Welcome back to my story.

You think you may know me from the depictions of me by others as the gentle healer, the kind charismatic spiritual leader teaching about the coming of a new kingdom where justice and peace would overcome poverty and suffering. That is indeed true I was inviting everyone to come and join the movement, be my followers and friends.

However, the leaders of Israel rejected my invitation and message to change and build a new community. They continued their corrupt regime, the elites and temple leaders and Pharisees were against me and made threats to have me arrested.

So moved by the Spirt I realized early into my mission that some public challenge had to be made to the corrupt authorities and I knew there would be repercussions and retaliation but it had to be done. I had to launch my mission in public. My plan was to cleanse the Temple Court yard of the Gentiles from the corrupt business trading going on there.

The temple rulers, the elites, the high Priests and his cronies were making much money from the pilgrims and exploiting the poor, through the traders. I saw a poor widow donating her last coin to the coffers for the rich high priest. That was sinful exploitation of the poor. I felt empathy for them and many more like her. Their faith was used for money making, they were wrongly told by the priests and Pharisees that they would suffer punishment from God my Father if they did not donate.

That was all wrong. It is our duty to oppose and protest wrong doing My Father is a loving caring Father who sent me to show his love and care and explain that my father is a loving God. He did not want animal scarifies He wants compassion and that people will respect and care for each other. The desecration of the Temple could not happen without the knowledge and permits of the chief priest and his entourage.

The once beautiful temple area was made into a dirty market place for animals that pilgrims bought at inflated prices for their annual sacrifice. The money-changers were doing a thriving business too. Merchandise was carried through the courtyard also. It was a desecration of My Father’s house of prayer.

I and my disciples left the city for the country side that evening and I gathered my many more followers and explained to them that the next day we would drive out the traders. We made whips from old ropes and were ready.

The next day we descended on the courtyard and created a scene by overturning the tables of the money-changers and drove out the animals frightening the traders so they fled casing after their animals. The money changers were screaming for us to stop as they scrambled to pick-up their coins and fight among themselves. It created a small stampede. There was an uproar, shouting and pandemonium.

I took command of the courtyard and I placed my followers at the entrances to stop the traders returning and to stop people bringing goods across the courtyard.

“My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves”. was my message to them. We had captured the temple courtyard.  My hundreds of followers were ecstatic with joy at the success they called me “Messiah-leader”.

The temple guards arrived but they took no action as they were waiting for the chief priest and his entourage to arrive and negotiate the new order that would keep the courtyard free of traders. The temple guards were outnumbered and they could not risk violence as the temple was overlooked by the Roman garrison. Riots were forbidden.

The chief priest and his group arrived to negotiate and agreed to forbid the traders to come back and so we had our victory for human dignity and respect for the house of God. They were furious at the challenge to their absolute authority and the exposure of their wrong doing and the loss of payments they were receiving from the traders. For sure they vowed revenge and I was a marked man.

My mission changed from that day forward, and I will tell you about that in our next story, Jesus.