The Passion of Jesus - Part I

Following God's will as the Passion begins

The most challenging role in the Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion and the central role to the whole event is that of Jesus Christ.
The only scene in which he does not appear, he is the subject as Judas conspires with Caiaphas and the Chief Priest to have him arrested.
Consider also that this play is a live play. From the start time at 11:00am to the end at around 1:00pm the story proceeds with no break. Jesus confidently walks in at the start to the cries of jubilation and "Hosanna!", knowing all that is to befall him in the coming hours.

Explaining what he has done

The Last Supper

After a healing of Bartimaeus the Blind Beggar, Jesus and his disciples gather at the house for the Last Supper, where He washes the feet of saints John and Peter then explains what he has done and what is to happen shortly. He sadly sees Judas leave to do what must be done, and then performs the first Mass with the consecration of the bread and wine into his body and blood.
In order to prepare himself with prayer he brings his three closest disciples, Peter, James and John, into the Garden of Gethsemane.

Here he prays three times to God the Father, asking that this cup be taken away - but if it is God's will, he is willing.
He wants his closest disciples to stay awake and keep watch with him but they are too tired and fall asleep.
Once Jesus has finished praying and he realises that Judas is close at hand he gathers the disciples and they step forward to meet his betrayer.

Agony in the Garden

Convicted of Blasphemy

Responding to Pontius Pilate

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss and then the Jewish Guards step forward. They are reluctant, even though Jesus has told them who he is and requests they let his disciples go free. Jesus speaks wth authority causing hesitation.
Peter leaps forward in the first attempt at arrest and cuts off the Jewish Guard Malchus's ear. Jesus heals Malchus and then submits to his arrest. The disciples flee.

Caiaphas then conducts the illicit trial of Jesus, questioning him and allowing a multitude of false accusations to be raised. Jesus is beaten and abused during the trial under the watch of Caiaphas, but none of this gets the evidence needed for a conviction.
Finally Caiaphas then compels Jesus, by the power of the living God, to answer if He is the Christ?
"I am," replies Jesus, using the words used by God when Moses asked who he was in the burning bush.

Scourging

"Blasphemy!" cries a successful Caiaphas and they press forward with their abuse and then take him to Pilate.

"Behold the Man. I find no fault in him."

When Jesus meets Pilate, he tries to save Pilate with words of truth. Pilate tries three times to avoid sentencing Jesus to death, ending in the command to "Scourge him - but do not kill him".

The soldiers obey the command enthusiastically. When the first lash of the whip strikes Jesus, there was a huge intake of breath by the crowd, "Ohh!"
Eventually, the severely beaten and bruised Jesus is returned to Pilate.

But the crowd still calls for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate, fearful of trouble, gives in and sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion.

Our actor playing Jesus has, at this point, gone through a lot of dialogue, interacting with many of the other actors, been beaten and scourged (although not really physically hurt) and due to the nature of the play one can imagine the stress going through him as he prepares for the next part of the Re-enactment - The Way of the Cross.