GOSPEL 27:1-17
Jesus Overturns the Tables in the Temple
JESUS OVERTURNS THE TABLES IN THE TEMPLE
27 1And he went immediately then into the Temple. And he found people in the Temple selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 2So he made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the Temple, both sheep and cattle. 3He scattered the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. 4To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
5And he would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple. And he said to them, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’!”
6While he was speaking, a group of Temple guards approached, and a centurion was leading them. 7When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
8But Jesus shouted back in a loud voice, “No more of this! Put away your sword! For all who live by the sword die by it.”
9Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the Temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 10But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
11Saying this, Jesus fled and hid himself from them. And he and his disciples went immediately out of the city.
***
12The chief priests and the clergy were then wondering how they could find and capture Jesus. 13And it happened that Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 14They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money, 15to which Judas consented.
16And the betrayer arranged a signal with them. He said, “The one I kiss will be the man; arrest him.” 17And he watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
JESUS OVERTURNS THE TABLES IN THE TEMPLE
27 1Καὶ εὐθὺς ἔρχονται εἰς τὸν ἱερόν. καὶ εὗρεν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τοὺς πωλοῦντας βόας καὶ πρόβατα καὶ περιστερὰς καὶ τοὺς κερματιστὰς καθημένους. 2καὶ ποιήσας φραγέλλιον ἐκ σχοινίων πάντας ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τά τε πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς βόας, 3καὶ τῶν κολλυβιστῶν ἐξέχεεν τὸ κέρμα καὶ τὰς τραπέζας ἀνέτρεψεν, 4καὶ τοῖς τὰς περιστερὰς πωλοῦσιν εἶπεν· Ἄρατε ταῦτα ἐντεῦθεν, μὴ ποιεῖτε τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου οἶκον ἐμπορίου.
5καὶ οὐκ ἤφιεν ἵνα τις διενέγκῃ σκεῦος διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ. καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Oὐ γέγραπται ὅτι ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν; ὑμεῖς δὲ πεποιήκατε αὐτὸν σπήλαιον λῃστῶν. 6ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος ἰδοὺ ὄχλος στρατηγῶν τοῦ ἱεροῦ, καὶ ἑκατόνταρχος αὐτοὺς προήρχετο. 7ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν τὸ ἐσόμενον εἶπαν· Κύριε, εἰ πατάξομεν ἐν μαχαίρῃ; καὶ ἐπάταξεν εἷς τις ἐξ αὐτῶν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως τὸν δοῦλον καὶ ἀφεῖλεν τὸ οὖς αὐτοῦ τὸ δεξιόν. 8ἀλλ’ κράξας φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Ἐᾶτε ἕως τούτου· ἀπόστρεψον τὴν μάχαιράν σου εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς· πάντες γὰρ οἱ λαβόντες μάχαιραν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀπολοῦνται.
9Εἶπεν δὲ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς τοὺς παραγενομένους ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ στρατηγοὺς τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ πρεσβυτέρους· Ὡς ἐπὶ λῃστὴν ἐξήλθατε μετὰ μαχαιρῶν καὶ ξύλων; 10ἀλλ’ αὕτη ἐστὶν ὑμῶν ἡ ὥρα καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους.
11Ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐκρύβη ἀπ’ αὐτῶν. ἐξεπορεύοντο εὐθὺς ἔξω τῆς πόλεως.
12Τότε ἐζήτουν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς τὸ πῶς εὑρίσκωσι καὶ λαμβάνωσιν αὐτόν. 13καὶ Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριὼθ ὁ εἷς τῶν δώδεκα ἀπῆλθεν πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς ἵνα αὐτὸν παραδοῖ αὐτοῖς. 14οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἐχάρησαν καὶ ἐπηγγείλαντο αὐτῷ ἀργύριον δοῦναι. 15καὶ Ἰούδας ἐξω-μολόγησεν.
16Ὁ δὲ παραδιδοὺς αὐτὸν ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς σημεῖον λέγων· Ὃν ἂν φιλήσω αὐτός ἐστιν, κρατήσατε αὐτόν. 17καὶ ἐζήτει εὐκαιρίαν τοῦ παραδοῦναι αὐτὸν ἄτερ ὄχλου αὐτοῖς.
So the question is: how many times has this been reenacted? This is the eternal story of the Dionysian prophetic rage manifesting itself in an artist who chooses to tell the truth and gets martyred as a result.