Friends and Heroes

- Season 3

(2008)

Macky and Portia finally arrive in Rome, but under very different conditions: Portia is welcomed as the privileged niece of Rome's new prefect of police, Tiberius, while Macky has arrived in chains... and that's just the beginning of his problems. Roman officials have decided that the trial he was supposed to get isn't really necessary, and Macky has been sold to a school for gladiators. There, he meets Aemelia, the school's owner and a former warrior herself, and Babatunji, the chief trainer. Together they impress on Macky that the only way out is to kill or be ...

When Macky attempts to escape from gladiator school, he is sentenced to death, but a friend's determination and help from an unexpected person saves Macky's life at the last moment.

Macky finds that being Antonius's slave isn't terribly burdensome. All he has to do is serve the occasional meal and keep an eye on Antonius's young daughter and son - Sophia and Felix - a task made easy because both kids enjoy Macky's stories, particularly, on one stormy night, the tale of Jesus calming the storm. To Macky, Antonius is a secretive, enigmatic figure, who keeps very odd hours. Curious, Macky soon finds out why: at night, Antonius dons a mask and goes out and rescues Friends of Jesus who are in jeopardy. Macky is shocked at first, but soon decides that ...

Toadie has a new job: he's managing a gladiator, but there are already problems. The gladiator's first opponent is Macky's friend Absolom, who has become a formidable fighter. So Toadie decides to skew the odds by adding a potion to Absolom's pre-fight dinner. Macky has already tried to get Babatunji to free his friend, but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Even when Macky tells Babatunji the story of David bringing his friend Jonathan's son to him, Babatunji's only response is that his only friend is his sword. But Babatunji soon discovers that Absolom has been ...

Marcus has a mysterious plan in the works, and he's enlisted Toadie to help him. By accident, Portia sees some evidence of the plot, but she still has no idea of the specifics. Meanwhile, Macky is overburdened as he clandestinely plays host to several refugees. With his patience at an end, he complains to Antonius, and Antonius tells him of Abraham's hospitality to the three strangers, and how one of them told him that Sarah would soon be having a baby. Later, when Macky expresses frustration with the Romans, Antonius tells him how Jesus visited Zacchaeus and how ...

Bitten by the deadly snake, Macky escapes from the warehouse with Portia. Trying to keep Macky conscious on the way home, Portia gets him to focus on an old story: Joseph's prophetic dreams. Macky remains conscious, but not out of danger; once they get home, Antonius puts Macky to bed, but he knows that there's little that can be done for him. When Portia tells Antonius about Marcus's plot to kill the Senators, and that she now knows that Antonius is the Masked Rebel, Antonius enlists her in a counterplot to foil Marcus and Toadie. And, because Antonius must not fall ...

Marcus has a growing suspicion that Antonius is the Masked Rebel, so he rents Toadie a neighboring villa with orders to keep an eye on Antonius and try to find the hidden passageway that apparently allows Antonius to come and go from his home unseen. Aware of the surveillance, Antonius must curtail his nocturnal activities. And now that he has some spare time, he notices that Felix is being shunned by the other boys because he's mute. So he tells the boy the story of Bartimaeus, an old blind man whom Jesus picked out of a crowd to help. Meanwhile, Absolom encourages ...

Macky and the Masked Rebel rescue some slaves from certain death in the arena, and, as the frightened slaves hide from their pursuers, Absolom reassures them by telling how Elijah was fed by ravens and then by the poor widow. Later, an angry Marcus orders Aemelia jailed. He tells Babatunji that the only way she'll be freed is if Babatunji agrees to help trap the Masked Rebel. Using Babatunji as bait, Marcus smokes out the Masked Rebel, but the Rebel smells a trap and the rescue goes awry. The Masked Rebel and Macky escape, while a dazed Babatunji - and an unconscious ...

Frustrated by Marcus's continual verbal assaults on the Friends of Jesus, Macky urges Antonius to speak out against him in the Senate. Antonius is reluctant to openly confront Marcus, so he tells Macky the story of Jesus humbly entering Jerusalem on a donkey. Macky counters with the story of Jesus throwing the moneylenders out of the Temple... and Antonius gets an idea. He confronts Marcus in the Senate the next day, and Marcus is caught off-guard, speechless for once. Toadie offers to help Marcus get even with Antonius, but Marcus says he doesn't need any help, and ...

Now trying to score points with Antonius, Toadie tells him that a financially strapped Marcus is planning to rob Rome's treasury. Antonius takes Macky aside and tells him Jesus' story about the vineyard owner whose son is murdered. It's his way of telling Macky they need to take down Marcus themselves. Toadie soon returns to Antonius's home, hoping to be paid for the tip. But Macky tells him the story of the rich people proudly putting coins into a trumpet-like plate at the Temple, and the poor woman who quietly donated all she had. The story sails right over Toadie's...

When Macky tells Toadie the story of Jesus humbly washing the feet of his disciples, Toadie finally realizes that there will never be any material gain working for Antonius. So where should he turn? The answer comes only a little later, when Felix is taunted by some older children, and he runs away. Toadie goes to Marcus to exploit the situation. Meanwhile, Macky complains to Antonius about Toadie's love of money and status, and Antonius tells him the story of Jesus helping the group of lepers, and being thanked by only one of them - the foreigner. Moments later, they...

Portia finds a dispirited Macky and gives him what she thinks is good news: that the authorities will release Antonius if he names the people he helped. But Macky knows that Antonius would rather die than do this, and he tells Portia how Jesus was condemned to die. Worried, Portia begs her uncle Tiberius to intervene on behalf of Antonius. A hesitant Tiberius agrees to send a message to the Emperor. Meanwhile, Antonius is on trial, and it's not going well. Marcus is pushing for execution, while Antonius is remaining silent. Finally, a messenger arrives with news from ...

Injured during his escape, Antonius entrusts Macky with the scrolls that contain the New Testament stories Antonius has been transcribing. But when Macky and Portia go to retrieve the scrolls, they learn that Marcus has possession of them now, and he intends to burn them in the arena. Portia urges Macky to forget about the scrolls and leave Rome immediately, but Macky is deeply committed to seeing that their stories live on, and he tells her the tale of Jesus meeting Cleopas and the other man to help explain why it's so important to him that the story lives on. With ...