Digest of the
play
The story here is the last days of
Jesus’ ministry before his crucifixion, seen through the eyes of a
young rabbi in training.
He sees the problems in the Jewish orthodoxy, and he ponders
the miracles of Jesus, even though his teachers ridicule him. Gradually, we feel him
becoming a believer in Jesus as the Messiah, although he’s afraid to
do so publicly because of the pressure of the other rabbis. Because a Jew who accepts
Yeshua (Jesus) as his Meshiach (Messiah) is called a completed
Jew (still Jewish,
but now his faith is complete), the story was called, The
Complete Rabbi.
The play opens with this rabbi in
training speaking to an audience about his Jewishness, and his life
as a Pharisee, and how God took the blinders from his eyes to see
that Jesus was his messiah.
The rest of the play is a flashback to some of the things
that he saw as he was becoming aware of who Jesus is. It serves as a good reminder
or early training for many Christians who don’t really appreciate
who Jesus is, and how God sent Him in the body of a human man so
that He could draw mankind to
Himself.
ABOUT US @
ResurrectionPlay.Com
When
I (Christiana) was working on the NativityPlay.com web site in 2004, I
asked Bill's input because I respect him as a Christian and because I
knew that he had written and performed many plays at his church. I was
very thrilled when in 2007, he offered me the script of his
Resurrection play and encouraged me to make this fine play available
online to the world.
I
first met Bill Whitworth in 1980, he was actually my boss. He had the
courage to teach Bible study at lunch time in the conference room. He
asked for and got proper permission to use the conference room of
course and it was open to anyone, but it was pretty gutsy of him, after
all, he was the head of the Hybrid Engineering department. But he was
not afraid to call Jesus Lord then or now.
Bill was an elder at his church at different times between 1976 and 1991 and from 1993 to 2007. He was part of a retirement home
ministry from 1993 until 2007 and part of the drama ministry for the church between 1994 to 2007 and stages
Christian plays at the retirement home. He’s was a part of
Visitation ministry for many
years.
Blessings!
~Christiana Augustine
Why I created the play (By Bill
Whitworth)
Just about all Christians like to
celebrate Easter (or, as I prefer to call it, Resurrection Day), and
there's something really wonderful about all the music that's been
written for that celebration. But just about every church no doubt
has a few members who need edification about just who this Jesus
person was, and more who can use the reminder of how great He is. I
felt that my own church fit that description pretty well, and what
better way to edify them than with a story that could capture their
imagination along with all the beauty of resurrection music? So
here's a story with a tinge of unbelievability to it, which provides
that teaching interspersed with great resurrection music, and in a
manner that is entertaining while encouraging spiritual growth, too.
I wrote
the story on an airplane. By the time I got to my
destination in Boston, it was done. I told my pastor that it
flowed pretty easily because I was 5 miles closer to
God!
I'm humbled by the renewed interest
in the play and actively pray that the music and the play will edify
you and your loved ones.
Agape,
Bill
Whitworth