“A Letter From Simon the
Pharisee”
A Dramatic Monologue presented on
Easter
Written
and Presented by Jim Hammond
[Before the Monologue begins: A
Scripture reading of Luke 7:36-50
(Luke
7:36-50) Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with
him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. {37}
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus
was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of
perfume, {38} and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began
to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them and poured perfume on them. {39} When the Pharisee who had
invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet,
he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that
she is a sinner." {40} Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to
tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. {41} "Two men owed money to a
certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other
fifty. {42} Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he
canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" {43}
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said. {44} Then he turned toward the
woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house.
You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her
tears and wiped them with her hair. {45} You did not give me a kiss, but
this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.
{46} You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my
feet. {47} Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for
she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." {48}
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." {49} The other guests
began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
{50} Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Simon the
Pharisee:
(Lights come on
as he is sitting at a table with Oil lamp writing with a quill, he
speaks slowly as he writes the end of his letter)
. . . Nicodemus, I
am interested in hearing your reply. Please do respond, I have no ill
will toward you now. I just need to understand. Let me at least
understand your decision. May the God of Abraham, and the God of Moses
answer my prayers and bring peace to you and to me. [pause] There
that should elicit at least some response. Let me check one more
time so see how does it reads.
(Simon picks
up the letter to proof read it and reads the letter he has just written)
Simon, your fellow Pharisee, to Nicodemus, Shalom!
I have taken some time to write you what
will probably be a lengthy letter. I have a lot on my mind because
something puzzle’s me. It has puzzled me ever since the events of last
Passover. . All that effort to put away the heretic and now things are
worse now that he’s gone. Many times I have tried to forget what
happened. I do not believe I can forget it. The fact is I am plagued
by my thoughts. I pray that our differences may be set aside long
enough that you might bring understanding to my troubled heart.
There was a time it seems that I was
still somewhat open minded as you were toward the Galilean teacher. But
then something changed in my attitude toward him. I became hard. I
hated him. Looking back now, I became hateful the day he ate in my
home. I told myself it was his blasphemy that made me angry. He had no
authority to forgive that sinful woman who came in uninvited to my home
without any sense of decency and began washing his feet as she did. He
had no authority to forgive her sins. Obviously he didn’t even know
about her sins or he would not allow himself to be touched by her. Who,
but God could forgive her sins. I told myself I must stand against this
dangerous teacher who blasphemes. Or so I thought before. Now I’m not
so sure of myself and it bothers me. Is it my own fear that makes me
re-evaluate? The fear has brought a frightening honesty. I now believe
the real reason I was so angry was my wounded pride. I felt humiliated
before my friends when he told the clever story about who is more
grateful to be forgiven, the one with the greater debt or the one with
the smaller. Anger does a strange thing to a man. I don’t like who I
am, or what I’ve done.
As you know Nicodemus, I was quite angry
at you for forsaking us and joining the disciples of the man from
Galilee they call Jesus. I thought you must have been bewitched by this
Jesus I believed this Jesus somehow possessed powers from Beelzebub
himself. And this was how he was able to do the signs he did and how
he was able to have the power to control the weaker minds of the crowd.
Excuse me for saying so, Nicodemus, but I thought you had a weak mind to
be fooled along with the crowd. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard
you left the Jewish Council and forsook your commitment to the Law as a
Pharisee. Looking back now I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised.
I can hear your words in our
conversations before that fateful day, and I now realize you had changed
long before the strange events surrounding the execution of that
Galilean. Your experience was different than mine. I saw it in you.
He brought a softening change in you some years ago. I hadn’t really
thought about it till recently. Didn’t it begin that night when you
went to see him? I know you thought nobody knew about your visit--I
assume that is why you saw him at night; you didn’t want us to know you
were seeking to talk to him. Your visit with Jesus was not a secret to
me. But what I didn’t know till now, if I am correct in my assessment,
was that your attitude changed about him from that point forward.
I now recall the time you tried to stall
us, or at least calm me down enough that I might think before acting so
harshly. You were the only one who didn’t want him arrested. I thought
you were just trying to curb my temper as I shouted at the temple guards
when they refused to bring him to us. Do you remember what I said
then. I do. I’m not even sure why my memory of this man seems to stay
on my heart as permanently as this ink stays on this parchment. I
wonder now what you were thinking when I yelled at the temple guards
saying,
"Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But
this mob that knows nothing of the law--there is a curse on them."
That’s when you surprised me by interjecting, “Does our law condemn
anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" I was
mad at you. You were speaking up for them. I still hear my own
words, and still stand by their logic though I regret my tone of voice
to you now. Maybe you recall my words, "Are you from Galilee, too?
Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of
Galilee." You were thoughtful, but silent. Are you still silent to my
argument or do you have an answer for me today that I should consider?
Isn’t he disqualified as a candidate for the Messiah? I don’t
understand you. I would simply write you off as a fool except that I
myself continue to be puzzled by the man.
I kept telling myself you’d see it my
way. But you never did. I especially thought you would admit I was
right, after he was arrested and killed. Nobody believes in a dead
Messiah. Can you show me a dead Messiah in the scriptures? I was
looking forward to gloating, to showing you and the whole crowd I was
right about this man.
At the trial I
gloated. Finally we had him.
This was proof enough that he wasn’t the Messiah. How could the Messiah
be condemned to die. He was slippery—it was most difficult to catch him
in his words, even in the trial. He was crafty, that one was. I
believed at that time that Satan himself must have given him his ability
to out smart us in debate. He wasn’t schooled, yet he spoke with such
knowledge. How could one with such knowledge be so twisted? His
teaching didn’t fit any of the traditions properly. I had looked
forward to our day of satisfaction. But that day turned out to be
strange indeed. I had a difficult time enjoying our victory. The more
we pressed him with our conclusions the less it satisfied me. He didn’t
act like an evil man the day he died. I expected him to respond to our
words in such a way that would prove to the crowds that he was indeed
the devil’s man, a fraud. But even in dying he didn’t curse. This
bothered me.
Nicodemus, I still can’t get his face
out of my mind. There I was, twisting my face with angry words. There
he was being crucified yet not angry back. I don’t know why, but this
made me more angry. The puzzles keep running through my head. The
pieces don’t fit. I still don’t get it. He didn’t act like one in the
grips of the deceiver. And though his deception was now over--though it
had not worked--he didn’t give it up. So why did he keep up the charade
to his final breath? What did it profit him to keep up the facade?
What good did it do him? He must be self deceived, I thought. But how
could one caught in such a lie, say what he said: “Father forgive them
for they don’t know what they are doing.” I would have thought he would
condemn me for condemning him if he was self deceived. Yet he kept
saying it, “father forgive them.” He looked at me and said it after I
shouted at him. I shouted, “"So!
You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come
down from the cross and save yourself!” I turned from him and looking
to the crowd I said mockingly, “He saved others, but he can't save
himself!” Nicodemus, I can’t get the scenes out of my mind.
As if
that wasn’t enough, I don’t know how to
describe to you the feeling that came over me when the noontime sun
darkened. I was silent then. Everybody was. Until the murmur of the
earth and the muttering of the crowd, and some shrieks of fear when the
earth shook. Not many people stayed then. I’m shaking again as I write
just remembering what happened. Nicodemus, I keep thinking about the
way he died. For one thing, he shouldn’t have been dead yet. For
another, I’ve not seen a man face death as he did. He shouted before he
died, “tetelestai’. There was no fear, no anger. It didn’t make
sense. Why did he shout “It is finished?!” I wanted to see anger. I
wanted to see disappointment. I wanted to be the winner against the
mortal enemy that was so slippery. Instead, I saw a man face death as
if he planned it. Then those quiet, trusting words, almost as if a
child spoke them, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And he
was gone. I still don’t like the way he blasphemes by calling God,
“Father.” Nicodemus, why did he die so fast? Even Pilate was
surprised. But he was dead, he made sure of that.
Nicodemus, I also
want to know from you why you spent all that money on 75 pounds of
the mixture of myrrh and aloes for his burial? I can’t believe you
would do such a thing after all the effort we took in finally
discrediting him. Word got around. His kind didn’t deserve this kind of
respect. Did you think you could keep something like that a secret from
the rest of the Jewish council? Why Nicodemus!? Maybe I could
understand if you were ashamed of what we’d done. I think now I am. I
don’t think guilt would prompt me to spend that kind of money. I
wouldn’t willingly make that kind sacrifice for my mother, yet you
personally sacrificed your resources for this, this, mystery man. What
do you see in him that I do not see? I find myself wanting to know from
you, what it is you see in him?
Nicodemus, I’m worried, no, actually to be honest, I’ve been sick with
gut wrenching fear. If that darkness and earthquake were not enough to
make one think, surely the temple curtain was. The temple curtain was
ripped that night. I’ve since been told by the temple attendants that
it ripped from the top down. By my reckoning it happened the moment he
died.
Then there was the matter of the
guards. You weren’t with us Nicodemus, you nor Joseph of Arimathea when
we went before Pilate to ask for the guards. I suppose the recent
events frightened us and then we remembered his words, so we told Pilate
about it. We told him,
"Sir, we remember
that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I
will rise again. So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until
the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and
tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last
deception will be worse than the first."
We thought of everything
Nicodemus. Why? Because we were worried. But it didn’t work. The
tomb is empty now. I remember more than once we asked Jesus for a sign
and he would only give us “the sign of Jonah.” Now his words haunt
me. He said,
"A wicked and
adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given
it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
And just after three days his tomb is empty. What have we done? They
say he’s risen. His body is gone. Nicodemus, those soldiers saw
something, something they don’t understand. I saw their faces when they
came to report the bad news. They were terrified by what they saw more
than by what might happen to them for their failure to guard the tomb.
Though we knew these guards would never have let the disciples take the
body of Jesus, we bribed them to say that his disciples came by night
and stole him away while they slept. Who believes these lies? The only
ones who believe these lies are the ones who made up the lies in the
first place. I’m not willing to believe our lie. I need answers. The
disciples couldn’t have overpowered the guards, then removed that
stone. I don’t know what to make of it. What did happen?
Maybe you were right about this man. Is
there something you now know that would help me Nicodemus? Do you
understand what happened? What made you decide to forsake everything
and become one of his followers when he’s not even alive anymore? I
am interested in hearing your reply. Please do respond, I have no ill
will toward you now. I just need to understand. Let me at least
understand your decision. May the God of Abraham, and the God of Moses
answer my prayers and bring peace to you and to me.
(Lights fade,
Song Transition before next scene: Lights come up, Simon the Pharisee
opens Nicodemus’ response to the Letter, and begins to read, then a
Microphoned Voice Over of Nicodemus continues as Simon continues to
Read)
Nicodemus, a bond Servant of Jesus the
Christ, to Simon, a Pharisee and a friend.
I was glad to receive your letter. It did my heart some good to see
that God has been working upon your heart my friend. You are asking the
questions I have asked. What you are seeing in this “mystery Man” as
you call him is that he cannot be what you thought him to be. He cannot
be a liar or deceiver as you had assumed. Liars do not speak as he
speaks. Deceiver’s do not die as he died. And false Messiahs don’t
leave empty tombs. The inconsistencies you saw are only the
inconsistencies between what you thought you saw and the man you really
saw. Simon, it was we who were deceived not he. We thought we were the
keepers of the Law, and he made us angry as we felt exposed by his words
that stripped our souls naked before the crowds. But have you
considered his words as I have? He was right, and we were wrong. We
accused him and his disciples of breaking the traditions of the elders.
He accused us of breaking the commands of God for the sake of our
traditions. He quoted Isaiah when he said, “These people honor me with
their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain.
Their teachings are but the rules taught by men.” Have you Simon,
stopped long enough to consider whether he was describing us
correctly?!
Simon, Jesus was correct about me. I
have for too long taught truths that weren’t true for me inside. Jesus
spoke truths that were true for him, this became obvious to me as I saw
his quiet confidence and authority. I wanted truth Simon. I had to
have new life. Simon, I have found this new life of which he spoke. I
wish you to have it as well. Maybe I might help you with some of your
questions about the Galilean.
Did you
know he did not always live in Nazareth, he was born in Bethlehem in the
year his family had to return in the census. I was quite excited to
find this out and I have verified the family records; he is a descendent
of David. As to believing in a dead messiah -- Jesus is not dead. He
has risen, just as you yourself heard him say he would. The scriptures
speak of this Simon. In light of what you know Now, Simon, read
that confusing passage from Isaiah about the suffering servant. I found
it isn’t confusing anymore, nor will it be to you now, I believe. Read
also the Psalm of David, the one that begins Eloi, Eloi, Lama
Sabachthani … and remember what you heard from the cross. Simon, here
was our problem as I see it now--we were looking for too little in a
Messiah. Consider the passage that speaks of his eternal reign, look
again at what his name shall be called. Was the Messiah Son of Man or
Son of God? I will not give you the answers Simon. I think as you
look, God will show you the answers he has shown me.
Simon
there is something more I want you to know about me. His disciples have
been teaching me what Jesus taught after his resurrection. Yes, they
have seen him. He has taught them about the Spirit of God, no, more
than that Simon. He gave the Spirit of God to them. Simon, the spirit
of God has also come upon me. It is just like what we read about the
Spirit upon the heroes of old. The only difference is that He seems to
be upon all the disciples of Jesus. Simon, I have experienced the
presence of God. His Disciples described the last thing Jesus said
before he left. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Then in
their presence in full view of many witnesses he just lifted up into the
sky and ascending into heaven. Simon, you may find this hard to
believe, but I do not. It seems to fit what I now know. I think as you
study the scriptures I have mentioned you might come to the same
conclusions I have. For your sake, I hope you can experience the joy I
experience. Simon, this is Good News.
May God show you the truth as you
consider the scriptures again with the new information you have been
struggling with. I am praying for you.
[Simon rustles
around his scrolls to find the scrolls that Nicodemus mentioned. He
finds the Isaiah scroll and reads aloud with the following reactions ]
The prophet Isaiah,
Isaiah – The suffering servant. . . . Here it is.
(Isaiah 53)
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been
revealed? {2} He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a
root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to
him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. {3} He was
despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with
suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and
we esteemed him not. {4} Surely he took up our infirmities and carried
our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and
afflicted. {5} But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed
for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon
him, and by his wounds we are healed. {6} We all, like sheep, have
gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid
on him the iniquity of us all. {7} He was oppressed and afflicted, yet
he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and
as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
{8} By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of
his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for
the transgression of my people he was stricken. {9} He was assigned a
grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
[Joseph’s Tomb] though he had
done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. {10} Yet it was the
Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD
makes his life a guilt offering
[A guilt offering! So it was on purpose, “It is Finished!”]
, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of
the LORD will prosper in his hand. {11} After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
[why have I not noticed this before? Killed but alive! Killed but
raised to life] by his knowledge my righteous servant will
justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. {12} Therefore I will
give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with
the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered
with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.
While I’m in Isaiah, what was the other Isaiah passage he mentioned
about the Names of the Messiah . . .
Here it is. . .“For
to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be
on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over
his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and
righteousness from that time on and forever.”
He was God. God’s
Son. He and the Father are One, he said. That’s the answer to the
Puzzle he gave us as to whose son was the Messiah. How could David call
him Lord if He was his Son. He is the Son of David, the Son of Man, but
he is . . . The Son of God. Oh, God, what have I done?
Now
Where is that Psalm of David?
(Looking through his scrolls)
What was the Psalm
Nicodemus mentioned. Eloi, Eloi, Oh I know the one. . (Looking
through the scrolls, finding the correct one and reading…)
(Psalms 22)
Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani… Here it
is. So he wasn’t calling for Elijah. . My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? [God
had forsaken him because he was the guilt offering]
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my
groaning? {2} O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by
night, and am not silent. {3} Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you
are the praise of Israel. {4} In you our fathers put their trust; they
trusted and you delivered them. {5} They cried to you and were saved; in
you they trusted and were not disappointed. {6} But I am a worm and not
a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. {7} All who see me
mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: {8} "He trusts in the
LORD; let the LORD rescue him.
[Oh God No! I said that…] Let him deliver him, since he
delights in him." {9} Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me
trust in you even at my mother's breast. {10} From birth I was cast upon
you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. {11} Do not be far from
me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. {12} Many bulls
surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. {13} Roaring lions
tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. {14} I am
poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has
turned to wax; it has melted away within me. {15} My strength is dried
up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you
lay me in the dust of death. {16} Dogs have surrounded me; a band of
evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. {17}
I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. {18} They
divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
Oh God, you knew…You planned this execution even before the Romans
invented it…and I am guilty! Guilty! I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I
didn’t know. . . That’s it.. “Father forgive them for they do not know
what they are doing.” Oh Nicodemus. He forgave. Oh, Jesus! Jesus!
Thank you.
Oh
Nicodemus, Nicodemus, I do believe.
(Head bowed
weeping)
Oh Lord Jesus, I’m sorry, I was wrong. I let my pride blind me. I did
not know. Please forgive me. Forgive me. You were right, the greater
sinner is more grateful for the greater forgiveness. My sin far
outweighs the sin of that woman. Lord, Oh Lord. Forgive me. Forgive
me, a sinner. Thank you. Thank you. (Lights fade).
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