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Sunday School Drama
Play given by the combined Sunday School classes on 22 June, 1997.
CHARACTERS:
- Jesus:
- Tobin
- Reporter:
- April
- Merchant #1:
- Jennifer
- Merchant #2:
- Sally
- Merchant #3:
- Elizabeth
- Money changer:
- Jessica
- Guard:
- Andrew
- Thief:
- Daniel
- Customer (little girl):
- Samantha
- Rich Man:
- John
[Jesus stands above the action and observes all that happens throughout
scene.]
[Thief follows reporter through scene stealing during distraction.]
- Reporter:
- This is your roving reporter, Judith of Jerusalem. We are now
entering into the time of one of our holiest of holidays, the Passover,
and crowds of people from all over the country are streaming into the
city. The priests estimate about 500,000 people will visit the Temple
this week. Right now I am standing in the Court of the Gentiles at the
Temple. This is the only section of the Temple where non-Jews are
allowed, and it is also the area where animals can be purchased for
sacrifice and Roman money can be changed for Temple money. There has
recently been some controversy over the marketplace atmosphere of the
Court, and some people claim that they have been cheated by the merchants
who are sanctioned by the Temple priests. With the intense crowds, the
tension over the domination of the Roman Empire, and the so- called
prophets of the new sects, this area is certainly the most volatile area
of the city right now. I'm here to talk to some of the merchants and
bystanders to get their views of the situation.
[Moves to Merchant #1 - seller of food and drink.]
I see you are a food vendor. I understand that some people claim you
overcharge them for your goods. What do you say to that?
- Merchant #1:
- I provide a holy service. People come here from very far away and
have to spend all day at the Temple. Some people can't bring food or
drink. I am here to help them.
- Reporter:
- Why do you charge so much?
- Merchant #1:
- I have to make a living. People who don't want to spend the money
don't have to buy from me. I only charge what the market will bear.
- Reporter [to Merchant #2]:
- What about you?
- Merchant #2:
- "Get your souvenirs right here! Take away something to remember
forever. This is a once in a lifetime experience!" [To reporter] Do
you want to buy something?
- Reporter:
- No thanks. Do you really think that selling souvenirs is appropriate
for such a holy place?
- Merchant #2:
- Of course! Taking home one of replica Temples holds a sacred memory
in your home forever. It's a religious experience! Take a look! Aren't
they unique? Only 3 shekels!
- Reporter:
- Well, they are nice ... OK. [Digs out 3 coins.]
- Merchant #2:
- [Circles through crowd] Get your souvenirs right here!
- Customer:
- [Comes in with lamb. Goes over to moneychanger.] Excuse me, but the
priest inside told my father we couldn't use our money here - that I had
to come to you to exchange for some Temple money. I have two Roman coins
- my friend says I can get 5 Temple coins for each.
- Moneychanger:
- [Changes the sign to higher rate] Sorry, that's the old rate. The
rate today is 2 shekels each.
- Customer:
- But this is all we have, and we're going to need the money for food
for my whole family! Please give me more!
- Moneychanger:
- Sorry, but business is business.
- Reporter [to Moneychanger]:
- Why did you change the rate? Isn't that dishonest?
- Moneychanger:
- Most certainly not! This rate is actually the holiday rate. The lower
rate is what we used when crowds were thinner and competition more
difficult.
- Reporter:
- But why does the Temple allow people to be charged so much? Since the
Temple requires it, shouldn't the Temple provide the service for no fee
and keep the rate low and constant?
- Moneychanger:
- People should be grateful that we are here. We keep the Temple holy
by making sure it is not contaminated by outside money. It's also the
customers' patriotic duty. By keeping the Roman money out we keep our
religion and our country pure.
- Reporter [to Customer]:
- Why are you here?
- Customer:
- My family has come from far away for a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple.
We brought our very best lamb, one we love very much, for our sacrifice,
but the priests say that our lamb is no good because it is not a lamb
blessed by the priests. They say that I must come here and trade for a
lamb that is blessed. But I don't know why my beautiful lamb is not good
enough - I raised it so we could give our best to God. [To Merchant #3]
Will you please trade my lamb for one the priests will take?
- Merchant #3:
- How much money do you have? [Looks in the customer's hand and takes
the coins.] I'll take this.
- Customer:
- But that was the money we were going to use to buy food for the
family. If you won't take my lamb in trade, would you please buy her so
we can have some money?
- Merchant #3 [taking the lamb]:
- You don't understand. I need the lamb and the coins. I can't just
trade a blessed lamb for a bad lamb without some compensation too.
[Customer leaves upset.]
- Rich man:
- I need your best, most blessed lamb - one good enough for my
position. [Pays Merchant #3 - leaves with girl's "unblessed"
lamb.]
- Reporter:
- Wait! You just sold that man an unblessed lamb! [Thief robs rich
man.]
- Guard:
- Stop thief! [Confronts and arrests thief.]
- Jesus:
- [Very angry.] Is it not written "My house will be called a house
of prayer for all nations"? But you have made it a den of thieves!
[Comes down whipping and knocking over tables, scattering coins, clothes,
animals. Chaos in crowd. He exits through cloakroom. Guard runs after
him, returns empty-handed. Meanwhile, thief reappears.]
[Crowd is divided between rich people yelling "Radical, Zealot,
Blasphemer" and poorer people exclaiming "About time! The Temple
is used as an excuse to cheat us!"]
- Reporter:
- Who was that person? Why did he do this?
- Guard:
- He's a criminal!
- Customer:
- That was Jesus! He is a great prophet. Some people say he is the
Messiah, the Son of God! He says that the poorest of us will be among the
greatest. I know he would never cheat us. He is angry because the Temple
is used for unrighteous acts. I know he believes in the rituals of the
Temple, for he preaches here sometimes. He is no Zealot and no politician
either. He is a true man of God. He thinks that the priests and merchants
are taking advantage of the people, making the sacred area profane and
insulting God.
- Merchant #1:
- He's crazy! Look at all the damage he's done. He should be punished
and made to pay us for all our losses.
- Merchant #2:
- "Get your souvenirs here! Remember this momentous occasion and
incredible excitement with this unique Temple replica! Only undamaged
merchandise left in the Court of the Gentiles!"
[Guard seizes thief again, starts to march him away. Reporter stops
them.]
- Reporter:
- Why were you doing this?
- Thief:
- It felt like the Temple was easy. Besides, I thought they were all
crooks anyway. But Jesus was right, it was an insult to God. And I was
wrong to be part of this "den of thieves." But they're worse
than I am - they're pretending to be honest and holy!
- Reporter:
- What will happen to you?
- Thief:
- I understand the Romans crucify thieves as a warning. If you have any
pull, I sure would appreciate the help. [Exits with guard.]
- Merchant #3:
- I wouldn't bother trying. He deserves everything he gets. If we're
lucky we'll see him hang with that radical. Jesus is dangerous! He's
going to get us all in trouble with the Romans. Maybe he's a subversive
sent to get the Temple into trouble and allow the Romans to take over
here. We'll all be arrested. We need to get rid of him.
- Reporter to congregation:
- What do you think? [Works the adult audience.]
- Reporter:
- Well, this has been Judith of Jerusalem with an unexpected
news-breaking eyewitness report live from the scene at the Temple. Listen
for more details at 11.
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Footnote by David Lloyd
Background on Trade in the Temple
The "trade" in the Temple occurred in the Court of the
Gentiles. It was related to paying the Temple tax and to obtaining the
items needed to make sacrifices required by the Torah.
Moneychanging was an occupation that developed due to the Roman Empire.
Each formerly independent kingdom/princedom/empire minted its own coins. As
people were able to travel more by road and sea, they developed the need to
exchange currency (some things haven't changed). Moneychangers had
tables in most major towns, probably including the Greek town near Nazareth
(whose ruins have recently been excavated) that Jesus knew. They had a
table and stool, little stacks of different coins, possibly a scale, and
possibly small sacks. It's not clear if they had little wooden or metal
strongboxes. If they had a stall for their table it probably consisted of
four forked poles holding up a plank or canvas roof. They charged a
commission of 2 to 4 %, similar to that charged in international airports
and banks today.
It seems to have been a socially acceptable occupation, but there were a
few who became money lenders and charged interest, possibly at a usurious
rate. Charging interest on loans violated the Torah, and such people were
deemed sinners.
Moneychanging in the Temple seemed to be limited to exchanging various
coins for the Tyre silver that was the only acceptable coin for paying the
Temple tax. (There does not seem to have been any moneylending going on in
the Temple grounds.) Like all devout Jews, Jesus knew about and understood
the necessity for paying the Temple tax to support the priests and Levites,
who had no ancestral territory in Palestine that could be used to raise
cash crops. On at least one occasion, he instructed a person he had healed
to pay the Temple tax. The episode of the Pharisees trying to trick him
into saying whether Jews should pay the tax to the Romans illustrates the
need for the moneychangers in the Temple: the Roman coin had a portrait of
the emperor (Caesar) with the phrase "the divine Caesar." This
was blasphemy in Judaism; one couldn't pay a tax to the Temple of God
with a coin that indicated Caesar was a god. So pay the tax to the Romans
with a Roman coin, but pay the tax to God with the coin required under the
Torah. And what would a Pharisee, a person who claimed to zealously observe
the Torah be doing with a blasphemous coin? Jesus neatly tricked the
Pharisees back.
Also in the Court of the Gentiles were those who sold doves, and some
who sold sheep, for the ritual sacrifices. (Joseph and Mary sacrificed a
dove at Jesus' circumcision.) Again, they had a table, maybe in a
stall, with stacks of different coins, a scale, and maybe small sacks, and
cages for the birds. This occupation was in more disrepute, since the
birds/animals were supposed to be without blemish and no doubt some people
felt cheated. In addition, they may have charged different prices depending
on the buyer's ability to pay (still a common practice in the Third
World). (Imagine poor country folk, such as Jesus and the disciples, being
quoted a price that they thought outrageous.) Plus, sheep are noisy,
smelly, and dirty, and pigeons/doves can be noisy and leave a mess.
(Imagine an area of Temple grounds that had a cacophony of people talking,
negotiating/arguing, cooing birds, bleating sheep, clinking coins -- that
was the Court of the Gentiles.) Some of the proceeds probably went to the
priests and Levites.
Since the ones selling birds and sheep would want to exchange their
various coins, they probably used the moneychangers outside the Temple. If
the latter were into moneylending, the birds and animal sellers might
appear to some to be in cahoots with each other to cheat the poor pilgrims
coming to Jerusalem.
Jesus held the Temple in high regard and held the priests and Levites as
responsible for everything that occurred on its grounds. At this time the
system of selecting priests had become one of the perks of the Sadduccee
party, and it is likely that some priests received their position through
bribery of the Roman authorities. This would have increased their need for
proceeds from the moneychangers and dove/sheep sellers, so the squeeze was
on the pilgrims. This probably outraged Jesus as much as the commerce,
noise, smell, etc.
All this came from the Interpreter's Bible Dictionary and other
sources. (The film, The Last Temptation of Christ, gives an audiovisual
depiction.)
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