The Last Days of Jesus

by Bill O'Reilly

  This is Passover in Jerusalem. It has been this way since the rebuilding of the temple. Each Passover is unique in its glory and personal stories, but the rituals remain the same.

  Now, as he steps into the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus prepares to make this Passover different.

  * * *

  In the partially enclosed temple courts, tables piled with coins line one wall, shaded by the temple awnings. They are lorded over by scheming men known as shulhani—money changers. Long lines of out-of-towners await their chance to exchange their Roman coins into shekels, the only currency accepted in the temple. The Roman coins have images of gods or portraits of the emperor on them, and it is against Jewish law to use them in the temple. Shekels are decorated with images of plants and other nonhuman objects. Pilgrims must use shekels to pay the annual tax and to purchase animals for ritual slaughter.

  * * *

  Ritual Sacrifice

  In the ancient world, many cultures sacrificed animals to their god or gods, believing that the blood of the creature would please. In Jesus’s world, the Romans and Greeks as well as the Jews practiced animal sacrifice.

  Ritual sacrifice was required by the Law of Moses. It could take place only at the temple in Jerusalem. This was not a custom that was part of life in synagogues in towns or cities, or in private homes.

  At the temple, priests alone could perform ritual sacrifices. A pilgrim purchased an animal, an unblemished male lamb, for example, from a vendor in the courtyards surrounding the temple. He gave a priest the lamb, which was slaughtered. Its blood was sprinkled around the altar. The priest then returned some of the lamb to the pilgrim, and it was the central part of that family’s feast meal. The priest kept the skin of the animal. It was salted and stored in a room adjacent to the temple.

  Pilgrims and residents of Jerusalem offered animals for sacrifice as a way of giving a gift to God. Other gifts offered were firstfruits, or the first results of a harvest, and money, called a tithe. Gifts were offered for several reasons—to honor God, in thanksgiving for a good event, such as the birth of a child or a good harvest, or in supplication, asking for forgiveness or favor. The custom of ritual sacrifice came to an end after the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70.

  A typical man in Jerusalem as drawn by James Tissot in the 19th century. [Mary Evans Picture Library]

  * * *

  The money changers demand unfair exchange rates for the privilege of turning Roman money into shekels. The temple high priests also profit from this arrangement. Within the temple’s inner courts are massive vaults filled with shekels and foreign coins exchanged each year by pilgrims. When that money is lent by the temple—as it so often is to peasants who need help paying their taxes—the interest rates are extremely high. All debts are tallied on ledger sheets kept within the inner temple’s grand vaults, and those who cannot repay suffer severe indignities: the loss of a home, loss of land and livestock, and eventually, life as a debt slave or membership in the “unclean” class. The slums of lower Jerusalem are packed with families who were driven from their land because they could not repay money they borrowed from the temple.

  A Roman coin bearing the likeness of Augustus Caesar found in Jerusalem. [Corbis]

  So while Passover might be a time of faith and piety, it is also about money. As many as four million Jews make their way to Jerusalem each year, adding to the sixty thousand people who usually live there. This means much more income for local shop owners and innkeepers, but the temple priests and their Roman masters get most of the profit through taxation and money changing. Even more money is made when the poor must buy a lamb or dove for the mandatory Passover sacrifice. If a priest inspects the animal or bird and finds even a single blemish, the sacrifice will be deemed unclean, and the peasant will be forced to buy another. It is no wonder that the people quietly seethe when doing business with the temple priests.

  Today Jesus climbs to the Court of Gentiles and makes his way into the broad open-air plaza. Since his baptism and time spent fasting in the desert, his ministry has been a quiet one.

  But now, Jesus walks past the tables piled high with coins and sees the people of Galilee standing so helplessly before these greedy money changers and the haughty high priests. This Passover ritual of money changing has not altered since he was a child, but on this day, Jesus feels he must do something about this obvious wrong.

  Jesus is not normally prone to anger or fits of rage. In fact, he usually exudes a powerful serenity. So when he boldly storms toward the money changers’ tables, those who know him become alarmed. There is a power to Jesus’s gait and a steely determination to his gaze.

  The tables are made of wood. Their surfaces are scarred and dented from the thousands of coins that have been pushed back and forth across the tabletops. The money changers sit before enormous piles of currency, gleaming in the strong Jerusalem sun.

  Heavy as they might be, the weight of the tables does not bother Jesus—not after twenty years of hauling lumber and stone alongside his father. He places his hands beneath the nearest table and flips it over. A small fortune in coins flies in every direction. And even as the stunned shulhani cry out in a rage and coins cascade down onto the stone courtyard, Jesus is already at the next table and then on to the next.

  Nobody has ever seen anything like this. This behavior is an act of madness, the sort of thing that could get a man killed. As the crowd gasps in shock, Jesus flashes a whip he has made from cords of rope. He moves from the money changers’ tables to where goats and sheep are being sold. He cracks the whip, sending the animals running. Jesus marches over to the cages of doves that are also being sold for slaughter and opens the doors to set them free.

  And nobody tries to stop him.

  “Get these out of here!” he shouts to the men selling doves. “Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

  These men, who enjoyed absolute power over the pilgrims just moments ago, now cower, terrified that Jesus will turn his whip on them. The money changers see their fortunes littering the ground but make no move to pick up the coins. Livestock run loose across the Court of the Gentiles—cows, goats, and sheep galloping aimlessly through the throngs, their rendezvous with the slaughtering knife temporarily on hold.

  Suddenly, a circle of pilgrims and temple officials forms around Jesus, who holds his whip firmly in one hand, as if daring them to challenge him. “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” demands a money changer. Despite the commotion, soldiers do not run in to quell the disturbance. Better to let this madman explain himself.

  “Destroy this temple,” Jesus vows, “and I will raise it again in three days.”

  Now they know he’s insane. “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” scoffs a money changer. Among the onlookers is Nicodemus, a devout Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, who watches with interest and waits for the answer to the question.

  But Jesus says nothing. He knows his words will not change the hearts and minds of the temple leaders. Although one watches him with more curiosity than anger.

  No one blocks Jesus’s path as he leaves the Court of the Gentiles and walks toward the temple itself. Behind him is the clink of silver and bronze as the money changers scurry to sweep up every last coin. The men selling livestock race to gather up their beasts. It is the pilgrims who continue to marvel at what they have just witnessed. Many of them have dreamed of committing such a bold act. From his Galilean accent and simple robes to his workingman’s physique, it is clear that Jesus is one of them. For some, this man is a hero. And his actions will be discussed everywhere.

  CHAPTER 9

  NICODEMUS QUESTIONS JESUS

  APRIL, AD 27 JERUSALEM

  Night in Jerusalem is a time of quiet celebration, as pilgrims pack into local courtyards and inns to bed down. It is customary to open one’s home for the visitors, and to do so with a glad heart. There is not en
ough room to house all the travelers in the city, so many camp on the steep hillsides and valleys outside the city walls. From the thick groves of trees on the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, and down toward the Old City of David, which lies just south of the temple, families and friends spread out their blankets and bedrolls to spend the night under the stars.

  Among them is Jesus. He has returned to the temple time and again during his Passover stay, teaching from that temple cloister known as Solomon’s Porch. This is his favorite place in the temple, and even when he is not listening to the scholars or joining in to offer his own teachings about the kingdom of God, Jesus often lingers in that area. Wherever he goes, crowds now flock to him, asking questions about God’s kingdom and listening reverently to his answers. Jesus is comfortable in public. He enjoys people and speaks eloquently, often using stories to illuminate his teachings.

  Jesus has made a deep impression in a short amount of time. His dramatic assault against the money changers seems to have paid off. He has made an impression on another group as well—the Pharisees, the temple leaders who obsess about all aspects of Jewish law, are paying particular attention. They are skeptical about Jesus and would like specific information before passing religious judgment on him.

  Photograph of the Mount of Olives taken between 1860 and 1880. [Library of Congress LOT 7741]

  Now, under cover of darkness, the Pharisee Nicodemus, who enjoys a powerful role as a member of the Jewish ruling council, approaches Jesus. He has chosen nighttime because it would be awkward for him to say what is on his mind in the midday temple courts, where even the lowliest peasant could hear his words. And Nicodemus also knows that this quiet hour means that he can have an uninterrupted discussion with Jesus.

  Oak statue of Nicodemus carved in France in the 1600s. [The Bridgeman Art Library]

  “Rabbi,” Nicodemus begins deferentially, stepping into the light cast by the flames. If Jesus is surprised to see such an exalted Pharisee stepping from the darkness, he does not let on. “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God,” Nicodemus continues, speaking for his fellow Pharisees.

  “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again,” Jesus replies. He has been telling all who listen that a person must be spiritually reborn to be judged kindly by God.

  This is a new concept to the Pharisees. Nicodemus asks in astonishment, “How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

  “Flesh gives birth to flesh,” Jesus replies, “but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

  Nicodemus is thoroughly confused. “How can this be?” he asks.

  “You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things?” Jesus asks. If he is uncomfortable scolding one of the most powerful religious leaders in Jerusalem, it does not show. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

  Nicodemus is intrigued but frustrated. He is a man dedicated to stated religious law. Now Jesus is telling him that God is about love, not rules. And that the Son of God has come to save the world, even insinuating that this is his true identity. Then he adds words about being reborn, as if such a thing were humanly possible.

  Nicodemus has heard Jesus teaching in the temple courts, so he knows that he likes to speak in parables, stories that illustrate a religious or moral principle. Though Nicodemus may not fully understand them, Jesus’s statements have given him a great deal to think about as he walks alone back up the hill into Jerusalem.

  * * *

  Jesus has spent the months since returning from Jerusalem traveling through Galilee, teaching in synagogues. He has become popular, praised everywhere he goes for the depth and insights of his teaching. There is mystery about him, too. No one can explain how this man with no medical knowledge healed a dying child in the fishing village of Capernaum. And stories are circulating about unexpected bounty suddenly appearing at a wedding in Cana he went to with his mother. Now Jesus is back home in Nazareth sitting among the townspeople he has known all his life.

  The men of Nazareth pray, their voices blending together as one: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

  It is the Sabbath day, and the Shema marks the beginning of the Sabbath worship. The synagogue is a small square room with wooden benches against each wall. The temple in Jerusalem, with its priests and vaults and animal sacrifices, is the center of Jewish life. The local synagogue, however, is an intimate place where believers worship and teach, taking turns reading from the parchment scrolls on which the Scriptures are written. In the synagogue, there are no high priests, clergy, or standard liturgy, and anyone is allowed to play the part of rabbi, or teacher. Also, there is no money on the tables.

  Sea of Galilee at Capernaum; about 1900. [Library of Congress LC-M32-A-224]

  Jesus joins in as the men of Nazareth lift their voices in song, chanting the words of the Psalms.

  Then an attendant hands Jesus the scroll with the words of the prophet Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,” Jesus reads in Hebrew, “because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

  Jesus remains standing, translating the words he has just read into Aramaic for the benefit of those not fluent in Hebrew. It is customary to stand while reading, then sit while teaching. So now he sits and presses his back against the wall, aware that all eyes are upon him. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” Jesus calmly informs them.

  The crowd is shocked.

  “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they ask. For while they know the answer, the words are a reminder that Jesus should remember his place: his family is not the wealthiest in town, nor is he the smartest among them. He is the son of Joseph and nothing more. In their eyes, Jesus exalting himself as the man sent by God to preach the good news is offensive.

  But Jesus doesn’t back down. He has been expecting this response. “Truly I tell you,” he predicts, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Disregarding that they are in a house of worship, some men leap to their feet and prepare to attack. Moving quickly, Jesus races out the door. But they follow. Working together, the men who had been praying just moments ago now cut off any route of escape. Jesus is forced to the edge of town, where a tall cliff provides a commanding view of Galilee.

  The men’s intention is to hurl Jesus to his death. And it appears that might happen, for Jesus seems powerless. But at the last minute, he turns to face his detractors. Drawing himself up to his full height, Jesus squares his shoulders and holds his ground. He is not a menacing man, but he has a commanding presence and displays an utter lack of fear. The words he says next will never be written down, nor will the insults these men continue to hurl at him ever be chronicled. In the end, the mob parts and Jesus walks away unscathed.

  And he keeps walking.

  * * *

  Jesus has issued three pronouncements about his identity—one to the public in Jerusalem, one to Nicodemus the Pharisee, and the third in the intimate setting of his own town synagogue, to the people he knows best of all. Three times he has declared himself to be the Son of God, a blasphemous statement that could get him killed.

  Now Jesus is completely alone, cut off from the life he once knew, destined to wander through Galilee preaching words of hope and love.

  Over thousands of years, those words will rally billions of human beings to believe in his preaching. But they will not convert the powerful men who currently hold the life of Jesus in their hands.

&nbs
p; To them, Jesus of Nazareth is a marked man.

  CHAPTER 10

  PREACHING FROM A FISHING BOAT

  SUMMER, AD 27 CAPERNAUM, GALILEE AFTERNOON

  The local fishing fleet has just returned from a long night and day on the Sea of Galilee, and great crowds fill the markets along Capernaum’s waterfront promenade. A walkway in the center of the market is a focus of activity. Fishermen sort their catches before making the official count for the taxman. Matthew, the taxman, keeps a keen eye on who brings in how many fish, and customers everywhere are eager to purchase the freshest catch for their evening meal. What doesn’t get sold this day will be shipped to Magdala for drying and salting and then will be packed tightly into baskets and exported throughout the Roman Empire. Capernaum is the busiest of all the ports on the Sea of Galilee. So busy that a detachment of one hundred Roman soldiers has been posted here, to ensure that all taxes are collected according to the law—and that those taxes get sent right away to Herod Antipas.

  Fishermen with nets in ancient Palestine. Colored engraving, no date. [Alamy]

  So Jesus has come to the right place if he is looking for an audience—which indeed he is. The problem, however, is that Capernaum is too busy. No one will be able to hear him over the clink of sinker leads dropping onto stone and the haggling between shopkeepers and customers. The fishermen themselves are exhausted from hours of throwing out their fishing nets and hauling them hand over hand back into their boats, and they are in no mood to listen to a sermon.