“Another place... Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before SATAN that CHRIST also came among them...”
Satan, Christ and Judas share the stage in this struggle between good and evil –and forgiveness. Who will win this cosmic battle?
In a bold stroke, Wilder adds a new character to the ancient story of Job when none other than Christ enters the stage, after “going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it.” The playlet thus revamps the scene in Chapter I of the Biblical story of Job wherein the Lord offers Job as an example of a man who was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” In Wilder’s version Christ moves from the New Testament to the Old for a tug-of-war with Satan over Judas, described by Satan as his servant, unique on earth, “an evil and faithless man,” and one who fears Satan and has turned away from God.
This short play is included in the collection Thornton Wilder's Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons.