The Promise (Passion play)
Jesus and His disciples meet in an upper room to celebrate the Passover, and he gives them some of his final teachings, assuring them that His spirit and His peace will always be with them ("Shalom"). Judas leaves the table to betray Jesus to the priests and Pharisees. Jesus predicts that all his disciples will fall away, but Peter insists that he will never leave Jesus. Jesus warns him that before the rooster crows, he will deny Jesus three times. Jesus and the rest of His disciples go into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray ("He Is Jehovah" (reprise)). The disciples fall asleep. Jesus begs God to take away the suffering he will endure, but then asks that God's will be done so that God may be glorified ("Glorify Your Son"§). The disciples awaken as Judas returns with some Roman soldiers. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, and the soldiers arrest him and lead him away.
The Shadow of Nazareth
The story opens with Barabbas (Arthur Maude) stealing a headdress of precious stones to impress Judith (Constance Crawley), but her love is actually for Caiaphas (Joe Harris), the high priest of the city, who is devising a plot to kill Jesus Christ. When Barabbas stabs an associate of Caiaphas during an argument over Judith, Caiaphas has Barabbas arrested by Roman soldiers. Then as Barabbas is led away, Caiaphas kills the injured man to prevent him from revealing the plot, and Barrabas is blamed for the crime. Sometime later, Judith at the urging of Caiaphas convinces Judas Iscariot, who is her brother, to betray Jesus, which allows Caiaphas to have Jesus arrested. Barrabas in the meantime has been freed, but is arrested a second time when he makes an attempt on the life of Caiaphas, and Barrabas ends up being held in the same prison as Jesus.