I told you in my last story about how we decided to take a stand to challenge and confront the corrupt rulers in Jerusalem. I saw the situation in the temple as a desecration caused by the traders who were for sure giving corrupt payments to the High Priest for permits to trade and change money there.
That desecration and wrongdoing had to be exposed. I saw it was my duty to challenge the injustice and exploitation of the poor and the abuse being done in my father’s house. I gathered all my followers in Jerusalem and we went to the temple courtyard in force and we drove out the traders from the temple with their sacrificial animals and overturned the tables of the money changers. I even made a whip to force them to leave. “My Father’s house is a house of prayer and you have made it a den of thieves”, I shouted when we moved in to cleanse the temple.
There was pandemonium, shouting and resistance, but we prevailed and we also stopped them using the courtyard for transporting goods from one side of the city to the other. I posted my men at the entrance and exit gates. My friend Lucas wrote it all up in his Gospel.
That created a standoff with the temple guards until Caiaphas the high priest was forced to come to the courtyard and negotiate with me and my disciples. He agreed not to allow the traders to come back if we backed off and did not cause a greater incident, like a riot. The Romans hated riots and would break them up with force and put restrictions on the High priests and his Sanhedrin or increase taxes or make them pay fines.
From then on, I became well known in all of Jerusalem and beyond, many thought I was the prophet or even the Messiah that had come to take power from the High Priests and derive out the Romans. They were wrong, real political change only comes with spiritual change. What comes first is a change in the minds and hearts of the people when they demonstrate in great numbers. Change comes when they come to believe and have faith that their goodness and just demands for justice and the truth will finally reject evil and corruption and overcome the evil rulers. That is what we wanted.
We were marked men, wanted by the authorities, because Caiphas was enraged at my action in cleansing the courtyard and banning trading there. He must have lost a lot of money. There was a price on my head and my followers. We were in danger of being attacked and killed by the guards of Caiphas. They sent out search parties to find us. So, I warned my disciples and followers to be ready to protect themselves and save their lives. Luke wrote what I said to them in chapter 22 of his story.
“When I sent you out without purse, a haversack, or sandals, did you lack for anything?” They answered me, ‘No,” they said. But now times had changed, I told them, “If you have a purse, take it, if you have a haversack, do the same, if you have no sword, then sell your cloak and buy one”. I told them that because we were in grave danger and they had a duty to protect themselves.
To prevent this violence from happening we became fugitives and I went into exile, with my disciples and we became what you call today Asylum Seekers outside of Palestine looking for safety.
It was best to lie low until the uproar and excitement in Jerusalem and around the nation died down. The people thought that I was the Messiah that had come and would be made king and rule in Jerusalem like King David.
Rumors were spreading everywhere. I was wanted also by king Herod he saw me as a serious threat to his power. I could not go back to Galilee either so I left Palestine by crossing the lake to Tyre and Sidon, and we traveled to Dicapolis, near Caesarea and went into hiding. I will continue my story next week.
Come again, and your friends and share this story, Jesus.
