Jesus Christ rode through the crowded audience Christ Community Church on a live donkey with his disciples and followers waving palm leaves Saturday night during final performance of “Amazed.” The production performed to a packed house of 600 people on both Friday and Saturday night over the past two weekends.

“Amazed” tells the story of Jesus from his young life through his resurrection on Easter. John Hobbs, who portrays Jesus, took the audience through a wide range of emotions as he healed children, died on the cross and then was resurrected. The cast and crew were meticulous about the details of each scene in the production. Artificial smoke filled the air during much of the production creating a distinct mood and adding to the realism.

Detailed makeup, thunder and lighting, as well as the live donkey, added to lifelike quality of the production. During the final scene of the performance Jesus was lifted several feet into the air where he was suspended above the audience and cast. He remained there, backlit and in a cloud of smoke until the choir’s song was over and the lights went out.