01x07 - Invitations

[bunniefuu]

[♪ musical flourish ]

[stoking fire]

[Joshua clears throat]

- Joshua.

How many more in the night?

- Some , sir.

- Where will you bury them?

- The men are trying
to dig a trench,

but the ground
is hard and rocky.

With respect, Moses,
my concern is not for the dead,

but for the dying.

Hundreds fall by the day.

And for every serpent we k*ll
another ten appear.

- Maybe we should leave
the bodies here, in this tent.

- At the rate
people are dying,

there would not be enough room,

even if we stack them
to the top.

- Then we'll have to leave
and find someplace else.

- We're not leaving
anytime soon.

Too many are sick
and cannot walk.

- After today, the only Hebrews
too sick to walk

will be those
who choose to remain so.

- Is there medicine
in that bronze?

You told the people
that you would ask God

to forgive their rebellion,
to heal their serpent wounds--

- I did.

- Then why are you
hiding in a tent.

- It wasn't my idea,
Joshua!

- That is a pagan symbol.

You did not ask Him
if He was sure?

Maybe you misunderstood Him.

- I've learned to do what
He says without questioning.

You remember
what happened at Meribah.

- Just to be sure,

we could send a messenger
to Ezion-Geber, beg for aid--

- That pole...

Hand me that pole.

[straining]

- The people will say
it is a cruel joke.

- Let them say that.

- Help me understand.

None of this makes any sense.

- How do you explain
the Red Sea?

The manna and the quail?

The pillar of fire?

Joshua, any Israelite who looks
upon this bronze serpent

and believes in the power
of Adonai will be healed.

It's an act of faith...

not reason.

Faith.

[woman vocalizing]

♪

♪ Oh, child,
come on in. ♪

♪ Jump in the water.

♪ Got no trouble
with the mess you been. ♪

♪ Walk on the water.

♪

♪ Walk on the water.

♪

♪ Walk on the water.

♪ Oh, child...

♪ Walk on the water.

♪ Got no trouble.

♪

♪ Walk on the water.

♪

♪ Walk on the water. ♪

[birds singing]

[door squeaks open]

♪

♪

[background noise]

- Gaius.

Why are you here?

- I'm escorting you.

- Because you feel indebted
for your promotion.

- You're complaining about
safely walking the streets?

- I didn't help Quintus
for you.

- Oh, I know.

You couldn't help yourself.

- I spoke up
because I was right.

- You got lucky.

- Luck doesn't exist.

- So, you knew Quintus
would not k*ll you?

- He was smart
to go after fishermen,

but he must have been desperate
to enlist Simon.

- I don't buy it.

You were terrified.

- Gaius,
what if you were suddenly

the only Roman in Capernaum?

- I think
I'd change clothes.

- Exactly.

When you realize that
nobody else in the world

cares what happens to you,
you think only about yourself.

- For a fool,
your brain has taken you far.

I admit it.

- I thought so, too.

[sighs heavily]

- Praise Adonai,
he's healthy and alive!

- What are you talking about?

- I received word
from Jerusalem.

Havilah gave birth to a son.

You're a grandfather again!

- So soon?

- A month early,
but all is well.

Oh, blessed be He!

We'll have the rest
of our things sent.

- What?
No, no, no!

My research here
is not completed.

- But, we have to make it back
in time for the bris,

we have only eight days.

Less than eight.

- The circumcision
can be performed

by any number of people, Zohara.

- Nico,
this is your own grandson!

- Fifth grandson.

Havilah will understand.

- Do you know what people
will say when they learn

that the Great Nicodemus missed
his own grandson's name day

because he was doing research
in Capernaum, of all places?

- Research that concerns
not just one Jewish boy

but all of Israel,
past, present and future.

- There is nothing
in Capernaum

but demoniacs
and insolent school boys.

Come to your senses.

- I have never been closer
to my senses.

- That is not how it looks
from the outside.

- Many things are not.

- I am ready
to leave this place, Nico.

I miss my children
and my grandchildren,

including the one
I haven't even met yet.

- Oh, Zohara--

You can't just barge--

- Oh, I believe I can.

- Praetor Quintus.

- Zohara, is it?

A pleasure to see you again.

- I trust all is well.

- Why would you trust that?

- Please, please,
do make yourself at home.

[whistles]

- We really will have to
discuss the people's tithing.

- This is why you've come?

- I need to know if
we have a problem, Nicodemus.

- I have complied
with every request

Rome has made of my office,

even when it infringed
on custom.

- Let me rephrase.

You and I want
the same thing.

We want rules followed,
we want order.

Soldiers, money, votes,
that's my world.

Demons, prayers, oddballs,
that's yours.

I need to know if our worlds
are on a collision course.

The so-called miracle worker.

- Jesus of Nazareth.

- Don't even know what
Nazareth is, but yes, Him.

- Anecdotes and rumors.

- And a stampede
in the eastern ghetto

that delayed Herod's envoy.

That really made me look bad.

I hate that.

- The unrest began
when your soldiers

waded into the crowd
brandishing weapons.

- It isn't an isolated event.

I've heard reports,

and my source has
an unwavering knack for accuracy

and a compulsion for the truth.

So, again I ask you...

is there a problem?

- No.

- You don't seem sure.

Maybe I could get better
information from this...

Shmuel?

He's very eager to see me.

- The only way to learn
this Preacher's intentions

is to speak with Him
directly.

- So speak to Him.

I hate crowds,

they take time and resources

and then the cleanup is a pain.

When you arrange
a private meeting,

I want to know when and where.

Understand?

- What troubles you
about this Man?

- Preachers have a habit
of becoming politicians.

They sprout up like weeds
and spread.

Your wife is a gardener.

She understands.

- Some flora spread
their seeds when trampled.

Who's to say you wouldn't
be creating a martyr?

- I'll take my chances.

- You sympathize
with this Preacher.

[sighs]

[birds singing]

[insects buzzing]

- Will we be safe here?

- What do you mean, safe?

- They'll be looking for us

because of what you said
about forgiving sins.

- Ah, we won't be here
very long.

After what happened yesterday,

we'll keep moving
from town to town.

- Is that what you want?

- What do you mean?

- To roam about,

not be able
to stay in one place?

- I want to do
the will of my Father.

And I want to spread
the message of salvation.

So, yes, I am happy
to not stay in one place.

- Rabbi?

- Yes, Thad.

- I should prepare firewood
for how many days?

- Uh...
five, I think.

- I thought you said that
we wouldn't be here very long.

- Leaving some
for the next weary traveler.

Hospitality isn't only
for people who own homes, John.

- Mary?

- Are you all right?

- Me?
Yes, thank you.

Uh, may I
speak with you, Rabbi?

- Yes, of course.

Keep going.

- I wanted to apologize
for yesterday.

- For what?

- I was trying to help
those people

get closer to the sound
of Your voice.

I had no idea
they would open the roof

and disrupt Your teaching.

I truly--

- You regret that a paralytic
is enjoying his first full day

on his own feet, huh?

- No, just that I caused a scene
and cut short Your teaching.

- Who's to say
it was cut short?

With their faith,

they would have
found a way

whether you brought them
to the roof or not.

- But, there's more.

When we were leaving,
a Pharisee stopped me

and asked for
a private meeting with You.

I told him I would ask.

- A Pharisee.

- Do you know this man?

- He visited me...
before.

- A Pharisee
in the Red Quarter, hmm?

- Rome sent him.

I doubt
he wanted to be there.

[chuckles]

No, I wouldn't think so.

- But I saw him again,
after I was better,

and he wanted to know
how I was healed.

Of course I didn't tell him
who You were,

but, he seemed...

- What?

- Earnest.

He wasn't offended to learn
that someone else had succeeded

where he had failed.

There was--there was a hunger
in his eyes, not fear.

- Not like the Pharisees
at the window yesterday, huh?

- I am sorry
to have brought all this on You.

- No, no.

No, there is a reason
you met this Pharisee.

- Nicodemus.

- Nicodemus;
of course.

I've heard of him.

- Oh, I don't know
who is known and who is not.

This is all new to me.

- Don't worry about which men
others think are important.

Send word to Nicodemus.

I will meet with him.

Little James
will know the location.

Thank you, Mary.

- Yes, Teacher.

Where are you going?

- To be alone.

I need to think.

And to pray.

- I will pray also.

That I have not put You
in terrible danger.

[laughs]

You have not.

In fact,
I have made plans already

for tomorrow night.

- Plans?

- Yes, spread the word.

A dinner party.

In the northern district,

the tall house
just past the arch.

- But that row of homes--

- I know the kind of people
who live there.

Trust Me.

- I will tell the others.

♪

[knocking]

[knocking]

- Matthew?

- Hello, Eema--

or--or--or Elisheva,
I mean.

Hello.

- Matthew.

- I don't receive visitors,
myself.

Is this a custom?

- If your father were here,
I couldn't do this.

- Where is Alphaeus?

- I think a dog
followed you.

- He's with me.

He'll stay out here
if you'll let me in.

- Will Alphaeus
be home soon?

- He's away on a work trip.

- Where would work
take him?

Does he no longer
make leather goods?

- His shop was robbed.

Many of the shops have been.

Crime is rampant.

It makes it very difficult
to reopen.

- He loved his shop.

- But we still have
a roof over our heads,

which is more than
some people can say.

- You can ask me for money
if you ever need it.

- How can you say that?

- It's quite common.

I've seen many parents
entirely dependent on--

- Your father would sooner die
than take your blood money.

- I know
you are ashamed of me,

but your decision
is irrational.

Rome will continue
to collect taxes no matter what.

I'm skilled with numbers--

- Did you come here
to justify yourself?

- No! No!

Everything's like sand...
in a flood.

The things I thought
I knew to be true--

- Are you in trouble?

- Do you think that
impossible things can happen?

That overturn
the laws of nature?

That cannot be explained?

- That is what people asked
when you were a boy.

Even the rabbis
were astonished

at your talent
for reading, math,

the way you could think
faster than any other child.

They thought you would
become someone great.

- Great at what?

I'm rich.

I have an armed escort.

I am trusted by
the Praetor of Galilee--

- We never dreamed

you would use the talent
God gave you

to bleed your people dry!

- But have you ever seen
anything miraculous?

- Matthew--

- My whole world...

everything I thought I knew...

What if it's wrong?!

- I think you should go.

You never even asked
about your sister.

- She looks well.

I came to celebrate Shabbat
a few weeks ago.

But then I left.

Good-bye, Eema.

[crying]

[metal scraping]

- Well, I'm not sure
this is a good idea.

JESUS:
Why not?

- Well, it could be a trap.

Nicodemus cooperates
with Rome.

They're the ones
who sent him to Mary

when she was possessed
in the Red Quarter.

- I'm well-acquainted
with risk, Simon.

So are you,

if I remember our first
meeting correctly, huh?

- Risk is his oldest friend,
I'm afraid.

[Jesus chuckles]

JESUS:
Simon...

Mary is an excellent judge
of character.

She has known some of
the worst kinds of men

in this world,

and she finds him earnest.

You should trust her instincts.

And Mine.

[distant coughing]

- Um...

ANDREW:
Rabbi...

I've got it.

- Ah, let's take a look.

- Can you keep her quiet,
please?

No one needs to know
Eema is sick.

- I can't tell her
not to cough, Simon.

- I just don't want
our burdens to become His, okay.

I don't want to be the one
to distract Him.

- He's made up
His mind about you.

He's not going to kick you
out of the group.

JESUS:
It's perfect!

Well done.

Though I think I could fit
all of you in here with Me, huh.

[chuckles]

- You won't
be recognized in that.

- Has the owner of the house
given permission?

- It's all arranged,
Rabbi.

And I'll be waiting
at the door.

JESUS:
Thank you, Andrew.

You go on ahead.

But remember to relax.

You are there
to guide our guest,

not to be My protector.

SIMON: Are you sure
you don't want me to come?

The more eyes watching the
streets for trouble, the better.

- Not tonight, Simon.

Stay here with your wife,
and your mother-in-law.

- You see?

- Mm...

ANDREW:
Welcome, Nicodemus.

Don't be alarmed.

He's waiting for you.

[woman vocalizing]

- I asked the owner
of this house for more lanterns,

but he said
they would draw attention.

- Yes,
I imagine they would.

- The human eye
is drawn to light.

We can't help it,
it just happens.

- There are many things
we are drawn to

without our thinking,

or our ability to explain why.

Thank You
for agreeing to meet.

- Thank you for trying
to help Mary when you did.

- I was no help.

- You were meant
to be there.

- Me?

So I could fail miserably
at an exorcism

in the Red Quarter?

- If you had not been there
that day,

would you be on this roof
tonight?

- I don't know
where to start,

I have so many questions I--

- Shall we sit first?

- Oh, yes, of course.

The eastern slums.

- Mm.

- Many wandering preachers have
succeeded in gathering crowds

with their rhetoric
and fiery tone.

- I heard a few of them
over the years Myself.

- So You know the type.

- Mm-hmm.

- But I have never heard
anyone tell a paralytic

to get up and walk,

much less
it actually happens.

- So, what is
your conclusion?

- I believe You are not...
acting... alone.

No one can do
these signs You do

without having...

God in Him.

Only Someone
Who has come from... God.

- And how is that belief
going over in the synagogue?

[both laughing]

Which is why
we're here at this hour.

What else?

- What have You
come here to show us?

- A kingdom.

- That is what our rulers
are worried about.

- No, not that kind.

- Then, what?

- A sort of kingdom
that a person cannot see

unless he is born again.

- Born... again?

- Yes.

- You mean
like a new creature,

a conversion
from Gentile to Jewish?

- No... no, that's not
what I'm talking about.

- Then, what is "born again"?

I hope You don't mean
return to the womb,

because that would be
a problem for me.

My mother,
may she rest in peace,

is dead.

- Truly, I say to you,

unless one is born of water
and the Spirit,

he cannot enter
the kingdom of God.

That which is born
of the flesh is flesh,

and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.

That part of you,

that is what must be reborn
to new life.

- How can these things be?

[sighs]

- A teacher of Israel,

and yet you do not
understand these things.

- I'm trying, Rabbi.

- I know, I know.

Do you hear this?

- What?

- Listen...

What do you hear?

[wind gusts]

- The wind.

- How do you know
it's the wind?

- Because I can feel it,

and I hear its sound.

- Do you know
where it comes from?

- No.

- Do you know
where it's going?

- No.

- That's what it is
to be born again of the Spirit.

The Spirit may work in a way
that is a mystery to you,

and while you cannot see
the Spirit,

you can recognize His effect.

[sighs]

- My mind is consumed
with thoughts

of what a stir
these words would cause

among the teachers
of the Law.

- Yes, and I do not
expect otherwise.

I speak of what I know
and have seen,

and it's not been received
by the religious leaders.

- It is hard
to receive.

- So, if I have told you
of earthly things,

and you do not believe,

how can I tell you
heavenly things?

- I believe Your words,

I just fear
You may not have a chance

to speak many more of them
before You are silenced.

- I have come to do more
than speak words, Nicodemus.

- More miracles?

- Yes, but even more
than that.

Do you remember
when the children of Israel

complained against God
and against Moses

in the wilderness of Paran?

- Yes; they wanted
to return to Egypt,

and they cursed the manna
that God sent them.

- And then?

- They were bitten by serpents
and they were dying.

- But...

- But, God made a way
for them to be healed.

- Moses lifted
the bronze serpent

in the desert,

and people only needed
to look at it.

So will the Son of Man
be lifted up

so that
whoever believes in Him

may have eternal life.

- Our people are not dying
from snake bites.

They're dying from taxation
and oppression.

- I'm sorry
to disappoint you,

but I did not come to deliver
the people from Rome.

- Then from what?

- From sin.

From spiritual death.

God loves the world
in this way...

that He gave His only Son,

that whoever
believes in Him

shall not perish
but have eternal life.

- So this has
nothing to do with Rome?

It's... all about...
sin.

- God did not send His Son
into the world

to condemn it, Nicodemus,

He sent Him to save it
through Him.

It's as simple as
Moses' serpent on the pole.

Whoever believes in Him
will not be condemned,

but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already.

- Have you ever heard
anything like this before?

- Shhhhh.

- When I met Lilith--
Mary--that day...

I told my wife
and my students...

she was beyond human aid.

Only God
could have healed her.

And then I saw her...
healed.

And here You are...

the Healer.

My whole life
I have wondered

if I would see
this day.

- Follow Me...

and you'll see more.

- Follow You?

- Join Me and My students.

In two days' time
we leave Capernaum.

Come see the kingdom
I am bringing into this world.

- But I can't--

- "I have a position
in the Sanhedrin,

You have family."

You are getting advanced
in years.

[both chuckle]

I understand,

but the invitation
is still open.

- Invitation to what,
exactly?

To lead a nomadic life?

To--to give up
who I am?

- It's true.

There is a lot
you would give up.

But what you would gain
is far greater and more lasting.

- Is this another one
of your "born again" mysteries?

[both laughing]

- Ah, maybe.

I know mysteries
aren't easy for a scholar.

Think about it, hmm?

Take your time.

On the morning
of the fifth day, we leave,

and we'll meet by the well
in the southern quarter

at dawn.

- Is this...

Is the kingdom of God
really coming?

- What does your heart
tell you?

- Oh...

My heart is swollen
with fear and--and wonder

and can tell me nothing

except that
I am standing on holy ground.

[chuckling]
Holy roof anyway.

[both laughing]

- I do hope you'll
come with us, Nicodemus.

You don't have to do that.

What are you doing?

- "Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry
and you perish in the way."

- And "Blessed are all
who take refuge in him."

[crying & sobbing]

[market noise]

GAIUS: Did you see the Parthian
foot races last night?

Darius ran like a gazelle.

- Jews don't go
to the foot races.

- Your old friend
Simon himself

used to run
the wagering tables.

- We're not friends.

Next.

[sighs]

- Okay, fine,
so you did not go to the races.

You stay home?

- I went to see my mother.

- Ugh...

that would
put me out, too.

She ask when you're going
to give her grandchildren?

- She didn't ask.

- I thought your parents
don't speak to you.

- I had questions
I couldn't ask anyone else.

- A mother of a son
with talent like yours

should be proud.

- She's ashamed that
I would use a talent God gave me

against God.

Next.

- You're good at something.

You found a way
to make a living doing it.

It's that simple.

- It must be nice to live
in a world so simply ordered.

- We live in the same world,
Matthew.

- Next.

- Besides, what else
are you going to do

with a mind like yours?

- Matthew.

- Matthew,
son of Alphaeus.

♪

- Yes?

- Follow Me.

- Me?

[chuckles]

- Yes, you.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa...

What are You doing?

- You want me to join You?

- Keep moving,
street Preacher.

- Do You have any idea
what this guy's done?

Do You even know him?

- Yes.

- Listen, I said--

[door slams & clatters]

What are you doing?

Where do you think
you're going?

- Gaius, let me go.

- Have you lost your mind?

You have money.

Quintus protects you.

No Jew
lives as good as you.

You're gonna throw it all away?

- Yes.

- I don't get it.

- You didn't get it
when I chose you, either.

- But this is different.

I'm not a tax collector.

- Get used to different.

I'm glad we passed by
your booth today, Matthew.

- Yes.

- Shall we?

We have a celebration
to prepare for.

- You will regret this,
Matthew!

- What's the tablet for?

- I grabbed it
without thinking.

I can put it back.

- No, no, keep it.

You may yet
find use for it.

- Where are we going?

- A dinner party.

- I'm not welcome
at dinner parties.

- Well, that's not going
to be a problem tonight.

You're the host.

♪

♪

[woman vocalizing]

♪

[man vocalizing]

♪

[woman vocalizing]

♪

[man vocalizing]

♪

[woman vocalizing]

♪