THE SPRING-TIME of the year came, when the people from all parts of the
land went up to Jerusalem to attend the great feast of the Passover.
You remember that this feast was held to keep in mind how more than a
thousand years before God had led the Israelite people out of Egypt,
where they had been slaves. It was called the feast of the Passover
because on the night of their going-out the angel of death had "passed
over" the houses of the Israelites when he brought death to the Egyptian
homes. On that night, too, they went out of Egypt in such haste that the
women did not have time to wait for the bread to rise before baking it,
and all the bread eaten at that time was "unleavened bread," or bread
made without yeast.
To keep in mind that great day, the day when Israel became a nation,
ruling itself, in the spring of every year all the people gathered in
Jerusalem, and for one week ate unleavened bread, that is, bread made
without yeast. Great services were held in the Temple on every day of
this feast; and on one evening a special dinner of a roasted lamb was
eaten by everybody, to keep in mind the last meal which the Israelites
ate in the land of Egypt, with their hats on their heads and their
cloaks on their shoulders and their shoes on their feet, all ready to
march away.
Jesus and the little company of his disciples or followers went up to
Jerusalem, walking, as many times before, down the Jordan valley to
Jericho, and then climbing the hills to the holy city. For many years
Jesus had been coming to the feast of the Passover; but never before had
he come as he came now, in the power of the Spirit, as the Son of God.
Around the House of God was a great open court, called the Court of the
Gentiles, where foreign people who were not Jews came to pray; since
none but Jews or Israelites could enter the inner courts. But the Jews
held all Gentiles or foreign people in contempt. They did not look upon
the part of the Temple buildings where foreigners prayed as holy; and
they had turned this court, the Court of the Gentiles, into a market
place. Here Jesus found everywhere sheep and oxen brought there for
sale; cages full of doves, which were sold to the poorer people for
offerings upon the altar; counters where sat men changing the money of
people from other lands into the coins of Judea. There was nothing of
the quiet and peace which should be in a place of prayer; all was noise
and confusion; the lowing of oxen, the voices of men buying and selling,
the jingling of silver on the tables.
These sights and sounds stirred the heart of Jesus. He felt that such
work as went on around him was unfit and was wicked in a place set apart
for the worship of God. He picked up a piece of rope from the floor and
untwisted its cords until it seemed like a whip. Then standing before
the buyers and the sellers, he called upon them to stop their trading.
They looked up amazed at this stranger whose face glowed with power as
though he were a king.
Alone, without help from anyone, he drove all these people out of the
court. He bade them lead away the sheep and the oxen; he commanded those
who sold the doves to carry out their cages; he overturned the tables of
the money-changers and sent their silver rolling upon the floor.
[Illustration: Standing before the buyers and the sellers, he called
upon them to stop their trading; he overturned the tables of the money
changers and sent their silver rolling upon the floor.]
"Take all these things away," he cried out. "This is the house of my
Father; you shall not make it a house for buying and selling."
Even the little company of his disciples--Peter, John, Andrew and the
others--stood still in wonder as they saw their Master alone, armed only
with a piece of rope, driving out the gates this crowd of men, who were
frightened at the kingliness of his looks and fled before him, not for
one moment daring to resist his will.
But soon came the priests and rulers of the Temple. They ought not to
have allowed these men to trade in the Temple Court and to make it a
market place. But some of them took a share of the money that was made
in that place. One high priest, it is said, owned all the cages of doves
and pigeons that were kept in the Temple for sale. These rulers were
very angry to have the trading stopped and their gains taken away.
"What right have you to come here," they said to Jesus, "and make
trouble? Who are you that you should undertake to rule in this place?
Show us some sign or proof that you are Master here!"
"The time is coming," said Jesus, "when I will show you a sign of my
power, but not now; and when that sign comes, you will not believe it."
Then, making a motion of his hands as though pointing to himself, he
added:
"Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews were horrified at these words; for they thought that he was
speaking of the building on Mount Moriah, and in their mind to speak of
pulling down the house where God dwelt was a terrible thing. But Jesus
was speaking of himself as the Son of God, in whose body dwelt the
Spirit of God. Far more than that building, where men cheated and did
evil deeds, Jesus himself was the house of God. The rulers said:
"This Temple has taken forty-six years to build, and it is not finished
yet; and will you raise it up in three days?"
Nearly fifty years before, King Herod had begun to rebuild the Temple,
which in his time had become old and decayed. The repairs were made very
slowly, and in the time of Jesus the building was still far from being
finished. It was not finished until more than twenty years afterward.
We know what Jesus meant by those words; that three years afterward,
those very men would cause him, the Son of God, whose body was God's
dwelling place, to be put to death; and within three days after his
death he would rise from his tomb, to be the Temple of God again and
forever. The disciples of Jesus heard these words, but at that time did
not know what they meant.
Jesus stayed for some time in Jerusalem and talked to the people about
the Kingdom of God. He also did some wonderful works, such as curing the
sick; and the people who saw these acts believed his words, as from one
whom God had sent to men. But the priests and the rulers hated Jesus,
because he spoke against their wicked lives, and they did all that they
could to turn the people away from him.
Among the rulers, however, were a few men who listened to Jesus and
believed his words. One of these was a man named Nicodemus. He wished to
have a talk with Jesus and learn more of his teachings. But he was
afraid to be seen with Jesus in the day-time, knowing that the other
rulers were so strongly against Jesus. So he went quietly one night,
unknown to everybody, and had a meeting with Jesus. Nicodemus began by
saying:
"Teacher, we all know that you have been sent by God to speak to us,
because no one could do these wonderful things that you are doing unless
God were with him to give him power."
Jesus said to him:
"Let me tell you and all your people one thing. No man can have any part
in the Kingdom of God unless he is born again from God."
Nicodemus did not know what this meant, and he said, "How can a man be
born again after he is grown up?"
"Every man," said Jesus, "must become a new man and have the Spirit of
God dwelling in him, if he is to come into the Kingdom of God. Do not be
surprised that I say to you, 'You must be born anew.' There are many
things that you cannot understand. Listen to the wind blowing! You can
hear it, but you cannot tell from what place it comes nor to what place
it goes. Just so is it with every one who is born of God's spirit."
What Jesus meant in these words was that every one who would be a
follower of Christ needs to have a new heart and to live a new life; and
this new heart and new life God alone can give to him.
One great sentence was spoken by Jesus at this time. Here it is.
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life."
AT THE OLD WELL