A.D. The Bible Continues (2015): Season 1, Episode 2 - The Body Is Gone - full transcript

He deserves to die!

This man walks
with this "Son of God"!

I do not!
I don't know him!

Aah!

I would like to offer my own tomb
as your son's final place of rest.

He was killed
for the repeated blasphemy

of claiming to be the Messiah.

And if he was?

Once the Romans realize
your message remains a threat,

they will root you out.

The Nazarene was only
ever flesh and blood.



I want you to post temple guards
at Arimathea's tomb.

It must remain sealed.

On the third day,
he promises to rise from death.

I will post a small guard
outside the tomb.

The Roman seal
has been broken.

The tomb is now open,
and the Nazarene... Is gone.

What do you mean, "gone"?

__

What is this?

The Nazarene's tomb
was raided overnight.

What of the Roman guard?

Fled.

Do you take me for a fool?

A massive stone
sealed that tomb.



One man alone

could never have moved it.

There must have been many.

So, how many did you see?

One, but it wasn't human.

Impossible!

They're clearly lying.

Nevertheless, we cannot allow
their account

to be the basis of
a dangerous rumor.

Then think quickly
to ensure that it can't.

If asked, you're only to repeat

that you fell asleep on duty.

And while you slept,

the Nazarene's men
tore open the tomb

and stole his corpse.

Count yourselves lucky
your dereliction of duty

doesn't compel my husband to
strip you of the priesthood.

I never want to see you again.

The Nazarene's followers

are attempting to fake
his resurrection.

Why won't this business end?

Why couldn't this Jesus

just stay dead?

You need to keep a cool head,
now more than ever.

You are celebrated for your
shrewd intelligence, Caiaphas.

Draw on every last drop

before Pilate discovers
what has happened

and uses it against us all.

Find the Nazarene's body

before the Galileans begin to
publicize their hoax.

We shall hang his corpse
outside the city wall.

What a relief,

to be finally leaving
this damned hole.

I've earned my time

away from this place
like never before.

I'll be packed by midday.

Please, no longer.

I can't wait for
the Mediterranean winds

to blow away the last
traces of your nightmares

and apparitions.

My dream was clear.

The man you crucified
was favored by the gods.

We shall all suffer
for his execution.

We really need to get you back
to civilization.

It's empty.

What?

The tomb.

Good morning, Governor.

It was.

I trust the tremor in the night
didn't disturb your sleep?

Not for a moment.

Now...

What brings you here, gentlemen?

I wanted to come in person

to thank you for your guidance
with the Nazarene

these past weeks.

Your gratitude is unnecessary.

Governance is my job.

It is the third day, is it not?

It is.

And he remains dead?

He does.

As I and every law of nature
predicted.

Indeed.

Wherever I am posted
in the empire,

whatever benefits
occupation brings,

there are always those

who seek to challenge
the authority of Rome,

and the outcome
is usually the same.

Your support is a great help.

When faced with the choice
of being either firm or fair,

I've learned that firm generally
pays the greater dividend.

Good day, gentlemen.

Safe passage.

He knows nothing.

We don't have long
before he does.

We need to find that body.

I'm working on it.
Well, work harder.

Oh!

Sir.

What is this?

A member of the guard from the
Nazarene's tomb to speak to you.

Why does he tremble?

- With fear.
- Of what?

Of what may follow when he
tells you what he told me.

That is my price.

Long time, no see.

Priest.

What do you want?

For the moment,
just your attention.

And then your help
to find a corpse.

Lord our God,
you are the hope of Israel,

and all who forsake you
shall be ashamed,

for they have forsaken
the one true God,

the fountain of living water.

Blessed are you, Lord our God.

Protect me from my enemies

and keep me strong
in the way ahead.

What have I done

but support you
in every way you asked?

I must protest at this gross
violation of my sacred...

What have I done
to deserve such disrespect?

If you insist on
holding a conversation,

at least allow me to dress.

Stay in the water

like the eel you are.

Governor,
I can see you're angry.

You led me to believe

the night passed peaceably
at the Nazarene's tomb,

which I know now
is far from the truth.

Governor...

Did you or did you not
lie to me this morning?!

I know how much you've been
looking forward

to traveling
to Caesarea with your wife,

and I believed I could resolve
the situation

without disrupting your plans.

And have you?

Action is under way.

Meanwhile, this Jesus cult

grows stronger by the hour.

Soon, it will draw

every crackpot and revolutionary
into Jerusalem

with the sole aim
of challenging us all.

The Galileans stole the body.
I'm sure of it.

And if we find them,
we'll find the corpse.

Send me the information
on their whereabouts

immediately...

And I will deal with this
matter once and for all.

I shall.

I don't understand.

How is this possible?

We laid him here.

Who would go to such lengths
to take his body?

Killing him wasn't enough...
They had to wipe out all trace.

But the shroud...
It's folded.

I don't know who could have...

Why break the Roman seal?
I don't know.

It is the third day.

Do you dare to believe?

What did you find?

Nothing...
We found nothing...

And everything.

Why are you crying?

Have you taken him?
Who?

If you've taken him, please,

tell me where...

And I will get him.

Mary...

Rabbi.

We found the rock rolled back,

the Roman seal broken!

If Pilate thinks we're
responsible... why would he?

Who else would take that kind of
risk to get his body back?

John believes Isaiah's prophecy
explains what's happened.

The prophet foretold that
the Messiah

would be led like a lamb
to slaughter,

pierced for our transgressions,
die beside the wicked,

and be laid to rest
with the rich!

- John!
- In the last three days,

I've seen all these things!

But do you believe
he has risen from the dead?

It's what he promised
would happen.

The emperor's seal is broken.

Do we stay or go?

Romans!

We need to leave.
Wait.

We need to calm down.

We cannot rule out that the tomb
was opened and emptied

by the authorities to flush us
out and round us up.

I saw him.

Who?

Jesus.

He spoke to me,

as clearly as
I'm speaking to you now.

Mary...

He's alive.

He stood before me

and spoke my name.

Can it be true?

What do you think, Peter?

I think I feel...

...pain at his absence.

Great guilt...

...because I wasn't
with him at the end.

And shame!

I so want to tell him I'm sorry.

Peace be with you.

Rabbi!

Can't you believe your

do you think you're
looking at a ghost?

What ghost carries
flesh and bones?

Any food? Yes. Yes.

This is what I told you
while I was with you.

Everything written about me
in the laws of Moses,

the prophets,

and the psalms
must be fulfilled.

It's Thomas!

Rabbi...

You won't believe the journey
I've made to get back.

I was convinced
I was being followed,

and then I became confused
and couldn't remember

which was the right street
or the right house.

It was only when I saw...

What?

Jesus.

I know.
No.

Thomas, he was here.

What?

Jesus was just here
in this room.

He broke bread with us.

Are you playing
a sick joke on me

because I'm the last
to get back?

No.

So, Jesus...

Was here with you all?

What kind of fool
do you take me for

that I would believe a story
like that without proof?

What kind of opinion
must you have of me

to believe I'd be
so easily duped?

Thomas, it's the truth.
Enough!

I haven't slept for two nights.

I've barely eaten.

It was all I could do
to come back at all.

Thomas, we...

Stop this now!

Go to the tomb
and see for yourself.

See with your own eyes.

Unless I see the nail marks
in his hands,

put my finger in them,

unless I put my hand in
the spear wound itself,

I will not believe.

You think he's dead
and this is finished?

What else?

The truth.

Mary...

Go to the tomb.

You do well to come to me.

No, no, no, no!
No! No, no!

You were told to guard the tomb!

Enough.

One thing I cannot abide
above all else...

Disloyalty.

Ugh! Let's do this quickly,

before the stench attracts
more questions than rats.

He has the wounds
from the crucifixion...

Hands, the feet, and the side,

Thorn marks on the forehead
and the welts from the lash

across his back, all fresh.

But this is not the Nazarene.

I told you to bring me
the Nazarene's body,

and you produce this...
Mutilated, murdered carcass!

People will take him
for the Nazarene

if you tell them it's him...

And if you hang it a good
distance from the ground,

the resemblance
will be striking.

And in the event that the
Nazarene's body is not found,

isn't this an alternative?

I cannot risk being accused of

orchestrating a fraud
to deceive our nation.

Unfortunately, the people are
not as stupid as you think.

Take it away.

I'm made filthy by this.

Temple guards are
resealing the tomb.

Why would they do that?

To pretend his body
remains inside,

kill any rumors that he's risen.

Now do you believe, Thomas?

We saw him.

Each one of us touched him,

sat with him, ate with him,
laughed with him.

But I did not.

How can each of us
be mistaken

in exactly the same way

at exactly the same time?

Thomas...

My Lord...

Now that you have seen
for yourself,

you believe?

Blessed are they
who have not seen me

and still believe.

Stand aside!

Find them.

Tear the place apart!

Runners!

Roof! Go!

Stairs! Go!

Get out of the way!

Romans!

I'll see you at the gate.
Go!

- Where will they go?!
- Why do you need to know?!

They've done nothing wrong!

You know, some men hesitate

before striking a female
under interrogation.

I'm not one of them.
Do not play games with me.

Where will they go?

Where is your son's body?

Not here.

Where is it?

If his own mother doesn't know,

why would I?

They had too much of a start.

Lock down the city.

This way.

Where am I?

Safe, for now.

Why are you helping us?

History will determine
whether your path or mine

will drive the Romans
from Judea.

In the meantime, an enemy of
theirs is a friend of ours.

I told my friends to make
their way to the city gate

so we can find a way out
to Galilee.

There are fewer soldiers there.

We can help.

Not by killing.

Unlike our occupiers, we only
take life as our last resort.

There are many who are unsettled

by how close you've been with
Pilate over the Nazarene.

They fear it's an alliance
you can't control!

The high priest must maintain

a delicate balance between
influencing the Governor

and joining forces with him
against our people!

If only our people were
as benign as we might wish.

Do they think
I consulted with Pilate

over the execution of
a fellow Jew likely?

Even now, I question whether it
was the right course of action.

But I made a decision.

And they will see you
standing by it

like a leader of conviction.

Strong resolve

is the bedrock of leadership,
father,

not the easy appeasement
of the public will.

don't go in there!
Sir, please!

First, you instigate the execution
of a harmless preacher,

then you desecrate my own tomb

to interfere with a corpse!

By what authority
do you behave like this!

No one's interfered
with the corpse, Joseph.

And if your tomb's
been desecrated,

it wasn't by anyone
associated with me.

You've extinguished
a small Jewish flame

by smothering it
with a Roman oil.

You may yet get burned
by this, Caiaphas.

Naive fool.

But an influential one.

Any attempt to breathe life
into Isaiah's prophecy

must be quashed

before it ignites public
imagination against us!

I am working on precisely that.

Well, may I suggest
you work on it harder?

Stand firm!
Hold the line!

Be ready.

We'll get you out.

Take one.

The time has come.

Open the gates!

Open the gates!

Open the gates! Open the gates!
Open the gates!

Open the gates!
Open the gates!

Hold the line!

Hold the line!

Go now.

Come on!

You've been
scouring the city for days.

How can a group of men
simply disappear?

They know Jerusalem
better than we do.

I may not be able to tell you
where they are, Governor,

but I do know they didn't
escape with the corpse.

They left it at their hideout?

I tore the place apart
with my own hands.

None had it when they ran,
and it wasn't left behind.

How I loathe this place,

its heat...

And its overheated people.

Every stone
a witness to a miracle,

every dead dog

a portent of
supernatural malice,

the slightest inconsistency
in the weather

a prelude to
the end of the world.

I can see the road
I should now be on to the coast,

Claudia by my side,

becoming more her usual self
with every mile from the city.

But we're still here,

that damned Nazarene
blocking our exit.

Well, we are Rome.

It's time
we shut this story down.

How long till we
bring in the nets?

Not yet.

Wouldn't any fish likely to have
swum into the nets

during the night
have done so by now?

They're more active at dawn.

Dawn's over.

Do I tell you
how to collect taxes?

No.

Then don't tell me about
collecting fish.

Do you not think... another word,
you're going over the side.

I'll help.
And me.

I don't understand it.

The seas used to be boiling with
fish this time of year.

We need to throw back
the few that we have caught.

Perhaps if you brought
the nets in when I said.

Please shut up!

How's your catch?

Poor!

Cast your nets
on the right-hand side.

Left or right,
it won't make any difference.

Cast them on
the right-hand side.

Ho!

Peter!

It's him.

Peter!

Peter...

When you told me
I would deny you three times,

I thought it impossible.

I thought you
don't know me at all.

But you knew me better
than I know myself.

Peter...

Do you love me?

You know I love you.

Feed my lambs.

Do you truly love me?

You know I do.

Feed my sheep.

Peter,

do you love me?

I love you.

Then follow me.

Pilate's tantrum has vexed you,
and I am invisible.

What is it?

Pilate I can handle.

Your father, however.
Ah!

He forgets that I'm high priest.

I think perhaps his daughter

forgets sometimes, too.

Oh, you must forgive him.

He loves you like a son.

And I love you like a wife.

You have his support and mine.

What more could you
possibly want?

High priest.

What is it?

The priests guarding
the Nazarene's tomb.

What of them?

Two of them found murdered,

and the others are missing.

Murdered?

Pilate wishes to see you *** away.

It was prophesized
that I would suffer

and rise from the dead
after three days.

Believe, Peter,

and the power of the holy spirit

will come to you.

When?

Go back to Jerusalem and wait.

Only then will you be ready

to spread the word.

Do this for me, Peter,

and one day you will die for me.

Are you ready to do that?

I am.

You will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria

and to the ends of the earth.

Go into the world
and preach the gospel

to all creation.

This will all soon be over.

Governor.

The Roman Empire
prospers, Caiaphas,

not because it consumes
lesser civilizations,

but because it embraces

and forms partnerships
with them.

At the highest level,
this can only happen in a spirit

of mutual trust.
I understand that.

Do you?

Bring in the guards.

Guards?

Roman guards you insisted I
place upon the Nazarene's tomb

and guards who I have discovered

abandoned their post
in the middle of the night.

Time and again,

I entrusted you to bring

this sorry business to a close,

Caiaphas.

Time and again,
you've failed to do so,

so now I must.

You had my priests killed...

I'm speaking!

You should consider this

a lesson in civic
administration.

If you cannot control a story...

...kill it.

Governor, please.

I come to you
in good faith and loyalty,

'cause my honor
wouldn't allow me

to run and hide with the others.

I understand...

And I am glad of it.

Thank you, Governor.

But you, too,
were a witness that night.

And you came to me

not out of good faith
and loyalty,

but to save your own skin

at the expense of
your comrades...

Good men...

Who really didn't
deserve to die,

unlike a cowardly dog who does.

Finally...

The prophecy of the resurrection

lies as dead as these men.

Let the Nazarene's followers

run where they like
with his rotting corpse.

They won't surface without
being caught and executed.

My wife is waiting for me,

and the coast
is waiting for us both.

Clean this up.