“How so,” asked Zeruiah.
“I have planted men in various places to speak to him when he was off by himself,” Shallah continued. “It seems what was once love for Jesus has turned to disappointment in Him. He is ready to bolt—but lacks the proper…motivation.”
“Motivation?” asked Zichri.
“The man is greedy beyond belief,” Shallah continued. “He has even stolen from the group’s treasury. I think he can be bought.”
Zichri considered the words for a moment. Just then another shout of “Hosanna!” could be heard echoing throughout the inner court. Zichri looked up resolutely. He placed his hand on Shallah’s shoulder.
“See to it,” he said. “As for charges brought against the Man, we shall have to meet with Caiaphas. I know he will want to move, but at the proper time. If we move too quickly the people will tear us to pieces.”
“Very well,” said Shallah. “I shall see to Judas.”
“And I shall see to Jesus,” said Zichri, smiling.
Berenius could only shake his head in utter disbelief at the vanity of humans. “And I shall see to all of you,” he said, vanishing to speak to Kara.
“GET THESE THINGS OUT OF HERE!”
Jesus’ words echoed throughout the Court of Gentiles where the moneychangers had set up their tables in order to sell sacrificial elements to pilgrims from all over the world. They were astonished to see Jesus for a second time turning over their tables and railing about the Temple being “My Father’s house!”
“I told you this is a place of prayer—not a place of commerce and thievery!”
The last of the moneychangers scrambled away as the crowds watched in astonishment. The priests, on the other hand, were amazed at His brazenness. Jesus dropped the whip and sat down.
The priests, huddled as usual, discussed what to do. Suddenly, Zichri emerged from the shadows, ready to confront Jesus for His behavior. It was one thing to enter the city and have a crowd of fools think He was a god. It was quite another thing for Him to come into the Temple and act like one.
“He is only providing the evidence we need,” said Zichri quietly to an aide, before moving over to Jesus. “Then we shall have Him.”
“Why not take Him now?” questioned the aide.
“Not now,” cautioned Zichri. “Not before the Passover. Be patient. Three more days and He shall never be heard from again!”
“Why is it your Lord insists on such drama?” asked Kara.
He was speaking to Gabriel, who had recently arrived at the Temple. Most of the higher ruling angels were beginning to descend upon Jerusalem. They all knew something out of the ordinary would happen during Passover. Gabriel turned to the angel who once served with him in Heaven.
“You speak of drama?” he asked. “Your master is the inventor of theatrics.”
“Perhaps you will find this latest drama amusing,” Kara sneered, looking at Zichri who had reached Jesus and was speaking to Him. “And deadly.”
“Listen here!” began Zichri. “By whose authority are You doing these things?”
The other priests grunted in agreement. Jesus looked up at the angry men who stood next to Him. Dressed in their dark garments, they looked every inch the part of leaders of the covenant. Yet Jesus knew what was in their hearts.
“And who gave You this authority?”
Jesus stood and brushed the dirt off His hands. He turned to the men and answered. “I’ll tell you the answer to that question, provided you first answer a question.”
The men looked at each other suspiciously. But they were not willing to let this chance slip past them and agreed to hear the question.
“Very well, Rabbi.” said Zichri, cautiously.
“The baptism of John,” said Jesus. “Was it from Heaven or was it from men?”
Zichri was dumbfounded. When one of the younger priests was about to blurt out an answer he silenced him. The priests huddled together to discuss their answer.
“He’s a crafty one,” said Zichri. “We cannot answer Him. If we say John’s baptism was from Heaven, He will condemn us for not having believed. But if we say it was from men, the people who regard John as a prophet will be against us!”
Zichri finally approached Jesus with his answer.
“We cannot tell You.”
“Then neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things,” answered Jesus.
“Good question,” said Gabriel, who had watched the encounter. “Wouldn’t you agree, Kara?”
Kara gave Gabriel an icy stare.
“Riddles are not going to save Him, archangel!” he fumed and vanished.
Gabriel could not help but laugh.
“Don’t go away just yet,” continued Jesus. “Let Me tell you a story.”
The priests agreed to hear Him.
“Tell Me what you think,” He continued. “There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
’I will not,’ the rude boy answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
Then the father went to the other son and asked him to go into the vineyard and work as well. Now this boy answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“What is the trick here?” asked Zichri suspiciously.
“No trick,” said Jesus.
“The first boy,” someone answered. “Obviously”.
Jesus nodded His head and said to them, “I’m telling you that tax collectors, prostitutes, and others whom you despise are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you. You see, John came to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes and those whom you abhor believed.”
Incensed, the priests began to walk away. Jesus stopped them one more time to relate another story.
“There was a landowner who planted a large vineyard. He fully developed the property. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and even built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a long journey. His plan was to send his servants to collect the fruit when it came into season.
“But the tenants abused his servants; they beat one, they killed another one, and stoned a third. So he sent other servants to them. Only this time he sent more along. But they, too, were mistreated. Finally, he decided to send his own son, believing they would respect the owner’s son.”
Jesus glanced at the cold eyes watching Him.
“Go on,” said Zichri.
“Instead, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. If we kill him we can share in his inheritance!’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now here is My question: what will the owner do when he returns?”
“He will bring those ingrates to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will find other tenants who will respect his property and serve him.”
Jesus asked, “Have you never read in the Scriptures where it is written, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”
“What about it?” asked Zichri, becoming increasingly agitated.
“Listen to Me,” continued Jesus. “The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will respect its rule. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Zichri looked coldly at Jesus.
“You are speaking of us, of course,” he said.
“I say we take Him here and now,” someone whispered.
“No,” said Zichri, turning away from Jesus. “His time will come. But not here and not now unless you wish to deal with these fools who fawn upon Him.”
He watched as Jesus made His way across the court, moving around the tables He had turned over. “His time will soon be over and He will be forgotten like all the others who have come to this Temple to disturb it.”
“Master?”
“Greetings, good Rabbi,” Achish said, bowing his head slightly.
Jesus said nothing to the man.
“I don’t understand this hostility toward You,” he began. “We know You speak the truth and that You teach God’s ways. We also know You are partial to no man or group.”
Jesus listened silently.
“You defer to no one because You are so wise,” Achish continued. “We therefore have a question to put to You.”
Jesus gave no response.
“After all, as custodians of the peace and as liaisons with Caesar, it is important that things of a delicate political nature be resolved reasonably.”
“Here is the question,” Zichri burst in. “Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar or not?”
“The poll tax of course,” added Achish, disturbed by Zichri’s intrusion.
Jesus looked at both of them.
“Why do you persist in provoking Me?” He asked. “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Do you have one of these coins?”
An aide to Achish produced a denarius and handed it to Jesus. Jesus held out the coin for both men to see. Zichri looked at Achish uncomfortably.
“Whose image and inscription do you see here?” Jesus asked.
“Caesar’s, of course,” said Zichri.
“Then pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. But give to God those things that belong to God!”
Achish, although preferring to have cornered Jesus in some legal entanglement, nodded and was satisfied with the answer. Zichri was astonished. Jesus handed the coin back to Zichri, who threw it to the ground and walked off. Achish signaled the men with him that it was time to leave.
CHAPTER 17
“How goes the matter with Judas?”
“Twice today Jesus has bested the opposition,” said Crispin, who had just joined Gabriel in the Temple. “This is quite a day.”
“True,” said Gabriel. “They are getting more and more impertinent with Him.”
“With humans that means they are getting desperate,” cautioned Crispin. “Better keep quite alert.” He scanned the area and saw a number of unholy angels about. “These loathsome fellows have been here for some time. Ever since Jesus began His ministry some three years ago.”
Gabriel looked at the religious spirits whose place of power was in all places of human worship. Their task was to do anything and everything to keep men’s eyes and minds off the One True God.
“I’d say they have been here much longer than that, Crispin,” Gabriel said.
“Kara, what are you doing with that rabble?” asked Pellecus.
He discovered Kara at the Temple among the Sadducees, whose allegiance was more to Herod than the Lord. He had crafted in their minds a foolproof question to trap Jesus. They were even now on their way to find Him.
“They are on their way to find Jesus,” he said proudly. “My little visit with Gabriel reminded me we’ll need more than the Pharisees and Herodians to bring Jesus to account.”
“Jesus. He is in another part of the Temple,” said Pellecus. “He just made fools of the priests and the Herodians. Again.”
“Easy enough,” said Kara. “The Pharisees are so bent on being right they do not know how to be subtle. And the Herodians simply want to keep their grip on the throne. But these fellows—they are crafty and jealous of the Temple. I hope they will prove a powerful adversary.”
Pellecus scoffed at the notion. He had seen Jesus in too many instances where His answers completely humbled any opposition. Pellecus’ pride had been injured as well, since he had promoted the Pharisees all along as the intellectual response to Jesus’ murky gospel. But he followed along with Kara and the Sadducees who were determined to avenge the moneychangers as well as the honor of the Temple.
The Sadducees, more political than religious, were perfectly suited to Kara’s manipulations. They were bent on seeing Jesus destroyed, not because of His offense to the faith, but because of His threat to the peace and their position as wardens of the Temple. The ever-present threat of Roman intervention kept the Sadducees on a precarious perch balancing between submission to Rome and loyalty to the cult.
The Sadducees emerged during the bloody and confusing times when the Maccabees controlled Judah. They took their name from Zadok, the high priest of David, from whom they claimed descent. They were involved in the political life of the Jews and were closely associated with the Temple.
Their ambivalence to Jesus began when His cousin John called them “a brood of vipers” as they came to watch him baptize in the Jordan. Their claim, “We have Abraham as our father,” was met with John’s stunning rebuke, “God is able, from these stones, to raise up children to Abraham!”
They were also aware that Jesus was warning people to stay away from the teaching of the Sadducees. He said His followers should bewar, and have nothing to do with their teachings. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and believed that angels were simply fables. Thus, they now approached Jesus, with Kara’s encouragement, to trump His knowledge with a question of their own.
“The Pharisees certainly haven’t shown themselves any threat,” admitted Pellecus, “at least not on an intellectual level. Still, in the end, it is religion and not politics that will destroy Jesus.”
“I suspect a little of both,” sniffed Kara. “But who knows? Perhaps the common threat of Jesus will bring these two together to destroy Him.”
Pellecus smirked and added, “Jesus did come to bring men together, did He not? I would say He is successfully uniting His enemies even now!”
Kara laughed.
“They marveled that only Jesus could bring a Simon the Zealot and a Matthew the Tax Gatherer together under one cause! But what would they say about His ability to bring the Sadducees and Pharisees together to destroy Him?”
“Teacher!”
Once more Jesus looked up to see a group of men approaching Him. This time it was the Sadducees. He looked about and—yes—lingering in the background were several Pharisees in the company of Zichri.
“Another question?” Jesus asked wearily.
A couple of His disciples snickered.
Ignoring Him, Zereth, the lead priest among this group, spoke up.
“Rabbi, as You know, Moses told us if a man dies without having children, his own brother must marry the widow so that she might have children in his name.”
“Yes?” responded Jesus. “That is what the Law says.”
“Good,” Zereth continued. “Now here is an interesting puzzle. There were seven brothers. The first brother married and soon after died. Rabbi, since he had no children, his brother stepped in as the Law required.”
He looked around as he told his story, noticing a crowd gathering. He raised his voice.
“And so the same thing happened right down through all the brothers—to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. And then the woman died! Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”
Jesus could only shake His head in disbelief. Zichri had moved in and was urging the crowd on, repeating the question and acting as if it were all very serious.
“You who do not believe in the Resurrection are asking Me this question?” Jesus asked.
Zereth looked uncomfortably at Zichri, knowing the Pharisees did believe in a resurrection. He looked back at Jesus.
“First of all, you are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. So how can
you possibly ask an intelligent question or deliver a truthful answer? But I will tell you.”
Jesus spoke not only to the Sadducees but to the crowd around them. Zichri, by now, had stopped working the crowd and was preparing to arrest Jesus as soon as he uttered a heresy.
“At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage,” He said. “In that regard, they will be like the angels in Heaven.”
He turned sharply to Zereth and the other Sadducees.
“But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read that God Himself said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?”
“Of course we have,” said Zereth, as if defending himself in front of the people.
“So God is not the God of the dead but of the living,” said Jesus.
The crowds began muttering, astonished at His teaching and wisdom in so many things. Zereth and Zichri looked at the people’s faces, and could tell they believed Jesus’ words. The Sadducees remained silent, unable to respond.
Not about to let Jesus get by with this, Zichri signaled and a Pharisee by the name of Eli, an expert in the Law, came forward.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” he asked.
Jesus quickly replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment of them all. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Before they could question Him further, Jesus addressed the Pharisees.
“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?”
Zichri hushed the crowd so he could hear the question. They conferred a few seconds before deciding the answer, “The Son of David.”
“Very good,” Jesus said. “But how is it that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord’? As you recall, he says, ‘The Lord said to My Lord: Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”
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