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Luke: To Theophilus, grace and peace be upon you and your household. The tensions and violence between the Romans and the Zealots increase on a daily basis. The fruits of their respective labors are manifest everywhere.

God have mercy, what's happened here? I'm a physician. I can be of help. Have you many wounded? Enough. We're gathering them in that hut just over there. Yet, that's where I'll go. When is it going to stop? Where are the blasted Romans? Look at what they've done to us. If the Romans can't maintain law and order, then what's the point in them being here?

This is no exception. I've been through a dozen villages where I've seen the same. And what's most grievous is the indiscriminate nature of the violence. I'm not treating wounded soldiers or revolutionaries. They're either dead or have fled away. I'm treating old men, women, and children, the innocent who happened to get in the way of Rome's rule or the Zealots' fury. I don't know how it will all end, but I have no doubt that there will be more bloodshed.

Dave Arnold: In the ninth chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, we read this about Jesus of Nazareth: "And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."

Hello, I'm Dave Arnold, producer for Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. We know from the writers of the New Testament that the journey Jesus took from the north country of Israel south to Jerusalem was a long and arduous one. He encountered tricks, traps, and diversions from those who claimed to love Him and those who wanted rid of Him.

Yet He persevered, all the while knowing that He would meet a painful death at His journey's end. So Luke, some 33 years later, is following in the footsteps of Jesus. And whether he realizes it or not, there are tricks, traps, and diversions waiting for him as well, from friends as well as enemies. Join us in a moment as Focus on the Family Radio Theatre presents chapter five of The Luke Reports: The Journey to Jerusalem.

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Luke: Theophilus, this task you've given me is no small errand. If these letters are reaching you at all, then you know what I'm up against as I try to find witnesses to the life of Jesus of Nazareth. There are times when I wonder if this is a fool's mission. What will it all mean when I've finished? It is only my faith, a fragile one at the best of times, that causes me to believe that God is in the midst of it somehow.

Otherwise, why would I venture to a land like Samaria? Honestly, if the town of Sychar wasn't so prominently placed at the intersection of two major roads through this land, I would never have found it. No one would tell me where it was. Now I see that it sits near Mount Gerizim and the historically significant Jacob's Well. Here I found a rarity, a Jewish scribe living in a Samaritan district, who had become a follower of Jesus. His name is Elias. I reached him barely in time. He was packing his belongings to leave.

Elias: I'm sorry to be so inhospitable, good friend, but the opportunity presented itself and I don't dare ignore it. To leave. There's a tradesman from the Far East who will make room in his caravan for me. Pella. Perhaps beyond. It's no longer safe here. The coming battle is now unavoidable and I must take my treasures with me. Yes, yes, years and years of work. You'll see. Oh yes, you'll have to see them. I keep them in a special place, a secret place. But it won't be secret much longer.

My friend's servants are going to help me pack everything up. My friend is a tradesman, as I said, but he is also a man of great wisdom. He studies the scriptures, you see. It was his father's father who came to seek the Messiah, followed the star, and deceived Herod.

Luke: I'd like to speak with your friend.

Elias: If there's time, I cannot promise. I'm feeling anxious, you see. Very anxious indeed. The Romans, the Shammaites, they'll destroy us all.

Luke: The Shammaites?

Elias: The Shammaite Pharisees. The Zealots. Most of the Zealots are Shammaite Pharisees, you know. They subscribe to the teachings of Rabbi Shammai. Very zealous. How can you not know that? Your friend Paul was one before he changed. Purify Israel by whatever means necessary, they say. Purge, kill, cleanse the land, return to the Lord.

Luke: Yes, I know who you're talking about.

Elias: We'll all die at their hands, or the Romans. I'm not afraid of death, but I must protect my treasures.

Luke: May I see them?

Elias: Yes, yes, you must. They'll be invaluable to you. They were to Levi when he came, and Mark, and Mary was very impressed. Mary, the mother of Jesus? The very one. she was here. Oh, a few days ago. She went on to Jerusalem. Bethany, I think. Now, Luke, watch closely. You see this?

Luke: Yes. Well, it's a lovely tapestry.

Elias: But behind the tapestry, there is the secret. You see? It is a wall. But it is not. It is a door.

Luke: Well, how does it open?

Elias: This stone here on the floor. I step on it with great force. You must press hard. And a lever on the other side releases the door. There. Come in now to my secret chamber.

Luke: Oh, this is astounding. Oh, I have never seen so many parchments, not even in Rome.

Elias: On these shelves are my copies of the scriptures. And on these I have copied the correspondence of our leaders, James, John, Peter, even your own Paul. I also have the chronicles of our council meetings. And here you will find the greatest treasure: my own collection about Jesus.

Luke: Collection? You mean a chronicle of His life?

Elias: More or less, yes, but not assembled. No, not yet. I have written everything down that I know and that I know from others. I began after Jesus left us. I am a scribe. It is my life.

Luke: Well, this is what I've been searching for. It's—I'm speechless, Elias.

Elias: Well, you must hurry if you intend to read them. We will box them up tomorrow morning for my journey.

Luke: But that isn't enough time to read through all these parchments.

Elias: Then you must read what you can. We must pack them tomorrow to protect them. Time is running out. I have brought you some food, Luke.

Luke: I can't. I dare not take the time.

Elias: But you must. Be strong of body and you'll be of strong mind. Our journey will be a long one and then you may read to your heart's content in Pella.

Luke: Elias, I can't go with you to Pella. I must go to Jerusalem.

Elias: Jerusalem is dangerous. They will kill you there.

Luke: Perhaps, but I still have to go. Mary is there. And it's so hard to explain, but it's as if I'm called to go there.

Elias: Mary said much the same thing. I have often wondered why God seems to speak so clearly in our most violent times and seems silent when we are at peace.

Luke: Well, I suppose we need to hear His voice more clearly in violent times.

Guest (Male): And it is in our nature to listen more attentively whenever everything has gone wrong. In peace we become self-sufficient and lazy. Yet it is in peace that we should be most grateful and obedient. A paradox, a paradox indeed. Now, eat.

Luke: Elias, I don't know which surprises me more, that you are a scribe living here or a scribe who became a follower of Jesus.

Elias: You cannot be more surprised than I was.

Luke: Why?

Elias: I was one of the scribes who had hoped to trap Jesus, trick Him into saying something so we could discredit Him in our minds, if not actually in public.

Luke: Trick Him how?

Elias: Over the law, mostly. Questions about the teachings of our scriptures, the Sabbath for example. Now, which parchment is it? Ah, this one. Yes, He had been teaching in the synagogue and suddenly a woman came forward. Oh, the priest there was not happy at all.

Guest (Female): Master, help me.

Guest (Male): Wait, rabbi. Woman, how dare you interrupt our service? Your place is with the rest of the women at the back of the synagogue.

Guest (Female): Please, Master, as you can see, I am bent over and crippled. I have been unable to stand up straight for over 18 years now.

Guest (Male): Rabbi, don't indulge this woman. There is a place and a time for everything. The synagogue on the Sabbath is neither the place nor the time.

Jesus: Woman, come. Let me lay my hands on you. You are set free from your ailment.

Guest (Female): Blessed be the name of the Lord. I am healed! Everyone, I am healed! I am healed!

Guest (Male): Rabbi, I must protest. There are six days on which work ought to be done. By all means, let them come on those days and be cured, but not on the Sabbath day.

Jesus: You hypocrites! On the Sabbath day, don't you untie your ox or your donkey from the manger and lead it away to give it water? So shouldn't this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for 18 long years, be set free from her bondage on the Sabbath day?

Elias: When He said this, all of us His accusers were put to shame, and the entire crowd rejoiced at all the wonderful things He was doing. But that didn't stop us. I think you'll notice as you read through these parchments that there are many occasions when we—and I mean those of us who wanted to trap Him—had invited Him to meals in our houses.

It was a twisted form of hospitality to invite a man in to condemn him. But He often caught us in our own traps. He never let us off the hook. Oh, never. I remember once when we were at a meal together at the home of a very reputable Pharisee, and naturally everyone positioned themselves in the places of honor. Jesus watched this and then said:

Jesus: When you're invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don't sit down in the place of honor. Someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host to sit there. And the host may have to tell you to give up your place. You'll be disgraced in front of everyone and have to sit in the lowest position at the table.

When you're invited, it is better to assume to sit in the lowest place so that when your host comes, he'll see where you are and say, "My friend, you're in the wrong place. Come, move to this place of honor." Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who lift themselves up, themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be lifted up.

Elias: I remember one particular host who reprimanded Jesus for not observing the ceremonial washing before sitting down to dinner. That was a mistake.

Jesus: You Pharisees are conscientious to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Didn't the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give of yourselves generously from within and then everything will be clean for you.

But woe to you Pharisees! For you give tithes of mint and rue and all kinds of herbs, while you disregard justice and the love of God. These are the things you should practice without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the places of honor in the synagogue and to be greeted with respect in the marketplace. Woe to you! For you are like the hidden tombs that people walk over without realizing.

Guest (Male): Master, I beg you to curb your tongue.

Jesus: Woe also to you lawyers! For you weigh men down with burdens that are hard to bear, while you yourselves do not lift a finger to help them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets and it was your fathers who killed them. So you are witnesses and approve of their deeds, for they killed them and you build their tombs.

For this reason, the wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute, so that this generation may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary." Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.

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Elias: Little wonder after such harsh words that we scribes and Pharisees became more hostile towards Him. And He didn't lose other opportunities to attack us. Even when He wasn't talking to us, He was talking about us. For example, He once told His disciples a story.

Jesus: There was a rich man who had a manager. And the rich man learned that his manager was embezzling his property. So he summoned the manager to him and said, "What's all this I hear about you? Give me an account of your management because you are fired."

Then the manager said to himself, "What will I do now that my master is taking my job away from me? I'm not strong enough to dig. I'm too ashamed to beg. Wait, I have a plan so that when I'm dismissed from my job, people will still welcome me into their homes."

So he summoned the people who were in debt to his master and asked the first one, "How much do you owe my master?" "100 jugs of olive oil," came the reply. The manager said, "Take your bill, sit down quickly, and repay 50." Then the manager asked another, "And how much do you owe my master?" The man replied, "100 containers of wheat." The manager said to him, "Take your bill and repay 80."

This is what he did with everyone who owed his master anything. And his master learned about this and commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.

For the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of the unrighteous so that when it is gone, they will receive you into eternal dwellings. Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful in much, and whoever is unfaithful in a very little is unfaithful in much.

And if you have not been faithful with the wealth of the unrighteous, who will entrust you with true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours to own? No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Guest (Male): These are all very interesting thoughts. But where does it say in the law that it is wrong for we Pharisees to be wealthy? You go too far if you suggest our wealth is somehow wrong in the eyes of God. Exactly. How we follow the law and make money is our business, not yours.

Jesus: You may justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. And what is held in esteem in the sight of men is detestable in the sight of God. Take care and be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for your life is more than the abundance of possessions. Heed this story.

The land of a rich man was very productive and he thought to himself, "What shall I do for I have no place to store my crops?" Then he said, "I know what I'll do. I'll pull down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods, and I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have an abundance of goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry.'"

But God said to him, "You fool. This very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have worked so hard to possess?" So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.

Guest (Male): And we would not disagree with you, rabbi. But we maintain that it is not inconsistent to be wealthy and to follow the law. Now what do you say to that?

Jesus: Let me tell you another story. There was a rich man who regularly dressed in purple and fine linen who lived in great splendor every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to satisfy his hunger with even the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table.

Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where the rich man was in great torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus under his protection.

The rich man called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames." But Abraham said, "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do it and no one can cross from there to us." The rich man said, "Then, father, I beg you to send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so he'll warn them about this place of torment and they'll all avoid coming here."

Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets. They should listen to them." The rich man said, "No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." Abraham said to him, "If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead."

Guest (Male): With all due respect, I take exception to your stories, rabbi. I give to the poor. Ask anyone, I'm a good man, a righteous man.

Jesus: Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed: "God, I thank you that I am not like these other people, thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all my income."

But the tax collector, standing far off, couldn't even bring himself to raise his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." I tell you, this man returned to his home justified rather than the other. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Elias: It seemed to me that the closer He got to Jerusalem, the harsher His attacks became, as if He knew that we were working hard to trap Him, getting angrier and more determined to silence Him. But here am I jabbering away and you are not eating.

Luke: Don't worry about that. Trust me, Elias, this is food of another kind.

Elias: Ah, yes, it is. It is and I've been feasting on it for years.

Dave Arnold: Next time on Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, The Luke Reports continues.

Good morning. What can I—? Look around, Flavius. Take anything useful. Is that Lord? Let me see again. And so you shall. Zacchaeus! I heard a crash.

The Luke Reports: The Journey to Jerusalem is a production of Focus on the Family. Our cast starred Richard O'Callaghan as Luke, Adam Godley as Jesus, David Kossoff as Elias, also starring Justin Butcher, John Glover, Tim Meats, Christopher Naylor, and Christine Wray. For Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, I'm Dave Arnold. Thanks for listening.