquake and all that befell were overcome with fear. No doubt they said, But this was the Son of God. On the night after the Sabbath, at the hour when dawn broke on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came near to contemplate the tomb and suddenly there was a great trembling of the earth because an angel of the Lord came to the place descending from heaven and rolled away the stone and sat over it. His face shone like lightning and his garments were white as snow so that the gods trembled for fear of him and were like dead men. But the angels said openly to the women, You need not be afraid. I know well that you have come to look for Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. He has risen as he told you. Come and see the place where the Lord was buried and now the eleven disciples took their journey into Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had been to meet him. When they saw him there they fell down to worship though some were still doubtful. But Jesus came near and spoke to them. All authority in heaven and on earth, he said, has been given to me. You therefore must go out making disciples of all nations and baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the commandments which I have given you. And behold, I am with you all through the days that are coming until the consummation of the world. This is Robert Young again. The story you heard tonight is a true story, hundreds of years old. It's a story that will never die so long as someone lives to read it or to tell it. And that story is especially wonderful for this program, family theater, because it's a story of sacrifice. And after all, the story of your family, of any good family is a story of sacrifice, isn't it? What mother has not given up much for her children? What father hasn't sacrificed for his wife and family? Keeping a family together, whether that family is just two people, a husband and a wife, or a big family with many children, keeping that family together and happy demands continual sacrifice on your part. Sometimes the things you must do and the things you must do without are almost too much to bear. But you need never despair, because you can do anything with help. And you can always, always get the most wonderful, most powerful help in all the world just by asking for it. Ask God for His help. His help is so easy to get. Just say a prayer together with your family. So tonight and every night, thank God for what you have and ask Him for what you need. If you've never turned to God before and you turn to Him now, this will indeed be a joyful and happy Easter for you and your family. For the family that prays together stays together. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood, Family Theater has brought you transcribed The Passion and Death of Christ, starring Dan O'Hurley He. Robert Young was your host. The script was adapted and directed for Family Theater by John T. Keller, with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman. This series of Family Theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program, by the mutual network which has responded to this need, and by the hundreds of stars of stage, screen, and radio who give so unselfishly their time and talent to appear on our Family Theater stage. To them and to you, our humble thanks. This is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessings of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to join us next week when Family Theater will present the story of Little Tree starring Edmund Gwynne. Dean Miller will be your host. And this Sunday over most of these stations, Family Theater will present a special hour-long Easter program, The Triumphant Hour, starring Victor Jory, Pat Crowley, Betty Lim, Stephen McNally, Joe Stafford, Dennis Day, Pat O'Brien, Moreno Sullivan, Joan Leslie, Jimmy Durante, MacDonald Carey, and Ruth Hussie. Please check your local paper for time. Join us, won't you? Family Theater has broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is Mutual, the radio network for all America.