Love is the only way.
Summaries
Luke risks his life to visit Paul, who is captive in a Roman prison under Nero's rule. Together, they struggle against a determined emperor and the frailties of the human spirit to live out the Gospel and spread the message to the world.
Roma, 67 AD. After the great fire that burnt a great part of the city, Emperor Nero points Paul, Jesus' apostle, as guilty of the fire, arresting him and taking him to Mamertine Prison. There prefect Mauritius struggles between his daughter Caelia, who suffers an unknown disease, and his job as warden of the prison commanded by own Nero, that he is considers as a failure on his military carrier. Despite the risks for the Christians, physician and medicine man Luke arrives Rome from Greek Islands to find Paul, living in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, two former Romans turned in Christians that they use their home as shelter for others Roman Christians to save them from Nero's soldiers, who kill all Christians they find, torturing and using them as human candles to light Rome's streets at night. After realizing that Paul is in Mamertine, Luke get access to the jail and he meets Paul, who accepts Luke's request to tell his biography to be known before he is executed by Nero, writing it in a new book about Gospel and Jesus' teachings. Meanwhile Luke writes detailing the beginnings of "The Way" and the birth of what will come to be known as the church, a bound on chains Paul fights the inner demons of his remembers as survivor of much-floggings, shipwreck, starvation, stoning, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure-yet, waiting for his appointment with death and haunted by the shadows of his violent past, wondering if he has been forgotten and if he has the strength to finish well. Mauritius, discovering Luke's intrusion, tries use it to earn Nero's favor in the belief that Paul will confess to be who burnt Rome. Intriguished by Luke, Mauritius permits more meetings between Luke and Paul to disgust of Mauritius' wife Irenica, who lives in eternal suffering by Caelia's ill. Due to the increase of violence by a young Christians looking for vengeance, Priscilla and Aquila doubt to leave Roma with the people saved or stay to save more Romans, at the same time that Luke's life and his efforts for the book endangers by Mauritius' ambitions. With time running out, Luke faces his destiny, that not only will changes everything around him, too around the world.
—Chockys
Paul is imprisoned and Christians in Rome are facing heavy persecution. With darkness seeming to close in, Luke meets with Paul to receive encouragement and guidance for God's people, inspired to write down Paul's story into what would become known as the book of Acts.
—jcase1981
Synopsis
Luke the evangelist enters Rome in secret just as he witnesses Christian victims being set ablaze as human torches to light the night-time streets. He has been sent by other Christian communities outside of Rome to meet with Paul the Apostle and persuade him to help in writing an account of his wisdom. Luke meets with Priscilla and Aquila, the leaders of the Christian community hiding out in the city, who are currently debating whether to stay in Rome and continue to provide hope to persecuted victims of Nero's pogrom or to leave Rome with their community to avoid certain death.
Paul has been imprisoned inside Mamertine Prison for his strong influence as a Christian leader which makes him a threat to Nero's power and the Roman Empire. Mauritius Gallus, the newly appointed prefect of the prison, accuses him of burning half of Rome down and, under Nero's decree, sentences him to death. Luke uses forged papers to sneak into the prison and joyfully greets a weary, physically beaten Paul. Paul and Luke both agree that Paul's time is soon coming to an end and so Luke convinces Paul to help him write an account of how Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, came to be one of Christianity's greatest leaders. Mauritius discovers that Luke manged to sneak into the prison with the help of high-ranking Romans, but allows him to visit Paul unscathed because those Romans are also friends of Mauritius.
Paul begins narrating his origins: That he was once Saul of Tarsus, a Jewish boy, who was influenced by the zealotry of the Jewish leaders and witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen at their hands for professing his faith in Jesus Christ. This event made Saul vow to destroy all Christians throughout the world. Mauritius laments the fact that he has been made prefect of the prison despite his many deeds for Rome and that his daughter is dying from a terrible sickness despite all his sacrifices to the Roman gods. At a tavern, his friends suggest that he find some evidence that the Christians were responsible for burning down Rome despite rumors abounding that it was Nero who started the fire.
The Christian community continues to suffer losses, including a Roman boy named Tarquin who was sent to enlist the aid of Roman citizens sympathetic to the Christians' plight. Tarquin's cousin, Cassius, adamantly calls for Christians to take up arms and seek revenge against the Romans for all their persecutions. But, Aquila rebukes him by saying that Paul never sought revenge or wished ill upon all those who harmed him and that "love is the only way". Luke, having witnessed the Roman's barbarism and cruelty, relates this news to Paul and begins to sympathize with the need for revenge. Paul, however, admonishes him for "giving up on the world when Christ did not" and tells him that the very love which Christ died for is the only way to counter this evil. Inspired by these words, Luke lets go of his anger and continues writing down Paul's story.
At this point, Paul relates his story about how he hunted down and butchered many Christians throughout the Holy Land until the day he rode for Damascus with his brethren. He became blinded by God and heard His voice asking why Saul persecuted Him. This event along with Saul's meeting Ananias, a disciple of Christ, humbles Saul so deeply that he repents of his actions. Ananias restores Saul's sight and baptizes him in the name of the Lord, which leads to Saul rejecting his former name and becoming Paul.
Mauritius, having heard about Paul's reputation as a preacher and miracle worker, speaks with Paul and relays his concerns that his daughter is dying. Paul suggests that Luke be allowed to examine her and help, but Mauritius refuses to allow a Christian into his home despite the protests of his wife who is growing impatient with Mauritius' hubris. Further, Mauritius has Luke imprisoned under the assumption that Paul and Luke are plotting an escape from the prison to lead an uprising against Rome. Paul, however, assures him that this is not the case and offers Luke words of comfort that he will find the strength to love and forgive their enemies.
Cassius, having lost all patience with Priscilla and Aquila's pacifism, decides to take matters into his own by bringing an armed group of men to storm the prison and free Paul. But, Paul rejects their offer of rescue by telling them that Christ has already won the victory upon the cross. Dejected, Cassius and the others escape before more guards arrive and disappear into the night. Mauritius angrily accuses Paul and Luke of the conspiracy to escape despite their protests and has Luke thrown into prison along with other imprisoned Christians. After learning that they will be sentenced to Nero's circus to be devoured by wild beasts, Luke leads the other Christians in prayer asking the Lord to forgive their captors for their impending execution.
Mauritius finally relents after fearing the loss of her daughter and has Luke brought to his house to help save her. Luke sends Mauritius to Aquila and Priscilla for supplies needed to heal the child. Mauritius, amazed that Luke would entrust the lives of other Christians to him, goes alone to their hiding place and begs for their help. Although initially wary and distrustful of a Roman asking for their assistance, they relent and give Mauritius the supplies he requests. With the items delivered, Luke is able to use his healing skills as a physician to cure the warden's daughter of her illness at the same time that the imprisoned Christians are thrown into the circus.
With his daughter finally healthy again, Mauritius graciously spares Luke's life and thanks Paul for continuing to show him compassion and kindness. Although Mauritius is sorry for the deaths of the Christians in the arena, Paul responds by saying that Mauritius may yet come to know Jesus Christ and God's undying love. Paul and Luke meet one more time and express their hope that all the world shall know the Christians by their love and that they will meet again. Aquila and Priscilla, having decided at this point to leave Rome with their community, agree to deliver Luke's completed letters and writings to Timothy, thus ensuring that the Acts of the Apostles will be told and retold to all Christians and non-Christians.
Luke decides to remain in Rome and continue the work of evangelizing in the name of Christians. As the Christian community escapes into the countryside, Paul is escorted outside the prison to be executed by decapitation with Luke watching. Mauritius shakes Paul's hand in a final gesture of goodwill and respect. As Paul's execution is underway, a voice-over narrates his conclusion to Timothy saying that he is thankful to have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. The final scene depicts Paul arriving in Heaven as a crowd of people greet him joyfully, including all those he once persecuted and killed. He is last seen walking towards Jesus filled with peace.
Script:
[ ROME, AD 67
A DEVASTATING FIRE HAS SWEPT OVER THE CITY
EMPEROR NERO PINS THE BLAME ON THOSE THAT FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST AND ONE OF THEIR LEADERS, SAUL OF TARSUS
KNOWN AS PAUL TO THE ROMAN WORLD ]
[ CHRISTIANS ARE THROWN INTO NERO'S BLOODY CIRCUS OR SET ON FIRE AS ROMAN CANDLES TO LIGHT THE STREETS ]
PAUL: Is there nothing more?
[LEARNING OF PAUL'S ARREST, LUKE ENTERS ROME IN SECRET TO CAPTURE THE LAST OF PAUL'S WISDOM]
ROMAN SOLDIER 1 TALKING TO ANOTHER SOLDIER : A man was appointed to my garrison two weeks ago. He's very strong with a sword.
Soldier 2 : Yes, good to know.
Soldier 1 : Do you have other men?
Soldier 2 : Of course.
(Luke secretly enters Rome market street; PEOPLE CHATTERING; Luke stops ; MAN SCREAMING IN DISTANCE)
MERCHANT: Nero, protector of Rome. Let him be the center of your home. Our blessed emperor, Nero, protector of Rome.
TRADER: Yes, it's good. For you.
SLAVES TRADER: Strong, healthy, good teeth. He will serve you well.
STREET PROSTITUTE to Luke: Care for company?
[Luke saw a man, signals at him. Luke follows the man into an alley]
[ They came to a dark compound. Enters a door. People inside look at them.]
MAN 1: Look, it's Luke.
WOMAN 1: Who are you speaking of?
WOMAN 2: Is that Luke?
MAN: Praise God.
WOMAN 1: It is Luke.
(CROWD CHATTERING)
Woman running toward him: Luke?
LUKE: Priscilla.
PRISCILLA: Thank you, Eubulus.
EUBULUS: Of course.
PRISCILLA: Luke. Praise God.
We were beginning to be worried.
LUKE: I had to wait at the gates longer than expected, but here we are.
This place, so many people.
PRISCILLA: There were so many who
lost their homes in the fires, others threatened by neighbors, persecuted in the streets. Come. Aquila's inside.
PRISCILLA: Aquila.
LUKE: Aquila.
AQUILA: Luke. What a sight for these weary eyes. I'm glad to see you, brother.
[THEY HUG EACH OTHER]
LUKE: The arrangements you made were in perfect order.
AQUILA: These are terrible times. We could take no chances.
LUKE: I know. Your letters that reached us have torn the community's heart out, so we took up a collection. It's not as much as I had hoped.
AQUILA: Food and supplies are running low. We are most grateful for every coin.
[Aquila waves at a boy. And he gave the coins bag to him]
AQUILA: Tarquin, speak with Heroditon and Rufus about what is most urgently needed. Go on.
LUKE: Tarquin? But he's so young for orders.
AQUILA: He's loyal. He's a Roman boy.
He lost both his parents in the fires. We took him in.
AQUILA: This is Cassius, his cousin. He followed when he heard what the community was doing. He was baptized soon after.
[Luke pulled Aquila aside]
LUKE: Aquila, can everyone here be trusted?
AQUILA: We trust in God. Come, let's eat. You must be starving.
LUKE: Your cooking? I don't know if I'm that hungry.
[Aquiila chuckles. They proceed to dining place][Luke, Aquila and PRISCILLA seating at dinner table]
LUKE: There is a darkness over this city now that was not present when Paul and I were here last.
AQUILA: Nero's cruelties have worsened. He holds his circus games with more regularity. Men, women, children torn apart by wild beasts to the laughter of the crowd.
LUKE: Oh, my God.
AQUILA: Nero says the reason is to show the Roman people that these followers of Christ were responsible for burning half the city to the ground.
LUKE: What of all our brothers and sisters that you shelter here? How much longer can you hide them?
AQUILA: We don't know, Luke. We're at a crossroads.We're not sure whether to continue here in faith or to move the whole community out of Rome.
[LUKE TURNS HIS FACE TOWARDS PRISCILLA]
LUKE: Priscilla... With such great persecution, why stay?
PRISCILLA: People are desperate. We're the only light left in this city.
AQUILA: But in staying, we put a great deal of lives in danger. There are many families here.
PRISCILLA: Perhaps when you speak to Paul...
LUKE: Yes. Yes, he will shed light on this.
He will know what to do.
AQUILA: We would be grateful.
PRISCILLA: Luke. I know you need rest, but there are a great many people here in need of a physician.
LUKE: Show me to them.
[ MAMERTINE PRISON , ROME]
( GUARDS SHOUTING ORDERS) (MAN SCREAMING)
GUARD: Take this limestone, come on!
[MAN HOLDING A FLAME TORCH WITH ONE HAND, WHILE ESCORTING PAUL IN BASEMENT CORRIDOR]
MAN: Come on, move!
[THEY CAME TO OPEN SPACE. MEN CHATTERING ][WHIPPING AND LASHES SOUND, PAIN CRIES]
[MAN PUSHED PAUL AND HE FALLS DOWN. MAN KICKS PAUL'S BODY. PAUL GRUNTS IN PAIN]
ROMAN SOLDIER¹: Enough. Get him up.
MAN: Come on, you. Get up.
[prefect¹ Mauritius reads a scroll held by a Roman soldier, then walks towards Paul]
PREFECT MAURITIUS: Paul of Tarsus. The man responsible for half of Rome laying in ashes.
[PAUL COUGHS]
PREFECT MAURITIUS: I expected more. At least a man who could stand straight. I am Mauritius Gallas, Commander of the Third Legion of Rome. And now the new Prefect of the Mamertine Prison.
[Roman Soldier holding a scroll and reading loud] : "His greatness Emperor Nero has hereby proclaimed you a corrupter and deceiver, and a capital charge has been brought upon you for treason. For this crime, the punishment is death by beheading upon Emperor Nero's decree."
PREFECT MAURITIUS : In the meantime, you'll be left alone in the darkness.
MAN 2: Another 20 lashes for the old man.
[Man whispering to Luke]
MAN: Forged Roman documents. Use these if you get stopped by guards in the city. A quick glance and they'll pass, but a longer look will get you killed.
LUKE: Understood.
[Both of them waiting and looking]
MAN: That's the signal. The peace of our Lord be with you, my brother.
LUKE: I'll need it.
[Luke leaves his friend and walks towards another man ]
MAN 2: Just remember, you only get back out if I decide you do.
LUKE: You are most certainly a powerful man.
[MAN 2 CHUCKLES, he is the prison warden, escorts Luke to Paul's prison cell]
MAN 2: I will come back before the night watch ends.
[LUKE ASCENDING TO PAUL'S PRISON CELL]
LUKE: Hello, brother.
[LUKE WALKS TO PAUL WHO IS LAYING ON HIS STOMACH TO THE FLOOR. HIS BACK WAS BADLY WHIPPED]
LUKE: Brother.
PAUL: Luke.Am I dreaming?
LUKE: No. I'm here.
PAUL: Praise God.
[BOTH LAUGH]
PAUL: Praise God.
LUKE: You have fresh wounds.
Get up. Can you sit?
[PAUL GRUNTS]: Yes
LUKE: Come sit.
PAUL: I did not expect to see your face in this life again.
LUKE: Nor I yours.
PAUL: Getting in here must have come at a great price. Surely the money could have been put to better use for our brothers and sisters.
LUKE: Perhaps. But there wasn't a single vote of disagreement amongst the communities, even the Corinthians gave generously, if you can believe it.
[Luke continues tending to Paul's wound. Paul gasps]
LUKE: Sorry.
PAUL: I am grateful. I've become an old man inside these walls. Every bone is wracked with pain. [EXHALES] My eyesight has become even weaker.
LUKE: Quit your complaining. I have new robes and fresh water to bathe. So you shall be a clean old man.
I'm glad to see you kept yourself busy while I was gone. Getting yourself arrested again, challenging Nero again...
PAUL: Hmm.
LUKE: ...and apparently finding the time to burn down half of Rome? Well done, old man.
[PAUL CHUCKLING]
LUKE: I received the news about your trial at the Forum. I know you stood alone.
You know I would have never left your side.
PAUL: You are here now.
LUKE: And so I am.
PAUL: Tell me some good news that I might hold onto.
LUKE: (LAUGHS) There is good news in Crete and Ephesus. Titus and Timothy have silenced the false teachers and straightened out the good doctrine.
PAUL: And what is the news of this city?
LUKE: Rome is stained with the blood of our brothers and sisters.
Aquila and Priscilla are faced with the difficult decision whether to stay or to flee.
Paul, there is much for us to discuss, but the Roman communities need...
They need wisdom at this very moment.
PAUL: What wisdom can I give? I have gone right, Christ has sent me left. I've gone left, and Christ has pushed me right. I have many regrets, made many mistakes, but everything I have done, I have done for Christ.
[ Prison warden signals to Luke at the prison exit /entrance]
MAN : Go.
LUKE: I'll be back soon.
[AT THE COMMUNITY HIDEOUT, LUKE HAVING CONVERSATION WITH AQUILA AND PRISCILLA]
LUKE: He's physically shattered, but the cantankerous old soul remains full of hope and conviction.
(PRISCILLA CHUCKLES): It's welcome news. I've been praying that this solitude wouldn't crush him.
LUKE: He is not crushed,
but he does struggle that his work for Christ has come to an end. Paul is grateful that you have risked your lives for this community.
AQUILA: Did he have any wisdom on the matter?
LUKE: He is urging you to discern for yourselves where Christ is calling you.
AQUILA: No specific instructions?
LUKE: No. Only to offer an example of his own life.
[In the courtyard, a mother cuddling a baby telling her friends] : He's much better today.
He looks...
[LUKE OFFERIN A MUG TO A MAN SITTING AT THE COURTYARD]
LUKE: Here, drink this. It will help with the pain.
[Man helping a woman, kicks the door and entering the courtyard]
MAN: Priscilla?
MAN: Priscilla! Priscilla!
PRISCILLA: I'm here. I'm here.
[Priscilla reaching out to the woman beside the man ]
PRISCILLA: Octavia? What's happened?
MAN: I found her wandering the streets like this.
PRISCILLA: Sit.
Sit, sit, sit.
LUKE: Where are you hurt?
PRISCILLA: Where?
Octavia, where are you hurt?
Where are you...
OCTAVIA: They've killed my husband. (SOBBING) And my little baby boy. They broke down the doors!
[PRISCILLA SHUSHING]
OCTAVIA: We should have come here sooner.
PRISCILLA: You're bleeding. Where are you hurt?
OCTAVIA: It's not my blood. It's my...
It's my baby's blood. (SOBBING)
It's my baby's blood.
[All in the courtyard are looking at Octavia]
LUKE: Take her inside, out of sight of the others, please.
[Priscilla helping Octavia up and go into the house]
PRISCILLA: Come on. You're safe.
OCTAVIA: No, no.
PRISCILLA: Come. Come.
(CROWD MURMURING)
[ Luke is inside Paul's prison cell]
LUKE: They were all watching this poor woman covered in the blood of her family that had just been slaughtered.
Their faces were filled with a great fear.
PAUL: Christ has promised these
difficult times.
LUKE: You know you will die here in Rome. Yet you are certain of the truth.
PAUL: I know the one in whom I believe.
And I am certain of the joy of where I go.
LUKE: Yes, but I don't see the same conviction in the others, Paul. These men, these women, these children.
PAUL: I cannot fix their faith.
LUKE: You can inspire their faith,
just as your... Your letters always have.
PAUL:You want me to write another letter?
LUKE: It's time to get the blood flowing.
[Luke helps Paul up on his feet]
LUKE: The Way is growing. There are men, women, children now that have never met you, that will never meet you, so there must be a handwritten
account of these Acts.
It is for the same reason that I undertook an account of our Lord Jesus Christ for Theophilus. So that he would know the story of Christ, and now the people must know your story.
PAUL: You risk people looking to mebefore Christ.
LUKE: Paul. No, it is your certainty that opens the door to Christ. I have never met Christ in the flesh, but the day I heard you preach in Troas, my God, I saw Christ in you. I left my family and my friends, my whole life behind.
PAUL: You would write it in here?
LUKE: What did you say?
PAUL: You would write it here?
LUKE: Yes. I could smuggle the tools in here.
PAUL: This is not like our last visit to Rome. If you were caught with documents coming from this prison, it could mean certain death.
GUARD (TO LUKE): Greek. Get up.
[THE GUARD ESCORTS LUKE OUTSIDE TO MEET MAURITIUS]
MAURITIUS: Usually people try to escape this place, not break into it. They tell me you're a physician.
LUKE: I am.
MAURITIUS: You have high-ranking friends for a physician. Especially a Greek physician.
The emperor has declared Christianity a forbidden cult and Paul of Tarsus, the chief offender.
You understand the risk is death, and yet you, a Greek Christian, boldly walk into a Roman prison. (CHUCKLES)
Boldly walk into my prison.
LUKE: My apologies...Prefect.
As you have said, I have high-ranking friends.
MAURITIUS: I know the men that you have favor with.
These are good men, that have fought and bled for Rome and her gods.
It's the only reason I honor this request.
LUKE: I am grateful for it.
MAURITIUS (waves at his soldier): Escort the Greek back to the streets. He must, of course, still take his chances out there.
GUARD: What are you doing here?
MAN 1: Only passing through.
GUARD: Of course, you are.
Only passing through.
Let's have a look at those documents.
MAN 1: I would never betray our gods. Never.
GUARD: Oh, yeah?
MAN 1: I would never betray our gods. Never.
GUARD: All right.
[ Guard sees Luke within the vicinity]
GUARD: Hey, you. You, come here.
(Guard shooves the man)
GUARD: You, out.
[GUARD TO LUKE]
GUARD: Show me your documents.
[WHILE LUKE SHOWS THE FORGED DOCUMENT TO THE GUARD, A COMMOTION BREAKS OUT NEARBY]
WOMAN: I swear, I will... I will tell the others.
MAN 2: What are you going to do about it? What? Why do you bring it up?
WOMAN: Get away from me, okay?
MAN 2: You get away from me!
This is...
(CLATTERING) (GUARD MUMBLES)
[THE GUARD RETURNS THE DOCUMENT TO LUKE AND RUSHES ON TO THE ARGUMENT SCENE]
MAN 1: Set him on fire!
(LAUGHING MALICIOUSLY)
MAN 1: More oil!
MAN 2: Here's your torch.
Like a candle.
MAN 1: You see this?
MAN 2: Burn him alive.
MAN 1: Pray unto your God now.
CHRISTIAN : No. No.
[LUKE LOOKS FROM A DISTANCE]
MAN 2: Traitor.
MAN 1: We want to hear you scream!
[THE FIRE BURNS THE MAN TIED TO THE POLE] (CHRISTIAN SCREAMING IN AGONY) [LUKE LOOKS AT THE SCENE AND SHUT HIS EYES , TEAR DROP ]
(SCREAMING CONTINUES)
[PRISCILLA WALKS TO BALCONY]
PRISCILLA: Aquila. I woke up. You weren't there.
AQUILA: I couldn't sleep.
PRISCILLA: Luke's back. He's safe.
AQUILA: Good. That's good.
[BOTH OF THEM HOLDING HANDS AND LOOK AT THE LANDSCAPE]
PRISCILLA: We've loved this city as our own.
AQUILA: I only see what it's become. Nero's Rome. Nero's madness.
PRISCILLA: It'll pass. He can't be emperor forever.
AQUILA: How many more people will die before then? This decision weighs heavily on me. I receive no wisdom in prayer. In staying, we put the lives of all our brothers and sisters under this roof in danger.
PRISCILLA: And if we go, how many people that rely on us do we condemn to a terrible fate?
PRISCILLA: Christ was clear when he said he was sending us out amongst the wolves.
AQUILA: He also told us to be as wise as serpents.
PRISCILLA: And harmless as doves.
As Paul has said, we must each make our own decision.
[Priscilla walks into the house from balcony]
[OUT IN THE COURTYARD, LUKE OBSERVES PRISCILLA . AQUILA JOINS LUKE AT THE TABLE]
LUKE: She loves these people.
AQUILA: Like her children. And yet she still finds room in her heart for all of those lost in Rome. Something that doesn't come as easily to me.
LUKE: Aquila, I saw them burning a body this morning. He was a man I recognized from here. Someone I helped.
I did nothing. I feel no love for these Romans. This evil makes no sense to me.
[INSIDE A ROOM FILLED WITH PEOPLE](ALL CHATTERING)
AQUILA: We were asked to build a community... We were asked to build a community in this city, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to love this city,
but I can no longer see a clear answer for a way forward.
CASSIUS: What does Paul say?
[A WOMAN SPEAKS OUT FROM THE BACK OF THE ROOM]
PRISCILLA: That this is something that falls to each man and woman in their thoughts and prayers.
AQUILA: Some of you have families, have children. I understand you want to protect them or feel called to stay.
MAN 1: It's a risk for even one of us, Aquila, to try and slip in and out of the gates. How could we possibly all get out?
AQUILA: I have asked Eubulus to find us a way.
EUBULUS: There's an old aqueduct that lies beneath the new city. It's been long buried and forgotten. The entrance to these tunnels lies beneath a property owned by a trio of wealthy Roman families.
CASSIUS: And why would they help us?
AQUILA: Because they realize that Nero was responsible for burning half of their city to the ground. They want the tyrant dead and Rome returned to the people.
(ALL MURMURING)
AQUILA: Now, we may have favor, but be under no illusion, this will not be an easy task.
OCTAVIA: And where will we go?
AQUILA: To Ephesus. Timothy is there and they will welcome us. And the Greeks are far more tolerant of us.
WOMAN 1: We were Romans before we were Christian. This is our home.
(ALL EXCLAIMING)
AQUILA: I do not take this decision lightly. But I believe that there is more good to be done outside of Rome.
PRISCILLA: Aquila's right.
But I think there's also some good in staying.
It's true, we've never seen Rome darker.
But if we abandon it,
will it not be cast into total darkness?
Who would have taken Tarquin in?
You know what happens to orphans in this city.
They're left on the streets to die.
Or they're forced into prostitution at the temples.
There are widows on the street corners
begging for coins to feed their children.
If we abandon them, who will feed them?
Who will care?
(ALL MURMURING)
CASSIUS: Nero is responsible for the deaths in my family, not Rome.
CASSIUS: Aquila speaks of those that want to overthrow Nero. Are these not allies of ours?
MAN: Yes, indeed. We are allies.
CASSIUS: And think of the good that could be done once Rome is delivered from Nero's evil grip.
AQUILA: There are no easy answers. Trust in God to lead the way.
EUBULUS: The most difficult part will be getting news to these families, so that they can open the tunnels in an area we can pass unseen. Someone will have to goto Palatine Hill, but it's...
It's almost impossible. Nero trusts none of these people. He has eyes everywhere.
(ALL CHATTERING)
[A BOY SAID OUT]
TARQUIN: I'll go.
PRISCILLA: No, Tarquin.
[TARQUIN STANDS UP]
TARQUIN: I can go. They all think I'm an orphan, a beggar. No one will look twice.
I want to help.
[TARQUIN SITS DOWN]
(All Murmuring)
[OUTSIDE THE BALCONY, AQUILA AND PRISCILLA WAITING]
AQUILA: Tarquin, come here. Take this to our Roman friends and tell them that we gratefully accept their help.
PRISCILLA: You are a very brave boy. Now, please be careful. Yeah? (she kiised his forehead) Go on.
WOMAN 1: Safe journey.
MAN 1: Bless you, son.
TARQUIN: Thank
WOMAN 2: Be safe.
MAN 2: Best of luck.
Man 3: Good luck.
Man 4: Walk in peace.
CASSIUS: I know you can do this.
TARQUIN: Yes.
CASSIUS: Be strong.
TARQUIN: I will.
CASSIUS: I'm proud of you. Go.
TARQUIN: Thank you.
[INSIDE PRISON CELL]
PAUL: My life did not begin with hate. I don't recall the feeling as a child. I always felt myself to be more a sheep in the midst of wolves. Innocent as a dove.
[LUKE IS WRITING DOWN AS PAUL DICTATING]
PAUL: I was in the temple keeping true to my fasts, my prayers. Stephen was out in the streets, bringing charity to widows and orphans, preaching truth to drunks and the crippled.
I was blameless in the ancient law of Israel, while Stephen was blaspheming on the very holy ground of God.
LUKE: So what did you do?
PAUL: We spread lies, created an uproar that had him brought to trial.
LUKE: What did he argue?
PAUL: That Jesus was the Messiah.
And the temple of God was no longer the only place where God could be worshiped.
Blasphemy.
[CROWD CLAMORING. THROWING STONES AT STEPHEN]
PAUL: I heard his final words even amongst the roar of the crowd.
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them."
Even in death, a final blasphemy on his lips.
In that moment, I vowed to destroy all those that spoke of this Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.
[PAUL DREAMS OF THE FACES OF THOSE HE PERSECUTED PRIOR HIS CONVERSION]
(GASPS) [PAUL LYING IN PRISON CELL WITH EYES OPEN]
PAUL: Your grace is sufficient.
Your grace is sufficient.
[Men working construction at the building]
MAN: The wall can never be breached here. Never.
[ROMAN SOLDIER HAND A SCROLL TO MAURITIUS]
SOLDIER: The reports from the night.
MAURITIUS: And the Greek?
SOLDIER: He came and went once more.
MAURITIUS: What do you know about Paul of Tarsus?
SOLDIER: There are plenty of rumors that circulate.
A magician. A god.
A madman.
MAURITIUS: Why does that Greek care to visit him in that disgusting pit?
SOLDIER: He dictates something to him.
MAURITIUS: A letter?
SOLDIER: A story.
[ MAURITIUS DISMISS THE SOLDIER]
[MAURITIUS WALKS INTO A ROOM. HIS WIFE LYING DOWN BESIDE THEIR SICK DAUGHTER]
WIFE: Her condition is no better.
MAURITIUS: She will be healed.
WIFE: And if not?
[PAUL INSIDE PRISON CELL.DREAMING ]
MAN: Saul... Saul...
Saul... Saul... Saul...
Saul...
JESUS CHRIST: Saul ...Saul, why do you persecute me?
[LUKE WALKS INTO THE PRISON CELL]
LUKE: Paul. Paul. Paul.
Give me your hand.
[LUKE HELPS PAUL UP AND SIT ON THE BED]
LUKE: You were screaming out.
PAUL: The devil sneaks in the darkness here. Taunts me... Day and night...
Reminding me of this terrible thorn in my flesh.
I'm haunted by myself as a child.
I wish to warn him
of the path he will take.
All these years,
I have had a vision of them.
I see them
waiting
somewhere...
But I do not know this place.
Its meaning has always
been hidden from me.
A torturous muse, the devil whispers
that they've found no peace...
They've found no joy.
[MAURITIUS' DAUGHTER SHIVERING, ON BED. MAURITIUS' WIFE SITTING IN ANOTHER ROOM. MAURITIUS WALKS TOWARD WIFE. HER EYES TEARING]
WIFE: I was remembering when Caelia was a little girl.
She used to sit at the window
and watch small sparrows
sing and fly around the garden.
She would have been there all day if I'd let her.
Do you remember our place
before the fires?
The light through the windows...
Flowers, the trees in the garden.
I was a noble woman.
The wife of a Roman hero.
MAURITIUS: It is Nero's madness.
WIFE: I do not blame Nero.
MAURITIUS: It is no help that you walk
around this place as if the gods have already taken her.
Don't you think you anger them by acting
like they have no power to heal?
WIFE: I have been sacrificing faithfully every day!
My conscience is clean.
I do not think that I'm the one
the gods refuse to listen to.
[MAURITIUS OFFERING PRAYERS TO THE ROMANS IDOLS]
[IN A TAVERN] (ALL CHATTERING)
PUBLIUS: There he is. Mauritius...
[PUBLIUS WITH A WOMAN BESIDE HIM, TALKS TO MAURITIUS]
PUBLIUS: Your glum mood threatens to make this lovely lass more expensive than she needs to be. Here, let me order you one. Elysius.
MAURITIUS: Publius. Thank you, no.
PUBLIUS to the lass: Run along.
[PUBLIUS SITS OPPOSITE MAURITIUS]
PUBLIUS: How is prison life?
MAURITIUS: You know as well as I it's a disgrace.
A black mark of dishonor on my house and family.
Twenty years of service to Rome,
risking my life
to earn my citizenship,
and now forced to take
idle servant's work
while Nero makes a mockery
of everything Rome stands for.
PUBLIUS: These are the troubled times, my friend.
But that is why the gods keep
the day of our death a mystery,
so that we can enjoy this life.
[MAURITIUS STARES AT PUBLIUS]
PUBLIUS: I'm sorry.
Friend, how is your daughter?
MAURITIUS: Worse by the day.
I sacrifice to Bona DEA,
but she does not reply.
PUBLIUS: Then sacrifice to Carna or Meditrina,
and to Felicitas, Fortuna...
Juno, Libera, Sors, Spes, Trivia.
There are a hundred gods that stand by.
MAURITIUS: Paul of Tarsus is under my watch.
PUBLIUS: The man responsible
for burning down Rome?
MAURITIUS: He's nothing but Nero's scapegoat.
(PUBLIUS SCOFFS)
MAURITIUS: What do you really know about these Christians?
PUBLIUS: I rarely find them in the establishments that I frequent. But I do know they have a strange affection for poor widows and ugly orphans.
But if you want to know what the gods think of them, just take a look around.
You'll see they're not even fit to light the streets of Rome.
MAURITIUS: There is a Greek who slips in and out, transcribing letters of some sort.
PUBLIUS: Mauritius, your mind has gone to rubbish in the darkness of that prison.
What if you were to seize these letters, find something, anything, that relates to the crimes he's been charged of?
MAURITIUS: Nero does not need evidence.
PUBLIUS: Assassination is in the air. Half the city believes Nero started the fires himself. But if you were to bring him something that shows that this Christian did conspire and burn down Rome, you would be a hero in Nero's eyes, the most honored man in all Rome.
Mauritius, think of your daughter. How much more would the gods listen if the emperor himself made a sacrifice for her?
[Mauritius steals a glance at Publius]
[ IN THE COMMUNITY HIDEOUT]
EUBULUS to Luke : Is it true that he has seen the Messiah?
Paul, that is.
[COMMOTION]
CASSIUS: Where's Luke? Luke!
AQUILA: Eubulus! Clear the table! Now!
[CASSIUS RUSHES INTO THE ROOM CARRYING AN INJURED]
CASSIUS: Aquila.
LUKE: Careful. Careful. Lie him here.
CASSIUS: I found him in the street.
They said he was beaten by soldiers after leaving Palatine Hill.
[PRISCILLA APPROACHES SLOWLY TO THE BODY]
PRISCILLA: (SCREAM ALOUD) No!
No. No. (She SOBBING)
[PRISCILLA CRIES UNCONTROLLED. THE VICTIM IS TARQUIN, the young boy]
CASSIUS: This is what trusting God gets you.
[CASSIUS STARES AT AQUILA AND DASHES OUT THE ROOM. AQUILA TRIES TO COMFORT PRISCILLA BUT SHE SHAKES HIM AWAY , CRIES SADLY]
[CHRISTIANS IN A ROOM]
CASSIUS: We must retaliate for this brutal act.
AQUILA: Many of us have only a short time left in this city. We must hold strong now.
CASSIUS: Hold strong?
So we're like diseased dogs, then?
We do nothing to defend ourselves, while we are chased from the city just to be hunted down and killed.
PRISCILLA: Cassius! We understand your anger. Tarquin was like a son to us.
I should never have let him go.
CASSIUS: Why do you blame yourselves and not the ones who have murdered him?
And who else have they taken from you?
(CROWD MURMURING) [CASSIUS WALKS AND STANDS BESIDE OCTAVIA]
CASSIUS: This woman has come to you
covered in the blood of her child.
AQUILA: And what would you do, Cassius?
Tell me. What would you do?
CASSIUS: We do what they do to us.
MAN 1: Yes.
CASSIUS: Murder them in the cover of darkness!
MAN 2: I'm with you, Cassius!
CASSIUS: Set fire and burn them
in their homes while they sleep!
AQUILA: You speak as if your ears have never heard the words of Christ.
[CASSIUS SHOUTS BACK]
CASSIUS: You never walked with Christ!
How can you say he would say these things in the face of such an evil like Nero?
[FROM ACROSS THE ROOM, A LOUD VOICE ]
LUKE: Quiet!
Be still. None of us here have walked with Christ.
But Paul has followed him longer than us all.
I have watched him be beaten,
I have watched him
be stoned and flogged,
and never once did he raise his finger
against his oppressors.
[LUKE LOOKS AROUND THE ROOM]
Let peace be with you,
for we live in the world,
but we do not wage war
as the world does.
[LUKE REACHES HIS HAND OUT TO CASSIUS LEFT SHOULDER, HELD HIM]
Peace begins with you, Cassius.
Love is the only way.
(SILENT)
[LUKE VISITS PAUL INSIDE PRISON CELL]
LUKE: There was a young Roman boy, Tarquin.
He was killed in the streets last night.
He was beloved by the community.
Most of them trust the Way.
But he has this cousin who is...
He's dividing them, Paul.
This growing faction
of young men that...
They want to retaliate.
They want revenge.
PAUL: We cannot repay evil for evil.
Evil can only be overcome with good.
LUKE: Well, considering all they've been through, can you really fault their response, Paul?
PAUL: What did you tell them?
LUKE: Love is the only way.
PAUL: And after all you've seen,
you still don't believe it?
LUKE: This isn't anything I've seen.
My God...
This is a world in the grip of evil.
This is Nero's circus.
It's passionate hate.
Blood washing down the street,
widows, orphans starving to death.
Babies born with the slightest defect
are disposed, dispatched, discarded.
This world
doesn't know a thing about love.
PAUL: And so you would give up
on the world when Christ
did not give up on us?
LUKE: Why not? (LOUDLY)
PAUL: No!
LUKE: (LOUDER) Why not?
PAUL: Love is the only way.
Love that suffers long.
Love that is kind,
that does not envy, that is not proud.
Love that does not dishonor,
that does not seek for itself.
Love that is not easily angered.
Love that rejoices in truth.
Love that never delights in evil.
Love that protects,
trusts, hopes,
endures all things.
That kind of love.
Give me your hand.
[LUKE STRECHES HIS HAND TO PAUL]
PAUL: Do you understand?
[PAUL PATS GENTLY ON LUKE'S FACE AND HUGS HIM]
PAUL: Then write it down.
[PAUL NARRATES TO LUKE]
PAUL: I once wanted vengeance,
like Cassius and these young men.
I know this path of destruction
more than anyone.
I hated those that followed Christ.
I hunted them down like wild animals.
And when they fled Jerusalem,
I went to the temple
to the chief priests,
to obtain authority to go to Damascus
and arrest all those
that followed the Way.
I was determined
to be God's hand of justice.
His wrath.
LUKE: You believed what you were doing was out of a love for God.
[LUKE CONTINUES WRITING AS PAUL SAYING]
PAUL: A blind love.
I only knew the law.
If water flows
down a mountain, what besides a miracle
could cause it to flow back?
LUKE: The road to Damascus was
your miracle.
PAUL: Yes.
The road to Damascus.
JESUS CHRIST: Saul... Saul...
Why do you persecute me?
SAUL: Who are you, Lord?
Who are you, Lord?
JESUS CHRIST: I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting.
JUDAS: What's going on? What happened?
MAN 1: He can't see.
JUDAS: Here. Lay him here.
MAN 2: Something...
Something happened on the road.
Something like a light.
There was a voice, a voice like...
Like thunder.
He fell to his knees,
as if he were struck down.
And he was shouting out the words...
Who are you, Lord?
MAN 1: All the way here
he has been saying aloud
that Jesus is the Messiah.
ANANIAS: Saul of Tarsus, can you hear me?
SAUL: Ananias?
ANANIAS: You know who I am?
SAUL: The Lord showed me a vision
that you would come to me.
ANANIAS: They tell me you have lost your mind,
that you haven't eaten
or had anything to drink in three days.
Your actions against
those that follow Christ
and all the harm you have done
is well reported.
I know you have come here
on authority of the chief priests
to arrest all those
who call on the Lord's name.
SAUL: I am a wretched man.
I deserve death.
ANANIAS: Yes.
We all do.
Yet,
Christ
has set us free.
Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus,
who appeared to you on the road
as you were coming here,
has sent me so that you may see again
and be filled
with the Holy Spirit.
Brother Saul,
receive thy sight.
[SAUL CAN SEE AGAIN] (SPLASHING)[SAUL WAS WATER BAPTISED]
LUKE: Everything in your life changed,
yet you continued on.
Three years in Arabia.
Why?
PAUL: Peter and the others spent
three years with Christ.
I had to do the same.
I had to learn how to pray, how to speak.
How to love.
LUKE: All right, old man.
Tell me everything that followed.
[SUDDENLY]
BALBUS [PRISON WARDEN]: Prisoner, on your feet.
The Greek, too.
[BALBUS ESCORTS BOTH PAUL AND LUKE TO MEER MAURITIUS. BALBUS GIVES THE WRITINGS OF LUKE TO MAURITIUS]
BALBUS: Sir.
MAURITIUS: A chair, perhaps?
PAUL: I will stand.
MAURITIUS: I recognize the way you stand,
like a man who has been
flogged repeatedly.
They say the spine bends
and does not heal properly.
Am I correct? ( LOOKING AT LUKE)
LUKE: You are correct.
MAURITIUS: I am sure you are aware
of the responsibility I have
for the detainment
of every prisoner in this place.
PAUL: I am well aware that to lose a prisoner means death for you and your men.
MAURITIUS: Exactly.
Then you understand my current concern.
PAUL: Prefect, do you think that we are plotting an escape?
MAURITIUS: Well, a man who has been charged
with burning down Rome
meets in secret with a Greek
for all hours of the night.
Perhaps you're not only plotting
an escape,
but an uprising.
LUKE: For what purpose?
MAURITIUS: Vengeance.
Followers of your cult are being beaten,
raped and killed for sport.
PAUL: It is for the Lord's sake
that we face death all day,
that we are considered
as sheep to be slaughtered.
MAURITIUS: Even the sheep will revolt
if whipped hard enough.
PAUL: Do you think that I have
come to Rome against my will?
That I am in this cell by accident?
MAURITIUS: I care very little
about the circumstances of your arrival.
I am concerned with these documents
that are being generated
in the very heart of my prison.
So, depending on my finding,
I will determine what should be done.
[MAURITIUS SIGNALS TO A SOLDIER]
MAURITIUS: Consider the Greek a threat
to Rome until proven otherwise.
Put him in the dark with the preacher.
[IN MAURITIUS' HOME. GIRL RASPY BREATHING]
DOCTOR: She's not improving.
MAURITIUS: Whatever the cost, I'd pay for it.
DOCTOR: It's not an issue of cost.
It's an issue
of whatever this illness is.
I have never seen
anything like this before.
MAURITIUS: Please.
[MAURITIUS IN PRAYER TO HIS ROMANS IDOLS AT HOME]
[AT CHRISTIANS COMMUNITY HIDEOUT COURTYARD]
EUBULUS: I understand your pain, Cassius.
CASSIUS: Understand?
Don't say you understand.
EUBULUS: But Christ spoke of love
and peace and patience.
CASSIUS: You understand nothing.
EUBULUS: You respond in the flesh.
CASSIUS: People are dying
every day because of us.
I've lost my whole family!
EUBULUS: Family? You speak of family?
CASSIUS: Yes. My family.
[EUBULUS GRAPS CASSIUS' SHIRT COLLAR AND SHOVING HIM ROUGHLY]
EUBULUS: You listen to me!
I still have my family,
and I will not put their lives at risk
for a foolish plan!
CASSIUS: You coward!
Just think of your family!
[OCTAVIA AND AQUILA RUN TO THE TWO MEN TO SEPARATE THEM]
OCTAVIA: No!
AQUILA: No! No!
OCTAVIA: What would you do, then?
AQUILA to CASSIUS: No! Keep your voice down!
CASSIUS: Luke has been thrown into prison.
AQUILA: What?
CASSIUS: On conspiracy.
AQUILA: What did you say?
OCTAVIA: Luke has been thrown into prison.
CASSIUS: And I've gathered men willing to storm
that prison and free them.
AQUILA: To what end, Cassius?
CASSIUS: Justice.
EUBULUS: Justice?
CASSIUS to AQUILA: Think of how foolish Nero will look having lost the man he accused of burning down Rome.
OCTAVIA: No.
If you're caught,
they'll come here for us all.
CASSIUS: Listen to me. Please.
AQUILA: Exactly.
CASSIUS: Listen to me! (SHOUTED) We can align ourselves with these powerful families to overthrow Nero.
And we can bring peace to Rome if we rule it.
OCTAVIA: Christ asked us to care
for the world, not rule it.
AQUILA: Listen closely. [AQUILA LOOKS AT THE CROWD]
AQUILA: All of you, listen to me closely.
Some of you may want
to stay in the city...
And some of you may want to leave.
But if any of you...
Any of you take up arms,
you have no place in this community.
(CROWD MURMURING) [AQUILA WALKS AWAY FROM CASSIUS]
[AQUILA MEETS PRISCILLA AT THE HOUSE ENTRANCE]
AQUILA: Cassius and the others
have finally calmed down.
PRISCILLA: I can't stop thinking about Tarquin.
The poor boy.
We sent him out there, Aquila.
AQUILA: I know. I blame myself.
I should have taken it.
We've lost so many, Priscilla.
I can't bear the thought
of losing any more.
I believe it's time to leave Rome
with the knowledge that we could be
better protected and serve elsewhere.
I pray that God works good through it.
PRISCILLA: And I pray that you'll forgive me,
because I believe that God
is calling us to different paths.
AQUILA: I know, I know...
I know you love this city, its people.
That's part of you. I understand.
I give you my blessing.
[ BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE HUG EACH OTHER](PRISCILLA SOBBING)
[Inside prison cell]
LUKE: I must say...
I preferred the visits
to that charming rented villa
the last time
you were imprisoned in Rome
instead of this lovely hellhole.
PAUL: Do you ever miss the road?
LUKE: You must be kidding.
You know I had a great life
before I met you.
PAUL: Your unwavering commitment
kept me going on many
of those cold, miserable nights
in the wilderness,
bellies rumbling,
feet and back in terrible pain.
[Silent]
PAUL: You used to sing those awful songs
in the middle of the night.
LUKE: Excuse me, but they were
from my childhood,
and I told you time and again,
it's the only thing
that puts me to sleep.
PAUL: Your pitch sounded even higher
than Timothy's mother.
LUKE: We never met.
Was she that good of a singer as well?
PAUL: And Peter's snoring.
We won't miss that.
LUKE: We won't miss that.
(CHUCKLE)
PAUL: They truly were
miserable days being with you.
I do miss them.
LUKE: Hmm.
PAUL: Praise God that he put you
into my life, brother.
I don't know where I'd be without you.
LUKE: Well, from malaria to blood loss,
you would be most certainly dead.
(PAUL CHUCKLING)
(LUKE VOCALIZING)
PAUL: Oh, Luke, no.
(LUKE LAUGHING GIGGLING)
[PUBLIUS READING THE WRITINGS OF LUKE AT MAURITIUS' TABLE]
PUBLIUS: It's quite boring. (SCOFFS)
Just a man walking around
giving very lengthy speeches.
The only exciting bit is
the stoning of this fellow.
PUBLIUS: Mauritius...
I have heard outrageous rumors
about this man.
A sorcerer of the dark arts,
a charmer of snakes and demons,
a man capable of healing the crippled
with just a touch of his cloak.
MAURITIUS: A healer?
PUBLIUS: No, my point, you don't make
a man your leader
just because he trips
and falls in the road
and then travels around a bit and
says a few things.
There must be more to the story.
You need to get him
to confess something.
MAURITIUS: What else would he say that he hasn't already spoken at his trial?
PUBLIUS: A man on trial will say whatever he can to save his hide.
But he has been convicted.
He will be executed.
No man wants to leave this life
without a legacy,
without boasting
of his own glorious deeds
so the world can remember him forever.
Appeal to his arrogance.
MAURITIUS: Perhaps.
[ MAURITIUS WALKING WITH PAUL IN A GARDEN]
MAURITIUS: I come here to find some peace.
You cannot see any of Rome.
You cannot see what has become
of this great city.
I misjudged you.
You are much more of a soldier
than a preacher.
A man with a great deal
of blood on his hands.
PAUL: Sins of a past life,
by God's grace washed away.
MAURITIUS: Sin, grace, mercy.
Your philosophical scribblings
tell me nothing
about why the Christians look
to you as their leader
and why Nero singled you out
as the chief enemy of Rome.
PAUL: I think you already know the truth,
that we were not responsible
for the fires.
MAURITIUS: Why does Nero bring
this accusation upon you?
Rumors abound in the streets
about your powers.
Perhaps it is these supernatural things
that are seen as such a threat by Nero.
PAUL: I have no powers.
MAURITIUS: Then the stories are not true?
PAUL: They are all true.
MAURITIUS: So why do your people boast about your powers?
PAUL: I've never said these things
in my life to boast.
I boast only of my weaknesses,
so that God's power may rest on me.
(MAURITIUS LAUGHING)
MAURITIUS: Very few men admit weakness.
Certainly none boast of it.
PAUL: I boast of it gladly,
for this power is sown in weakness.
MAURITIUS: I assume you have earned riches.
Land.
Influence amongst your people.
Maybe it is what has roused
Nero's jealousy.
PAUL: I've never taken a single coin
for my work for Christ.
MAURITIUS: Really?
PAUL: The good news of salvation is free.
It was given to me freely,
and I give it away for free.
MAURITIUS: So you have certain powers,
but claim to have no authority
to use them.
You've done miraculous things,
yet do not boast for glory.
You make no wages for your work.
You're sounding less like
a leader and more like a slave.
PAUL: A slave that has been set free.
MAURITIUS: We're Romans. We're already free men.
PAUL: All men are a slave to something.
MAURITIUS: That Greek,
he is risking his life for you.
Why?
PAUL: He believes people should know
the certainties of my life.
MAURITIUS: My daughter is sick.
If I pray to your Christ,
your God, will she be healed?
PAUL: I don't know.
His ways are not my ways.
MAURITIUS: So you offer nothing.
PAUL: I offer the truth of salvation
that has been set on my heart.
MAURITIUS: The Greek can take his papers.
I see no value in them.
He'll be released tomorrow.
PAUL: Prefect Mauritius.
The Greek, Luke,
he is a great physician.
His talents are unmatched.
MAURITIUS: No.
I would not anger the gods
by bringing a Christian into my home.
[MAURITIUS WALKS AWAY FROM PAUL]
[TWO SOLDIERS ESCORT PAUL BACK TO PRISON CELL]
PAUL TO LUKE: I said that you could help his daughter.
LUKE: How could I bring healing when he
and Rome bring so much suffering?
PAUL: You know this man even better than I do.
You
used to pray to the gods of Greece,
just as he does the gods of Rome.
In your account of the Lord,
why did you write so often
of the poor
and the outcasts and foreigners?
LUKE: I guess I wanted others to understand
God's kingdom is open to us all,
that his mercy is for everyone.
PAUL: Exactly.
We can never forget
what it was like to be lost.
And to be found.
Do not worry, brother.
When the moment comes,
you will have the strength
to do what is right.
Where sin abounds,
grace abounds .
[DOCTOR FEELS MAURITIUS' DAUGHTER FOREHEAD](RASPY BREATHING)
DOCTOR: There's nothing more I can do.
MAURITIUS: How is that possible?
DOCTOR: I have spoken with others.
No one has answers.
And she's not responding
to anything I have tried.
I have no more ideas.
MAURITIUS: Think of something else.
DOCTOR: Make another sacrifice.
Plead to the gods for her life.
Take heed, Mauritius,
you are a good man.
The gods can still hear you
and heal her.
[DOCTOR LEAVES THE HOUSE]
[MAURITIUS GOES TO THE ROMANS GODS TEMPLE . THERE HIS WIFE MEETS HIM]
MAURITIUS: You missed the doctor.
WIFE: You have been telling me
to get out for fresh air,
so I... So I got out.
MAURITIUS: There is nothing else he can do.
WIFE: I had no doubt.
MAURITIUS: We should not speak here.
[MAURITIUS ABOUT TO LEAVE][ HIs wife sta d on his way]
WIFE: Do you fear that which the gods
might hear you speak?
And here you accuse me
of angering the gods,
but what of you?
There is gossip amongst
the wives of the guards
that you treat this man of Tarsus,
who spits in the face of Rome,
with a degree of sympathy.
MAURITIUS: He's a Roman citizen.
If there is any degree of kindness,
it's because of that.
WIFE: What kindness
is harboring a Greek Christian
against a direct order of your emperor?
You should be tried
and executed for conspiracy.
And yet you think that I anger the gods!
MAURITIUS: I harbor the Greek, because
the husbands of these gossips
were paid to look after him.
WIFE: Your daughter is dying,
and you dare dishonor the gods
by your actions?
All these years,
I have been loyal to you.
While you were gone!
While you were away on your campaigns.
You don't think I was lonely?
You don't think
I was starved of affection?
I had nothing.
Nothing!
And then she was born...
That precious baby girl.
And she was my...
My joy.
She was my life while you were gone.
But now you threaten
to take away my joy,
my life away from me, because you refuse
to look at your own selfish ways!
MAURITIUS: This is not my fault.
WIFE: It is all your fault!
By witness to all the gods,
I say that her death
will be on your head.
MAURITIUS: Enough!
[SUDDENLY Mauritius grips his wife by her throat]
(WIFE GASPING)
WIFE: Do it.
Save me the trouble for when she dies.
[MAURITIUS LET GO HIS GRIP AND LEAVES THE TEMPLER]
[CASSIUS AND FEW MEN TAKE LONG DAGGERS , GOING TO ATTACK THE GARRISON TO RESCUE LIKE AND PAUL]
GUARD: Halt!
[Cassius AND MEN ATTACK THE GUARD]
(GUARD GRUNTS)
CASAIUS: This way. Quickly.
Down the corridor. Go!
INMATE 1: Please! I beg of you!
PRISONER 1: Free us!
PRISONER 2: Brothers, save us!
[SHOUTING FROM DISTANCE WAKE UP LUKE AND PAUL]
CASSIUS TO HIS MEN: Down here!
CASSIUS TO LUKE AND PAUL : Quickly. We've come to release you.
PAUL: Who sent you?
CASSIUS: We come in the name of Christ.
PAUL: You bring violence against government officials in the name of Christ?
CASSIUS: The moment arises to overthrow this cursed power and return it to the people.
PAUL: By whose authority
do you think Rome has power?
CASSIUS: You will die here.
And your cause will die with you.
PAUL: Christ has already triumphed
over every enemy by the cross.
PAUL: You say you come in his name,
but it is clear you do not know him.
MAN : Cassius, we have to go. Now.
CASSIUS TO LUKE AND PAUL: Fools.
[Cassius and men escape]
[MAURITIUS DISCOVERS A DEATH GUARD. HE RUSHES INTO THE PRISON CELLS AND MEET THE PRISON WARDEN]
MAURITIUS: Check the prisoners.
PRISON WARDEN: Yes, sir.
[MAURITIUS QUESTIONS PAUL AND LUKE]
MAURITIUS: So, this is how
my kindness is repaid?
My prison broken into.
My guards killed.
PAUL: There will always be those
that try and take justice
into their own hands.
MAURITIUS: You do not take any responsibility?
LUKE: If we were responsible,
wouldn't you be in that cell
awaiting your own execution?
MAURITIUS: How can it be that by words alone,
you spit in the face of the Emperor?
By words alone,
you seem to defy Rome itself.
Words do not threaten
to destroy empires.
PAUL: Because perhaps they are not just words,
they are the truth of things.
MAURITIUS: You keep saying "truth." "Truth."
But it's only a truth according to you.
If it were the only truth,
everyone would believe it.
LUKE: Not so.
Christ, who is truth,
rose from the dead.
Many still do not believe.
MAURITIUS: Lies. Fabrications.
PAUL: If Christ had not risen from the dead, then our preaching is useless, and so is our faith.
MAURITIUS: Oh?
And you have no doubts at all?
PAUL: Men do not die for things they doubt.
MAURITIUS: You claim you serve a god
who is above all other gods,
and yet all I see before me
is an old man in chains.
Your life, a summary of beatings
and filthy prison cells.
PAUL: I deserve worse, but...
There is grace enough for everyone.
MAURITIUS: To be rich,
not poor.
To be powerful,
not weak.
To have slaves and servants, not be one.
PAUL: It does not take an intelligent man
to look around and know
that the world is missing something.
MAURITIUS: Do not question the greatness of Rome.
LUKE: And what of the love
for a sick daughter?
What does Rome offer her?
[MAURITIUS' AGITATION MANIFEST. HE KICKS LUKE TO THE FLOOR AND DRAWOUT HIS SWORD AND POINT AT LUKE]
MAURITIUS: Another word and I send you to whatever god you want.
[ MAURITIUS STEPS BACK AND PUTS BACK HIS SWORD INTO THE SHEATH; scabbard is a sheath]
MAURITIUS: You're right,
my daughter is dying.
The gods do not answer me.
PAUL: There is another way.
MAURITIUS: No. There is not.
Your Christ solves nothing.
Mindless sentimentality
for the weakest and poorest
to make their pathetic state livable
until they are buried
in the ground and forgotten.
MAURITIUS: Tomorrow there are games at the circus. (MAURITIUS to the GUARDS) : Take the Greek there,
so he can die for the glory of my gods!
PAUL: No!
MAURITIUS: And may this give me favor
for my daughter.
PAUL: No!
Luke. Luke!
[AS TWO GUARDS DRAG LUKE OUT]
MAURITIUS to PAUL: You should have
escaped when you had the chance!
And show the man from Tarsus
how Rome treats its enemies. ( A GUARD HITS PAUL AT HIS BACK)(ECHOING BLOWS FADE)
[PAUL GRUNTS INSIDE THE PRISON CELL]
PAUL: Help us finish the race, Father.
[AQUILA AND PRISCILLA AT HOME]
AQUILA: Cassius and the others have disappeared.
The city is on alert.
PRISCILLA: How could they do this?
They're putting everyone at risk.
AQUILA: Confused, selfish young men
with their own ambitions.
I would not expect them to return.
PRISCILLA: ( EXHALES SLOWLY) But Luke will die in the morning along with our brothers and sisters.
I only wanted to help this city.
Now there's nothing
but the stench of death around us.
AQUILA: How many more would have died without you here?
PRISCILLA: My heart breaks for Rome.
I know I can't help everyone,
but Christ has asked us to try.
I do want to stay here.
But we're stronger together.
(SIGHS)(SNIFFLES) [BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE HUGGING]
[ INSIDE SEPARATE PRISON CELL, A COLORED PRISONER STANDS UP]
COLORED PRISONER: I know you.
You're the one traveled with Paul.
Luke, the physician.
LUKE: I am.
COLORED PRISONER: Do you know what will happen to us?
They tell us nothing in here.
[PRISONERS WHISPER]
(MAN COUGHING)
LUKE: There will be games tomorrow.
(ALL CLAMOURING, MALES AND FEMALES)
LUKE: Everyone, gather around.
Gather around.
MAN: Come. Come.
[ALL PRISONERS SIT AROUND PAYING ATTENTION TO LUKE]
LUKE: It will be a moment of pain.
But only a moment.
Only a moment.
And then we shall be home
in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ forever.
You see, in my heart,
I felt that there should be some kind
of retribution against the Romans
for the crimes that they have committed.
But there can be only one way.
Remember as our Lord
spoke from the cross.
[LUKE EXTENDS HIS HAND TO A CHILD SITTIING NEXT TO HIM]
LUKE: "Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do."
He has also asked us
to pray in the same way.
So, let us pray.
Our Father...
[ALL CHRISTIANS IN THE PRISON CELL PRAY TOGETHER WITH LUKE]
ALL: Our Father...
...who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
[CHRITIANS IN THE COMMUNITY ALSO PRAYING]
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in heaven. [PAUL ALSO PRAYING INSIDE HIS PRISON CELL]
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
[MAURITIUS OFFERING BLOOD (DUCK) SACRIFICE TO HIS IDOLS]
[WOMAN EXCLAIMING IN OTHER LANGUAGE; AS MAURITIUS WALKS HOME]
[MAURITIUS RUSHES INTO HIS DAUGHTER'S ROOM][HIS WIFE LOOKS AT HIM]
WIFE: (SOBBING) Please save her.
I can't lose her.
Whatever it takes. Please.
[MAURITIUS RUSHES TO THE FRONT DOOR AND ORDER A GUARD]
MAURITIUS: Bring the Greek here. Now!
GUARD: Yes, sir.
[MAURITIUS ESCORTS LUKE TO HIS DAUGHTER'S BED]
(RASPY BREATHING)
MAURITIUS to LUKE: Can you save her?
[LUKE SQUATS DOWN AND PLACES HIS RIGHT EAR TO THE GIRLS CHEST.HE PUSHES HER TO RWST ON HER RIGHT SIDE]
LUKE TO MAURITIUS: Quickly, give me your knife.
Now.
Your daughter's chest
is filling with blood.
If I do not drain it, she will die.
Your knife, please.
[MAURITIUS PASSES HIS DAGGER TO LUKE]
LUKE: Thank you.
[LUKE TEARS OF THE DAUGHTER'S CLOTHE AND PROCEE THE TRWATMENT]
(GIRL GIVES OUT A SHARP SCREAM)
[LUKE REACHES AND GRAPS MAURITIUS HAND, AND PLACE IT ONTHE GIRL'S WOUND]
LUKE: Give me your hand.
[LUKE TO MAURITIUS WIFE]: Pen and parchment, please.
[WIFE GIVES A PEN AND PARCHMENT TO LUKE. HE WRITES AND STARING AT MAURITIUS]
LUKE: You will find Aquila and Priscilla here.
Tell them I sent you here
for these things.
And they must be brought back
to me immediately.
I believe I know what's wrong with her.
It is a sickness I've seen once before
on the island of Rhodes,
but there is much to do
to try and save her life now.
You are trusting me
with your daughter's life
just as I am trusting you
with the lives you see there.
[LUKE GIVES THE WRITTEN SCROLL TO MAURITIUS]
LUKE: Go now.
[ MAURITIS RUSHES OUT THE ROOM]
[NIGHT TIME AT THE COMMUNITY HIDEOUT COMPOUND]
WOMAN: No, there is no more bread.
[ A LOUD KNOCKING AT THE DOOR]
(POUNDING AT THE DOOR CONTINUES)
(PEOPLE INSIDE GRASPS)
MAURITIUS: Open the door! I need
to speak to Aquila and Priscilla!
PRISCILLA : (WHISPER) Take the children.
Go, go, go.
WOMAN: Okay.
(POUNDING ON THE DOOR)
MAURITIUS: Open the door! Please!
(POUNDING CONTINUES)
MAURITIUS: Please! Open! (SHOUTING)
[MAN OPENS THE DOOR. MAURITIUS ENTERS]
MAURITIUS: Are you Aquila?
[MAURITIUS WALKS SLOWLY AND SURVEY THE COMPOUND AS THE CHRISTIANS LOOK AT HIM]
MAURITIUS: I'm looking for Aquila and Priscilla.
Where's Aquila? (MAURITIUS SHOUTS)
AQUILA: I'm Aquila.
MAURITIUS: Luke sent me.
PRISCILLA: Luke sent you?
MAURITIUS: Yes.
I need your help, please.
My daughter is dying. Please. Please.
[MAURITIUS FAMILY, CHRISTIANS COMMUNITY, LUKE, PAUL AND PRISONERS KEEP VIGIL UNTIL THE MORNING]
(GAME GATE CLANKING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(LIONS ROARING)
[GUARDS USHERING GROUP OF CHRISTIANS AND FAMILIES INTO GAME ARENA]
[MAURITIUS' DAUFGTER WAS HEALED]
[PAUL WAS BROUGHT BEFORE MAURITIUS AT A GARDEN]
MAURITIUS: The Greek is alive.
PAUL: (WHISPER) Oh, praise God.
MAURITIUS: Because of him, my daughter lives.
He didn't have to save her.
He sent me to a place for supplies.
It was full of your people hiding out.
He knew I could report them,
have them all thrown
into the circus today.
I am grateful.
My wife, my daughter are grateful.
PAUL: I only hope it has shown you
something true.
MAURITIUS: I am sorry for Nero's circus.
I am sorry your people died today.
PAUL: Have you ever been sailing?
MAURITIUS: Yes.
PAUL: Imagine yourself looking out
at the vast sea before you.
You reach down, and you put
a hand into the water,
and you scoop it up towards you.
Immediately, the water starts
leaking through your fingers
until the hand is empty.
That water is a man's life.
From birth to death,
it is always slipping
through our hands until it is gone.
Along with all that
you hold dear in this world.
And yet the kingdom I speak of,
that I live for,
is like the rest of the water
out in the sea.
Man lives for that cup of water
that slips through his fingers.
But those that follow Jesus Christ
live for that endless expanse of sea.
MAURITIUS: What if, after all this,
I still do not believe in your Christ?
PAUL: I wasn't trying to convince you.
(BOTH CHUCKLING)
PAUL: Listen to me.
There's only a moment.
It's not me.
It is Christ himself that looks upon you
and shatters your defenses.
And in that moment, you will understand
that you are completely known by God
and you are completely loved.
I will pray that moment comes for you.
[MAURITIUS TAKES A DEEP BREATH ]
(HE EXHALES)
[MAURITIUS WALKS AWAY FROM PAUL. LUKE IS WALKING TOWARD PAUL]
PAUL TO LUKE: I think I would like a walk
to enjoy this sun.
LUKE: (LAUGHS) Of course.
PAUL: You saved his daughter.
They will know us by our love.
LUKE: This is the Way.
LUKE: I heard the cheers of the crowd
from the Roman's house.
I shall not forget their faces
for as long as I live.
PAUL: Trumpets would have sounded loudest
when they arrived home.
LUKE: A mighty celebration was held today.
PAUL: A mighty celebration.
If we live, we live for the Lord.
If we die, we die for the Lord.
Whether we live or die,
we belong to the Lord.
LUKE: That's brilliant.
I now have an ending.
Listen to this. "For two whole years,
"Paul stayed there in Rome
in his own rented villa."
No. House.
"And welcomed all who came to see him.
"He proclaimed the kingdom of God
and taught about our Lord
Jesus Christ with all boldness
and without hindrance."
There. That should make you sound good.
PAUL: What of my second arrest?
Of the trial at the Forum,
of Nero's verdict,
of the darkness of my cell?
LUKE: I have begun my telling of these events
with Jesus' proclamation
to his followers
to bear witness for him in Jerusalem
and to the ends of the Earth.
And the story that began
in Jerusalem 30 years ago
has now come to Rome.
PAUL: So, this is the end.
And yet death is only the beginning.
We will meet again on a new road.
Of that I am certain.
To live is Christ,
to die is gain.
LUKE: I like that one.
PAUL: Write it down.
[AT THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, LUKE BUSY COPYING PARCHMENTS AFTER PARCHMENTS]
PRISCILLA: We're doing well.
Over a hundred copies so far.
AQUILA: We will take these
with us out of Rome
and bring them to all the communities.
PRISCILLA: It will help many people.
WOMAN 1: Thank you.
WOMAN 2: Thank you.
PRISCILLA: Luke. What will you do?
LUKE: I can't abandon Paul now.
AQUILA: Once we're gone,
I can't guarantee
your safe exit from Rome.
LUKE: Aquila, you've already done
more than enough.
I feel that my finishing this work
is most important.
I guess there are some things
in life worth risking.
I shall miss you both.
[LUKE PASSES:A SMALL SCROLL TO AQUILA]
LUKE: Here. Paul has asked
that you would make sure
this letter reaches Timothy immediately.
AQUILA: Of course. Of course.
LUKE: Do not be afraid.
[INSIDE THE PRISON CELL , PAUL DICTATES A LETTER TO TIMOTHY, LUKE WRITES IT]
PAUL: "To Timothy, my dear son.
Grace, mercy,
and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Remember Jesus Christ,
raised from the dead,
descended from David.
Do not be ashamed
of the testimony about our Lord
or of me, his prisoner.
Rather, join with me
in suffering for the Gospel.
By the power of God,
he has saved us
and called us to a holy life.
Not because of anything we have done,
but because of his own purpose
and grace.
This is my Gospel,
for which I am suffering
even to the point of being
chained like a criminal.
But God's word is not chained.
For I am already being poured out
like a drink offering.
The time of my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith.
The Lord be with your spirit.
Grace
be with you all."
( Script source here )
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