Real Hope: Love and JusticeIsampula

Jesus Turning the Tables

For Passover, Jews, along with the devout from other nations, came to worship at Jerusalem. It was a time of reconciliation between man and their God.  

However, at this holy time the temple outer court was not only a bargain bazaar for covetous priests, but had also become a shortcut for traders travelling through to the city markets. Jesus was standing in an unholy free-for-all targeting the poor, outsiders, and women.  

The poor and new mothers were targeted by profiteering dove merchants as part of their Passover purification. The extortionate prices levied on these doves financially crippled those who could barely afford these lower-level sacrifices. 

Every worshipper was also expected to pay a temple tax on arrival. The tax was a flat half-shekel fee on the rich and poor. Adding to the disproportionate burden placed on the poor, a further premium was charged to convert foreign currency into shekels.   

This is no ‘holy tantrum’. Jesus is turning the tables to favor the outsiders, powerless and poor. As the birds flew, cattle scattered, and tables tossed, Jesus cleared a path for all to be in relationship with His Father in heaven.

Written by Dwayne Jeffries