TV Program

Current Episode

Portraying Bible Characters

2008-04-13

PRODUCTION #: 1138

SPEAKERS: Shawn Boonstra, Richard Stenbakken,

You know, as much as I used to wish for one as a little kid, there really isn’t any such thing as a time machine. But, just for a moment, let’s pretend it’s real, that you really can go back in time and we had some sort of a machine that would let us visit the ancient biblical past. Now, out of all the people in the Bible, whom would you visit? What would you ask them? If you had the opportunity to sit down and ask some questions, what would you say?

SB (Shawn Boonstra): Over a number of weeks, we’ve had the privilege of having retired Army Chaplain and Colonel Dick Stenbakken with us on the It Is Written program, portraying different characters from the Bible, and we always ran out of time. So I’ve asked Dick to join me for just a few moments to talk about the things that he does and why he does them. Dick, it is such a joy to have had you on the It Is Written program.

RS (Richard Stenbakken): Well, it feels kind of strange to be in a suit rather than in one of the outfits.

SB: I hardly recognize you, as a matter of fact, because during our time together you’ve helped me meet Judas, and Peter, and Caiaphas, and the disciple John and James. And now I’m with Dick and you don’t look like you did a little while ago.

RS: It’s amazing to me how much change can be done with the various costuming. And really when I get into doing these, I’m not acting.

SB: Right. I think that’s important to point out.

RS: I get into the skin of the people as much as I can, and basically in the interview, or when I’m doing it, I’m just telling my story.

SB: Now, I’ve noticed that as you tell the story of this character once or twice, as you and I looked at the material together, I called you on it and I said, “Hey, Dick, how do you support that idea?” But it has all come from careful Bible study, right?

RS: Yes. I really do in-depth Bible study. I do in-depth historical study. I really try to make the things and the stuff there as accurate as I possibly can. I do a lot of study. These are not just off the top of your head kind of things.

SB: I noticed that. You gave me quite a Bible education on a few people as I went scrambling to my Bible to see. And sure enough, it did say that. You’ve done a masterful job.

RS: Thank you.

SB: Dick, how did you get into this? I know a lot of people are wondering how you get started with this. You’ve done how many characters?

RS: To date, I’ve presented about 60 different characters.

SB: Sixty characters. How did you start?

RS: Very interesting. I was a young chaplain, a captain at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. And the installation chaplain, who was a full colonel, called me into the office and he said, “Dick, you’re in charge.” See, I’m a captain and he’s a colonel. He said, “You’re in charge of the Saturday night program for Christmas this year for the chaplains and the chaplains’ assistants.”

And so I said, “Yes, sir.”

SB: You didn’t have a choice.

RS: Well, no, but I’m saying this is no problem.

SB: Right.

RS: I’m thinking we’ll sing some Christmas carols and we’ll read some Christmas poetry and that kind of thing. And he said, “But I don’t want a bunch of Christmas carols and a bunch of Christmas poetry. We’ve had that before.”

SB: (Laughs)

RS: And then he blew me away. He said, “I want something that has to do with the nativity that’s spiritual and that’s entertaining.”

SB: Uh-huh. Wow.

RS: That’s what I thought.

SB: He wants you to hold people’s attention.

RS: Oh yeah. And so I just said, “Yes sir.” And I walked out of there in deep prayer.

SB: I would, too. I mean there go the Christmas carols and the poetry. I’d be stuck. What am I going to do?

RS: I was just, I didn’t know what to do so I made it a matter of prayer and I went to the library, on installation there, and I just researched as much as I could just trying to find something that would, because if you know anything about Scripture, you know the Christmas nativity story. And the Lord led me to a first-person sermon by a fellow by the name of Speakman.

He had done a book of first-person sermons. Now, I’ve seen him preach on tape. He’s a masterful writer, but he’s a manuscript preacher. But anyway, what happened was I read the story of Jesse of Bethlehem, the Innkeeper, the night of the Nativity, telling the story from his point of view.

I looked at that and I said, “Thank you Lord.”

So I said, “Okay. I’ll just get up in a suit and I’ll do this as a dramatic reading.”

SB: Right.

RS: Then I thought, what if I put on my wife’s caftan robe and a sheet, and a headdress, and one of those hook-over-your-ear beards? I’ll do a dramatic reading dressed up like the character.

SB: Sure.

RS: And then I thought, why don’t I just outline that on a scroll and then I’ll put some coins around like I’m counting the proceeds, and I will do it as though I am the character.

SB: You had a big old cheat sheet there.

RS: Yeah. So I got through and people were very attentive and appreciative, and one of my friends, who happened to be a major, came up and he said, “Dick, you have to come to my chapel tomorrow, Sunday, and do that at both of my services, nine o’clock and eleven, the general Protestant service.”

SB: Right.

RS: And I looked at him and I said, “Chuck, this was not worship.” I mean from my rather conservative background, I’d never heard of this being done, never seen it done.

He said, “No, no, no, no.” He said, “You took me to Bethlehem tonight. I experienced that part of Scripture in a way that I never have before. You have to come and do that.”

So I said, “Well, okay.” This was the last worship service before the basic trainees all went home for Christmas break.

SB: Okay.

RS: So the first service, at nine o’clock, there are about maybe 250 young men out there. In the military, Shawn, these kids get up real early. They run all day. So when they come into a warm place where it’s quiet…

SB: Well listen, I know exactly what’s going to happen. I’ve been guilty of the same thing. Falling asleep.

RS: And so I thought, “Well, I’m not going to do them any spiritual damage.”

SB: Right. (Laughs)

RS: And I presented at the worship service, Jesse of Bethlehem, the Innkeeper.

SB: Yes.

RS: And I looked out and these kids are going like this...

SB: Wide-eyed, paying attention.

RS: And they came up and they wanted Jesse to sign the church bulletin, the chapel bulletin. They wanted their picture taken with this character. And I’m ashamed to admit it, but I honestly thought, “Wow, they must have had strong coffee in the mess hall this morning!”

SB: And so God enabled you to bring Scripture to life for those young people.

RS: He did, and by the time I did the second service and had the same reaction from these young adults, I was just in awe at the power of a biblical story well told.

SB: Well, I’m in awe of the power of the biblical story well told—for a couple of reasons. I mean, I studied the Bible—it comes to life—I can’t go to bed when I read the Bible because I’m too excited. But as you and I interacted and you took on those different Bible characters, I learned some things. I scrambled for my Bible. You brought some things to life. And one of the tragedies of the time we spent together is that we only had so much time. And that’s why we’re together now.

Now, you’ve done a lot of study on Roman history.

RS: Oh yes.

SB: And there’s a few things we just didn’t have time for on the program and you have some of them with you today. Why don’t you share some of the things that we just didn’t have time for?

RS: Well, one of the things I alluded to as the Roman Centurion…these are the sandals. I made these sandals.

SB: You actually make a lot of the stuff yourself, don’t you?

RS: I made the armor. I make most of my things myself. Yes.

But see, this is almost a high-top Nike.

SB: (Laughs) A lot of work here.

RS: Oh yeah. And you see, the genius of it is the way it’s constructed, none of the foot is touched by anything but the wider straps, so it doesn’t cut your foot at all, and then on the bottom..

SB: Yeah, there are all these nails.

RS: And those hobnails, if you look at that, that’s a man kneeling, begging for mercy. You see his head there and his arm out?

SB: Yeah, I sure do.

RS: Now, this pattern was one of many that were used by the Romans in the First Century. But when I walk on dirt or sand with this, I leave a pattern of the hobnails that basically says I am Roman and you’re dirt. I will walk on you.

SB: This is a symbol of Roman life, even this sandal.

RS: Absolutely.

SB: Interesting.

RS: And the message is, as a Roman, I’ll put that print right on your face just as fast as I will as on the dirt.

SB: In the ancient world, walking was a symbol of ownership too, wasn’t it?

RS: That’s correct.

SB: Where you walk, God says to Abraham, wherever you walk is yours. It’s a symbol of ownership, but this is a symbol of ownership by might.

RS: And it’s a symbol of hatred. Now, the thing of it is that I learned, and believe me, I learn so much from developing this stuff. When I first saw this pattern, I just about did a double back flip, because the first thing I thought of is the armor of God in Ephesians six.

SB: Right.

RS: And what does Paul say? Have your feet shod…

SB: …with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.

RS: The Gospel of Peace.

SB: Yeah.

RS: So he takes a known negative, hatred, and turns it over and says, “No, no, no, no.”

SB: And Paul is a Roman citizen.

RS: That’s right.

SB: He understands the culture—it’s not by accident.

RS: And so he took a negative and made it positive. And I said, “That’s what the Gospel does. It takes negative things and makes them positive.”

SB: Like our hearts.

RS: Exactly. So I mean, here’s a sermon in a sandal.

SB: Unbelievable. What else have you got? I mean, you have so much stuff.

RS: Well, these crucifixion nails…

SB: Yeah, we brought these out on the program where we interviewed the Roman Centurion.

RS: These are a reproduction, but they’re accurately reproduced.

SB: This is actually a nail that would have been used to crucify somebody.

RS: Yes, indeed.

SB: Just like this.

RS: The longer nails go through the feet.

SB: Through the feet…

RS: And these in the hands and the arms…to the cross.

SB: Unbelievable.

RS: See, the Romans could have made them round.

SB: Sure, but that wouldn’t hurt as much.

RS: No. You see, the square edges would grab the tissue and the nerves.

SB: Yeah.

RS: And the crucifixion was intended to be a long process, two or three days before you die.

SB: They deliberately want it to last.

RS: Absolutely. You didn’t die of a loss of blood. You died of exposure and dehydration, and just sheer exhaustion. When I really understood what crucifixion was about by having these made, I drew them up from research and had them hand-fabricated. It just made the story of the crucifixion that much more in-depth and meaningful to me. That our Lord would go through that when He didn’t have to.

SB: Yeah.

RS: I mean, these didn’t hold Him to the cross. It was His will to stay there. He created the metal. He created the wood and yet He allowed broken human beings to use the things he created to torture Him and ultimately to save us.

SB: Powerful.

RS: You know, I learn so much from these things, it’s just incredible.

SB: You’ve got a few other items here. This is amazing stuff.

RS: Well, this one is called a pugio.

SB: A pugio?

RS: P-u-g-i-o.

SB: Oh my goodness—that certainly is not for buttering bread.

RS: No, this is the Roman side knife and it is very, very sharp, and this would be used in close quarters for hand-to-hand fighting, and, by the way, this sandal becomes a weapon, too. You see, these hobnails, if you and I are locked in hand-to-hand combat, and you don’t have the leg coverings, and I run this hobnail down your shin…

SB: It’s going to strip the skin off.

RS: Oh yeah, you forget that you’re in combat and if I have one of these then, the pain and the torture that we as humans inflict on other people and on each other is just remarkable. But Christ came not to kill, or steal or destroy, as John says, but to bring us life more abundantly. And so in researching these things, it helps me recognize and realize the reality of Scripture in brand new ways.

SB: One more thing, you came in as the Roman Centurion and I noticed that you had a comb. You know, I’m probably calling it wrong. You had a comb on your helmet. I also happened to notice you could turn the comb.

RS: Yeah.

SB: You can go sideways with it.

It’s not a broom, right, Dick? This is a centurion’s helmet, built exactly as it would have really been.

RS: Yeah. This is called an Italic D. It’s a little more ornate than many of the people would have. But if you’ll notice it, you see, the brush, which is horse hair, horse tail, that can either be tied on transverse, side to side, or front to back.

SB: Why?

RS: Well, this is a symbol of authority.

SB: Yes.

RS: It also has a psychological affect in that it makes the person, the wearer, look much taller—the commander would wear this.

SB: Oh, it’s like a rooster or a peacock.

RS: That’s right.

SB: Yeah.

RS: But this one is brass or bronze and white.

SB: Yes.

RS: It could be red wood with black.

SB: Okay.

RS: Or with white so each unit had a distinctive crest. The military today has distinctive unit crests for each military unit.

SB: Okay.

RS: The idea being that you always know who your commander is because you can spot him.

SB: You see him right across the field. Sure.

RS: Now, if it’s this way, that centurion is over 100.

SB: Okay.

RS: So, it’s a symbol of rank. This man has authority over nine other centurions so he’s over—roughly a thousand. So this is symbol of power and authority, but also if you go to another unit, or if you change where you’re assigned, or you change where you serve, you have a new commander.

SB: Yes.

RS: And as a Christian, we have a new commander.

SB: We sure do.

RS: And we know to whom we must listen.

SB: Yes.

RS: Because in battle there are lots of voices. You need to know who your commander is.

SB: Dick, you have this gift for telling a story and stepping into these characters, bringing them to life off the pages of the Bible, and that’s a gift that a lot of preachers would covet, because what we long to do is have people experience the Bible.

RS: Exactly.

SB: And what I experienced as you and I were talking, I went through a whole range of things.

RS: (Laughs)

SB: I mean, Peter, I liked him. I thought, “Hey, this is my guy.” And I quickly forgot it was you because you were using the characteristics of Peter from Scripture to bring him to life, and then I went through some other feelings.

You did Judas. And after we were done talking, I was mad at Judas. I was angry. Now, I’ve always kind of gotten angry, as a kid, at the Judas in here, but as you took on his character, I got mad. And that forced me to deal with some issues.

I thought, why are you so bitter and angry? Obviously, I don’t like what happened to Jesus, but Jesus never hated Judas. And so it forced me to explore my own feelings and you must come across that. As you go places and present these characters, and you bring the Bible to life, what’s the response you get?

RS: It’s rather remarkable. Well, there are several things that jump into my mind. One is from a couple years ago when I was doing some things for a community group up in Wyoming. I had agreed to go up there and spend Easter with this group of people. It was advertised, and quite a few of the community came and I did the Judas character.

This was just, you know, around Easter time and there was a fellow who sat down in the front row. And he’d been there a couple nights. He’d been there for John, which I started with, and then I did Judas the next night. And about halfway through, he would not look at me. He would not make eye contact and then he began to fidget, and he really got very agitated.

SB: I can understand. I went through some of that myself.

RS: And that night when it was through, he was out the door like a shot.

SB: Yeah.

RS: The next night I did Peter. He came in and he wasn’t making eye contact at first, and then he began to lock into Peter, and at the end, he was just glowing. When we finished, I went to the door to greet the people.

This guy came up and gave me a great big bear hug, tears running down his face, and he said, “You know, last night I hated you. I hated Judas. I couldn’t look at you. I hated Judas,” and he said, “I went home and I couldn’t sleep,” and then he said, “Then I realized I hated the Judas in me.”

SB: Well, that’s remarkable. Really, Dick, that’s why God puts these characters in here.

RS: Yes.

SB: He’s addressing our personality conflicts, and our personality flaws.

RS: And then Peter with all his big mistakes.

SB: Yeah, I loved that.

RS: He said, “Then when I came back I felt the grace of Christ and I felt forgiveness like I have never experienced before.” And Shawn, that makes the Scripture alive and applicable to people, and that for me, that is what its about; and you need to know that I’m not acting.

SB: No, I fully comprehend that—there’s a big difference. If this were just a matter of acting, I don’t think we would have been together on the program.

RS: No, no, no. I try to study these people so much in-depth that I get into their skin. And I could see watching you, especially with Judas and Caiaphas, too…

SB: You got me.

RS: I could just see the rising temperature of the arrogance and the foolishness of these people. And yet the reality is, as we know, we’re too much like them.

SB: Absolutely. I could see myself in Peter. I could see myself in Judas. I have to admit it, there’s part of me there in Caiaphas. God puts us here because He’s trying to point out our flaws before it’s too late.

RS: That’s right. I think a good story well told has sticking power that is unusual. Well, that’s the way Jesus…He told stories. I believe in this and it’s revolutionized the way I study Scripture.

SB: I can imagine so. You know, I’ve noticed there’s nothing quite as powerful as a personal testimony. What you’ve done is taken the testimony of those who lived 2,000 years ago and told them again, so that we’re forced to remember that these were people. This isn’t just a book.

RS: That’s right.

SB: These were people who experienced Jesus.

RS: Well, a character as an example: the Leper in Matthew eight.

SB: Yeah.

RS: It takes four versus, I mean, you can read it like that. But we forget that that guy probably had a family. He had things going for him and then suddenly, because he’s a leper, he loses everything. And then when he gets desperate, he comes to Christ and Christ doesn’t throw him away. And he gets everything plus what he’d lost, and hope for the future. And when I unpack that story, I frequently see people weeping.

SB: I can imagine; I’ve heard you tell that story and there was a tear in my eye, too. Again, it speaks to me a little bit—there’s a leper in me.

RS: We’re all lepers—it’s fun for me to do and I would say to people who are listening and for anyone, it’s a great way to study the Bible. By that I mean, you know, you read a story, okay that’s fine, or you read a portion of Scripture. But what I do now, I have to double back. And okay, I’ll read the story just like I read the story, and then I’ll say, “Okay, I want to go back and I want to be this character in the story and read the story from that point of view, trying to understand what is going on from that point of view.”

SB: Right.

RS: Then when I’ve done that, I’ll switch characters and I’ll be another character.

SB: Yeah.

RS: It’s an example, the story about the paralytic being let down through the roof of the house.

SB: Yeah, exactly. Sure.

RS: So what are some of the people you could be?

SB: Well, you could be one of the friends.

RS: Okay, so what do you feel as one of the friends?

SB: Desperation. Got to get this guy to Jesus.

RS: And hey, I’ve got to be in sync with my brothers.

SB: Yeah.

RS: See? I can’t just go it alone. If I go too fast or too slow, I’m going to dump my buddy.

SB: Oh, exactly.

RS: Sure. So how about the homeowner?

SB: Oh, yeah, cutting the roof open.

RS: The homeowner’s child, or the guy on the stretcher.

SB: Somebody in the crowd saying, “Hey, wait a minute. I stood in line all day.”

RS: Right.

SB: And now they’re coming down through the roof.

RS: Or a Pharisee or a Sadducee or a teacher of the law or whatever it happens to be. And when you read that story in Scripture from those different points of view, suddenly it becomes alive and it becomes yours in a way that just reading doesn’t touch.

SB: Yeah, that’s a powerful tool for Bible study.

RS: Oh, it’s incredible.

SB: A powerful tool for Bible study and I think God intended for us to do that, to see his people and to see ourselves there.

RS: It’s just revolutionized my understanding of Scripture, my study of Scripture, my presentation of Scripture. I can’t read without characters just jumping off the page saying, “Tell my story. Tell my story.”

SB: The good news is that there are a lot of stories to tell. You’re never going to get through all this in a lifetime.

RS: Absolutely.

SB: And Dick, thank you for sharing your gift with Jesus. Thank you for sharing it with the world—you touched my heart. You made my relationship with Christ a little deeper as you shared here, and I know you did that for a lot of people.

RS: Thank you for the opportunity to do it. It’s a lot of work.

SB: I can see that.

RS: But its also very energizing and it’s also one that helps me see myself. I mean, can you imagine before coming on saying, “Lord, help me be Judas?”

SB: Oh, no.

RS: That’s not a comfortable prayer.

SB: No.

RS: But if people can see what happens when you’re so full of self, then help me be like Judas so people can see that that’s how they don’t want to be.

SB: Uh-huh.

RS: So, it’s been a privilege for me to be here and it’s very, always very enjoyable to do, and as I say, I’m always working with new characters. Sometimes it takes years to incubate these people and sometimes it takes less time. But it’s God’s way to speak to us, I think.

SB: Dick, I’m just really glad you took some time with us today.

RS: Thank you. God bless.

SB: God bless you richly and thank you for joining us. I hope that you’ll take advantage of this to go and study your Bible a little more deeply and spend more time with Jesus. But I want you to mean it. I want you to be willing to live it, to take what you read and live your life that way. And if that’s the case, if you do it with a willing heart, it’s going to change your whole world. Why don’t we pray together?

PRAYER:
Father in heaven, to become a part of the kingdom of heaven is our desire. And because you’ve promised it in Scripture today, we accept it by faith. Take our hearts and change us, we ask. And we long to see Jesus come again, for we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scriptures Used in “Portraying Bible Characters”

“When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
—Matthew 8:1-4