The King Nobody Wanted | Page 8

Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.'"
There were so many visitors in Jerusalem that they could not all find a
place to stay in the city. Some of them stayed in the villages near by,
and others slept in tents out in the open air. At an ordinary time of the
year, there would be only about thirty thousand people living in
Jerusalem. But at the Passover there might be twice that, or even more.

Even the Roman governor was in Jerusalem at Passover time. He lived
in another city, but he always came to Jerusalem for the great feast. It
was not that he cared about the Passover. It was because he was afraid
that with such great crowds in Jerusalem there might be trouble unless
his Roman soldiers were on guard. It would be especially bad if anyone
showed up claiming to be the Messiah. All the people might make him
king, and rebel against Rome, and great numbers would be killed.
With such crowds in the city, it was hard for the people from Nazareth
to get through the narrow streets. All along the streets they saw shops.
Some of the shopkeepers were selling goods that had been brought
down from Galilee--fish and oil and wine and fruit. Besides the
merchants there were shoemakers, butchers, carpenters, tailors. On the
side streets gold-smiths and jewelers were making things for the rich
people. Here and there was a merchant selling fine silks which had
been brought from the Far East. A man could buy almost anything he
wanted in Jerusalem, provided that he had the money.
[Illustration]
The travelers from Galilee pushed their way through the crowded
streets, and on up to the Temple on the hill. Here was God's own house!
How large it was! Herod the Great had built this Temple. Ten thousand
men had worked many years to build it, and it was not quite finished
yet. Eight gates led into the beautiful building with the white walls and
the golden towers. Inside there was room for many thousands of
people.
What a clatter and a clamor and a tumult there was! It seemed as
though all the world were there. Doves and cattle, as well as lambs,
were offered in the Temple as a sacrifice to God. You could hear the
poor creatures calling out--the cows lowing, the lambs bleating, the
doves singing their sweet, sad song. Money was clinking on the tables.
Only one kind of coin could be used as an offering, and travelers had to
exchange those they were carrying for Jewish money. The men who
made the exchange often cheated the visitors.
The people from Galilee separated when they came to the Court of the

Women. The women and girls could go no farther, but the men and
boys went up some steps into the Court of Israel. There they watched
the priests of the Temple taking the doves and lambs and cattle that the
worshipers had brought, and offering them up as a sacrifice. The priests
killed the animals, and let the blood drip on the altar where the
sacrifices were given to God.
The Court of Israel was as far as anyone could go, unless he were a
priest. There was another room called the Holy Place, which only
priests could enter. To the people it was a place of great mystery. Then
farther on was a still more mysterious room called the Holy of Holies.
Even a priest did not dare to step inside that door. That was the secret
place of God. Only the high priest, who was head of all the priests,
could enter there. And he could go in only once a year.
The visitors from Nazareth saw a priest coming toward them. Anyone
could tell from his clothes that he was wealthy. He came from one of
the families that were known as the Sadducees. The Sadducees were
the only people who were at all friendly with the Romans. The reason
for this was that they were better off than most other people and
well-satisfied with things as they were. They thought it wise to stay on
good terms with Caesar. Nobody liked the Sadducees very well, but
everyone had to admit that they were certainly very important. They sat
in a high council and governed everything that went on around the
Temple.
And here was a Pharisee, looking very well pleased with himself! Jesus
had seen Pharisees before, around Nazareth, and they always seemed to
have that look. The word "Pharisee" meant "someone who is different."
What made the Pharisees different was that they were always talking
about the Law, and claiming that they obeyed it better than anyone else.
They were kindly folk, on the whole, and very