Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre

Dave Arnold: Last time, on Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's presentation of The Luke Reports, The Finger of God.

Rufus: This is Luke, physician from Rome.

Lamech: Greetings. Barakiah is a magician.

Malakai: You are writing about Jesus to save that friend of yours.

Luke: All right, I admit it was disconcerting that he said I couldn't help Paul.

Abigail: We were helping Barakiah, that's all.

Tyman: We never said he was allowed to beat us.

Lamech: So you're not slaves?

Tyman/Abigail: No.

Luke: I've heard from my friend in Sychar. Go straight to him. You've no time to lose.

Tyman: We're coming with you.

Luke: What?

Barakiah: A magician is demanding that we give him the two children. Barakiah.

Dave Arnold: Classic adventure.

Guest (Male): The main event is a seven-lap contest between chariot and horse.

Guest (Male): I am the only person alive who can tell the true fate of your mother and sister.

Guest (Male): I dare not endanger his life.

Dave Arnold: Unforgettable drama.

Guest (Male): Eppe? Oh, gracious heavens, let her not have gone down to the stone pits. Eppe!

Dave Arnold: And stories that will touch your heart.

Guest (Male): Here, quick. There's a child in here.

Guest (Male): A child? All alone in a place like this? Mercy on us. Who is she?

Guest (Female): I am Mary Lennox.

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Barakiah: Stand back! I have enough power at my fingertips to bring fire upon all of you. Now, bring me the two children, or know my wrath.

Luke: Barakiah.

Barakiah: Ah, it is you, false prophet.

Luke: You can stop your performance. If you have something to say, then say it.

Barakiah: I want Tyman and Abigail.

Luke: You can't have them.

Barakiah: Your tricks didn't impress me in Nain, nor do they impress me here. Lamech.

Lamech: What?

Barakiah: You're a sensible man. Are you willing to be cursed for the sake of this stranger?

Lamech: That depends. Do you have the power to curse me?

Barakiah: You see my power?

Lamech: I see fire and smoke. In the Far East, they have powder that does as much. It's no curse.

Barakiah: It is a curse if the fire burns your tent there, or if it threatens your animals there, or if it harms your servant there.

Lamech: Nadab, Silas, get water! Put those fires out! Wherever those two children are, I want them here now.

Luke: Lamech, wait! These are tricks. He crept in and set them up while we ate. They're not real.

Lamech: They're real enough for me. Nadab, find those two scavengers and bring them.

Nadab: Yes, master.

Luke: But those children are not his to take. He beats them. He abuses them for his own profit.

Lamech: That's nothing to me, as long as he leaves us alone.

Luke: But he can't do anything to you. He has set these tricks up. They're probably all he has.

Lamech: It's more than you have. Lamech, remember what you told me about Jesus? His power to heal those lepers? Remember?

Lamech: Of course I remember, but that doesn't help us now, does it? Do you have his power?

Luke: No, not like that.

Barakiah: You see, Lamech? He is helpless against me.

Lamech: I'm sorry, Luke. If you could do something now to prove you are more powerful than this man, then I might consider the children worth fighting for. But this isn't my business.

Barakiah: Bring me the children!

Luke: Give me until morning.

Lamech: What? You think you'll have power by the morning?

Luke: I'll have something by then. If I can't persuade you that my God is more powerful than Barakiah, then I don't deserve to keep the children.

Barakiah: Did you hear him, magician? I heard. But how can I be sure that he won't steal the children away in the night?

Luke: I give you my word.

Barakiah: Nadab, have you found the children?

Nadab: Yes, master. They were hiding in the rocks. They're being brought to us now.

Barakiah: I'll take them to my tent. I will keep them there under guard. They will not escape. Now, you will accept my word, magician?

Luke: I will.

Barakiah: Until the morning, then.

Luke: Until the morning.

Luke: Tyman? Abigail? What are you doing here? Did Barakiah let you go?

Abigail: Our guard was a fat old man who fell asleep.

Tyman: We were going to escape, but knew we couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you.

Luke: Goodbye? But you can't leave.

Abigail: But we must. Otherwise, Barakiah will take us back to Nain with him.

Luke: Thanks for that vote of confidence.

Tyman: You're no magician. There's nothing you can do to impress Lamech and his men.

Luke: I don't want to impress them the way Barakiah impresses them. I'm praying for help from God. I want to expose him for the cheap magician that he is.

Abigail: But Barakiah is more than a magician. He has power. Real power.

Tyman: Be quiet, Abigail.

Abigail: No, I won't. Master Luke needs to know.

Luke: Know what?

Tyman: She's a silly girl.

Abigail: I'm not. I know what I've seen.

Luke: Tell me, Abigail.

Tyman: Enough, Tyman. Let your sister speak.

Abigail: Barakiah's tricks, the ones he does in the street, are only for show. We know how they're done. If he only did that, then I wouldn't worry.

Luke: But?

Abigail: But there's another Barakiah, the one no one sees. The one who prays to dark forces at night and practices incantations and seeks a very dark power. I've seen him when he didn't know I was watching. He seeks the evil one.

Luke: Whatever power Barakiah uses, the power of God is greater. Let me tell you a story I know about Jesus.

There was a man who was mute. He couldn't hear or speak. And Jesus discerned that it wasn't merely a physical problem, but that a demon had made the man that way. So he cast the demon out, and the man could hear and speak again. And everyone was amazed. But some of the people claimed:

Guest (Male): He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.

Guest (Male): Yes! How do we know that you are not a demon? Give us a sign from heaven to prove who you are.

Jesus: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. So if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?

You say that I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub. Now, if I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whom do your priests cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when someone stronger than he is suddenly attacks him and overpowers him, the stronger man takes away the armor in which he trusted and divides the spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through the waterless regions looking for a resting place. But when it doesn't find any, it says, "I will return to the house from which I came."

When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.

Abigail: But how is any of that going to help you?

Luke: The only way to conquer the darkness is to expose it to the light.

Tyman: I don't understand.

Luke: Perhaps the only way to bring down the house is to divide it, just like Jesus said.

Abigail: But how?

Luke: That's what I'm going to pray to discern. But in the meantime, go back to Barakiah's tent before they realize you've escaped. Wait until morning, as we promised.

Tyman: But what if you lose?

Luke: That's not an option.

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Lamech: The sun is rising, and as we agreed, we've assembled to decide what to do with these two orphans. Barakiah, you've made a claim for them, which you hope to authenticate by power. You may begin.

Barakiah: You are a wise and gracious man, Lamech, worthy of Solomon himself in your conduct concerning this question.

Lamech: You don't have to butter me up, Barakiah. Get on with it.

Barakiah: And so I shall. For I would be grieved to have to curse you or your men.

Lamech: And we would be grieved to have to kill you in your attempt to curse us.

Barakiah: Do you challenge me, Lamech?

Lamech: If you're successful, you'll have no challenge from me. Now, show us what you must.

Barakiah: As men of the world, you understand and respect power. And power is what you shall see this morning. See here? I have a large, empty pot. Come forward. These servants you see have water jars with which to fill the empty pot. Proceed.

They are now pouring the water into the pot. You can see that the water is untouched, clear, as you would expect. There, the pot is full now. And now I'll take this blue cloth, borrowed from Lamech. Thank you. You see with your own eyes that it is a deep blue. And now I'll put the cloth into the clear water.

And with a mere wave of my hand, you will see a small measure of my power. Watch as I remove the blue cloth from the clear water. But what is this? The cloth is not blue. It is now red!

Perhaps you are thinking this is a trick. I'll now ask the servants to pass the cloth around for your own inspection. Take it. As men of trade, as those who know cloth better than most know their own hands, you can see the miracle. And now look, as I take a cup of water from the pot. Water is still clear, neither blue nor red.

But this is a small thing, isn't it? A conjurer's trick, you say. But what conjurer will dare go further? I'll ask the servants to now bring me a lamb from Lamech's own flock.

Lamech: What's this, Barakiah?

Barakiah: You want to see my power, and you shall. We will now take the red cloth and cover the lamb with it. And with the power given to me by the one through whom we have life and death, I present to you the lamb.

Lamech: What have you done to my lamb?

Barakiah: See for yourself.

Lamech: Why, it's dead.

Barakiah: Is it? Are you saying I killed your lamb? Me? But how could I have the power to do that? I only covered it with a cloth.

Lamech: I don't know how you did it, but it's dead.

Barakiah: Then never threaten me again, Lamech. It follows that what I have done to this lamb, I could easily do to you or your men.

Lamech: Be that as it may, the lamb was valuable. I will expect payment.

Barakiah: How much, Lamech? What is a dead lamb worth? Or might you get a better price if the lamb were alive? Cover the lamb with the red cloth again.

Lamech: What are you doing? Why are you covering it again?

Barakiah: The power is mine, a gift to show fools that life and death are within my grasp. Lamb, rise now! Go to your master. What do you say to that, Lamech?

Lamech: If this is trickery, then it is of a kind I've never seen before.

Barakiah: You believe in my power now? Or shall I do something more impressive? Perhaps I could demonstrate on one of your men.

Lamech: No, no. I'm truly impressed.

Barakiah: And the two children?

Lamech: I must concede.

Luke: Wait, Lamech! You made a promise which you must uphold. Barakiah has entertained you with his tricks. Now you have to give me a chance to respond.

Lamech: Of course I'll keep my word. But whatever you do, it better be good.

Luke: Good? I don't have to be good. These tricks are easily revealed for what they are.

Barakiah: Ha!

Luke: Explain yourself. The trick with the cloth and the pot, for example. Tyman, hand me that rock, please.

Tyman: Yes, sir. There.

Luke: Thank you. Step aside, Barakiah. Now, all I have to do is...

Barakiah: My water pot!

Luke: That's right. Your water pot. Specially made with three chambers. Come and see. Barakiah poured the water into the central chamber but placed the blue cloth here in this side chamber. Then he pulled the red cloth from this third chamber on this side. So it appeared the cloth changed colors while the water remained clear. It was entertaining enough, but it wasn't a miracle.

Lamech: What about the lamb? How do you explain that?

Luke: Haven't you heard of the scorpion's thorn?

Lamech: No.

Luke: It is a thorn from a small bush, rarely found in this area. The thorn has just enough poison to momentarily paralyze a small animal, one the size of this lamb, for instance, giving the appearance of death. Had we waited a few moments without Barakiah's spoken nonsense, the poison would have worn off, and the lamb would have stood up by itself.

Barakiah: It's a lie!

Luke: I have one in my satchel. Shall we test it on you, Barakiah?

Barakiah: I won't put up with these insults! I have proven myself. I want those children now.

Lamech: It would appear that you've proven nothing.

Barakiah: Don't test me, Lamech. I have greater power than you've seen, a power that you do not want to see.

Luke: You don't have any power, Barakiah. But you are possessed by one who does.

Barakiah: What are you talking about?

Luke: When you forfeited the miracle of your own life, the miracle that Jesus performed on you, you gave yourself to someone else. He holds you now. I want to meet him.

Barakiah: You do? You think you have the strength for that meeting?

Luke: I don't have the strength, but I belong to the one who does. Come on, show yourself.

Barakiah: I had hoped to do this the easy way. But yes, I will show you power. Lamech!

Lamech: What?

Barakiah: You have been a gracious host, and I don't mean to seem inhospitable. But a demonstration of power is what you require, and so you shall have it. Do you feel it? The fingers around your neck?

Lamech: I feel nothing. There are no fingers... what is this? What are you doing to me?

Barakiah: What am I doing? I'm bidding you to die, Lamech!

Nadab: Master! Master! Stop! Stop! You're killing him! Oh, Luke, help! Mercy, please!

Luke: Barakiah, listen to me. In the name and power of Jesus the Messiah, I command that the unclean spirits who have inhabited your soul now make themselves known. Show yourselves now!

Barakiah: What do you want, physician? Have you come to cure us?

Luke: Are you all present?

Barakiah: We are all here.

Nadab: Luke, hurry! Lamech is dying!

Luke: I speak in the name of Jesus the Messiah. Do you understand?

Barakiah: We do.

Luke: I demand that you release your hold on Lamech.

Barakiah: And what will you give us if we do?

Luke: I will give you your freedom.

Barakiah: Freedom?

Luke: From your bondage within Barakiah.

Barakiah: Yes. Give us our freedom! Let us live in you. We could do so much together.

Luke: In the name of Jesus, who now sits at the right hand of God himself, I set you free to return to the waterless places from which you came!

Barakiah: No! We want you!

Luke: You can't have me. Go now, by the authority of God, to the wild dogs of the desert! Each of you, one to every animal. Go! Go!

Lamech: Thank you. Thank you, Luke.

Luke: There is no time to lose, Lamech. Send out your best hunters. Tell them to find the dogs and kill them. But they must not go near them or touch the carcasses. Do you understand?

Lamech: I do. Nadab!

Nadab: Leave it to me, Master.

Lamech: Barakiah. What have you done to me?

Luke: I haven't done anything. But I beg you now, accept the miracle of life that Jesus gave to you years ago. Take it into your heart.

Barakiah: Yes. I will.

Tyman: You're leaving us.

Luke: I'm not leaving you, Tyman.

Tyman: But you are. It's not fair.

Luke: Wait a minute, Abigail. Didn't you say you're going back to Nain with Barakiah?

Abigail: Well, yes.

Tyman: He asked us to. Very politely, not like before.

Abigail: Without the magic, he's not so bad.

Luke: Well, so there you are. I'm not leaving you; you're leaving me.

Tyman: But you're going to Sychar of all places. Why don't you come back to Nain with us? Barakiah likes you now that he's better.

Luke: I'm glad. But Nain isn't where I belong. I'll pray for Barakiah and for you both. I might even miss you. Ah, Lamech.

Lamech: Luke. Barakiah. I have a business proposition for you.

Luke: I'm not interested.

Lamech: But you haven't heard it.

Luke: I don't need to hear it.

Lamech: It could be lucrative.

Luke: Thanks anyway. Barakiah.

Barakiah: Yes, Luke.

Luke: Here. Take this.

Barakiah: What is it?

Luke: The names of believers who live near Nain. I want you to contact them, spend time with them. You need to grow in your faith.

Barakiah: They won't accept me. They know who I am, what I've been.

Luke: Show them this note from me. It will help take care of any doubts they might have about you. And look to Malakai for any help you may need. Don't be afraid or ashamed.

Barakiah: I'll go. And the children will join me.

Luke: They're truly in your care now. Don't betray their trust.

Barakiah: I won't.

Luke: No more magic.

Barakiah: No more magic.

Lamech: Barakiah, as a matter of interest, what will you do for a living in Nain?

Barakiah: I'm not sure.

Lamech: I suspect you're a man of hidden skills. You know, I'm in need of a representative in Nain, someone to watch over my interests. You'd be perfect. Why did I not think of it before? Come, let us sit down and discuss the matter.

Barakiah: A job as a tradesman. Interesting. I would want a percentage.

Lamech: A percentage? A direct wage, I think. Yes, a direct wage.

Barakiah: With a percentage.

Lamech: That's impossible.

Nadab: Master.

Lamech: What is it, Nadab?

Nadab: Roman soldiers, a column of them headed our way.

Lamech: Oh, no. They'll want to be fed. All right, warn everyone. Let's show them the best of our hospitality. Come, Barakiah. If you're going to work for me, then there's no reason to put it off.

Barakiah: Whatever you say, Master Lamech.

Luke: Tyman, Abigail. The days ahead won't be easy. You have to help Barakiah in his new life, which means you must start new lives of your own.

Tyman: We understand.

Luke: Do you? I doubt it. But just as he's given up magic, you have to give up your deception and thievery.

Tyman: We will.

Abigail: Promise.

Luke: I'll take you at your word. Now I have to go.

Tyman: Can't you stay a while longer?

Abigail: For one more meal? To say goodbye?

Luke: No, no. You say goodbye for me.

Tyman: But why? What's the hurry?

Luke: I've lost a lot of time, and I suddenly feel as if time is running out.

Abigail: Time is running out for who?

Luke: Maybe for all of us.

Dave Arnold: The Luke Reports, The Finger of God, was written and directed by Paul McCusker. Sound design was by Rob Jorgensen. Music was composed by John Campbell. Our cast included Richard O’Callaghan as Luke, Adam Godley as Jesus, Andrew Sachs as Lamech, Peter O’Shaughnessy as Barakiah, Richard Franklin as Rufus, Paul Webster as Malakai, and Chris Emmett as Nadab.

Featuring Alistair Danson, Tom Harper, Mark Paton, Stuart Pender, John Person, Blake Ritson, and Simon Treves as the disciples. With Stephen Webb and Jade Williams as Tyman and Abigail. Also starring Coral Atkins, Russell Boulter, Justin Butcher, John Glover, Brian Greene, Dominic Hekt, Tim Meats, Robin Meredith, Christopher Nealy, Christopher Scott, Mervyn Stutter, and Robert Young.

And I'm Dave Arnold, your producer and host for Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. Thanks for listening.