On Monday, March 29th (2004), Mark and I were blessed to be able to attend a dress rehearsal of The Thorn.  This is a passion play about Christ's life, primarily concerning His last week on earth.  We understand that variations of this play have been performed for centuries.

After having seen The Passion of the Christ (see Movie Review of The Passion of The Christ ), I didn't know how an amateur production could possibly beat that.  However, this was an experience I would say "don't miss."  There was nothing amateur about this.  New Life Church congregants have been performing this play for several years and have made it into an art.  The costumes were homemade but lended credibility to the scenes.  I'm sure that if you are able to attend a performance by any group in any city, it would be just as good.

I recommend that anyone who plans to or does attend either the Thorn or The Passion of the Christ to do so with the Bible story of Christ's life in mind.  It wouldn't hurt to review the passages in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as margin references to the Old Testment prophecies regarding Christ.  As in most plays or movies made from a book, there are departures from the stories.  While both play and movie are fairly accurate, it still helps to have familiarity with the inspired version.  If you do not have a Bible, you can access it online through Bible Gateway .  Simply type the name of the book into the passage search.  I would suggest the KJV or NLT as preferred versions of the Bible.  They can even be displayed in parallel. Maybe add the Amplified Bible if a third translation is wanted.

The cast of The Thorn was approximately 500.  The story was narrated by the Apostle John.  He was Jesus's Disciple. The one who was probably closest to Jesus heart. It was amazing to see all these individuals act and react to each other within the story.  New Life Church has large screens near the ceiling; these showed the proceedings for people in corners where one might not be able to see the live action well. Mark and I were blessed to have seats near the middle where we could see both sides and the stage. One really got the sense of "being there" when "Jesus" walked down the aisle between rows of cheering people.  Some of these same people became his enemy and called for his execution; we saw them cry out for the release of Barabbas.

Could any movie or play adequately depict what Jesus went through in the last hours of his life?  I think not.  However, the play did affect me emotionally because we were so close to the action.  The stage stuck out into the audience.  Jesus was scourged within 20 feet of us.  It was amazing how they did this.  We saw the beginning of it, then they turned out the lights.  While the actor portraying John gave a speech about what Christ went through, the makeup artists drinched "Jesus" in blood.  He came back out in a loin cloth so we could see the soldier finish the job of scourging.  Then they dragged him off to carry the cross to Golgotha.  We winced as the cross with pounded into the "ground" with a loud thump.  We ached as Jesus cried out his last words.

What I liked about this play was that it helped the viewers to identify with Jesus.  We, as church goers have knowledge of him through the scriptures.  But this play brought the little we know of him to life.  We saw him as a boy in the temple talking to the elders while his parents searched for him.  We saw him be baptized by John the Baptist.  We saw him meet his disciples.  We saw him healing the sick and being kind to children.  We saw him rejected by the Jews and later rejected by those who had lauded him only a few days before.  We felt the earthquake when he died.  We saw him come forth from his tomb.  We saw him return to life and ascend into the heavens.

At the end of the performance, Pastor Ted Haggard gave an invitation for people who wanted to accept Jesus as their savior to contact the New Life staff.  

A DVD of The Thorn can be purchased at New Life Church /Other Ministries through their online products catalog.