The Account of a First Hand Witness When Jesus Cleansed the Temple ( By Rev. Roy W. Johnsen)

My name is Abel, and I want to share with you the most powerful experience of my entire life. It happened in Jerusalem.

First, let me tell you a little about myself. I am anything but a rich man. In fact, I am a simple poor peasant. My family and I live a very meager existence. We come from a Roman Province a long distance from Jerusalem. There I worked hard all my life. Because I am a Jew, I had one goal in life. Along with every other Jew, I longed to make the trip to Jerusalem for the Passover. For years I skimped and saved, until I had enough for the journey. This would be my once in a lifetime religious pilgrimage. I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that God had something extraordinary in store for me in Jerusalem.

It was a difficult trip. The roads were rough. The nearer to Jerusalem, the more crowded the roads became. Finally, I arrived, but my hardships had only begun.

I knew I would have to pay the Temple Tax, but I never dreamed that payment would be so complicated. I came with my whole life’s savings, all in Roman coins. The Sanhedrin required that the tax be paid with the official Temple coins, the shekels of Israel. The tax was * shekel. Now that may not seem like much money to you, but I had to work more than two days to earn that much money. I took my Roman coins to the moneychangers in the Outer Court of the Temple. I gave the equivalent of five shekels and was taken back to get only three shekels in return. I questioned this transaction and was told bluntly “there is a fee, you know!” I knew there was a fee, and I also knew that I had paid 20 times more than the fee established by our Jewish law, and I was powerless to do anything about it.

Next, I went to buy some doves for sacrifice inside the Temple. As poor as I am, I could never afford a lamb or a calf, so I purchased a pair of doves for about * shekel, almost a day’s wage. I took my doves inside for the inspectors and had to pay them half again as much as I paid for the doves to have them inspect my sacrificial doves. To my dismay, I was told that my doves were blemished, and I would have to buy a pair of their doves, which would cost five shekels. Five shekels! Imagine, ten times more than the first pair. Then I learned that the family of the High Priest Annas ran the business of buying and selling the sacrificial animals.

Never before had I felt such a surge of emotions. I was disgusted, and enraged, filled with doubt about the religion, which was fleecing me after I had slaved so many years to make my pilgrimage. I was filled with despair. What could I do? I had no choice except to pay the exorbitant price. But just when I was ready to pay, something happened.

A man called Jesus came storming through the courtyard. In His one hand he had a whip of many cords, which He was swinging, and with His other hand He was overturning the tables. I had the feeling that all He needed to do was to look at those buyers and sellers with His fiery eyes and they would have fled.

Then He spoke with power: “This Temple was meant to be a place of prayer, but you have made it into a den of thieves. I want God’s House to be a place for people to discover God, not get robbed.”

All at once, I felt cared for. Here was a man who cared for me, Abel, a poor simple man. This Jesus would not put up with poor people being swindled and abused. He looked at me, not with fire or anger in His eyes, but with love and compassion. I knew that He understood what it meant to be poor. He knew how it felt. The crowd whispered, “He Himself said, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'” He had the majesty and authority of the greatest king in the entire world, yet He was poor like me and He cared.

Jesus then spoke some puzzling words to the Temple leaders: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days.” I did not know what He meant, but neither did anyone else. Those Temple leaders thought He was talking about our Temple, which had taken 46 years to build. It would be impossible to rebuild that in three days. We were puzzled, but it did not concern us, for Jesus had won us by His love for us.

He showed me something else that day which changed my life. He showed me that God cares about poor people and doesn’t want us cheated. He also showed me that religion should not be distorted or perverted. Religion is intended to bring people to God, and God’s Holy Place dare not be desecrated. He showed me that you can’t sit idly back and let such abuses continue. To be godly and righteous, you must act. God’s people take care of the poor.

Just a few days later, something tragic happened. Jesus was arrested as a common criminal. He was tried unfairly and condemned to death by crucifixion. I began to feel His love all the more deeply, for I realized that He was the Passover Lamb. John the Baptist had called Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” I realized that He was crucified for my sins. He died for me. He was my Passover sacrifice, my unblemished way to God.

Three days later, a miracle occurred. You see, He had been buried in a tomb, but He rose again from the dead. And He is alive! That’s what He meant by rebuilding the Temple in three days! I accepted Him as my sacrifice, my Savior, my Lord. Now I am a follower of Jesus, and poor though I am, I know that He cares for me and He will forever.

And I must tell you also, whatever your need, if you are poor or oppressed, lonely or sick, troubled or lost, this same Jesus loves you, and He can and will give you a new life, just as He did for me. ++++++++++++++

Ninure Saunders aka Rainbow Christian