Where Jesus Walked (1995) - full transcript
Jesus never traveled more than one hundred miles from His birthplace during His three-year ministry; yet, His life has changed the world.
(ethereal music)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] This is
more than landscape.
To millions who have
never set foot here,
this land is home, reachable
only by God's grace.
It is the goal of pilgrims,
the Promised Land,
the Holy Land.
Its geography is imprinted
on almost every
page of the "Bible".
Places for whom multitudes
feel a homesickness,
even though most
have never been here.
Places, places
dwelt on in sermons
and remembered in prayers.
Bethlehem, at birth,
Cana, at marriage,
Bethany, at death.
It is a land thirsty for
truth, a land of living waters.
The River Jordan.
The Sea of Galilee.
The Pool of Bethesda.
It is miracles recalled.
Capernaum.
Siloam.
It is Mount Tabor and
a vision of glory.
This land is a land of pain.
Of shame.
Jerusalem.
Calvary.
And of triumph over death.
From the Golan
Heights to the Sinai.
From the Mediterranean
to the Dead Sea.
From Nazareth to
Jericho to Jerusalem.
This is the land
where Jesus walked.
(dramatic music)
The Holy Land.
Shorelined by the Mediterranean
and by the Dead Sea,
its southern border melds
with the Sinai Peninsula
and the land of Egypt.
Europe eyes it from the west,
while the great Asian landmass
reaches out to it
from the Pacific.
This is the navel of the
world, from the far reaches
of antiquity to the present.
This land has been
God's battlefield.
The hammer God chose
to pound out a plan
for human salvation.
It is a promised land.
To the east lies
the Fertile Crescent
of the Tigris and
the Euphrates Rivers,
(bright music)
famous for the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon
and infamous for the
ziggurat, Tower of Babel.
But before Babylon was
Assyria, and Sumeria,
and the incredibly
old city of Ur.
The city of Ur, like
the rest of Mesopotamia,
was rife with idolatry.
Marduk and Marok.
Rife with gods and goddesses
to whom people
were as playthings.
So the man whom the Lord
came to call Abraham
left Ur and settled in Haran.
- [God] Go to the
land I will show you.
- [Narrator] Abraham, who
was then called Abram,
took his wife, and his
nephew, and their belongings
and caravanned to
the land of Canaan.
And the Lord appeared to him.
- [God] To your offspring
I will give this land.
(inspirational music)
- [Narrator] Though
Abram was very old,
he begat a son, Isaac,
with his aged wife.
But the Lord God tested him.
- [God] Abraham, take your son
whom you love and go to
the region of Moriah.
Sacrifice him there
as a burnt offering.
- [Narrator] Without
hesitating, Abraham obeyed.
As the father raised the
knife over his beloved son,
an angel of the Lord
stayed his hand.
A ram was substituted for Isaac.
This mosque, the
Dome of the Rock,
stands on Mount Moriah
where this interrupted
sacrifice took place.
It houses what many believe
is the rock upon which Abraham
laid Isaac for the kill, a
father sacrificing his son.
It is an act destined
to be repeated,
and this time, completed.
- [Woman] In the
beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God.
And the Word was God.
- [Narrator] Through epochs,
prophets spring from this
land seeded by Abraham.
And through the
ages, these prophets
foretell of the
ultimate sacrifice
who will be led like a
lamb to the slaughter.
- [Woman] The Word became flesh,
and made his dwelling among us.
- [Narrator] It is in the
fulfillment of this prophecy
that Jesus comes into the world.
(dramatic music)
As the age of the great
prophets drew to an end,
Jerusalem, the Holy
Land's splendid capital,
became a world city.
(authoritative music)
Then the long shadow of
Rome fell over the land.
Rome, the Colossus,
the power by which
all worldly power
could be measured.
She webbed the
world with her robes
and made it conform to her laws.
Rome had made a province
of the Promised Land.
To Romans it was
the runt of Asia.
As historians measure it,
it happens at the beginning
of the Christian Era.
A decree goes out
from Caesar Augustus.
- [Caesar] Census
by imperial command,
all Jews must register in
their ancestral homelands.
- [Narrator] Like their
neighbors, Joseph, a tradesman,
and his young wife,
Miriam, obey the decree.
(gentle music)
But it is a rugged 90
miles to Bethlehem,
the town of their ancestors.
It will take close to two
weeks, and Miriam is pregnant.
The trip takes them
through the Judean hills
where Ruth of the Old
Testament met Boaz
while she was gleaning grain.
Bethlehem itself
means house of bread,
and it is known as
the City of David.
It's a grueling journey.
Any day now, Miriam,
whom we call Mary,
is due to give birth.
There's no one to help, no
midwife, no woman relative.
Yet she is not afraid.
It has been prophesied.
- [God] A virgin
will be with child
and will give birth to a son.
- [Narrator] This prophecy
began to unfold here,
where the Church
of the Annunciation
now stands in Nazareth.
Built over the ruins
of a Byzantine chapel,
this is the largest
church in the Middle East.
Each of these murals was
donated by a different nation.
On this site, the Archangel
Gabriel greeted Mary.
She is an ordinary young woman
with an extraordinary destiny.
(people chattering)
(gentle music)
Bethlehem is a bedlam.
Multitudes impatient to get
the census taking over with.
A room for the
night, Joseph begs.
A corner, a nook.
My wife is already in labor.
Well, you can bed down
with the livestock.
She can bear her
offspring there.
(sheep baaing)
So in the darkness of
a shelter for animals,
light comes into the world.
Today the Church of
the Nativity stands
over the place where
that shelter stood.
And this star marks the
place where Jesus was born.
This night, in fields
fringing this City of David,
shepherds tend their flocks,
as David, once a shepherd
himself, tended his.
These are not
ordinary shepherds.
They are descended from
the priestly tribe of Levi.
Their flocks are raised for
the holiest of purposes,
sacrificed in the
temple of Jerusalem.
These shepherds must guard
their sheep from impurities,
keep them acceptable to
the priests of the temple.
Yet the shepherds
themselves are forbidden
to enter the temple courts.
Theirs is the lowliest
position in the land.
Now, out of the night,
an angel appears to them.
They're terrified.
- [Angel] Don't be afraid.
I bring you good
news of great joy.
Today, in the town of David,
a savior has been born to you.
(inspirational music)
- [Narrator] Now a star
of stunning brilliance
draws three magi from
the east to David's city.
It is from Saba that
these three magi
began their starlit
way to Bethlehem.
They are men with knowledge
of ancient Hebrew prophesies
of the promised Messiah.
And these men of great
minds, and wisdom,
and possibly great wealth, come
humbly to the Christ child.
They worship him and
offer gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
(women vocalizing)
Through the magi,
Herod, king of Judea,
half mad and wracked
with disease,
learns of the birth of Jesus.
And he also learns of
the 700-year-old prophecy
of the prophet Mica.
- [God] Bethlehem, out of you
will come for me one who
will be ruler over Israel.
- [Narrator] Herod
will brook no rivals.
- [Angel] Joseph, get up!
- [Narrator] As he sleeps,
an angel appears to
Joseph in a dream.
- [Angel] Get up.
Take the child and his
mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you,
for Herod is going to search
for the child to kill him.
- [Narrator] The child must die.
Now death's shadow hovers over
him, and he will never leave.
Already he is a refugee
in a family of refugees.
(men yelling)
(dramatic music)
In a rage, Herod commands
that all the male children
of Bethlehem two years
and under be slaughtered.
(women shrieking)
- [Narrator] Jesus is
carried to safety into Egypt.
- [God] Egypt will be
blessed by the Lord.
- [Narrator] Because of their
kindness to the sons of Jacob,
God looks with favor upon Egypt.
And now Egypt is a
sanctuary for the Messiah.
(dramatic music)
The ruler who
ordered the slaughter
of the newborn of
Bethlehem, Herod the Great.
As a young man, this
half-breed, Herod,
is more pagan than Jew.
His appetites for
intrigue, luxury,
and pretty women
scandalized Judea.
He ingratiates himself
with Caesar Augustus,
who sits him on a
throne as his vassal.
Herod becomes king of the Jews.
Despite his royal debauchery,
he inaugurates a splendiferous
building program.
Under his scepter,
Jerusalem becomes
one of the most magnificent
cities in the world.
His rebuilding of the Temple
would cause Solomon
himself to be envious.
Now, this vassal king
lies close to death.
Soon Herod the Great is dead.
With Herod's death, an angel
appears and commands Joseph.
- [Angel] Take the
child and his mother
and go to the land of Israel.
- [Narrator] Heading north,
they skirt Bethlehem
and Jerusalem.
Now, Judea is ruled
by Herod's son,
another puppet of the Romans.
The family goes further north,
to the district of Galilee,
safer perhaps, and fertile.
(gentle music)
But Galilee is not a part
of the Jewish homeland.
Jews of Jerusalem look
down on Galileans.
There are many
gentiles among them.
Galileans are
second-class citizens.
Joseph settles his
family in Nazareth,
in Galilee, a backward town
held in such low esteem
that later the apostle
Nathaniel will ask.
- [Nathaniel] Can anything
good come out of Nazareth?
- [Narrator] This church,
the Church of Saint Joseph,
stands on the site of the
family's living quarters.
Jesus grows up here.
Here, Joseph teaches him
the skills of his trade.
(metal scraping)
And here, in Nazareth,
Jesus studies the Torah
and the words of the prophets.
The feast of the Passover.
Lambs are chosen for
the Paschal supper.
It is the week
when pilgrims pour
into the city from
three continents.
Multitudes choke
Jerusalem's twisted streets.
Now Mary is near panic,
as she and Joseph
elbow through the crowd
searching for their 12-year-old.
He's missing, lost.
They seek him among
kinfolk, everywhere.
After three days,
they stumble upon him
engaged in a question
and answer session
with learned doctors of the law.
When Mary and Joseph ask
him what he's been doing,
his answer is that he is
about his father's business.
This is the River Jordan.
In the time of Jesus, one
who shuns the goods and glare
of this world, a
man on fire for God,
is John, John the Baptist.
John, the same age as Jesus,
had come into the world
to blaze the way
for the Messiah.
- [John] Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is near!
- [Narrator] Clad
in camel's hide,
and nurtured on
locusts and wild honey,
John immerses those who repent
as the priests of the Temple
are immersed that they may
be clean in the eyes of God.
John knows that he
is the forerunner
of the promised Messiah,
so when Jesus comes to him,
there is immediate recognition.
- [John] I need to
be baptized by you.
And do you come to me?
- [Jesus] Let it be so, now.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] The heavens open,
and the Holy Spirit
descends upon Jesus
in the form of a dove.
- [God] This is my
son, whom I love.
With him, I am well pleased.
- [Narrator] Jericho, a city
going back some 10,000 years.
Modern Jericho is a sleepy town
with a population
of about 7,000.
From the wilderness,
skirting Jericho,
rises the Mount of Temptation.
After his baptism by John,
it is here that Jesus comes.
The heavens had
opened, had spoken.
Now, Jesus seeks solitude.
He retreats into this
wilderness of Judea
to be alone with his God,
to contemplate his ministry.
The sun is scorching.
Nights are raw, bitter.
He is beset by wild creatures.
Days become weeks.
Now he is no longer alone.
He is attacked spiritually.
Again and again, he is
assaulted by the adversary,
Ha-Satan in Hebrew,
Satan in whatever form.
(dramatic music)
Satan knows well the prophecy
that Jesus is setting in motion,
and he rallies all the
forces of Hell to halt it.
Without food for weeks,
Jesus is famished.
- [Satan] Hungry?
If you are the son of God,
tell these stones
to become bread.
- [Jesus] Man does not
live on bread alone.
- [Narrator] Satan
attacks again viciously,
striking at his God sentedness.
He takes Jesus up, up
into the holy city,
and has him stand dizzily on
the Temple's highest point
and urges him to jump.
- [Satan] Throw yourself down.
For it is written, He
will command his angels
concerning you, and they will
lift you up in their hands.
- [Jesus] It is also written,
do not put the Lord
your God to the test.
- [Narrator] Satan leads
Jesus up a high mountain
and points out all the
kingdoms of this world.
- [Satan] All this
I will give you,
if you will bow
down and worship me.
- [Jesus] Away from me, Satan.
For it is written,
worship the Lord your God,
and serve him only.
- [Narrator] Jesus will
not yield nor compromise.
After 40 days and 40 nights,
Jesus comes out
of the wilderness.
He takes the Jericho road
back to his home
province of Galilee.
There he will proclaim
the kingdom of God.
Again, he is in Nazareth,
the place where he grew up.
There he will begin his
ministry by preaching
in a place familiar
to him, the synagogue.
Jesus performs his duty.
He takes his turn to
read to the congregation,
with great authority,
from the prophet Isaiah.
- [Jesus] The spirit
of the Lord is on me.
Because He has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the captives,
recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor.
- [Narrator] He has
read Isaiah's words
to mean that the spirit
of the Lord is upon him,
that the Lord had anointed him.
His listeners are enraged.
They take him to a ledge
over a steep on this hill.
Here they crowd around him,
intending to hurl him
headlong over the edge.
But he passes through
their ranks and walks away.
Abounding in fish, this body
of water in the Jordan Valley
called Yam Kinneret in Hebrew,
and Lake Tiberius by the
Romans, is the Sea of Galilee.
(gentle music)
- [Jesus] Follow me.
- [Narrator] Forced
out of Nazareth,
Jesus comes upon two fishermen,
brothers, and bids them.
- [Jesus] Come, follow me.
Follow me and I will
make you fishers of men.
- [Narrator] Perhaps Andrew
and his brother, Simon Peter,
aren't fully aware of what
draws them so suddenly to Jesus.
Jesus doesn't seem
to be anyone special.
He isn't wealthy.
He was born of a
local Jewish couple.
They will soon learn.
Jesus goes to another boat,
where the sons of
Zebedee, James and John,
are mending their nets.
- [Jesus] Follow me.
- [Narrator] And they
follow, without question,
to trail after him
wherever he goes,
to live with him, for him.
This is discipleship.
And thus, Jesus
gathers his disciples.
(uplifting music)
In a place called Cana,
this church stands where
a wedding took place,
a wedding attended by Jesus,
his mother, and his disciples.
It's a joyous affair,
family, feasting, wine.
(people cheering)
Until the wine runs out,
causing much embarrassment
for the host.
Here, Jesus performs
a miracle, his first.
(water pattering)
(people chattering)
Tradition says that
in this vessel,
Jesus changed that
water into wine.
When Jesus leaves the feast,
only a few realize that
a miracle has been done.
For Jesus, time had
not yet arrived.
Then he came here, to
this place, Capernaum.
(gentle music)
The town of Capernaum is
a special place for Jesus,
a place where he
preaches repentance,
and a place he curses
when this city,
which he feels is his
city, fails to heed him.
These ruins date from the
5th century after Christ.
But beneath them is a house
from the time of Jesus.
Some believe that it is
the house of Simon Peter
where Jesus often stayed,
where he took meals,
rested, prayed.
Once, in that house,
Peter's mother-in-law
lay wracked with fever.
Jesus takes her by the
hand and lifts her up,
and the fever leaves her.
Now Jesus has shown
that he is a healer.
No disease festers in human
history as does leprosy.
Unclean, that is how the
leper thinks of himself,
feels about himself.
A leper approaches and
begs Jesus to heal him.
For years he has not felt
the touch of a human hand.
Jesus reaches out and
touches his flesh.
- [Jesus] Be cleansed.
- [Narrator] The leper is cured,
and Jesus tells him to say
nothing of this to anyone.
But his fame grows as he
travels from place to place,
reaching out to everyone,
working people, street people,
outcasts, preaching,
forgiving sins,
and gathering more apostles
until their numbers is 12,
like the 12 tribes of Israel.
In any case, the lame and
the sick trail after him,
clamoring to be cured.
(gentle music)
At his Capernaum headquarters,
he chooses 12 of his
disciples as apostles.
Simon, whom he calls Peter,
and his brother, Andrew.
The Zebedee brothers,
James and John,
whom he calls the
sons of thunder.
Philip and his
friend Bartholomew.
Matthew, who had
been a tax collector.
Thomas, who happen to be a twin.
Another James, and
a Judas Thaddeus.
Simon, a revolutionary,
and Judas Iscariot,
who kept track of the money
donations they received.
He teaches with divine authority
and with deeply felt humanity.
- [Jesus] Blessed are
the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
- [Narrator] A church
now stands atop the mount
where he proclaimed
a new covenant
written not upon stone tablets,
but upon the human heart.
- [Jesus] Blessed are the meek,
for they shall
inherit the Earth.
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be
called sons of God.
- [Narrator] In the same
Sermon on the Mount,
he taught that in
prayer we can address
the creator of
this vast universe,
the source of life from the atom
to the farthest galaxy as Abba,
which is as warm and
familiar as our word, Papa.
Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will done
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we
also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the
kingdom, and the power,
and the glory forever, amen.
It is not out of the law
that Jesus makes his claims.
Jesus is his own authority,
and this makes him enemies.
By breaking with
their traditions,
later incorporated
into the Talmud,
now his enemies are
surveying the ground
upon which to accuse him.
(people chattering)
They soon find it.
The ruins of a pool
called Bethesda.
(dramatic music)
Invalids, the lame, and
the blind swarm here
and make their way to the pool
whose waters they hope
desperately will cure them.
This man has been an
invalid for 38 years.
After so long, he
has given up all hope
of ever getting well.
He is startled when Jesus asks.
- [Jesus] Do you
want to get well?
- [Narrator] Rather
than answering,
the man blames his hardship
on the neglect of others
and bemoans his state
of helplessness.
Jesus' reply is brief
and to the point.
- [Jesus] Pick up
your mat and walk.
- [Man] Yah, it is the Sabbath!
- [Narrator] There's no
rejoicing among the Pharisees
witnessing this, a man carrying
his mat on the Sabbath.
They're angry.
They cannot fathom that God
hath given the Sabbath simply
as a day for men and women
to rest from their labors.
Their own legalism
has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts to
what they've just witnessed.
In contrast, Jesus loves
the man he's healed,
a man who tells others of
the miraculous happening.
Jesus had given him not only
the gift of physical wellness,
but of spiritual
wholeness as well.
The outraged want to stone him.
- [Man] He called
God his father.
- [Man] He claims
he's equal with God.
- [Man] Sabbath violator.
- [Man] Destroyer of the law.
- [Jesus] My father
is always at his work.
And I too am working.
- [Narrator] Jesus had
not come to break the law,
but to fulfill it.
An outcast celebrity,
he seeks solitude
on the shores of
the Sea of Galilee.
And not far behind the
multitudes follow him,
the curious and the cripples,
the cynical and the sincere.
It is near the
Galilean town of Tabgha
that a multitude gathers
to hear Jesus preach.
In time, the crowd is famished.
The only food, two small fish
and five pieces of bread.
Miraculously, Jesus
makes this food
feed 5,000 hungry people.
Jesus tells the crowd that
Moses had also given them bread
and filled their bodily needs.
In their journey from Egypt,
that miraculous manna vanished
when they passed into
the land of Canaan.
On this day, 5,000 hungry men,
women, and children are fed.
All are amazed at
Jesus' endless bounty,
his endless blessing.
And when everyone has eaten,
there is enough left
over to fill 12 baskets.
(gentle music)
A church has been
erected near the place
where this miracle occurred.
- [Jesus] I am
the bread of life.
He who comes to me,
will never go hungry.
(wind whooshing)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] They
had arrived by boat,
and they were returning by
boat, Jesus and his disciples.
A storm rages, yet
Jesus remains asleep
under a platform in the stern.
His disciples are struggling
to keep the pitching boat still.
- [Disciple] Teacher,
don't you care if we drown?
- [Narrator] Jesus awakens
and calms the storm.
- [Jesus] Why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
- [Narrator] This
is another time
Jesus has shown the disciples
his miraculous
power over nature.
More and more,
they are realizing
what an extraordinary
man their teacher is.
(gentle music)
His claims are becoming
more and more startling
to those who hear him
and more incriminating
for his enemies.
- [Man] Are you greater
than our father Abraham?
- [Jesus] Abraham saw
my day and rejoiced.
I tell you the truth.
Before Abraham was born, I am.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] He continues
working miracles,
sometimes to inspire faith,
sometimes to emphasize
his teaching that the kingdom
of God is coming through him,
and often out of simple
pity for those suffering.
These are the remains
of the Pool of Siloam.
Here, Jesus encounters
a man born blind.
With his saliva and some
mud, Jesus makes a paste
and applies it to the
man's sightless eyes.
Then Jesus tells him to
wash in the Pool of Siloam.
(water splashing)
Without questioning,
the man obeys.
And for the first time
in his life, he sees.
He sees light.
- [Jesus] While I
am in the world,
I am the light of the world.
- [Narrator] Seeing Jesus,
the man worships him.
(dramatic music)
Again, he demonstrates
his command over nature.
His disciples are by themselves
on the Sea of Galilee,
rowing hard against a storm.
Then they see a figure
moving over the water.
A ghost walking on the
sea, they're terrified.
- [Jesus] It is I,
don't be afraid.
- [Narrator] He
climbs into the boat.
The sea is calm again.
(birds squawking)
Again, he fills his
apostles with sudden awe.
In some ways, he is
still a stranger to them.
Who is he really?
(dramatic music)
His enemies are hissing
the same question.
He threatens their pale power,
so he must be done away with.
They revile him for
associating with sinners
and forgiving them their sins.
But the people, widows,
orphans, publicans,
the dispossessed, the
diseased, physically, mentally,
or spiritually, some
hungry for attention,
some thirsting for truth,
the people love him.
From them, Jesus asks faith.
From him, they want miracles.
(dramatic music)
He does more than calm the
tempest and cure the sick.
He meets face-to-face the
demons ensnaring men's minds.
- [Demon] What do you
want with me, Jesus?
Son of the most high God.
- [Jesus] What is your name?
- [Demon] My name is
Legion, for we are many.
- [Jesus] Go.
- [Narrator] The demons are
driven into a herd of pigs
who plunge headlong down
the steep into a lake,
where they drown.
What is most awesome is his
power over life and death.
Yesterday, Jairus' daughter
had been singing and laughing.
Today, she is dead.
- [Jesus] Little girl,
I say to you, get up.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] He had
reached into death
and drew her back into life.
Radically, for a
Jew of his time,
Jesus reaches beyond
the Jewish people
to a Roman centurion,
an officer,
a commander of other men.
Through Jewish elders,
this Roman implores Jesus
to restore the health
of his dying servant.
This proud Roman says.
- [Centurion] Lord,
I do not deserve
to have you come under my
roof, but say the word,
and my servant will be healed.
- [Narrator] Without entering
the centurion's house,
Jesus makes the
servant well again.
Of the Roman, he says.
- [Jesus] I tell you,
I have not found such great
faith, even in Israel.
- [Narrator] The time comes
when he reveals himself
fully to those closest
to him, to Simon Peter,
who has confessed he believes
Jesus to be the son of God.
(gentle music)
Tradition says this is
Mount Tabor in Galilee.
The event that took
place, many believe,
on these heights is commemorated
by the Church of
the Transfiguration
and by this statue of Elijah.
Up these slopes, Jesus
leads Peter, and James,
and John to a place
where they might pray.
They do not know
what awaits them.
Simon Peter falls asleep.
So do James and John.
Jesus is transfigured.
- [Woman] His face changes.
And his clothes become as
bright as a flash of lightening.
- [Narrator] Jesus is not alone.
Moses and the prophet Elijah
appear in glorious splendor,
and Jesus talks with them.
Then a cloud envelops
them, and a voice is heard.
- [God] This is my
son whom I love.
With him, I am well pleased.
Listen to him.
- [Narrator] Now Jesus is alone.
Everything is as it had been.
He goes back into the
gritty, everyday world.
When teaching in the temple,
Jesus is frequently beset
by hostile Pharisees
bent on trapping him.
Once in his presence, these
enemies thrust a woman
into a circle of men
who mean to stone her.
(woman moaning)
She had been caught in
adultery, in the very act.
The law of Moses
commands her stoning.
Wanting to trap
him, they ask Jesus.
- [Pharisee] What do you say?
- [Narrator] At first,
Jesus is silent.
If he replies, release her,
he is condoning the
breaking of Mosaic law.
If he says, stone her,
he is without compassion.
At last, he speaks.
- [Jesus] If any one
of you is without sin,
let him to be the first
to throw a stone at her.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] When
Jesus asks the woman
if anyone has condemned
her she answers.
- [Woman] No one, sir.
- [Jesus] Then neither
do I condemn you.
Go now, and leave
your life of sin.
- [Narrator] For three years,
Jesus had brought
God to mankind.
Now the time has come when
he must bring mankind to God.
The sacrifice, for which
he came into the world,
must be fulfilled.
Jesus is the perfect
sacrifice, the lamb of God,
committed to doing his
father's will even unto death.
(dramatic music)
For the last time, he
sets out for Jerusalem,
the city of God.
A sacred tapestry woven
of the threads of history
from the lengths of antiquity
to the knotty strands
of its unpredictable future,
this is the Holy City
set among golden hills.
Throughout time, it has been
under siege again and again,
conquered again and again.
It's name means city of peace.
It is the city where Kind David,
1,000 years before
Christ was born,
built an altar to the
Ark of the Covenant.
It is said that the world
has 10 measures of beauty
of which nine
belong to Jerusalem.
It is the city of eight gates,
and no other city on Earth
so stirs the blood and
fires the imagination.
In traveling from
Galilee to the Holy City,
he passes through Samaria.
(gentle music)
Samaria.
Today Samaritans are remembered
because of Jesus' parable.
Good Samaritan has become
part of our everyday speech,
but in Jesus' time,
Samaritan was tantamount
to despised outcast.
On the outskirts of Nablus,
Samaria's largest city,
is the place where the patriarch
Jacob, Abraham's grandson,
pitched his tents.
This church is built over
Jacob's ancient well.
It is at Jacob's
Well that Jesus,
thirsty and tired on his
journey to Jerusalem,
stops to rest.
- [Woman] It's noon.
People are staying
in their houses
to avoid the midday heat.
A Samaritan woman, a
woman with a history
of casual
relationships with men,
comes to Jacob's
Well to draw water.
She lowers her eyes
when she sees Jesus.
Jesus asks.
- [Jesus] Will you
give me a drink?
- [Woman] She's surprised and
a bit suspicious, perhaps.
Surprised that a Jew would ask
a despised Samaritan
for water, for anything.
Usually they wouldn't
even speak to them.
- [Jesus] If you
knew the gift of God
and who it is that
asks you for a drink,
you would have asked him,
and he would have
given you living water.
- [Woman] She takes
Jesus to be a prophet.
There are many things
she doesn't understand,
but then when the Messiah comes,
he will explain
everything to us.
- [Narrator] And Jesus says.
- [Jesus] I who
speak to you, am he.
- [Narrator] But
can this woman grasp
what awaits the
Messiah in Jerusalem?
(dramatic music)
In the company of his disciples,
and with the dire
prediction of his death,
he turns his face towards
Jerusalem for the last time.
(dramatic music)
The first leg of the journey
takes them through Jericho,
believed to be the
oldest city in the world.
Being the oldest
city in the world,
today's Jericho
continues to be the site
of archeological exploration.
It's an oasis in the barren
valley of the lower Jordan.
Here in Jericho, people have
heard much of Jesus the healer.
A crowd surges after him.
- [Woman] Jesus of
Nazareth is here!
- [Man] Jesus, son of
David, have mercy on me.
- [Woman] Be quiet!
- [Man] Son of David,
have mercy on me!
- [Narrator] It is a blind
beggar reaching out to Jesus.
Because of his faith,
Jesus restores his sight.
On this last journey
to Jerusalem,
Jesus stops at Bethany, on
the outskirts of the city.
This church stands on the
site of the house of Lazarus
and his sisters,
Martha and Mary.
Lazarus had been ill.
By the time Jesus
got to Bethany,
he had been dead for four days.
As is the custom,
Lazarus' body is washed
then embalmed with
ointments and perfumes.
Lazarus' sisters,
Martha and Mary,
had torn their garments and
covered all their mirrors.
They are in seven
days of mourning.
It is Martha who greets Jesus.
- [Martha] If you had been here,
my brother wouldn't have died.
- [Jesus] Your brother
will rise again.
- [Martha] I know
he will rise again
in the Resurrection
at the last day.
- [Jesus] I am the
resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will
live even though he dies.
And whoever lives and
believes in me will never die.
- [Man] Take away the stone.
(stone rumbling)
- [Narrator] These steps
lead to the actual tomb
where Lazarus lay dead.
- [Jesus] Lazarus, come out.
- [Narrator] The dead man rises.
He is bound with grave clothes.
But he is alive.
In raising Lazarus,
Jesus offers proof
of his words to Martha,
I am the Resurrection.
(dramatic music)
The raising of Lazarus sets
off a wildfire of talk.
Jesus is winning more
and more followers
among the prominent,
among the leaders.
The chief priests
and the high priest,
Caiaphas, convene a council.
What are they to do?
If they let Jesus be, the
whole nation will follow him.
Rome will get into it.
Rome will punish the whole
nation because of this Jesus.
It is better that one
man die for the people
than that the whole
nation perish.
Jesus is a wanted man.
His name may be posted in
public places, condemned.
He's no longer free to
wander among the Jews.
The temple guards have orders
to arrest him on sight,
so he and his disciples go into
hiding, into the wilderness.
It is the 10th day of the
Hebrew month of Nissan,
when the lambs for
sacrifice are set aside.
(lambs baaing)
Jesus bravely sets
out for Jerusalem,
and his disciples
risk following there
for the Passover is at hand.
Despite being a
religious outcast,
his coming draws huge crowds.
Looking down from
the Mount of Olives,
you can see the route he takes
as he rides into the city.
- [Woman] Hosannah!
- [Man] Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord!
- [Narrator] His reception,
as he enters through its
golden gate is stupendous.
(crowd cheering)
- [Man] Blessed is
thee who cometh.
- [Narrator] The hopeful,
the cheerers, the grateful,
and the gawkers
are waving palms.
They even hail him as a king.
A king!
- [Man] Blessed is
thee who cometh.
- [Narrator] Politically
this is a dangerous reception
in a land ruled by Romans.
Were it not for the adoring
crowds surrounding him,
he would have been
arrested then and there.
(gentle music)
(dramatic music)
This lovely tear-shaped church
is called Dominus Flevit,
which means the Lord wept,
for it commemorates
what Jesus feels
as he pauses to gaze
at Jerusalem from
the Mount of Olives.
He sees the entire city before
him, the palaces and towers,
the valleys and hills.
He loves this city.
But seeing it now, he weeps.
Terrible suffering
lay ahead of him,
and he knows this for
it had been foretold
by the prophet Isaiah
700 years before.
- [Woman] The Lord has laid
on him the iniquity if us all.
- [Narrator] Jesus does not
weep for what lay ahead for him.
He weeps for Jerusalem
because he foresees a time
when this city will be destroyed
and left with not one
stone standing on another.
(people screaming)
(trumpet blaring)
- [Narrator] It is the
Monday of Passover week.
Jews from everywhere keep
pouring into the city,
heady with a kind of
spiritual excitement.
Already pillars of
smoke are rising
from the altars at the temple.
This day, risking arrest, Jesus
goes to the temple to teach.
(uplifting music)
Little more remains
of the temple
that Jesus knew other
than this masonry,
this western wall of
massive stone blocks,
rising to a height of 55 feet.
Jerusalem's temples had
always crowned Mount Moriah.
And it is this temple
that Jesus compares
with his own body when he says.
- [Jesus] Destroy this temple,
and I will raise it
again in three days.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Though the guards
are on the watch for him,
on Monday morning,
Jesus goes openly
to the temple which he
regards as his father's house.
He teaches in the
court of gentiles,
but he's appalled by the way
it's been commercialized.
It's a market.
(people chattering)
Foreign coins being
exchanged for temple currency
with which to buy lambs
and doves for sacrifice.
He is here to call people
to their prophetic faith,
but here, piety is being
turned into profit.
- [Jesus] My house will be
called a house of prayer
for all nations, but you have
made it a den of robbers.
(dramatic music)
(wood crashing)
- [Narrator] He drives out
the money changers, bodily.
Before astonished pilgrims,
he overturns cash tables
fearlessly and with
great authority.
His father has been
insulted, and he is furious.
(people chattering)
- [Man] For the sake
of our children.
(dramatic music)
And he has the
audacity to remain,
to heal the blind
and the maimed.
While the temple guards are
held back like dogs on a leash,
the authorities are afraid
to have him arrested,
afraid of riots.
To the masses of people
crowding into Jerusalem,
Jesus is a hero.
Common people hang on
every word he utters,
so the authorities
bide their time.
That night, Jesus
returns to Bethany.
(dramatic music)
Under cover of darkness,
one of the 12 secretly contacts
the temple guard captain,
who takes him to the priests.
He offers to alert them
at the first opportunity
when Jesus is alone
and vulnerable,
so that he can be
arrested without rioting
from the masses.
A purse is given,
30 pieces of silver.
Thursday of the Passover,
Jesus sends two into the city.
There, he says, they are to look
for a man carrying a water pot,
an unusual sign
because in Jesus' day,
men never carried water pots.
Women did this work.
Follow him.
Enter the house
that he goes into.
Find the owner of the house
and tell him, my master says.
- [Jesus] My appointed
time is near.
I am going to
celebrate the Passover
with my disciples at your house.
- [Narrator] This is
how the arrangements
are made for the supper.
(gentle music)
Many believe that
this is the site
of the Cenacle of
the Last Supper.
This rambling,
old building holds
what is believed to be
King David's tomb as well.
This is the upper
room, the Cenacle,
where the supper begins.
- [Jesus] I have eagerly desired
to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Here,
Jesus and his chosen 12
partake of lamb roasted on
a spit of pomegranate wood,
(men chattering)
of roasted eggs, bitter
herbs, unleavened bread.
To the 12, Jesus is their
teacher, their rabbi.
As his learners, which is
what the word disciple means,
they attend to their
teacher's every need.
But something they are
never expected to do
is to wash their teacher's feet.
Yet while they
daydream of high places
in the coming kingdom,
Jesus assumes the place
of a lowly servant.
He washes their feet.
- [Jesus] Blessed art
thou, oh Lord, our God,
King of the universe.
(inspirational music)
- [Narrator] During this supper,
Jesus takes bread and breaks it.
- [Jesus] Take and eat.
This is my body.
- [Narrator] Then he
blesses a cup of wine.
- [Jesus] Drink
from it, all of you.
This is my blood
of the covenant.
- [Narrator] He shocks
them when he foretells
that one of their
number will betray him.
(men chattering)
- [Narrator] Judas
quietly slips away.
With the 11 who remain, Jesus
shares his deepest thoughts.
He will suffer, but be exalted.
His greatest humiliation will
be the hour of his glory.
Now he foretells
that Simon Peter
will deny him before
the cock crows.
(men chattering)
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] This is Gethsemane,
then as now a lovely garden.
Here stand olive trees
so gnarled with age
that they may have been saplings
when Jesus came here to pray.
Here his chosen felt
drowsy, while he felt agony.
Overlooking Gethsemane today
is the Church of All Nations.
The facade is graced with
Byzantine-style mosaics.
Its 12 domes stand
for the 12 nations
that contributed to
its construction.
It holds what is
believed to be the rock
at which Jesus prayed in
his agony in the garden.
(crickets chirring)
(fire crackling)
That Thursday night,
after the Passover meal,
Jesus comes here with the 11.
They are sleepy, and he
implores them to stay awake,
to keep watch with him,
but they keep dosing off.
(dramatic music)
Here in this lovely grove,
Jesus is stung by the
dread of what is to come,
by an inner agony.
Wandering further
into the garden,
his heart is near to
bursting with grief.
- [Jesus] Abba, Father,
take this cup from me.
Yet not what I will,
but what you will.
- [Narrator] His work
is coming to an end,
and he is giving all that
the Father asks of him.
Out of the darkness,
Judas Iscariot appears.
Judas kisses him,
identifying him.
- [Judas] Master.
- [Narrator] And a band
of temple guards grab him.
(men yelling)
- [Jesus] Every
day I was with you,
teaching in the temple courts,
and you did not arrest me.
But the scriptures
must be fulfilled.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] They lead
him away, a prisoner.
(men chattering)
Peter follows his
master at a distance
as the guards march Jesus to
the house of the high priest.
(gentle music)
(women vocalizing)
This is St. Peter's
Church in Jerusalem.
It's a reminder that
just a few hours
before the arrest was
made in Gethsemane,
Jesus had warned.
- [Jesus] It is written.
I will strike the shepherd, and
the sheep will be scattered.
- [Narrator] Peter
had protested.
- [Peter] Even if I
have to die with you,
I will never disown you.
- [Jesus] Simon Peter,
this very night,
before the rooster crows, you
will disown me three times.
(dramatic music)
(fire crackling)
- [Narrator] He waits
in the courtyard,
huddling around a warming
fire with some servants,
while Jesus' words haunt him.
- [Jesus] Before
the rooster crows,
you will disown me three times.
- [Narrator] A servant
woman stares at him
through the firelight.
- [Servant Woman] You!
You also were with
that Nazarene, Jesus.
- [Peter] I don't
know or understand
what you're talking about.
- [Servant Woman] This
fellow was one of them.
- [Peter] I am not.
- [Woman] Surely
you're one of them.
You're a Galilean.
- [Peter] I don't know this
man you're talking about.
(rooster crows)
- [Narrator] Peter
breaks down and weeps.
(dramatic music)
The rooster's crow
sounds the beginning
of one of the strangest trials
in the history of humankind.
They want him dead,
the chief priests,
the high priest himself.
Caiaphas, the high
priest, has hurriedly
summoned these priests
from their homes and beds
to condemn this outlaw.
Caiaphas asks bluntly.
- [Caiaphas] Are you the Christ?
The son of the blessed one?
- [Narrator] And Jesus answers.
- [Jesus] I am.
- [Narrator] Blasphemy,
cries the high priest.
You all heard him say it.
What do you think?
And they condemn him
as worthy of death.
The clamor for Jesus'
death increases, and Judas,
repenting his betrayal,
hangs himself.
It is early Friday morning.
The emergency council of priests
has pronounced a death sentence
it has no power to carry out.
This power is firmly invested
in the Roman procurator,
so the condemned is hurried to
the house of Pontius Pilate.
Their ploy is to paint
Jesus as a threat to Rome.
- [Man] He urges our people not
to pay their taxes to Rome.
He claims to be our
Messiah, a king!
- [Pilate] Are you
king of the Jews?
- [Jesus] Yes.
It is as you say.
- [Pilate] I find no basis
for a charge against this man.
- [Narrator] Pilate
is reluctant.
He doesn't want to meddle in
the Jews' religious squabbles.
When Pilate learns that
Jesus is a Galilean,
he squirms out of the
situation, he thinks.
He refers the case to
Rome's man in Galilee,
the tetrarch, Herod Antipas,
who is in Jerusalem
for Passover.
Jesus?
The tetrarch is
eager to get a look.
He's heard all sorts of
stories about this Jesus.
He had hoped to see him
perform some miracle.
But Jesus remains silent, and
this infuriates Herod Antipas.
He mocks this
self-proclaimed king.
He drapes him in a royal robe
and has him shunted
back to Pilate.
Pilate's wife is convinced
that this Jesus is innocent.
She's been told so in a dream.
And the governor himself
informs the chief priests
that after examination, he
finds the prisoner guiltless
of any crime against
the Roman government.
(dramatic music)
The Fortress of Antonia.
This is the way it looked
during the time of Jesus.
A Hasmonean fort rebuilt
by Herod the Great.
Today, the Church of
the Sisters of Zion
aroofs the fort's pavement
on which Pontius
Pilate judged Jesus.
Here incised in a paving
stone is a game of kings,
a gambling pastime popular
with the Roman troops.
Now, at the insistence
of the priests,
Jesus is being led to
Pilate's judgment seat
for a second time.
It is a custom here for
the Roman procurator
to free a condemned criminal
in honor of the Passover.
It's a mindless mob he faces,
orchestrated to shout
what they've been told.
(crowd shouting)
- [Crowd] Release our Christ.
Release our Christ.
Release our Christ.
- [Pilate] Shall I
crucify your king?
- [Man] We have no
king but Caesar.
- [Man] We have no
king but Caesar.
- [Narrator] The
mob keeps hammering,
free Barabbas and crucify Jesus.
To avoid a riot and a possible
bad report to the emperor,
Pilate orders the execution
and tries to wash his
hands of the whole affair.
Jesus is turned over to the
rough Roman guards for flogging.
(whip cracking)
Before these
roughnecks are through,
they're having sport
with this joke of a king,
forcing a hastily made crown
of thorns onto his head.
(ominous music)
He is made to drag the
instrument of his execution,
a heavy cross,
through these streets.
Each crushing fall
to the paving stones,
each agony is forged
into our memory.
At Eastertime, Christians
from all over the Earth
are drawn to these
dark, narrow lanes
to bear their own
crosses over the cobble,
worn smooth by
centuries of pilgrims,
to walk where he
walked to the last,
in the knowledge that
it is they, humankind,
who are responsible
for his death.
Now the 700-year-old
prophecy of Isaiah.
- [Woman] He was
oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a
lamb to the slaughter.
- [Narrator] Many
believe that this is
the place of execution,
this hill, Calvary,
in Hebrew, Golgotha,
the place of the skull.
(dramatic music)
Roman law orders crucifixion
for non-Romans and slaves,
and then, only for the
most terrible of crimes.
It is the most agonizing form
of execution known to Romans.
A signboard is
fixed on the cross
announcing in Latin,
and Greek, and Aramaic,
Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews.
- [Jesus] Father, forgive them,
for they know not
what they are doing.
- [Narrator] Mary
Magdalene and other women
are standing near the cross.
(dramatic music)
Men in the military
are given to gambling,
and these Romans, no exception,
are now throwing dice
for Jesus' clothes
(laughing)
while others stand
around joking.
- [Man] Come down
from that cross
if you are the son of God.
- [Narrator] That morning,
two criminals, thieves,
are crucified as well, one
on either side of Jesus.
One of them scoffs.
- [Thief] Aren't you the Christ?
Save yourself and us.
- [Narrator] The other confesses
that the two of them
deserve this death
but that Jesus is innocent.
- [Thief] Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.
- [Jesus] Today, you will
be with me in paradise.
- [Narrator] Though
it is only noon,
the sky begins to darken as
though night were falling.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Narrator] My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
The mockers and gawkers
think he has called
on the prophet Elijah.
(dramatic music)
- [Jesus] I'm thirsty.
- [Narrator] When
Jesus calls for water,
they tried to force
on him sour wine.
(thunder rumbling)
(lightning cracking)
- [Narrator] At about
three that afternoon,
Jesus bows his head
and breathes his last.
- [Jesus] Father, into your
hands I commit my spirit.
- [Narrator] A storm rages.
(thunder rumbling)
The earth shakes.
And the curtain shielding
the Holy of Holies
of the temple is torn in two.
A Roman soldier pierces
the corpse with a spear.
Blood gushes out and water.
The Roman officer in
charge of the execution,
a centurion, comments.
- [Centurion] Surely this
man was the son of God.
- [Narrator] 700 years before
this event, it was prophesied.
- [Woman] He was crushed
for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought
us peace, was upon him.
And by his wounds are we healed.
- [Narrator] There is in the
Kindron Valley of Jerusalem,
a communal grave for paupers.
Jesus owned nothing.
It seems possible
that his corpse might
have been flung into
a pauper's grave,
but the prophets foresaw
that it would be otherwise.
A rich man from Arimathea named
Joseph, a secret disciple,
summons all his courage
and goes to Pilate
and pleads for
custody of the body.
Pilate gives in.
Again, Isaiah's 700-year-old
prophecy is being fulfilled.
- [Woman] He was
assigned a grave
with the wicked and with
the rich in his death.
- [Narrator] The tomb that
Joseph of Arimathea offers
is newly hewn out of rock.
(dramatic music)
As with Lazarus, Jesus must be
entombed shortly after death.
Today, particularly,
there's no time to tarry.
It's Friday.
Sundown marks the
beginning of the Sabbath.
Joseph and the other
followers carry the corpse
to Joseph's family tomb.
This church was built in the
12th century by Crusaders.
The first church to stand here
had been built by the
Emperor Constantine
in the 4th century.
It is the final station
of the Way of the Cross,
the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre.
Millions are certain
that it holds the tomb
where Jesus was laid.
During Jesus' lifetime, this
was indeed an area of tombs,
and the belief that this
is the authentic tomb
goes back as far
as the 1st century.
A later discovery
is this sepulchre,
now known as the garden tomb,
near a scull-shaped rock.
Many believe that it is here
that Jesus was entombed.
What we know for certain
is that the place was in a
garden and near Golgotha.
A great stone is rolled
across the entrance,
and the tomb is sealed at
the demand of the priests.
(gentle music)
But they are taking no chances.
Guards are posted.
The first night of the first
day, the night of the Sabbath,
is markedly uneventful.
The second day is
increasingly tedious and hot.
But the night is chilly.
Then, the dawn of the third day.
As the new day dawns, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary
are on their way to the tomb.
They're fretting.
How can they roll aside the
huge stone at the entrance,
so that they can embalm the body
with the ointments
they've brought?
Something is wrong.
The stone has been rolled away.
The Roman seal is broken.
The tomb is empty.
- [Woman] Do not be afraid
for I know you are
looking for Jesus.
He is not here.
He has risen.
(footsteps thudding)
- [Narrator] The women flee,
frightened but
bursting with joy.
Suddenly, Jesus is
there in front of them.
Jesus shows himself first
to the women, the Magdalene.
They had been steadfast
throughout his ordeal,
while his disciples hid
themselves and despaired.
Though the temple priests claim
that the body has been stolen,
news spreads of
the Resurrection.
(people cheering)
(gentle music)
Galilee.
A church stands over the place
where Jesus meets with
these closest disciples,
apostles for the last time.
Here the 11 await him.
They wait.
At last Peter says.
- [Peter] I'm going out to fish.
- [Narrator] By dawn,
they are on the water,
fishing from a boat.
Day breaks.
They find themselves squinting
at someone on the beach.
- [Jesus] Haven't you any fish?
- [Man] No!
- [Jesus] Throw your
net on the right.
(water splashing)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] There
are so many fish
that they can hardly
draw in the net.
John straining his
eyes trying to make out
who the stranger is.
Suddenly he shouts.
- [John] It is the Lord!
- [Narrator] Peter
plunges into the water
and swims for shore.
The others stay in the boat,
pulling the net to land.
Over a small fire, they
share a breakfast of bread
and the freshly caught
fish with Jesus.
Now his ministry rests on them.
Jesus entrusts
them with his work.
- [Jesus] As the Father has
sent me, I am sending you.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] Many believe
that it is from here,
the ground that this
church is built on,
that Jesus was
taken up into heaven
with a promise to
return to this land,
where he walked some
2,000 years ago.
- [Woman] And the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us.
- [Narrator] Of all the Earth
God chose this plot of land,
this spiritual bridge
joining the worlds of Asia,
of Africa, of Europe.
This is the land God promised,
and God chose these people,
and spoke through
their prophets.
When Jesus walked this land,
he never went beyond
100 miles from Nazareth.
Yet for 2,000 years, he has
walked with men and women
from the farthest
corners of the Earth.
- [Jesus] I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.
(gentle music)
(uplifting music)
♪ In the temple the
curtain's torn ♪
♪ And from the tombs
the saints were reborn ♪
♪ The city shook and the
rocks began to break ♪
♪ The soldiers stood
beside your grave ♪
♪ An angel came and
rolled the stone away ♪
♪ Behold the lamb
behold the risen king ♪
♪ Oh look what love has done
♪ Oh the innocent
cries the son ♪
♪ If it was all up to me
♪ Would I bear the
cross or tear it down ♪
♪ If it was all up to me
♪ Would I see it through
♪ If it was all up to me
♪ Would I take the thorns
and wear the crown ♪
♪ Would I die for you
♪ Ooh
♪ Would I die
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] This is
more than landscape.
To millions who have
never set foot here,
this land is home, reachable
only by God's grace.
It is the goal of pilgrims,
the Promised Land,
the Holy Land.
Its geography is imprinted
on almost every
page of the "Bible".
Places for whom multitudes
feel a homesickness,
even though most
have never been here.
Places, places
dwelt on in sermons
and remembered in prayers.
Bethlehem, at birth,
Cana, at marriage,
Bethany, at death.
It is a land thirsty for
truth, a land of living waters.
The River Jordan.
The Sea of Galilee.
The Pool of Bethesda.
It is miracles recalled.
Capernaum.
Siloam.
It is Mount Tabor and
a vision of glory.
This land is a land of pain.
Of shame.
Jerusalem.
Calvary.
And of triumph over death.
From the Golan
Heights to the Sinai.
From the Mediterranean
to the Dead Sea.
From Nazareth to
Jericho to Jerusalem.
This is the land
where Jesus walked.
(dramatic music)
The Holy Land.
Shorelined by the Mediterranean
and by the Dead Sea,
its southern border melds
with the Sinai Peninsula
and the land of Egypt.
Europe eyes it from the west,
while the great Asian landmass
reaches out to it
from the Pacific.
This is the navel of the
world, from the far reaches
of antiquity to the present.
This land has been
God's battlefield.
The hammer God chose
to pound out a plan
for human salvation.
It is a promised land.
To the east lies
the Fertile Crescent
of the Tigris and
the Euphrates Rivers,
(bright music)
famous for the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon
and infamous for the
ziggurat, Tower of Babel.
But before Babylon was
Assyria, and Sumeria,
and the incredibly
old city of Ur.
The city of Ur, like
the rest of Mesopotamia,
was rife with idolatry.
Marduk and Marok.
Rife with gods and goddesses
to whom people
were as playthings.
So the man whom the Lord
came to call Abraham
left Ur and settled in Haran.
- [God] Go to the
land I will show you.
- [Narrator] Abraham, who
was then called Abram,
took his wife, and his
nephew, and their belongings
and caravanned to
the land of Canaan.
And the Lord appeared to him.
- [God] To your offspring
I will give this land.
(inspirational music)
- [Narrator] Though
Abram was very old,
he begat a son, Isaac,
with his aged wife.
But the Lord God tested him.
- [God] Abraham, take your son
whom you love and go to
the region of Moriah.
Sacrifice him there
as a burnt offering.
- [Narrator] Without
hesitating, Abraham obeyed.
As the father raised the
knife over his beloved son,
an angel of the Lord
stayed his hand.
A ram was substituted for Isaac.
This mosque, the
Dome of the Rock,
stands on Mount Moriah
where this interrupted
sacrifice took place.
It houses what many believe
is the rock upon which Abraham
laid Isaac for the kill, a
father sacrificing his son.
It is an act destined
to be repeated,
and this time, completed.
- [Woman] In the
beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God.
And the Word was God.
- [Narrator] Through epochs,
prophets spring from this
land seeded by Abraham.
And through the
ages, these prophets
foretell of the
ultimate sacrifice
who will be led like a
lamb to the slaughter.
- [Woman] The Word became flesh,
and made his dwelling among us.
- [Narrator] It is in the
fulfillment of this prophecy
that Jesus comes into the world.
(dramatic music)
As the age of the great
prophets drew to an end,
Jerusalem, the Holy
Land's splendid capital,
became a world city.
(authoritative music)
Then the long shadow of
Rome fell over the land.
Rome, the Colossus,
the power by which
all worldly power
could be measured.
She webbed the
world with her robes
and made it conform to her laws.
Rome had made a province
of the Promised Land.
To Romans it was
the runt of Asia.
As historians measure it,
it happens at the beginning
of the Christian Era.
A decree goes out
from Caesar Augustus.
- [Caesar] Census
by imperial command,
all Jews must register in
their ancestral homelands.
- [Narrator] Like their
neighbors, Joseph, a tradesman,
and his young wife,
Miriam, obey the decree.
(gentle music)
But it is a rugged 90
miles to Bethlehem,
the town of their ancestors.
It will take close to two
weeks, and Miriam is pregnant.
The trip takes them
through the Judean hills
where Ruth of the Old
Testament met Boaz
while she was gleaning grain.
Bethlehem itself
means house of bread,
and it is known as
the City of David.
It's a grueling journey.
Any day now, Miriam,
whom we call Mary,
is due to give birth.
There's no one to help, no
midwife, no woman relative.
Yet she is not afraid.
It has been prophesied.
- [God] A virgin
will be with child
and will give birth to a son.
- [Narrator] This prophecy
began to unfold here,
where the Church
of the Annunciation
now stands in Nazareth.
Built over the ruins
of a Byzantine chapel,
this is the largest
church in the Middle East.
Each of these murals was
donated by a different nation.
On this site, the Archangel
Gabriel greeted Mary.
She is an ordinary young woman
with an extraordinary destiny.
(people chattering)
(gentle music)
Bethlehem is a bedlam.
Multitudes impatient to get
the census taking over with.
A room for the
night, Joseph begs.
A corner, a nook.
My wife is already in labor.
Well, you can bed down
with the livestock.
She can bear her
offspring there.
(sheep baaing)
So in the darkness of
a shelter for animals,
light comes into the world.
Today the Church of
the Nativity stands
over the place where
that shelter stood.
And this star marks the
place where Jesus was born.
This night, in fields
fringing this City of David,
shepherds tend their flocks,
as David, once a shepherd
himself, tended his.
These are not
ordinary shepherds.
They are descended from
the priestly tribe of Levi.
Their flocks are raised for
the holiest of purposes,
sacrificed in the
temple of Jerusalem.
These shepherds must guard
their sheep from impurities,
keep them acceptable to
the priests of the temple.
Yet the shepherds
themselves are forbidden
to enter the temple courts.
Theirs is the lowliest
position in the land.
Now, out of the night,
an angel appears to them.
They're terrified.
- [Angel] Don't be afraid.
I bring you good
news of great joy.
Today, in the town of David,
a savior has been born to you.
(inspirational music)
- [Narrator] Now a star
of stunning brilliance
draws three magi from
the east to David's city.
It is from Saba that
these three magi
began their starlit
way to Bethlehem.
They are men with knowledge
of ancient Hebrew prophesies
of the promised Messiah.
And these men of great
minds, and wisdom,
and possibly great wealth, come
humbly to the Christ child.
They worship him and
offer gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
(women vocalizing)
Through the magi,
Herod, king of Judea,
half mad and wracked
with disease,
learns of the birth of Jesus.
And he also learns of
the 700-year-old prophecy
of the prophet Mica.
- [God] Bethlehem, out of you
will come for me one who
will be ruler over Israel.
- [Narrator] Herod
will brook no rivals.
- [Angel] Joseph, get up!
- [Narrator] As he sleeps,
an angel appears to
Joseph in a dream.
- [Angel] Get up.
Take the child and his
mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you,
for Herod is going to search
for the child to kill him.
- [Narrator] The child must die.
Now death's shadow hovers over
him, and he will never leave.
Already he is a refugee
in a family of refugees.
(men yelling)
(dramatic music)
In a rage, Herod commands
that all the male children
of Bethlehem two years
and under be slaughtered.
(women shrieking)
- [Narrator] Jesus is
carried to safety into Egypt.
- [God] Egypt will be
blessed by the Lord.
- [Narrator] Because of their
kindness to the sons of Jacob,
God looks with favor upon Egypt.
And now Egypt is a
sanctuary for the Messiah.
(dramatic music)
The ruler who
ordered the slaughter
of the newborn of
Bethlehem, Herod the Great.
As a young man, this
half-breed, Herod,
is more pagan than Jew.
His appetites for
intrigue, luxury,
and pretty women
scandalized Judea.
He ingratiates himself
with Caesar Augustus,
who sits him on a
throne as his vassal.
Herod becomes king of the Jews.
Despite his royal debauchery,
he inaugurates a splendiferous
building program.
Under his scepter,
Jerusalem becomes
one of the most magnificent
cities in the world.
His rebuilding of the Temple
would cause Solomon
himself to be envious.
Now, this vassal king
lies close to death.
Soon Herod the Great is dead.
With Herod's death, an angel
appears and commands Joseph.
- [Angel] Take the
child and his mother
and go to the land of Israel.
- [Narrator] Heading north,
they skirt Bethlehem
and Jerusalem.
Now, Judea is ruled
by Herod's son,
another puppet of the Romans.
The family goes further north,
to the district of Galilee,
safer perhaps, and fertile.
(gentle music)
But Galilee is not a part
of the Jewish homeland.
Jews of Jerusalem look
down on Galileans.
There are many
gentiles among them.
Galileans are
second-class citizens.
Joseph settles his
family in Nazareth,
in Galilee, a backward town
held in such low esteem
that later the apostle
Nathaniel will ask.
- [Nathaniel] Can anything
good come out of Nazareth?
- [Narrator] This church,
the Church of Saint Joseph,
stands on the site of the
family's living quarters.
Jesus grows up here.
Here, Joseph teaches him
the skills of his trade.
(metal scraping)
And here, in Nazareth,
Jesus studies the Torah
and the words of the prophets.
The feast of the Passover.
Lambs are chosen for
the Paschal supper.
It is the week
when pilgrims pour
into the city from
three continents.
Multitudes choke
Jerusalem's twisted streets.
Now Mary is near panic,
as she and Joseph
elbow through the crowd
searching for their 12-year-old.
He's missing, lost.
They seek him among
kinfolk, everywhere.
After three days,
they stumble upon him
engaged in a question
and answer session
with learned doctors of the law.
When Mary and Joseph ask
him what he's been doing,
his answer is that he is
about his father's business.
This is the River Jordan.
In the time of Jesus, one
who shuns the goods and glare
of this world, a
man on fire for God,
is John, John the Baptist.
John, the same age as Jesus,
had come into the world
to blaze the way
for the Messiah.
- [John] Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is near!
- [Narrator] Clad
in camel's hide,
and nurtured on
locusts and wild honey,
John immerses those who repent
as the priests of the Temple
are immersed that they may
be clean in the eyes of God.
John knows that he
is the forerunner
of the promised Messiah,
so when Jesus comes to him,
there is immediate recognition.
- [John] I need to
be baptized by you.
And do you come to me?
- [Jesus] Let it be so, now.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] The heavens open,
and the Holy Spirit
descends upon Jesus
in the form of a dove.
- [God] This is my
son, whom I love.
With him, I am well pleased.
- [Narrator] Jericho, a city
going back some 10,000 years.
Modern Jericho is a sleepy town
with a population
of about 7,000.
From the wilderness,
skirting Jericho,
rises the Mount of Temptation.
After his baptism by John,
it is here that Jesus comes.
The heavens had
opened, had spoken.
Now, Jesus seeks solitude.
He retreats into this
wilderness of Judea
to be alone with his God,
to contemplate his ministry.
The sun is scorching.
Nights are raw, bitter.
He is beset by wild creatures.
Days become weeks.
Now he is no longer alone.
He is attacked spiritually.
Again and again, he is
assaulted by the adversary,
Ha-Satan in Hebrew,
Satan in whatever form.
(dramatic music)
Satan knows well the prophecy
that Jesus is setting in motion,
and he rallies all the
forces of Hell to halt it.
Without food for weeks,
Jesus is famished.
- [Satan] Hungry?
If you are the son of God,
tell these stones
to become bread.
- [Jesus] Man does not
live on bread alone.
- [Narrator] Satan
attacks again viciously,
striking at his God sentedness.
He takes Jesus up, up
into the holy city,
and has him stand dizzily on
the Temple's highest point
and urges him to jump.
- [Satan] Throw yourself down.
For it is written, He
will command his angels
concerning you, and they will
lift you up in their hands.
- [Jesus] It is also written,
do not put the Lord
your God to the test.
- [Narrator] Satan leads
Jesus up a high mountain
and points out all the
kingdoms of this world.
- [Satan] All this
I will give you,
if you will bow
down and worship me.
- [Jesus] Away from me, Satan.
For it is written,
worship the Lord your God,
and serve him only.
- [Narrator] Jesus will
not yield nor compromise.
After 40 days and 40 nights,
Jesus comes out
of the wilderness.
He takes the Jericho road
back to his home
province of Galilee.
There he will proclaim
the kingdom of God.
Again, he is in Nazareth,
the place where he grew up.
There he will begin his
ministry by preaching
in a place familiar
to him, the synagogue.
Jesus performs his duty.
He takes his turn to
read to the congregation,
with great authority,
from the prophet Isaiah.
- [Jesus] The spirit
of the Lord is on me.
Because He has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the captives,
recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor.
- [Narrator] He has
read Isaiah's words
to mean that the spirit
of the Lord is upon him,
that the Lord had anointed him.
His listeners are enraged.
They take him to a ledge
over a steep on this hill.
Here they crowd around him,
intending to hurl him
headlong over the edge.
But he passes through
their ranks and walks away.
Abounding in fish, this body
of water in the Jordan Valley
called Yam Kinneret in Hebrew,
and Lake Tiberius by the
Romans, is the Sea of Galilee.
(gentle music)
- [Jesus] Follow me.
- [Narrator] Forced
out of Nazareth,
Jesus comes upon two fishermen,
brothers, and bids them.
- [Jesus] Come, follow me.
Follow me and I will
make you fishers of men.
- [Narrator] Perhaps Andrew
and his brother, Simon Peter,
aren't fully aware of what
draws them so suddenly to Jesus.
Jesus doesn't seem
to be anyone special.
He isn't wealthy.
He was born of a
local Jewish couple.
They will soon learn.
Jesus goes to another boat,
where the sons of
Zebedee, James and John,
are mending their nets.
- [Jesus] Follow me.
- [Narrator] And they
follow, without question,
to trail after him
wherever he goes,
to live with him, for him.
This is discipleship.
And thus, Jesus
gathers his disciples.
(uplifting music)
In a place called Cana,
this church stands where
a wedding took place,
a wedding attended by Jesus,
his mother, and his disciples.
It's a joyous affair,
family, feasting, wine.
(people cheering)
Until the wine runs out,
causing much embarrassment
for the host.
Here, Jesus performs
a miracle, his first.
(water pattering)
(people chattering)
Tradition says that
in this vessel,
Jesus changed that
water into wine.
When Jesus leaves the feast,
only a few realize that
a miracle has been done.
For Jesus, time had
not yet arrived.
Then he came here, to
this place, Capernaum.
(gentle music)
The town of Capernaum is
a special place for Jesus,
a place where he
preaches repentance,
and a place he curses
when this city,
which he feels is his
city, fails to heed him.
These ruins date from the
5th century after Christ.
But beneath them is a house
from the time of Jesus.
Some believe that it is
the house of Simon Peter
where Jesus often stayed,
where he took meals,
rested, prayed.
Once, in that house,
Peter's mother-in-law
lay wracked with fever.
Jesus takes her by the
hand and lifts her up,
and the fever leaves her.
Now Jesus has shown
that he is a healer.
No disease festers in human
history as does leprosy.
Unclean, that is how the
leper thinks of himself,
feels about himself.
A leper approaches and
begs Jesus to heal him.
For years he has not felt
the touch of a human hand.
Jesus reaches out and
touches his flesh.
- [Jesus] Be cleansed.
- [Narrator] The leper is cured,
and Jesus tells him to say
nothing of this to anyone.
But his fame grows as he
travels from place to place,
reaching out to everyone,
working people, street people,
outcasts, preaching,
forgiving sins,
and gathering more apostles
until their numbers is 12,
like the 12 tribes of Israel.
In any case, the lame and
the sick trail after him,
clamoring to be cured.
(gentle music)
At his Capernaum headquarters,
he chooses 12 of his
disciples as apostles.
Simon, whom he calls Peter,
and his brother, Andrew.
The Zebedee brothers,
James and John,
whom he calls the
sons of thunder.
Philip and his
friend Bartholomew.
Matthew, who had
been a tax collector.
Thomas, who happen to be a twin.
Another James, and
a Judas Thaddeus.
Simon, a revolutionary,
and Judas Iscariot,
who kept track of the money
donations they received.
He teaches with divine authority
and with deeply felt humanity.
- [Jesus] Blessed are
the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
- [Narrator] A church
now stands atop the mount
where he proclaimed
a new covenant
written not upon stone tablets,
but upon the human heart.
- [Jesus] Blessed are the meek,
for they shall
inherit the Earth.
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be
called sons of God.
- [Narrator] In the same
Sermon on the Mount,
he taught that in
prayer we can address
the creator of
this vast universe,
the source of life from the atom
to the farthest galaxy as Abba,
which is as warm and
familiar as our word, Papa.
Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will done
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we
also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the
kingdom, and the power,
and the glory forever, amen.
It is not out of the law
that Jesus makes his claims.
Jesus is his own authority,
and this makes him enemies.
By breaking with
their traditions,
later incorporated
into the Talmud,
now his enemies are
surveying the ground
upon which to accuse him.
(people chattering)
They soon find it.
The ruins of a pool
called Bethesda.
(dramatic music)
Invalids, the lame, and
the blind swarm here
and make their way to the pool
whose waters they hope
desperately will cure them.
This man has been an
invalid for 38 years.
After so long, he
has given up all hope
of ever getting well.
He is startled when Jesus asks.
- [Jesus] Do you
want to get well?
- [Narrator] Rather
than answering,
the man blames his hardship
on the neglect of others
and bemoans his state
of helplessness.
Jesus' reply is brief
and to the point.
- [Jesus] Pick up
your mat and walk.
- [Man] Yah, it is the Sabbath!
- [Narrator] There's no
rejoicing among the Pharisees
witnessing this, a man carrying
his mat on the Sabbath.
They're angry.
They cannot fathom that God
hath given the Sabbath simply
as a day for men and women
to rest from their labors.
Their own legalism
has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts to
what they've just witnessed.
In contrast, Jesus loves
the man he's healed,
a man who tells others of
the miraculous happening.
Jesus had given him not only
the gift of physical wellness,
but of spiritual
wholeness as well.
The outraged want to stone him.
- [Man] He called
God his father.
- [Man] He claims
he's equal with God.
- [Man] Sabbath violator.
- [Man] Destroyer of the law.
- [Jesus] My father
is always at his work.
And I too am working.
- [Narrator] Jesus had
not come to break the law,
but to fulfill it.
An outcast celebrity,
he seeks solitude
on the shores of
the Sea of Galilee.
And not far behind the
multitudes follow him,
the curious and the cripples,
the cynical and the sincere.
It is near the
Galilean town of Tabgha
that a multitude gathers
to hear Jesus preach.
In time, the crowd is famished.
The only food, two small fish
and five pieces of bread.
Miraculously, Jesus
makes this food
feed 5,000 hungry people.
Jesus tells the crowd that
Moses had also given them bread
and filled their bodily needs.
In their journey from Egypt,
that miraculous manna vanished
when they passed into
the land of Canaan.
On this day, 5,000 hungry men,
women, and children are fed.
All are amazed at
Jesus' endless bounty,
his endless blessing.
And when everyone has eaten,
there is enough left
over to fill 12 baskets.
(gentle music)
A church has been
erected near the place
where this miracle occurred.
- [Jesus] I am
the bread of life.
He who comes to me,
will never go hungry.
(wind whooshing)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] They
had arrived by boat,
and they were returning by
boat, Jesus and his disciples.
A storm rages, yet
Jesus remains asleep
under a platform in the stern.
His disciples are struggling
to keep the pitching boat still.
- [Disciple] Teacher,
don't you care if we drown?
- [Narrator] Jesus awakens
and calms the storm.
- [Jesus] Why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
- [Narrator] This
is another time
Jesus has shown the disciples
his miraculous
power over nature.
More and more,
they are realizing
what an extraordinary
man their teacher is.
(gentle music)
His claims are becoming
more and more startling
to those who hear him
and more incriminating
for his enemies.
- [Man] Are you greater
than our father Abraham?
- [Jesus] Abraham saw
my day and rejoiced.
I tell you the truth.
Before Abraham was born, I am.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] He continues
working miracles,
sometimes to inspire faith,
sometimes to emphasize
his teaching that the kingdom
of God is coming through him,
and often out of simple
pity for those suffering.
These are the remains
of the Pool of Siloam.
Here, Jesus encounters
a man born blind.
With his saliva and some
mud, Jesus makes a paste
and applies it to the
man's sightless eyes.
Then Jesus tells him to
wash in the Pool of Siloam.
(water splashing)
Without questioning,
the man obeys.
And for the first time
in his life, he sees.
He sees light.
- [Jesus] While I
am in the world,
I am the light of the world.
- [Narrator] Seeing Jesus,
the man worships him.
(dramatic music)
Again, he demonstrates
his command over nature.
His disciples are by themselves
on the Sea of Galilee,
rowing hard against a storm.
Then they see a figure
moving over the water.
A ghost walking on the
sea, they're terrified.
- [Jesus] It is I,
don't be afraid.
- [Narrator] He
climbs into the boat.
The sea is calm again.
(birds squawking)
Again, he fills his
apostles with sudden awe.
In some ways, he is
still a stranger to them.
Who is he really?
(dramatic music)
His enemies are hissing
the same question.
He threatens their pale power,
so he must be done away with.
They revile him for
associating with sinners
and forgiving them their sins.
But the people, widows,
orphans, publicans,
the dispossessed, the
diseased, physically, mentally,
or spiritually, some
hungry for attention,
some thirsting for truth,
the people love him.
From them, Jesus asks faith.
From him, they want miracles.
(dramatic music)
He does more than calm the
tempest and cure the sick.
He meets face-to-face the
demons ensnaring men's minds.
- [Demon] What do you
want with me, Jesus?
Son of the most high God.
- [Jesus] What is your name?
- [Demon] My name is
Legion, for we are many.
- [Jesus] Go.
- [Narrator] The demons are
driven into a herd of pigs
who plunge headlong down
the steep into a lake,
where they drown.
What is most awesome is his
power over life and death.
Yesterday, Jairus' daughter
had been singing and laughing.
Today, she is dead.
- [Jesus] Little girl,
I say to you, get up.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] He had
reached into death
and drew her back into life.
Radically, for a
Jew of his time,
Jesus reaches beyond
the Jewish people
to a Roman centurion,
an officer,
a commander of other men.
Through Jewish elders,
this Roman implores Jesus
to restore the health
of his dying servant.
This proud Roman says.
- [Centurion] Lord,
I do not deserve
to have you come under my
roof, but say the word,
and my servant will be healed.
- [Narrator] Without entering
the centurion's house,
Jesus makes the
servant well again.
Of the Roman, he says.
- [Jesus] I tell you,
I have not found such great
faith, even in Israel.
- [Narrator] The time comes
when he reveals himself
fully to those closest
to him, to Simon Peter,
who has confessed he believes
Jesus to be the son of God.
(gentle music)
Tradition says this is
Mount Tabor in Galilee.
The event that took
place, many believe,
on these heights is commemorated
by the Church of
the Transfiguration
and by this statue of Elijah.
Up these slopes, Jesus
leads Peter, and James,
and John to a place
where they might pray.
They do not know
what awaits them.
Simon Peter falls asleep.
So do James and John.
Jesus is transfigured.
- [Woman] His face changes.
And his clothes become as
bright as a flash of lightening.
- [Narrator] Jesus is not alone.
Moses and the prophet Elijah
appear in glorious splendor,
and Jesus talks with them.
Then a cloud envelops
them, and a voice is heard.
- [God] This is my
son whom I love.
With him, I am well pleased.
Listen to him.
- [Narrator] Now Jesus is alone.
Everything is as it had been.
He goes back into the
gritty, everyday world.
When teaching in the temple,
Jesus is frequently beset
by hostile Pharisees
bent on trapping him.
Once in his presence, these
enemies thrust a woman
into a circle of men
who mean to stone her.
(woman moaning)
She had been caught in
adultery, in the very act.
The law of Moses
commands her stoning.
Wanting to trap
him, they ask Jesus.
- [Pharisee] What do you say?
- [Narrator] At first,
Jesus is silent.
If he replies, release her,
he is condoning the
breaking of Mosaic law.
If he says, stone her,
he is without compassion.
At last, he speaks.
- [Jesus] If any one
of you is without sin,
let him to be the first
to throw a stone at her.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] When
Jesus asks the woman
if anyone has condemned
her she answers.
- [Woman] No one, sir.
- [Jesus] Then neither
do I condemn you.
Go now, and leave
your life of sin.
- [Narrator] For three years,
Jesus had brought
God to mankind.
Now the time has come when
he must bring mankind to God.
The sacrifice, for which
he came into the world,
must be fulfilled.
Jesus is the perfect
sacrifice, the lamb of God,
committed to doing his
father's will even unto death.
(dramatic music)
For the last time, he
sets out for Jerusalem,
the city of God.
A sacred tapestry woven
of the threads of history
from the lengths of antiquity
to the knotty strands
of its unpredictable future,
this is the Holy City
set among golden hills.
Throughout time, it has been
under siege again and again,
conquered again and again.
It's name means city of peace.
It is the city where Kind David,
1,000 years before
Christ was born,
built an altar to the
Ark of the Covenant.
It is said that the world
has 10 measures of beauty
of which nine
belong to Jerusalem.
It is the city of eight gates,
and no other city on Earth
so stirs the blood and
fires the imagination.
In traveling from
Galilee to the Holy City,
he passes through Samaria.
(gentle music)
Samaria.
Today Samaritans are remembered
because of Jesus' parable.
Good Samaritan has become
part of our everyday speech,
but in Jesus' time,
Samaritan was tantamount
to despised outcast.
On the outskirts of Nablus,
Samaria's largest city,
is the place where the patriarch
Jacob, Abraham's grandson,
pitched his tents.
This church is built over
Jacob's ancient well.
It is at Jacob's
Well that Jesus,
thirsty and tired on his
journey to Jerusalem,
stops to rest.
- [Woman] It's noon.
People are staying
in their houses
to avoid the midday heat.
A Samaritan woman, a
woman with a history
of casual
relationships with men,
comes to Jacob's
Well to draw water.
She lowers her eyes
when she sees Jesus.
Jesus asks.
- [Jesus] Will you
give me a drink?
- [Woman] She's surprised and
a bit suspicious, perhaps.
Surprised that a Jew would ask
a despised Samaritan
for water, for anything.
Usually they wouldn't
even speak to them.
- [Jesus] If you
knew the gift of God
and who it is that
asks you for a drink,
you would have asked him,
and he would have
given you living water.
- [Woman] She takes
Jesus to be a prophet.
There are many things
she doesn't understand,
but then when the Messiah comes,
he will explain
everything to us.
- [Narrator] And Jesus says.
- [Jesus] I who
speak to you, am he.
- [Narrator] But
can this woman grasp
what awaits the
Messiah in Jerusalem?
(dramatic music)
In the company of his disciples,
and with the dire
prediction of his death,
he turns his face towards
Jerusalem for the last time.
(dramatic music)
The first leg of the journey
takes them through Jericho,
believed to be the
oldest city in the world.
Being the oldest
city in the world,
today's Jericho
continues to be the site
of archeological exploration.
It's an oasis in the barren
valley of the lower Jordan.
Here in Jericho, people have
heard much of Jesus the healer.
A crowd surges after him.
- [Woman] Jesus of
Nazareth is here!
- [Man] Jesus, son of
David, have mercy on me.
- [Woman] Be quiet!
- [Man] Son of David,
have mercy on me!
- [Narrator] It is a blind
beggar reaching out to Jesus.
Because of his faith,
Jesus restores his sight.
On this last journey
to Jerusalem,
Jesus stops at Bethany, on
the outskirts of the city.
This church stands on the
site of the house of Lazarus
and his sisters,
Martha and Mary.
Lazarus had been ill.
By the time Jesus
got to Bethany,
he had been dead for four days.
As is the custom,
Lazarus' body is washed
then embalmed with
ointments and perfumes.
Lazarus' sisters,
Martha and Mary,
had torn their garments and
covered all their mirrors.
They are in seven
days of mourning.
It is Martha who greets Jesus.
- [Martha] If you had been here,
my brother wouldn't have died.
- [Jesus] Your brother
will rise again.
- [Martha] I know
he will rise again
in the Resurrection
at the last day.
- [Jesus] I am the
resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will
live even though he dies.
And whoever lives and
believes in me will never die.
- [Man] Take away the stone.
(stone rumbling)
- [Narrator] These steps
lead to the actual tomb
where Lazarus lay dead.
- [Jesus] Lazarus, come out.
- [Narrator] The dead man rises.
He is bound with grave clothes.
But he is alive.
In raising Lazarus,
Jesus offers proof
of his words to Martha,
I am the Resurrection.
(dramatic music)
The raising of Lazarus sets
off a wildfire of talk.
Jesus is winning more
and more followers
among the prominent,
among the leaders.
The chief priests
and the high priest,
Caiaphas, convene a council.
What are they to do?
If they let Jesus be, the
whole nation will follow him.
Rome will get into it.
Rome will punish the whole
nation because of this Jesus.
It is better that one
man die for the people
than that the whole
nation perish.
Jesus is a wanted man.
His name may be posted in
public places, condemned.
He's no longer free to
wander among the Jews.
The temple guards have orders
to arrest him on sight,
so he and his disciples go into
hiding, into the wilderness.
It is the 10th day of the
Hebrew month of Nissan,
when the lambs for
sacrifice are set aside.
(lambs baaing)
Jesus bravely sets
out for Jerusalem,
and his disciples
risk following there
for the Passover is at hand.
Despite being a
religious outcast,
his coming draws huge crowds.
Looking down from
the Mount of Olives,
you can see the route he takes
as he rides into the city.
- [Woman] Hosannah!
- [Man] Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord!
- [Narrator] His reception,
as he enters through its
golden gate is stupendous.
(crowd cheering)
- [Man] Blessed is
thee who cometh.
- [Narrator] The hopeful,
the cheerers, the grateful,
and the gawkers
are waving palms.
They even hail him as a king.
A king!
- [Man] Blessed is
thee who cometh.
- [Narrator] Politically
this is a dangerous reception
in a land ruled by Romans.
Were it not for the adoring
crowds surrounding him,
he would have been
arrested then and there.
(gentle music)
(dramatic music)
This lovely tear-shaped church
is called Dominus Flevit,
which means the Lord wept,
for it commemorates
what Jesus feels
as he pauses to gaze
at Jerusalem from
the Mount of Olives.
He sees the entire city before
him, the palaces and towers,
the valleys and hills.
He loves this city.
But seeing it now, he weeps.
Terrible suffering
lay ahead of him,
and he knows this for
it had been foretold
by the prophet Isaiah
700 years before.
- [Woman] The Lord has laid
on him the iniquity if us all.
- [Narrator] Jesus does not
weep for what lay ahead for him.
He weeps for Jerusalem
because he foresees a time
when this city will be destroyed
and left with not one
stone standing on another.
(people screaming)
(trumpet blaring)
- [Narrator] It is the
Monday of Passover week.
Jews from everywhere keep
pouring into the city,
heady with a kind of
spiritual excitement.
Already pillars of
smoke are rising
from the altars at the temple.
This day, risking arrest, Jesus
goes to the temple to teach.
(uplifting music)
Little more remains
of the temple
that Jesus knew other
than this masonry,
this western wall of
massive stone blocks,
rising to a height of 55 feet.
Jerusalem's temples had
always crowned Mount Moriah.
And it is this temple
that Jesus compares
with his own body when he says.
- [Jesus] Destroy this temple,
and I will raise it
again in three days.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Though the guards
are on the watch for him,
on Monday morning,
Jesus goes openly
to the temple which he
regards as his father's house.
He teaches in the
court of gentiles,
but he's appalled by the way
it's been commercialized.
It's a market.
(people chattering)
Foreign coins being
exchanged for temple currency
with which to buy lambs
and doves for sacrifice.
He is here to call people
to their prophetic faith,
but here, piety is being
turned into profit.
- [Jesus] My house will be
called a house of prayer
for all nations, but you have
made it a den of robbers.
(dramatic music)
(wood crashing)
- [Narrator] He drives out
the money changers, bodily.
Before astonished pilgrims,
he overturns cash tables
fearlessly and with
great authority.
His father has been
insulted, and he is furious.
(people chattering)
- [Man] For the sake
of our children.
(dramatic music)
And he has the
audacity to remain,
to heal the blind
and the maimed.
While the temple guards are
held back like dogs on a leash,
the authorities are afraid
to have him arrested,
afraid of riots.
To the masses of people
crowding into Jerusalem,
Jesus is a hero.
Common people hang on
every word he utters,
so the authorities
bide their time.
That night, Jesus
returns to Bethany.
(dramatic music)
Under cover of darkness,
one of the 12 secretly contacts
the temple guard captain,
who takes him to the priests.
He offers to alert them
at the first opportunity
when Jesus is alone
and vulnerable,
so that he can be
arrested without rioting
from the masses.
A purse is given,
30 pieces of silver.
Thursday of the Passover,
Jesus sends two into the city.
There, he says, they are to look
for a man carrying a water pot,
an unusual sign
because in Jesus' day,
men never carried water pots.
Women did this work.
Follow him.
Enter the house
that he goes into.
Find the owner of the house
and tell him, my master says.
- [Jesus] My appointed
time is near.
I am going to
celebrate the Passover
with my disciples at your house.
- [Narrator] This is
how the arrangements
are made for the supper.
(gentle music)
Many believe that
this is the site
of the Cenacle of
the Last Supper.
This rambling,
old building holds
what is believed to be
King David's tomb as well.
This is the upper
room, the Cenacle,
where the supper begins.
- [Jesus] I have eagerly desired
to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Here,
Jesus and his chosen 12
partake of lamb roasted on
a spit of pomegranate wood,
(men chattering)
of roasted eggs, bitter
herbs, unleavened bread.
To the 12, Jesus is their
teacher, their rabbi.
As his learners, which is
what the word disciple means,
they attend to their
teacher's every need.
But something they are
never expected to do
is to wash their teacher's feet.
Yet while they
daydream of high places
in the coming kingdom,
Jesus assumes the place
of a lowly servant.
He washes their feet.
- [Jesus] Blessed art
thou, oh Lord, our God,
King of the universe.
(inspirational music)
- [Narrator] During this supper,
Jesus takes bread and breaks it.
- [Jesus] Take and eat.
This is my body.
- [Narrator] Then he
blesses a cup of wine.
- [Jesus] Drink
from it, all of you.
This is my blood
of the covenant.
- [Narrator] He shocks
them when he foretells
that one of their
number will betray him.
(men chattering)
- [Narrator] Judas
quietly slips away.
With the 11 who remain, Jesus
shares his deepest thoughts.
He will suffer, but be exalted.
His greatest humiliation will
be the hour of his glory.
Now he foretells
that Simon Peter
will deny him before
the cock crows.
(men chattering)
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] This is Gethsemane,
then as now a lovely garden.
Here stand olive trees
so gnarled with age
that they may have been saplings
when Jesus came here to pray.
Here his chosen felt
drowsy, while he felt agony.
Overlooking Gethsemane today
is the Church of All Nations.
The facade is graced with
Byzantine-style mosaics.
Its 12 domes stand
for the 12 nations
that contributed to
its construction.
It holds what is
believed to be the rock
at which Jesus prayed in
his agony in the garden.
(crickets chirring)
(fire crackling)
That Thursday night,
after the Passover meal,
Jesus comes here with the 11.
They are sleepy, and he
implores them to stay awake,
to keep watch with him,
but they keep dosing off.
(dramatic music)
Here in this lovely grove,
Jesus is stung by the
dread of what is to come,
by an inner agony.
Wandering further
into the garden,
his heart is near to
bursting with grief.
- [Jesus] Abba, Father,
take this cup from me.
Yet not what I will,
but what you will.
- [Narrator] His work
is coming to an end,
and he is giving all that
the Father asks of him.
Out of the darkness,
Judas Iscariot appears.
Judas kisses him,
identifying him.
- [Judas] Master.
- [Narrator] And a band
of temple guards grab him.
(men yelling)
- [Jesus] Every
day I was with you,
teaching in the temple courts,
and you did not arrest me.
But the scriptures
must be fulfilled.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] They lead
him away, a prisoner.
(men chattering)
Peter follows his
master at a distance
as the guards march Jesus to
the house of the high priest.
(gentle music)
(women vocalizing)
This is St. Peter's
Church in Jerusalem.
It's a reminder that
just a few hours
before the arrest was
made in Gethsemane,
Jesus had warned.
- [Jesus] It is written.
I will strike the shepherd, and
the sheep will be scattered.
- [Narrator] Peter
had protested.
- [Peter] Even if I
have to die with you,
I will never disown you.
- [Jesus] Simon Peter,
this very night,
before the rooster crows, you
will disown me three times.
(dramatic music)
(fire crackling)
- [Narrator] He waits
in the courtyard,
huddling around a warming
fire with some servants,
while Jesus' words haunt him.
- [Jesus] Before
the rooster crows,
you will disown me three times.
- [Narrator] A servant
woman stares at him
through the firelight.
- [Servant Woman] You!
You also were with
that Nazarene, Jesus.
- [Peter] I don't
know or understand
what you're talking about.
- [Servant Woman] This
fellow was one of them.
- [Peter] I am not.
- [Woman] Surely
you're one of them.
You're a Galilean.
- [Peter] I don't know this
man you're talking about.
(rooster crows)
- [Narrator] Peter
breaks down and weeps.
(dramatic music)
The rooster's crow
sounds the beginning
of one of the strangest trials
in the history of humankind.
They want him dead,
the chief priests,
the high priest himself.
Caiaphas, the high
priest, has hurriedly
summoned these priests
from their homes and beds
to condemn this outlaw.
Caiaphas asks bluntly.
- [Caiaphas] Are you the Christ?
The son of the blessed one?
- [Narrator] And Jesus answers.
- [Jesus] I am.
- [Narrator] Blasphemy,
cries the high priest.
You all heard him say it.
What do you think?
And they condemn him
as worthy of death.
The clamor for Jesus'
death increases, and Judas,
repenting his betrayal,
hangs himself.
It is early Friday morning.
The emergency council of priests
has pronounced a death sentence
it has no power to carry out.
This power is firmly invested
in the Roman procurator,
so the condemned is hurried to
the house of Pontius Pilate.
Their ploy is to paint
Jesus as a threat to Rome.
- [Man] He urges our people not
to pay their taxes to Rome.
He claims to be our
Messiah, a king!
- [Pilate] Are you
king of the Jews?
- [Jesus] Yes.
It is as you say.
- [Pilate] I find no basis
for a charge against this man.
- [Narrator] Pilate
is reluctant.
He doesn't want to meddle in
the Jews' religious squabbles.
When Pilate learns that
Jesus is a Galilean,
he squirms out of the
situation, he thinks.
He refers the case to
Rome's man in Galilee,
the tetrarch, Herod Antipas,
who is in Jerusalem
for Passover.
Jesus?
The tetrarch is
eager to get a look.
He's heard all sorts of
stories about this Jesus.
He had hoped to see him
perform some miracle.
But Jesus remains silent, and
this infuriates Herod Antipas.
He mocks this
self-proclaimed king.
He drapes him in a royal robe
and has him shunted
back to Pilate.
Pilate's wife is convinced
that this Jesus is innocent.
She's been told so in a dream.
And the governor himself
informs the chief priests
that after examination, he
finds the prisoner guiltless
of any crime against
the Roman government.
(dramatic music)
The Fortress of Antonia.
This is the way it looked
during the time of Jesus.
A Hasmonean fort rebuilt
by Herod the Great.
Today, the Church of
the Sisters of Zion
aroofs the fort's pavement
on which Pontius
Pilate judged Jesus.
Here incised in a paving
stone is a game of kings,
a gambling pastime popular
with the Roman troops.
Now, at the insistence
of the priests,
Jesus is being led to
Pilate's judgment seat
for a second time.
It is a custom here for
the Roman procurator
to free a condemned criminal
in honor of the Passover.
It's a mindless mob he faces,
orchestrated to shout
what they've been told.
(crowd shouting)
- [Crowd] Release our Christ.
Release our Christ.
Release our Christ.
- [Pilate] Shall I
crucify your king?
- [Man] We have no
king but Caesar.
- [Man] We have no
king but Caesar.
- [Narrator] The
mob keeps hammering,
free Barabbas and crucify Jesus.
To avoid a riot and a possible
bad report to the emperor,
Pilate orders the execution
and tries to wash his
hands of the whole affair.
Jesus is turned over to the
rough Roman guards for flogging.
(whip cracking)
Before these
roughnecks are through,
they're having sport
with this joke of a king,
forcing a hastily made crown
of thorns onto his head.
(ominous music)
He is made to drag the
instrument of his execution,
a heavy cross,
through these streets.
Each crushing fall
to the paving stones,
each agony is forged
into our memory.
At Eastertime, Christians
from all over the Earth
are drawn to these
dark, narrow lanes
to bear their own
crosses over the cobble,
worn smooth by
centuries of pilgrims,
to walk where he
walked to the last,
in the knowledge that
it is they, humankind,
who are responsible
for his death.
Now the 700-year-old
prophecy of Isaiah.
- [Woman] He was
oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a
lamb to the slaughter.
- [Narrator] Many
believe that this is
the place of execution,
this hill, Calvary,
in Hebrew, Golgotha,
the place of the skull.
(dramatic music)
Roman law orders crucifixion
for non-Romans and slaves,
and then, only for the
most terrible of crimes.
It is the most agonizing form
of execution known to Romans.
A signboard is
fixed on the cross
announcing in Latin,
and Greek, and Aramaic,
Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews.
- [Jesus] Father, forgive them,
for they know not
what they are doing.
- [Narrator] Mary
Magdalene and other women
are standing near the cross.
(dramatic music)
Men in the military
are given to gambling,
and these Romans, no exception,
are now throwing dice
for Jesus' clothes
(laughing)
while others stand
around joking.
- [Man] Come down
from that cross
if you are the son of God.
- [Narrator] That morning,
two criminals, thieves,
are crucified as well, one
on either side of Jesus.
One of them scoffs.
- [Thief] Aren't you the Christ?
Save yourself and us.
- [Narrator] The other confesses
that the two of them
deserve this death
but that Jesus is innocent.
- [Thief] Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.
- [Jesus] Today, you will
be with me in paradise.
- [Narrator] Though
it is only noon,
the sky begins to darken as
though night were falling.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Narrator] My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
The mockers and gawkers
think he has called
on the prophet Elijah.
(dramatic music)
- [Jesus] I'm thirsty.
- [Narrator] When
Jesus calls for water,
they tried to force
on him sour wine.
(thunder rumbling)
(lightning cracking)
- [Narrator] At about
three that afternoon,
Jesus bows his head
and breathes his last.
- [Jesus] Father, into your
hands I commit my spirit.
- [Narrator] A storm rages.
(thunder rumbling)
The earth shakes.
And the curtain shielding
the Holy of Holies
of the temple is torn in two.
A Roman soldier pierces
the corpse with a spear.
Blood gushes out and water.
The Roman officer in
charge of the execution,
a centurion, comments.
- [Centurion] Surely this
man was the son of God.
- [Narrator] 700 years before
this event, it was prophesied.
- [Woman] He was crushed
for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought
us peace, was upon him.
And by his wounds are we healed.
- [Narrator] There is in the
Kindron Valley of Jerusalem,
a communal grave for paupers.
Jesus owned nothing.
It seems possible
that his corpse might
have been flung into
a pauper's grave,
but the prophets foresaw
that it would be otherwise.
A rich man from Arimathea named
Joseph, a secret disciple,
summons all his courage
and goes to Pilate
and pleads for
custody of the body.
Pilate gives in.
Again, Isaiah's 700-year-old
prophecy is being fulfilled.
- [Woman] He was
assigned a grave
with the wicked and with
the rich in his death.
- [Narrator] The tomb that
Joseph of Arimathea offers
is newly hewn out of rock.
(dramatic music)
As with Lazarus, Jesus must be
entombed shortly after death.
Today, particularly,
there's no time to tarry.
It's Friday.
Sundown marks the
beginning of the Sabbath.
Joseph and the other
followers carry the corpse
to Joseph's family tomb.
This church was built in the
12th century by Crusaders.
The first church to stand here
had been built by the
Emperor Constantine
in the 4th century.
It is the final station
of the Way of the Cross,
the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre.
Millions are certain
that it holds the tomb
where Jesus was laid.
During Jesus' lifetime, this
was indeed an area of tombs,
and the belief that this
is the authentic tomb
goes back as far
as the 1st century.
A later discovery
is this sepulchre,
now known as the garden tomb,
near a scull-shaped rock.
Many believe that it is here
that Jesus was entombed.
What we know for certain
is that the place was in a
garden and near Golgotha.
A great stone is rolled
across the entrance,
and the tomb is sealed at
the demand of the priests.
(gentle music)
But they are taking no chances.
Guards are posted.
The first night of the first
day, the night of the Sabbath,
is markedly uneventful.
The second day is
increasingly tedious and hot.
But the night is chilly.
Then, the dawn of the third day.
As the new day dawns, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary
are on their way to the tomb.
They're fretting.
How can they roll aside the
huge stone at the entrance,
so that they can embalm the body
with the ointments
they've brought?
Something is wrong.
The stone has been rolled away.
The Roman seal is broken.
The tomb is empty.
- [Woman] Do not be afraid
for I know you are
looking for Jesus.
He is not here.
He has risen.
(footsteps thudding)
- [Narrator] The women flee,
frightened but
bursting with joy.
Suddenly, Jesus is
there in front of them.
Jesus shows himself first
to the women, the Magdalene.
They had been steadfast
throughout his ordeal,
while his disciples hid
themselves and despaired.
Though the temple priests claim
that the body has been stolen,
news spreads of
the Resurrection.
(people cheering)
(gentle music)
Galilee.
A church stands over the place
where Jesus meets with
these closest disciples,
apostles for the last time.
Here the 11 await him.
They wait.
At last Peter says.
- [Peter] I'm going out to fish.
- [Narrator] By dawn,
they are on the water,
fishing from a boat.
Day breaks.
They find themselves squinting
at someone on the beach.
- [Jesus] Haven't you any fish?
- [Man] No!
- [Jesus] Throw your
net on the right.
(water splashing)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] There
are so many fish
that they can hardly
draw in the net.
John straining his
eyes trying to make out
who the stranger is.
Suddenly he shouts.
- [John] It is the Lord!
- [Narrator] Peter
plunges into the water
and swims for shore.
The others stay in the boat,
pulling the net to land.
Over a small fire, they
share a breakfast of bread
and the freshly caught
fish with Jesus.
Now his ministry rests on them.
Jesus entrusts
them with his work.
- [Jesus] As the Father has
sent me, I am sending you.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] Many believe
that it is from here,
the ground that this
church is built on,
that Jesus was
taken up into heaven
with a promise to
return to this land,
where he walked some
2,000 years ago.
- [Woman] And the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us.
- [Narrator] Of all the Earth
God chose this plot of land,
this spiritual bridge
joining the worlds of Asia,
of Africa, of Europe.
This is the land God promised,
and God chose these people,
and spoke through
their prophets.
When Jesus walked this land,
he never went beyond
100 miles from Nazareth.
Yet for 2,000 years, he has
walked with men and women
from the farthest
corners of the Earth.
- [Jesus] I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.
(gentle music)
(uplifting music)
♪ In the temple the
curtain's torn ♪
♪ And from the tombs
the saints were reborn ♪
♪ The city shook and the
rocks began to break ♪
♪ The soldiers stood
beside your grave ♪
♪ An angel came and
rolled the stone away ♪
♪ Behold the lamb
behold the risen king ♪
♪ Oh look what love has done
♪ Oh the innocent
cries the son ♪
♪ If it was all up to me
♪ Would I bear the
cross or tear it down ♪
♪ If it was all up to me
♪ Would I see it through
♪ If it was all up to me
♪ Would I take the thorns
and wear the crown ♪
♪ Would I die for you
♪ Ooh
♪ Would I die