Illustrated Summary of The Chosen: Season 4, Episode 7: The Last Sign

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This episode opens with a hooded older man  intent on carrying a large satchel up a remote mountain range. As his ascent levels out, he is challenged by a young woman armed with a bow and arrow. Coming out of a nearby cave entrance is an older woman who recognizes her visitor and welcomes him gladly. She is Mary Magdalene and he is the apostle Matthew.

Mary tells him as she leads him inside, "I can't believe you came all this way, especially with the danger--and at your age!" "Our age!" quips Matthew. He tells her, "Mary, I finished it." "The book?" inquires Mary. "I couldn't risk sending it by courier," explains Matthew, "and I wanted you to be the first one to read it. I want to hear your thoughts." She marvels, "You worked so hard and for so long! This will be a treasure for all time." Matthew states, "It will outlive us. We know that much."

As the young woman, Etienna, gets the two dear friends by a fire and prepares a meal, Matthew braces Mary for bad news. She states frankly, "I've gotten used to that. Who is it?" Matthew stifles a sob and answers, "Little James." Mary wants to know how it happened and where. Matthew tells her, "Lower Egypt. King Hyrcanus had him run through with a spear." Mary inquires, "What about Onya and the girls?" "Mercifully, they were not there to see it," says Matthew. "Thanks be to God," says Mary. Matthew adds, "Zee's men are moving them to stay with Nympha (Colossians 4:15) and her husband at Colossae. Paul's been sending letters to the church there." Mary tells him she will send a letter to Onya. Matthew ventures to ask, "What would you say to her?" "He's not suffering anymore," answers Mary. "Little James was in pain his entire life and he so rarely complained." "Yes," says Matthew.

After dinner Mary tells Matthew, "I'm going to stay up all night and read your manuscript. I want to relive it all, even the hard parts." Observant Matthew notices expensive parchment on Mary's desk and gently inquires about what she is writing. Mary is reluctant to speak of what she dismisses as scribblings, but upon reflection says, "Perhaps I can share them with you, my oldest friend."

Back in time with Jesus and His disciples, Zee has been busy fashioning walking sticks from fresh-cut tree limbs for Big and Little James before the group moves out to Bethany, where Jesus told them He would go to awaken Lazarus, who recently died (John 11). The stick for Big James is no surprise since he was injured from the attempted stoning of Jesus that just took place (John 10), but Zee tells Little James this when presenting him with the new stick: "It will be stronger than the one you had before. You fought bravely yesterday when the religious leaders tried to arrest Jesus--didn't even hesitate." Little James, who continues to be afflicted with a kind of paralysis, leans on the stick gratefully and says to Zee stoutly, "We were never going to let that happen." Peter jokes about a new walking stick for him, but Zee tells him it isn't a time for jokes since they are on their way to mourn for Lazarus. Mary Magdalene, thinking of what Jesus said about awakening Lazarus, says, "It remains to be seen. We'll either sit shiva or we won't."

On the journey, John reminds Thomas of what he said when Jesus told the group they would be going to Lazarus, which means now traveling back to the dangerous area that just tried to stone Him: "Let us also go, that we may die with Him" (John 11:16). John wants to know what Thomas meant by that. Thomas answers, "If we go back into Judea and they kill us, like they tried to yesterday, then that is God's will. And if it's God's will for us to die with Jesus, at least I won't have to feel anything anymore." (Thomas continues to mourn deeply over the murder of his fiancée, Ramah.) John sighs and says, "That's what I thought you meant. Thomas, in our faith, it's generally frowned upon to wish for one's own death. The last Book of Moses says, 'I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live'" (Deuteronomy 30:19). Thomas responds, "I wonder what that means when one doesn't have the choice." John says, "I'm just saying you should hope to live." "It's the nature of life itself," says Thomas gloomily. "That's what everyone has been saying for weeks. Only time differentiates one from the other." John reminds him, "We are in the middle of remarkably unusual circumstances," but Thomas quickly asserts, "No, John. This isn't an unusual circumstance. We have been forced to accept that death is a part of life."

Big James, walking next to Peter, says to him, "Last night my mind was cloudy from being hit in the head. Did I say something about Jairus's daughter?" (Jesus ordered him, Peter, and John to say nothing about His raising her from the dead, Mark 5:37-43.) Peter tells him to keep his voice low, which leads James to realize he did speak when he should not have, but now he wonders if things are different, saying, "Lazarus is dead. Jesus said He's going to wake him and we both know what that means. Jesus said He was glad He wasn't there to prevent Lazarus's death. Whatever happens next will be His will, which means we have nothing to fear." Peter, frowning, says, "You make it sound so simple." James tells him, "Pain has a way of flattening things."

Judas, next to Nathanael, asks him, "What was it like before I got here?" Nathanael answers, "Quieter." Judas infers, "You mean I talk too much?" "Sometimes," replies Nathanael, "but I meant we were relatively unknown. There was no fame or infamy. No one had tried to stone us yet. It wasn't all your fault," Nathanael says, clapping Judas on the side in a friendly manner. "Well, if it's not me, has something gone wrong?" wonders Judas. "I believe it has, Judas," says Nathanael. "Lazarus is dead." "That's what I mean," says Judas. "We're on our way to our third shiva in less than a year. He's the Messiah! Shouldn't we be winning, not losing constantly? This hardly looks like glory." Nathanael stops walking and looks at Judas earnestly, saying, "Only Jesus knows what true glory looks like." "It certainly can't be this," asserts Judas. As they start walking again, Nathanael says only, "Perhaps."

Little James, leaning heavily on his new staff, asks Mary as they walk together, "We'll sit shiva or we won't: weren't you the one who read the letter saying Lazarus is dead?" "Yes," answers Mary, "but there's what Jesus said after." Little James recalls Jesus's saying, "Asleep. Awaken" and asks Mary if she is familiar with Psalm 13, which opens with these big questions from David:  "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?" "Been there!" says Mary. James tells her it ends with acceptance and even praise: "But I have trusted in Your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me." "Done that," adds Mary, "although not very pretty." "In the middle," continues James, "there's this line": "Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death." He concludes that sometimes sleep and death are used interchangeably in sacred Scripture, saying, "It appears only God knows the difference."

Little James tells Mary, "I asked Jesus about the irony of giving me the ability to heal others while still bearing the burden of my limp." Mary asks, "Did He answer?" "He explained some of it," answers James, "and it was beautiful. That doesn't mean I'm not still in pain. The pangs were already getting steadily worse even before what happened yesterday." He wonders that if Jesus wakes Lazarus from death, won't that present him with bigger questions than the one he has been wrestling with. Mary says, "Of course it will and we'll deal with them then. There's no use agonizing about it now" (Matthew 6:34). He asks her, "Is all of this what you expected?" She says, "Little James, I wouldn't wish what I went through on anybody" (being inhabited by 7 demons, Luke 8:2), "but being lost to myself all those years means I never expected anything, except darkness. Even the daylight felt dark with only these rare moments where flecks of light would shine through. And now it's flipped," Mary says with a smile. "Ever since He called my name, everything has been light, more or less, with the occasional moments of darkness that hurt just as much as before, only now they're the exception and not the rule. I've had so much practice with grief and loss. Now I'm just grateful for the light." She is quick to say she is not special and hers is not an enviable perspective to have, having being gained only by torment. James tells her honestly, "I wish my own torment would grant me the same level of acceptance and wisdom that you found. None of us could have dreamed where all of this was headed." "We still can't," says Mary.

At the dark, candle-lit home of Lazarus, his sisters are dressed in black. Mary is weeping with the mother of Jesus sitting next to her, consoling her. Martha is seated by herself with an eye toward the door to receive mourners offering their condolences. She rises and acknowledges by name Arnán, the father of Yussif or Joseph of Arimathea. He says to her, "Martha, may Adonai comfort you, together with all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. This earth is a worse place without Lazarus. He was taken from us all too soon." Mary, the mother of Jesus rises to greet Arnán, helping Martha with shiva hostess duties. Arnán tells both ladies, "The golden age of construction in the holy city has ended with the death of Lazarus. Truly, there was no greater ironsmith in all the land." Mary tells him, "He was like family and the beloved friend of my Son's." "The beloved friend of all," adds Arnán.

They all greet another mourner who has just entered the door: Jabez, the family lawyer. Arnán asks him if everything is in order. Jabez answers affirmatively, "As you would expect from Lazarus. Martha, you and your sister will be well taken care of. His property, assets, and all the money will pass directly to you with a special clause that the resources be used in part to include the ongoing protection and care of one Mary, daughter of Joachim (or Heli) of Nazareth." Mary says, "Lazarus never said anything." Arnán comments, "Why does it not surprise me that Lazarus is friends with people from Nazareth?" Jabez says, "He was never elitist, Arnán." Martha tells him plainly, "We grew up there." Arnán humbly apologizes, adding, "I meant no disrespect by that comment." Jabez tells Martha, "Most of the money is in the bank, but there is some in the safe in the back office." Martha asks, "Can we do this later?" Jabez answers, "Certainly, but if you need anything in the short term ..." and he hands her a large key. Then he remembers, "Oh, as I was arriving to your house, Nephtali told me to tell you there is a group approaching Bethany to see Lazarus: over 10, coming from the Jordan. And he said, 'Tell her He is coming.'"

Martha quickly leaves the house and runs toward Jesus, who by now is leading His disciples toward the door. She stops before Him and says in a trembling voice, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. I'm trying not to be angry. You didn't come sooner, Lord. I'm just ..." "Confused," says Jesus  gently. "And devastated," He adds. "I understand." Martha shakes her head affirmatively and looks up at Him, saying, "But even now I know whatever You ask from God, God will give You. Right? Whatever it is to give us hope or relief, I know You can." "My child," Jesus replies, "your brother will rise again." Martha says somewhat bitterly, "I know he will rise again with all of us in the resurrection at the end of the age. That's a long time to wait." Jesus tells her, "That's not the resurrection I'm talking about. I am the life that overcomes death." Martha confesses, "I don't understand." Jesus' disciples are listening intently and John opens his notebook. Jesus explains, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Martha answers, "I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God who is coming into the world, so even what I do not understand, I believe." Jesus responds, "Now that I'm here, physical death does not interrupt our eternal life." Martha says, "I believe You're the Christ. That I know." "That's all I need for now," says Jesus. "Quickly, go and get your sister."

While they wait, Matthew ventures to say, "Forgive me, Rabbi: Are we supposed to be understanding what You are saying?" Peter, next to him, admits, "I'm wondering the same thing." Jesus sighs and says, "I suppose not yet."

When Mary hears that Jesus is calling for her now, she quickly arises. Martha and the other mourners follow, one of them saying she should not be left alone. Mary runs to Jesus and falls to her knees at His feet, saying loudly through uncontrolled sobs, "Lord, if You were here, my brother would not have died! We sent word. Why didn't You come? Why did You wait? Why?" Jesus, looking distressed, answers, "I will show you why." He asks, "Where have you laid him?" Martha replies, "Lord, come and see." Jesus looks at Martha, His bewildered disciples, and then at Mary, weeping on the ground. His breathing becomes shaky and He suddenly collapses in grief, sobbing. His mother bends down and embraces Him, saying, "My Son." Martha stoops down to help her sister to her feet and holds her close. Jesus slowly rises to His feet with His mother's gentle help. They walk arm in arm with the sisters to Lazarus's tomb. Everyone follows them down a winding path.

As Jesus's disciples talk among themselves along the way, Andrew says in shock, "I've never seen Him like that! He's healed countless sick people. He's opened the eyes of the blind. Couldn't He have kept Lazarus from dying?" Peter encourages him and the others to stay calm as they wait to find out what all this means, saying, "We'll just watch. Okay?" John and Tamar encourage Thomas to follow along.

The sisters stop before a rocky projection with a large, round, flat stone in a grooved channel, blocking the entrance to a cave tomb. Jesus turns to His disciples and says, "Take away the stone." They and others hearing Him remain still, acting like they don't believe what they just heard. Jesus, observing that, asks, "Was I unclear?" Martha says, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor. He has been dead 4 days." Jesus replies, "Martha, surely you know that is a minor matter. Did I not tell you that if you believed, you will see the glory of God? Your only priority in this moment is faith." She nods her head affirmatively.

Jesus again orders that the stone be removed. Zee, Andrew, Peter, and Zebedee move forward and get the hard job done with coordinated effort. Just about everyone coughs or covers nose and mouth when inhaling the strong smell of death. Jesus steps toward the rectangular tomb entrance and prays, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I know that You always hear Me, but I say this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe You sent Me." Thomas asks His fellow disciples quietly, "What is He doing?" Mary Magdalene reminds him, "He already told us." John says, "We already believe in Him." Mary adds, looking at Thomas, "Not everyone for everything."

Jesus now turns His gaze from heaven and toward the tomb, saying in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" Everyone stares intently and all is still. In a few moments, footsteps are heard and a wrapped human form staggers toward the tomb entrance from inside it! The people watching gasp or scream, backing away or clutching at one another. Mary recognizes that form as her brother, falling to her knees and crying out "Lazarus!" Jesus smiles. He turns toward Martha and His mother and asks them to get Lazarus out the wrappings that are making it hard for him to walk. Martha quickly unwraps the strips binding her brother's hands and then gently pulls away the separate wrapping covering his head. His eyes are open and he looks at her, saying weakly, "Martha?" as he caresses her cheek with a hand now free. She laughs and cries simultaneously, answering, "Yes, brother. I'm here." Lazarus asks, "What has happened?" Martha simply says, "You're back."

Lazarus now sees Jesus and takes a few steps toward Him, asking, "Am I dreaming?" Jesus assures him he is not, saying, "You just woke up. Back in the land of the living, brother." Lazarus kisses His hands and thanks Him. Jesus tells him, "I'm sorry it had to be this way, but also not because there is a higher plan in all of it." Lazarus responds, "I trust You." Looking down at himself he adds, "I know You like to keep me humble, but I am naked underneath these wrappings." Those within earshot laugh. Jesus says to him in a comical voice, "You could use a bath." Lazarus also tells Him he is starving. Jesus responds, "Don't be so dramatic. It has only been 4 days." Lazarus repeats that number, surprised, leading Jesus's mother to say to him, "The longest 4 days of your life!"

A woman in the crowd who at first screamed in terror  now proclaims with joy, "The stories of Jesus of Nazareth are true!" A religious official standing next to Arnán, knowing that Jesus is wanted for questioning in Jerusalem, tells him he must hurry back there. Arnán says to him, "Why now? We have to find out what just happened here." Jabez the lawyer comments, "I think it's clear what just happened! But how?" The official waves goodbye and runs off. Another man who has been watching suspiciously leaves suddenly as well. Lazarus, supported by his sisters, heads toward home. Many follow them and others begin to swarm around Jesus, but Peter directs them to go home since there is no longer a shiva.

Big James says to Jesus as the people move away, "Why aren't You telling people not to share this? Why did You do this in front of so many?" Jesus answers, "Because it's time, Big James. You'll understand." (James obviously is remembering when Jesus forbade him, John, and Peter from sharing about His raising Jairus's 12-year-old daughter from death.) Judas says with excitement to his fellow disciples, "Don't you see? This miracle will bring everyone together. Now no one can deny Him!" Thomas collapses to the ground in tears. He smacks away water from those trying to help him and demands to know from Jesus, "What have You done?"

Jesus gestures for Thomas to get up and walk with him, saying, "Thomas, please. We'll talk." Thomas, still on his hands and knees, stares at Him and says angrily, "When? Soon? I am tired of all this soon talk!" John tries to calm him down, but Thomas wants to deal with this now. He asks why Lazarus was raised from the dead and not Ramah or Jesus's own cousin, John the Baptizer. Jesus kneels down to face him, saying, "Thomas, I don't expect you to understand now what the Father allows, what I allow to bring about My Father's will, and the faith and growth of His church. It can be crushing for you and even for Me." Thomas weeps, saying, "It's too much. I don't understand." "I know," says Jesus, "and that hurts My heart. But please stay with Me, Thomas, and you'll understand in time." Jesus kisses him on his curly head and holds back tears before rising and gesturing toward John to assist Thomas.

Arnán and Jabez have waited respectfully to speak with Jesus, who now approaches them. Arnán informs Him that the miracle He just did made a Sadducee very upset. Jesus simply says, "Good," knowing that religious order wrongly teaches that the Scriptures do not affirm the reality of resurrection from the dead. Jabez adds, "The Sadducee has already left for Jerusalem. I know his kind. He will make trouble." Jesus responds, "I imagine he will." Arnán, misunderstanding His composure, replies, "And You don't care?" Jesus affirms, "I do care. It's why I did this." Jesus then excuses Himself to go be with their mutual friend Lazarus. The rest of the disciples follow Him, but Mary lingers last, feeling compelled to look into the empty tomb and at the discarded grave wrappings. (It is a foreshadowing of what will happen to Mary when encountering the risen Christ by His tomb, as recorded in John 20.)

Hours later, Lazarus is sitting up in clean clothes with his sisters by his side, administering medicine and food. Martha asks if his strength is coming back. He answers, "More and more every minute." Mary wants to know, "What about the old aches--the click in your knee?" Lazarus moves his knee and it clicks. Martha says warmly, "Wouldn't be you without it." Mary asks, "What was it like?" Lazarus says, "I told you: it was a deep sleep." She presses further, "You didn't see Eema, Abba, or Uncle Lamech with his creepy one eye?" Mary wonders if he will have both eyes in the future resurrection. Jesus at that moment steps into the room and Lazarus quips, "If only there were Someone here we could ask!"

Jesus asks how he is doing and Mary quickly responds, "He still has the click in his knee." Lazarus says with fun, "We are grateful, but we do have some ideas for next time." Jesus banters back, "Well, the Father only grants Me one miracle per person so ...." Then He asks the sisters if He may have a moment alone with Lazarus. Mary, still in a playful mood, says, "What are we going to say--No?" Before leaving she tells Lazarus to finish the food she has been spoon-feeding him. Martha hands him a blanket and tells him to stay warm.

When they leave Jesus tells Lazarus, "They take very good care of you." He says, "It's like having 2 mothers--well, 3 with Yours." Jesus says that must be nice. Lazarus admits it has its moments.

Martha and Mary move into their large living room and sit at the long table. Martha munches on some food and Mary pours herself something to drink. She says to Martha, "I almost just said out loud, 'What a day!'" Martha acknowledges, "Yeah, that wouldn't quite cover it." They both laugh. After awhile Mary stares at her sister with an amused expression on her face. Martha notices and asks about it. Mary answers, "You're just sitting there. Look at this place in total disarray and you're not busying yourself trying to tidy it up!" Martha remains seated and tells her sister to pour her some of what Mary has been drinking, obviously having learned from what Jesus taught her about preferring sitting at His feet over distracted service (Luke 10:38-42). After pouring, Mary leans back and says reflectively, "I wish there was some way we could repay Him." Martha asks, "What do you give to someone who can raise the dead? And we've heard the stories of Him multiplying loaves and fish. What could He possibly need?" Mary, thinking further, says, "Surely He doesn't need anything. Maybe that's the whole point." She puts down her cup and stares at a large key she has discretely pulled out from her clothing.

Jesus, sitting across from Lazarus, says to him, "So, feeling better?" "Understatement," quips Lazarus, eliciting a chuckle from Jesus, who says, "You certainly look better." Lazarus says thank You with a question mark in his voice, leading them both to share a laugh, adding, "I should think I would look really refreshed after a 4-day nap." Jesus says, "Hmm, 4-day sleep." Lazarus now decides to get serious, asserting, "But it wasn't really. I know that. Why did You do it? Why me?" Jesus answers, "It was not so much who as when. I'm glad it was you, of course." "I don't understand," says Lazarus. "I'm out of time, Laz," responds Jesus. "This was the last public sign." "You will do no more big miracles?" asks Lazarus. "Not this side of ..." answers Jesus, but He does not finish the sentence.

Jesus redirects the conversation with a confession, not of sin, but an acknowledgement of something Lazarus does not yet know: that his sisters sent word of his illness to their lodging in Perea (something Lazarus did not want them to do), but Jesus deliberately delayed coming with His disciples to Bethany. He explains to Lazarus, "I had something to do, a sermon to preach in Jerusalem." "In the temple?" asks Lazarus. "How'd that go?" Jesus tells him, "Besides the attempted stoning from the leaders, I thought it was above average." "Stoning?" says Lazarus. "I guess You're not holding back anymore." "No," answers Jesus. "I can't: the time has come. What they tried yesterday they will soon succeed in doing." Lazarus wants more details, but Jesus returns to what is on His mind: "The waiting, the 4 days your sisters grieved and suffered: I need you to know it was not out of cruelty." Lazarus affirms, "I would never think that of You." Jesus continues, "It was so that the glory of My Father might be revealed to all in what happened today. Know that it was painful for me to watch those of you who suffered through this, even more painful to know it was necessary for those who witnessed it, especially My own followers."

Now Jesus moves the topic from personal suffering to what will happen in response to Jesus raising Lazarus publicly from the dead: "There are those for whom this will set off a series of events." Lazarus questions, "Has it not been that way with the religious leaders since the beginning?" "This is different," explains Jesus. "They now have firmer grounds for punishment. They're men. They must save face." When Lazarus states that Jesus has become undeniable, Jesus replies, "They can't have that. And My followers will not understand. I have told them 3 times. It's as if they're incapable of hearing it." Lazarus confesses, "I myself feel incapable of hearing it." "Even after what happened today?" asks Jesus with surprise. "I'm human," says Lazarus. "So am I," says Jesus. "But my friend," adds Lazarus, "You are the Son of God." "I am," acknowledges Jesus. "To be frustrated is to be human, and I am frustrated that My students are constantly missing it. They're forgetting what I have done. And I'm angry at how the religious leaders twist the faith into a craven theater of pretense. I dread what is to come: the cup I must drink to fulfill My Father's will." "You're scaring me," says Lazarus. Jesus counters, "You've been to the grave and you're afraid?" "Afraid for You," Lazarus clarifies. "I love You. I do not want to see You suffer."

Jesus helps Lazarus to understand by explaining Scripture: "The Son of Man must suffer many things. The prophet Isaiah gave you many warnings, hmm?" "Yes," acknowledges Lazarus, citing Isaiah 53:3, which Jesus joins him in quoting: "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." "They were just words on a scroll," says Lazarus. "Now that I know they are about You, flesh and blood, it's another story." "A story nearing its end," says Jesus. 

They overhear the sound of raised voices and smashed pottery. Outside in the courtyard at night, the disciples are trying to calm down Thomas, but he does not want to listen. He says, "I am tired of you telling me to trust Him. I am not going to trust Him anymore. All of you saw what He did!" He goes on to complain about the sufferings others in the group have had to endure, such as Big James's head wound. John urges Thomas to keep his voice down. Lazarus asks Jesus, "Do You have to go out to them?" Jesus tells him, "I'll discuss everything in detail at the Passover dinner. Nothing will be left unsaid. As for the heartbroken, he cannot accept My love or words tonight. His brothers will carry him."

John encourages Thomas to see the bigger picture, but Thomas insists there isn't one and smashes another pot. The women scream. Matthew tells him, "You'll have to replace that." Thomas responds in fury, "Why, Matthew? Because when Lazarus loses something, he deserves to have it restored?" Flustered, Matthew answers, "It's just the polite thing to do." Nathanael adds bluntly, "The polite thing to do is not break the jar in the first place." Thomas says he is done being polite and with all of it. Andrew says, "You don't mean that." Enraged, Thomas fires back, "Then tell me what I mean, Andrew!" Peter says calmly, "Look, you're hurting. We get it." "No, you don't," insists Thomas. "If you did, you'd be as offended as I am." Philip says, "Thomas, there is no use putting suffering on a scale and weighing it." Judas says in a loud, cheerful voice, "What happened today should make us all more united than ever! We need to set aside our personal grievances and be prepared for things to change in a big way." Thomas charges at Judas in a rage, but John saw that coming and holds him back, saying, "Let's just take a moment." He leads Thomas away from the others.

Judas, shaken, faces the other disciples and says to them, "I hate what he's going through, but think about what happened today: dozens of mourners saw it with their own eyes. The religious leaders will finally have to admit who He truly is, and they'll work with Him to unify us against our oppressors. This is one of the greatest days in the history of our people!"  Big James says, "I agree, but we need to be more sensitive around Thomas." Zee cautions, "The Jerusalem religious leaders don't like it when anyone is more powerful than them, Judas." Philip agrees, saying, "Hmm, I'm not sure this moment means what you think it does." Judas counters, "If they don't like Him, He can snuff them out like a lamp with a single word. That's all it would take." Matthew says, "I'm still wondering about that myself: with a word. Why didn't Jesus just speak healing from a distance, the way He did for Gaius's son? (Matthew 8:5-13) Tamar reminds Matthew, "He wanted us to see the stone rolled away, to see Lazarus walk out of the tomb with burial strips." Thaddaeus adds, "He also wants us to participate. He could have rolled the stone and unwrapped Laz with a word too." Zee remembers, "He told us last night, 'That we might believe'" (John 11:15).

Judas, still overly excited, says, "It certainly worked for me!" Big James wonders, "If Jerusalem hears this and believes, could this be the beginning of the army?" Mary Magdalene challenges that thinking, saying, "When has Jesus ever said anything about an army?" Zee supports that important point, saying, "He threw away my dagger." Judas says condescendingly, "I'm sorry, but some of you are thinking too--look, the time for restraint and modesty has passed!" Tamar objects strongly, "He has asked nothing from us but to come with Him and to observe. Why are we discussing anything beyond that?" Big James says heatedly, "Because we could lose Thomas over this." Peter calmly replies, "Look, He told us yesterday that no one and nothing could snatch us from His hand." Judas says, "Well, He said that of His 'true sheep,' those who hear His voice and believe. Maybe Thomas isn't one of the true sheep." Shocked, Andrew blurts out with irony, "Has the devil gotten into you?" (John 13:21-30) Mary says  "How dare you!" Nathanael adds in a threatening voice, "Take it back!" Peter interjects, "Everyone, please!" Mary insists, "Do not dishonor Jesus by acting this way." "She's right," says Peter. "The hour is late. A lot has happened in the last 2 days. Let's just rest."

Judas says, reaching out  towards Nathanael, "I am truly sorry," but Nathanael slaps away his hand, walking past him. He starts apologizing to the group and making excuses, but suddenly Little James cries out in pain. Thaddaeus and Mary help him get stabilized, explaining to the group that the pains have been getting worse. Big James, feeling angry, says, "Thomas has a point: why everyone and everything else, but not Little James?" Little James says firmly, "I don't want to talk about me tonight. I think we just need to listen to what Peter said and get some rest." Nathanael asks him, "How can you in this condition?" Little James answers, "That's between me and God, as should most of the things that people have been arguing about tonight." Mary says, "Mary and Martha have prepared our rooms, the same ones we had last time." Tamar observes, "They won't sleep until we do. It's disrespectful to keep them up late like this." "She's right," says Zee, reminding Philip and Nathanael that they shared a room with him last time. They and the others start heading to bed. Andrew and Peter leave to find John and Thomas.

Mary and Thaddaeus remain with Little James, still in agony, until he is ready to move. James says to Mary, "I guess you got your answer: we won't sit shiva." "Not tonight," she says with a quick laugh, then adds, "But I still feel grief." Thaddaeus says, "I feel it too." James adds, "I think Judas was right: this was His biggest public sign yet." Mary concludes, "We no longer have to wonder or guess about when 'soon' will be." 

Back at the cave with elderly Mary and Matthew, Mary explains to Matthew that the more she read the Psalms of David, the more she felt the need to model his writing in expressing what she could remember of all they experienced with Jesus, especially the sad times. Although throughout the centuries Mary Magdalene is not known to have written any of her own works, Mary here describes what she has written as mere scribblings of remembrances. Matthew kindly replies, "You so rarely let people into your mind. The times you did, I was always grateful."

Mary reads, "Darkness is not the absence of light. That would be too simple. It is more uncontrollable and sinister, not a place but a void. I was there once, more than once. Although I could not see or hear You, You were there, waiting, because the darkness is not dark to You--at least, not always. You wept, not because Your friend was dead, but because soon You would be and we couldn't understand it--or didn't want to, or both. The coming darkness was too deep for us to grasp, but then so is the light. One had to come before the other. It was always that way with You. It still is. Tears fell from Your eyes, and then ours, before every light in the world went out and time itself wanted to die with You. I go back to that place sometimes, or rather it comes back to me, uninvited. The night that was eternal until it wasn't, bitter but then sweet. Somehow the bitter remained in the sweet and has never gone away. You told us it would be like that, not with Your words but with how You lived, the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That grief wasn't what we wanted to see so we tried to look away, and in doing so fulfilled Your very essence: 'One from whom people hide their faces' (Isaiah 53:3). But soon we couldn't hide from it any more than we could stop the sun from setting or rising. I remember You wishing there could be another way (Matthew 26:39), and looking back I do too. I still don't know why it has to be this way, the bitter often mingled with the sweet. Maybe I never will, at least, not this side of ..." 

As Mary reads, we see images from that long night after Lazarus was raised to life from death: 

• Lazarus pondering the grave wrappings he now holds and studies in his hands. 
  
• Arnán awakening his son Yussif to tell him the good news of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
  
• Religious leaders who would regard that as bad news being awakened and informed.
  

  
• Mary of Bethany using the large key to the safe so she can take bags filled with coins on a special errand (John 12). 
  
• Little James wincing in pain as he turns in bed.
  
• Thomas at the edge of his bed nearby, holding and staring at the sundial he gave Ramah as a betrothal gift shortly before she was murdered.
  
• Zee blowing out a candle.
  
• Mary Magdalene blowing out another candle, enabling her to see Jesus in the courtyard, stooping to pick up broken shards of pottery.
  
• Jesus later sitting on His bed, contemplating those broken shards with a sad expression on His face.
  
• The open tomb of Lazarus in the dark with the stone rolled away.
  

Illustrated Summaries of All The Chosen TV Series Episodes (Quotes, Links, and Photos)

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