Bonus Episode: The Shepherd (Christmas Special)

 Bonus Episode: The Shepherd (Christmas Special)

 Only 23 minutes long (2017)

Background bio and info I gleaned from the Internet about this episode:

This is the director’s first big budget production that opened the door for him to make “The Chosen.” His own father, Jerry Jenkins, wrote the “Left Behind” books that were popular in the late 90’s and quickly fell out of the public spotlight as Jerry moved on to another project-assisting his aspiring son who wanted to direct and produce Christian media and introducing him to those in Hollywood who had agreed to make his father’s books into movies and short films. With the help of his father, Dallas made an award winning movie for the Christian cinema market in 2000. Seventeen years later with the success of numerous other films and shows that he worked on, Dallas agreed to do this short feature for a Christmas Eve service for a church (his church, possibly the one he attended with his family?) and use it to help fund the new idea he had for a project about the life of Christ and telling all the New Testament stories in this format giving fictional backgrounds to some of the major characters in these stories. He got very lucky when a copy of this Christmas Special was seen by a big Hollywood producer who gave the independent filmmaker his big break and the rest is history…

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Based on the true story from Luke’s Gospel Chapter 2

 Exterior-day-a dusty road showing from the waist down a foot, bound in rags, a crutch, hobbling. On a rope is a small lamb trotting out front. The bare, dirty, brown skinned legs of this man are skinny and he wears the threadbare shabby clothes of a wanderer in the wilderness-a shepherd.

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When Augustus Caesar became emperor of Rome, the prophets of Israel had been silent for 400 years

 Camera now pans up to show the rest of this crippled man. He is a young man in his twenties with curly dark hair and short cropped beard.

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Suffering heavy taxation, the Hebrew people prayed for relief from the Roman occupation, and priests repeatedly read the old prophecies aloud in synagogues.

 Cut back to this man still struggling to walk along this road with his small lamb. There is no dialogue as camera cuts to a group of three or so men obviously walking several yards ahead of him as they turn in disgust and mouth their dismay at his slowness. They are all dressed in nicer robes, one man is black-skinned, from Africa, and all are leading sheep of their own.

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The prophecies whispered of a coming Messiah who would save God’s people

 These shepherds have reached a field, very dry and brown. There is a well where some women are drawing water. Faint dialogue can be heard as the lead shepherd wishes them a, “good morning” and is obviously trying to chat up some of the younger women who are not impressed as they turn and leave, their chore done. The shepherds fill their water bags and by the time our shepherd arrives no one is at the well. He fills his water skein and his lamb who was nibbling some of the short, dead grass, is tugged along as he continues on his way passing a wooden sign that reads “Bethlehem” in English.

 V/O a male voice, revealed to be a priest standing in a synagogue reading-from an open scroll he holds in both hands-to a small group of both men and women. He is reading from Micah 5 starting in verse 2 to the first few words in verse 5 about this man who will be their peace as he references for them when he is finished.

 Cut to a busy marketplace with lots of animals and sellers and people inspecting wares and haggling over prices. A priest inspects lambs for the coming Passover. This one is good and has no blemishes. 

Our shepherd steps forward and the priest picks up his lamb and while he looks it over our shepherd humbly asks this teacher’s opinion if the Messiah really will come to deliver them all from “the oppressor” as the Torah says? The priest smirks at a lowly shepherd knowing Torah, but, yes, he believes the Messiah will be a great military leader. 

Our shepherd begs to differ for he heard the words of Ezekiel read last Shabbat in the Synagogue he attended and THAT priest said…But this priest is very offended at such talk and cuts him off. What would an unclean, lower class, shepherd know about the scriptures? The black shepherd descended from Africa steps up to apologize for his “friend’s” audacity while the priest rudely points out the open wound on this lamb’s side, just above the foreleg. No good. And if he ever sees them here again with imperfect animals he will make sure they are ALL banned! This is why Messiah hasn’t come. Unworthy men like HIM are preventing it. 

The other shepherds prove our shepherd is truly the lowest in the pecking order in their group as they show no mercy, chastising him for making them all look like fools. Now, get rid of this runt and try and keep up, they won’t wait for him!

 The poor man stumbles with his bad leg and falls to the ground, scraping his arm which is now openly bleeding. His fellow shepherds are already disappearing into the crowd. Nobody in the busy marketplace takes notice of him. Nearby, a voice is speaking from behind a curtained door. It is the priest we saw earlier, now reading a scroll from the prophet Isaiah first from chapter 9 verses 2 and 3…

Our shepherd has now entered the synagogue with his sheep in tow unfortunately the open wound on his forearm is dripping blood onto the clean stone tile floor which catches the attention of another priest who softly orders him to leave, he is unclean and this is a holy place. Our shepherd just wanted to listen but he turns and exits as the priest continues to read. He is on Isaiah 9:5 now…

 Back on the street, our shepherd, looking very defeated, limps on his way passing a man leading a donkey carrying a woman. He stops our friend asking directions to the nearest well, his wife is very weary from travel and hasn’t had a drink in hours. We know who they are! He tells them where to find it but then stops them, offering his own water bag. The woman we know to be Mary takes it gratefully while her husband, obviously Joseph, tells him where they travelled from. Neither introduce themselves but our shepherd gives them his name, Simon (SEE-mon) just as that same priest who scolded him passes by muttering for them to get out of his way. The man leads the donkey away and Mary says a quick “Thank you” as she hands back the water bag. They are gone.

 Voiceover of the priest reading again from another scroll, he is shown very briefly before we cut to Simon hobbling along in the setting sun still leading his lamb. The priest now reads from Isaiah 35:3-6 about strengthening weak hands and feeble knees, that God shall come save his people: the blind, deaf and dumb shall see and hear and the lame shall leap for joy and all shall sing. While this is being recited offscreen, Simon is shown letting his lamb graze in the late afternoon light and, against a brilliant orange filled sky, sunset, his silhouette is seen limping across the top of a hill.

 Exterior-night-sheep graze and we cut to a campfire and camp of all the shepherds discussing the way they were treated by the snobby priest, joking and laughing just as Simon hobbles in, late as usual. His fellow shepherds inform him his dinner plate is way over there, away from the fire. He is not eating with them, because of the trouble he caused today he’s on guard duty tonight with the sheep. Simon lights a torch for himself and limps down to a pool of water to clean his still wounded arm. As he stands back up, supported by his crutch, a wind suddenly blows out the torch. An eerie red light shines on Simon’s amazed face.

 Over at the camp, the other shepherds are on their feet gazing up into the sky in amazement as bright light shines on them. The wind has also blown out all their sources of light. There is no dialogue; just dramatic music to emphasize something phenomenal is taking place. No dialogue is needed anyway for we KNOW the Christmas story, we KNOW what’s happening! 

Simon doesn’t get any bright light just the red light as he is having his own experience. The other three shepherds kneel and cower under the bright light then sit back up to listen in continued awe and rapture. Suddenly, as if a switch has been thrown, the light is gone and they are left in darkness. Down by the water, Simon has already recovered and takes off, moving as fast as his crutch will allow. The others can be heard whooping and exclaiming as they also abandon their camp and head off into the night as instructed to go find the holy babe and tell everyone. Cut back to Simon still limping but also moving faster, albeit in slow motion. Something is happening to him, you can see it in his face.

 Mary is obviously in labor as the music continues to play and there is no audible sound just her expression of intense labor as she struggles to bear down. Simon’s crutch falls to the ground as he now can run openly and freely. He is healed! Mary bears down one last time and a new voice, not the priest we saw and heard earlier from the synagogue, begins reciting Isaiah 7:14 “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son…”

 Simon has reached a wooden structure of some sort, a stable with a Dutch door (which they probably didn’t have in ancient days but budget restrictions probably didn’t allow for a more authentic set-like a cave!) he pauses as if knowing what is taking place at this very moment inside as Joseph delivers the Messiah whose tender cries are audible. It is a REAL baby, wet and red and bloody (who gets his own end credit shoutout)

 Simon’s fellow shepherds rush past him, hardly seeing him in their haste to get to the manger they were told about. They appear at the Dutch door, enter, and Joseph, looking just a little anxious at the sudden arrival of strangers, stands up. There is no dialogue as everyone mimes their heavenly experience. Simon enters and once Mary and Joseph recognize him they relax and all are now welcome. Joseph motions them all to come forward and he tenderly takes the holy babe from Mary’s arms to present him to the shepherds who have all fallen to their knees. The eldest is already holding out his arms in expectation in being the first to hold the baby but Joseph looks at Simon and HE gets the honor of being the first to hold the Holy Infant.

 There is faint dialogue now as the other shepherds get to their feet remembering they need to go tell everyone! All exit while Simon continues to marvel at the little miracle he is holding. They’ve waited so long, he tells Joseph handing back the babe. Mary notices Simon’s still nasty looking wound on his arm and separates a swaddling strand to hand to him. Simon binds up his arm and asks them what they will name their baby? Jesus (of course!). Simon stands up. People must know, he tells them. He pauses at the door and turns for one last look at Madonna and child. Cut to a mostly deserted marketplace as the shepherds enter and wordlessly tell anyone still lingering around of what has happened…

 The new off-screen voice who is never shown recites Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born…Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end…” Simon has now entered the marketplace scene. People are already out on the street now, moving with the shepherds to go see and worship the newly born Messiah. 

Finally, one of the shepherds notices Simon is walking without his crutch. He embraces his friend exclaiming Simon was RIGHT all this time!” He rushes off but the same priest Simon encountered earlier today has also noticed Simon. “I told you not to come back here, at least not without a spotless lamb for sacrifice. Did you ever find one?” 

Oh, you have NO IDEA!!! You can see this knowledge slowly dawning on Simon’s face as a slow grin spreads and he says nothing.

Cut to Black and END CREDITS

A simple, solo piano plays “O Holy Night” as credits roll

 Cast 

I’m not listing everyone, just the major characters, but the three shepherds all had names and the priest was called Nicodemus.

Simon    Aaron Himelstein

Joseph    Raj Bond

Mary     Sara Ann Burciaga

Nicodemus (priest)   Rom Barkhordar