The Missing Body of Jesus

Drama is a unique format which can be used to bring stories of the Bible to life and to perk the imagination of all people from children to Senior Adults. The Case of the Missing Body is a play which envelops the audience into the set. Rather than sitting on the sidelines, the spectators become cast members and therefore, part of the action.

In this mystery thriller  an audience of total strangers
goes in search of a body which is missing from a tomb
The Body of Jesus must be found!!

My first experience with such a drama was at Second Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, where my family and I had the opportunity to attend a walk-through drama entitled “Journey to Bethlehem.’ I enjoyed the play so much, I enlisted the youth of my church to produce the play at Salem Baptist Church in Apex, NC. The people of Apex caught the vision for this experiential drama, and have produced it annually for twenty years. This type of drama has spread across the country, because it helps people experience Bible stories personally.

The setting opens with a marketplace
Merchants are selling wares and animals

Many years ago, I shared the drama with my current church in Mooresville, NC. We shared the Journey to Bethlehem for several years, until our choir developed such a large musical that it strained our personnel and he asked me to do the play at Easter rather than Christmas.

Pontius Pilate has called in his soldiers
He has called in the High Priest
The body of Jesus is missing
It must be found!!

I tried to adapt the “Journey to Bethlehem” for Easter, but it would not work. Something new needed to be created, and I was not sure how to write a play. That was until I make a trip to Denver, and on the airplane the thought came to me of how to create a walk-through drama for Easter. By the end of the trip I had written The Case of the Missing Body: A Walk-Thru Drama for Easter, .a walk-through drama for Easter that follows the same style as the program for Christmas.

The Donkey farmer asks:
How did the cross appear on my animals back?

Instead of finding the baby laying in a manger we find the crucified Lord who is risen from the dead. Along the way travelers (the audience) meets Pontius Pilate, centurions, the High Priest, tax collectors such as Matthew and Zacchaeus, the women who are preparing spices in the Upper Room, dancers, a donkey farmer, Nicodemus and angels. We produced this play for several years at Peninsula Baptist Church.

The grave is empty except for the angels who announce:
"He is not here! He has risen!"

I have now published the play in kindle format where it is available for less than a dollar because I want to share the idea. Please help me spread the word! This book contains the drama, and much more. I have included directions for the director, scene settings, and stories to help the cast get into character.

Jesus is risen indeed and speaks to the audience in the Garden

The skit itself is short, and would make a great read for Easter. IIt can be read through Amazon Prime for free. The book contains much more than just the play. The scene instructions for actors include details about the real people we read about in the Bible.

St. Marks Church, the place of the Upper Room

Peter “went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.” Acts 12:12

The entrance to Saint Mark's Syrian Orthodox Monistary

The woman in black said that the church was old and said the church held records that proved the congregation existed in the first century, AD. From what she told us, this is the oldest church in all of Christianity. It is called Saint Mark's Syrian Orthodox Church and was built on the site where Jesus held his last supper, where the disciples met when they were in hiding, and where the early church met from its formation. If what the woman told us is true, this is the place where the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost and the successor was chosen for Judas Iscariot.

Where Ararat Street meets St. Mark's Street

The building is on a hidden, out of the way street called Ararat. It is not particularly noticeable but historically, it is in the right location for the early church in old Jerusalem. It is not too far from the Temple Mount, near the route that the priests would have passed as they walked across the bridge from the upper class Upper Jerusalem residences to the Temple Mount. But the building is not on the Upper Bridge it's in the Tyropoeon Valley which is between the Temple Mount and the upper city.

The ancient inscription, discovered in 1940

As the woman took us on a tour of the sanctuary, we were told about an inscription which reads, “This is the house of Mary, mother of John, called Mark. Proclaimed a church by the holy apostles under the name of the Virgin Mary, mother of God, after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. Renewed after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year A.D. 73.” Some doubt its authenticity for several reasons. She also showed us a portrait of Mary the mother of Jesus painted by Saint Luke on a ancient piece of leather.

The painting by St. Luke on leather

The ancient church itself is not visible by the general public, for it would be buried under rubble from the destruction which took place in the days of Titus, when Temple Mount was pushed over and all of Jerusalem was destroyed. The lady in black said that the upper room still existed there but it was 30 to 60 feet below the level of the ground and no one could go there. The closest people can get is the basement of the church that exists today.

A travel brochure, more at www.KosherCopy.com

In about two months we will visit Jerusalem and walk by the ancient church. If you would like to travel with us, view more information on this website (link). If you would like to read the story behind ancient sites in Israel and Jerusalem, read the book, Israel: Stories for Your Journey. Much more information about the upper room can be found in this new book - The Case of the Missing Body: A Walk-Thru Drama for Easter