A Story of God and All of Us - By Roma Downey Page 0,108

dirty from counting money. They banter with one another. Jesus grabs the table edge with two hands and flips it over. Then he goes on to the next table and does the same. All heads in the Temple court turn to the sound of spilling coins, and onlookers immediately race to scoop up the fallen money. "What are you doing?" shrieks one money changer.

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"Rabbi!" Judas pleads, scooping up some coins in his palm. "No!"

But Jesus is not done. He cannot be stopped. On to the next table.

Jesus flips another table, which bounces against a birdcage and sets loose a flock of doves.

Judas sees a band of Roman soldiers lining up like riot police near the entrance to the Temple complex. "Jesus! Please!" Judas pleads. He doesn't have the stomach for Jesus' brand of revolution. Judas wants to be safe and protected. He fears he will be thrown into prison along with Jesus and all the disciples. Unlike the other disciples, he is an educated man who knows the way of the big city. "If only you would listen to me," laments Judas.

But Jesus doesn't listen to Judas. He isn't listening to anyone. Another table gets flipped.

"Why?" asks one vendor, disconsolate about all his earnings scattered about the Temple floor. "Why have you done this?"

"Is it not written?"

"What on earth could you possibly mean?"

"Is it not written?" Jesus repeats, but this time in a booming voice that echoes throughout the chamber. In an instant, the entire court is silent.

"My house... My house shall be called a house of prayer," Jesus continues.

"But you have turned it into a den of thieves."

Peter and John hold back the angry merchants as they attempt to punish Jesus, who has finished this task and is marching out of the court. In his wake are tipped tables, angry traders, and a scene of total chaos.

Nicodemus from the Sanhedrin steps forward. Judas is so impressed by his expensive robes that he almost trips over himself in his hurry to bow down to the temple elder.

"Who are you to tell us this? How dare you. It is we who interpret God's law--

not you."

"You're more like snakes than teachers of the law," Jesus replies in a heated tone.

Nicodemus is beyond shocked. "Wait. You can't say that! We uphold the law. We serve God."

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"No," Jesus replies. "You pray lofty prayers. You strut about the Temple, impressed by your own piety. But you are just hypocrites."

Nicodemus is stunned. Men of his rank are simply not spoken to in this manner.

Jesus reaches out and gently lifts the fine material of Nicodemus' robe, rubbing the fine threads between his fingers. "It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle," Jesus tells him, letting go of the robe.

Everyone in the temple has heard Jesus' words. The Jewish pilgrims who have traveled so far to be here for Passover are inspired by such a

courageous stance against the rich and powerful men of the religious establishment, who have oppressed their own people as much as the Romans have. Only they've used threats and God's law to control the people instead of brute force.

Nicodemus looks about uneasily. He feels trapped. The crowd is definitely on Jesus' side. At the far end of the chamber, he sees the Roman soldiers prepared to move in if the situation gets out of hand. Such an intervention would further discredit the Temple elders and Sanhedrin, so Nicodemus says nothing as Jesus strolls away. He will deal with Jesus another day.

Nicodemus notices that one of the disciples, Judas, seems more impressed by the ways of the Temple than by Jesus. He calmly eyes the man, and is rewarded with a deferential gaze.

"Messiah," the crowd chants spontaneously, as Jesus continues on his way out of the Temple. "Messiah!"

Jesus shows no fear as he walks past the line of Roman soldiers at the entrance, their shields braced for signs of trouble.

Jesus' actions in the Temple have confirmed Caiaphas's worst fears. He and a handful of elders have been watching the action from a balcony high above the Temple floor. The chant of the crowd still vibrates

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throughout the great chamber long after Jesus has left. The people have been energized by Jesus. That makes the elders very nervous.

"This is outrageous," fumes Caiaphas. He normally prides himself on his stoic behavior, preferring to come across as unruffled and untroubled at all times. So for his peers to see