Jerusalem is a great city and the pinnacle of human history. When Moses led the Israelites back here, the industrious Jewish ancestors opened up territory here and established this city under the leadership of King David.

, and brought her to her first glory in the time of King Solomon.

But in the following time, the Herodians occupied Jerusalem and implemented brutal rule. Then the Romans defeated the Herodians and established the Jewish province of the Roman Empire in the area centered on Jerusalem, and established

As governor, according to the officials conquered by the Roman Empire, King Herodius was retained, he was just a puppet.

The Jews who lived here for generations continued their simple and austere life, living hard under the dual rule of Rome and Herodius.

Passover is one of the most important Jewish festivals and the Jewish New Year. This day commemorates the success of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and seeing God punish Egypt.

This is a festival that all Jews attach great importance to. According to tradition, on this day, every household must slaughter a lamb, make unleavened bread, bitter herbs platter and other traditional Jewish foods, and spend this festival together as a family.

However, when Passover arrived in Jerusalem this year, it was a different story. The dual rule of Rome and Herodius made the lives of the Israelis difficult. During such an important festival, most Israeli families did not have anything to do with it.

Lambs can be slaughtered, and even vegetables are extremely precious foods. The poor Israelites can only eat unleavened bread. Without lambs and vegetables, what kind of festival is it?

On this day, the atmosphere in Jerusalem was extremely tense. Not only this year, but also in recent years, before Passover, the air over Jerusalem was filled with anger and uneasiness.

Pilate, the Roman governor, ordered the Roman legions from all the provinces of Judea to station in Jerusalem to impose martial law. This was because this local governor of the Roman Empire deeply realized that there was a powerful undercurrent surging in the introverted and deep character of the Israelites. This undercurrent

Once it breaks out, an irreversible and terrible situation will occur.

On the Passover of this year, Jesus came to Jerusalem for the first time. He had already heard about the grandeur and splendor of this city, but when he saw it on the hillside outside the city, he was still deeply moved.

Impressed.

Jerusalem is built on a mountain, with scattered buildings covering the entire hillside. The tallest and most majestic buildings among them are the Jewish Temple, the palace of King Herodius, and the official residence of the Roman governor.

After admiring the beautiful scenery of Jerusalem, Jesus strode towards the city. At the city gate, he was blocked without exception, because for a man dressed as a shepherd like him, it was difficult to enter the city.

You must pay tax.

Jesus' attitude was extremely cooperative. He paid the tax to enter the city. The Roman soldiers guarding the city gate let him go, and he entered Jerusalem smoothly.

Jerusalem was extremely depressed and tense on this day. Although it was only noon, there were few pedestrians on the streets and almost no vendors doing business. Instead, there were groups of Roman soldiers patrolling the streets. They occasionally passed by the Jews.

However, the eyes of both parties in return were full of anger, and the anger seemed to be ignited at any time.

Jesus walked along the street toward the city center. His destination was the Jewish temple. After several inquiries, passers-by pointed him in the right direction.

The tall roof of the temple was getting closer and closer. On the way to the temple, Jesus passed by the granary in Jerusalem. The gate here was locked. Roman soldiers and Herodian soldiers surrounded the place because a large number of people gathered here.

The hungry people. They were all extremely poor Israelites, poor people who could not even afford unleavened bread.

They stretched out their bony arms, hoping that the rulers of Jerusalem would give them some life-saving food during this Thanksgiving festival. However, what they waited for was ruthless whippings and threats of swords and guns.

Jesus stood aside and watched silently, his face expressionless, but his hands had clenched his fists tightly out of anger.

He turned around and continued walking toward the temple.

The closer you get to the temple, the more gorgeous the buildings on both sides of the road are. These buildings are the residences of Roman and Herodian nobles and Israelite clergy. Especially the residences of the clergy are unique. They even built bridges to facilitate them.

You can enter the temple directly from the courtyard of your home across the entire street. They don't seem to want to walk side by side with ordinary people at all. Being high above them allows them to despise everything, and at the same time it also completely separates them from human life.

The smell of roasted lamb and laughter wafted out from these buildings. There was singing and dancing, and the rich were celebrating the Passover, completely forgetting that just outside the walls, there were countless people suffering from hunger.

Jesus came to the door of the temple and strode in without hesitation. At this time, in the square in front of the temple, the clergy were preparing for the burnt offering every night.

The bonfire was already burning brightly, and the lamb to be sacrificed to the gods was tied to a pillar nearby. When the time comes, the poor creature will be thrown into the fire and burned, and its death will be used to worship the gods.

A huge red drapery hangs at the entrance of the temple, swaying gently in the breeze, covering everything inside the temple. From the outside, it seems that the interior of the temple is mysterious and cannot be entered by mortals.

But Jesus ignored the existence of this authority. He strode up to the lamb, released it, and continued walking into the temple.

The temple was very cold at this time. They thought today was Passover, so all the clergy seemed extremely relaxed. They gathered in small groups in the corner to chat, so they relaxed their guard and allowed Jesus, a man who made a living, to break in.

Come in.

When they discovered that the lamb prepared for sacrifice was missing and an unkempt stranger broke into the temple, they felt the seriousness of the situation.

They stopped Jesus and asked loudly: "Who are you? How dare you break into forbidden places without fear of the gods punishing you?"

Jesus was not afraid of the obstruction and questioning of these clergy, but shouted loudly: "Our people are suffering. Why don't you distribute food to them? Today is the greatest festival of the Israelites, and it is by no means a day when the people starve.

!”

The clergy were somewhat at a loss by Jesus' lack of fear, because for so many years, no one had dared to challenge the clergy, and today, facing this young Israelite, they did not know what to do.
Chapter completed!