Gospel Dramas
The Matthew Drama
The Matthew Drama tells the story Matthew wrote in his Gospel through the voices and actions of a cast of 15 ordinary Christians.
Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, and was keen to let them know upfront that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the son of David, so he begins with his genealogy. He was also eager to let his readers know that Immanuel (God with us), fulfilled a whole string of Old Testament prophesies. So The Matthew Drama has an actor playing the role of a prophet, who regularly interrupts the drama to shout, “Hear ye. Hear ye. This is what God said through his servant. . .”
The Matthew Drama also includes the birth narratives, with Joseph and Mary journeying to Bethlehem, and the Magi from the East searching for the new king, all the way through to his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. The drama concludes with Jesus’ words to his followers from chapter 28:19-20 to take the Good News to all nations. And they do!
The Matthew Drama is performed as theatre-in-the-round, with the stage in the centre, and the audience in circles around the action – until Jesus moves out into the circular cross-over aisles and the action engulfs the audience, with cast members on all sides interacting with the Master Teacher.
Audience Feedback:
Is The Matthew Drama suitable for all ages?
“Yes! My nine-year-old daughter and I attended and found it super-helpful to see Scripture brought to life in such a helpful way.”
“An absolute joy, uniquely presented, engaging and spiritually uplifting. The children were ‘spellbound’ with anticipation. Thank you.”
Is The Matthew Drama good quality theatre?
“We loved it. The performance quality was excellent, and the storyline was in-line with Scripture and wonderfully portrayed the Gospel.
“It was fantastic. The actors were so good and got the message across very powerfully.
“Really well done. Great to see Matthew’s Gospel brought to life. A high-quality performance.”
A Tool for Churches: Wycliffe Bible Translators are eager for the Good News to be heard and understood by people of every nation in their own language. The Matthew Drama is a tool to help Australian churches make the Gospel message clear – both for Christians and also for their neighbours who do not yet know the one named Jesus, “. . . for he will save people from their sins.”
Matthew Drama website introduction video
The Luke Drama
In his ‘orderly account’ to his friend Theophilus, Dr Luke gives us many details of the life of Jesus not recorded in the other three Gospels. Only Luke introduces us to Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist; only Luke tells us of the visitation of Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth; only Luke tells us of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, and of Mary’s glorious song of praise; of the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah’s prophesy; of the army of angels who descended in the fields near Bethlehem to announce the Messiah’s birth; of Jesus’ circumcision and dedication at the temple; of Simeon and Anna; of the events surrounding Jesus’ Bar Mitzvah at the age of twelve; and many other historical touches. The Gospel of Luke also includes many teachings of Jesus and parables not recorded by other Gospel writers.
The Luke Drama is the story of Jesus told by Luke, acted out over 90 minutes by a cast of 15 ordinary Christians as theatre-in-the-round.
Actor’s Responses:
“I’ve read the Bible many times, but last night, being part of The Luke Drama, it was amazing to see those words of Jesus coming out of someone’s mouth. He was so bold: “Sell everything you have and give to the poor.” “Don’t bury your father.” “Leave your father and mother.” And yet he was also calm, and had such sweet compassion that was very impacting.
As you read the Gospel there are so many people who have significant parts to play in the Gospel story. But there’s also people who just have little parts. In The Luke Drama I got to play the parts of Zechariah and Simeon. Each of them with just a few verses here and a few verses there in the Gospel of Luke. And yet what an impact they had on the coming of the Messiah into the world. And it struck me that what an impact the little people like you and me can have on the furtherance of God’s purposes for this world.”
“Last night in The Luke Drama I was acting out the story of the rich fool that Jesus was relating to his followers. In that story the rich fool ended up saying, ‘Eat, drink and be merry.’ And Jesus said that he died that very night. And I realised that I was that fool. I was saying to myself, ‘Retire. Eat, drink and be merry.’ ”
Audience Responses:
“When I watched The Luke Drama, what struck me was Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel when he tells her that she is going to have a baby and he will be the Messiah. And as she grows in her awareness of what that means in the play, it challenged me to think how I respond when God speaks to me.”
“In The Luke Drama, when Jesus and the apostles went to Simon’s place, and the lady comes in, and is down on her hands and knees, crying and kissing Jesus’ feet – it was so impactful to me. I’ve read the Gospel over and over and over, but it was not until I saw it played out that I got the full impact of Jesus forgiving her sins. It was so wonderful.”
“Watching The Luke Drama, what really struck me was the line at the end of the banquet. The king arranges a great feast, but there were people who were too busy to come. And the king declares that those people who were invited first will never taste the banquet. It struck me because it’s a warning to us to not be too busy to do what Jesus has called us to.”
The John Drama
The John Drama is a dramatisation of the whole of John’s Gospel by a cast of 15 ordinary Christians, where the words Jesus speaks are taken directly from the New Living Translation of the Gospel of John. It has been performed in several churches in Brisbane and also at the Mt Tamborine Easter Convention in 2021.
The John Drama is done as ‘theatre in the round’, with the stage in the middle and the audience in concentric circles around the stage. The action moves from in front of you to an aisle behind you, and sometimes right beside you. Audience members cannot escape the events being portrayed in the Gospel drama!
The CEO of the Mt Tamborine Convention wrote, “It was excellent. ‘Theatre in the round’ offers a visual and aural experience that sometimes stage productions lack. I know that my children (13 years & 8 years) are still talking about it – they seemed to learn so much.” A member of the Mt Tamborine audience said, “The circular seating created a sense of being a part of the story as opposed to just watching a performance. The performance was an incredibly powerful and moving way to present the Gospel.”
A tool for churches: Wycliffe Australia sees The John Drama as a tool that churches can use for both disciple-making and evangelism. As the actors prepare for the presentation they internalise the whole of John’s Gospel. And audience members who are not believers hear the gospel through the story. One church leader said, “Before I saw The John Drama, I did not know that the gospel could be presented in such a clear, accurate and engaging way.”
A member of the Mt Tamborine audience wrote: “It was amazing!! Very, very impacting on young and old! A wonderful presentation of the gospel and a great tool for churches.”
The John Drama is something that any church with a vision for discipleship and outreach can sponsor.
John Drama website introduction video
The Jonah Drama
The Jonah Drama is a 45-minute theatre-in-the-round dramatisation of a significant Old Testament story in which God reminds his people Israel that he is the God of all ethnic groups – a concept he clearly states in Exodus 19:5-6 when he commissions them to be his representatives on earth.
Israel, of course, was not really interested in being God’s ambassador to other nations – especially to the powerful and relentlessly cruel Assyrian Empire, with its capital at Nineveh. Jonah represents Israel’s reluctance – and maybe our reluctance – to get involved. Yet there are over 7,000 people groups still without a congregation worshipping the God of all peoples, in their own language (see statistics in People Groups of the World | Joshua Project). We are reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14 ‘the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations [ethnic groups] will hear it; and then the end will come.’ (NLT)