Zealot - The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

of the Temple complex.
     The Holy of Holies is the highest point in all Jerusalem. Its doors are draped in
     purple and scarlet tapestries embroidered with a zodiac wheel and a panorama of the
     heavens. This is where the glory of God physically dwells. It is the meeting point
     between the earthly and heavenly realms, the center of all creation. The Ark of the
     Covenant containing the commandments of God once stood here, but that was lost long
     ago. There is now nothing inside the sanctuary. It is a vast, empty space that serves
     as a conduit for the presence of God, channeling his divine spirit from the heavens,
     flowing it out in concentric waves across the Temple’s chambers, through the Court
     of Priests and the Court of Israelites, the Court of Women and the Court of Gentiles,
     over the Temple’s porticoed walls and down into the city of Jerusalem, across the
     Judean countryside to Samariaand Idumea, Peraea and Galilee, through the boundless empire of mighty Rome and on
     to the rest of the world, to all peoples and nations, all of them—Jew and gentile
     alike—nourished and sustained by the spirit of the Lord of Creation, a spirit that
     has one sole source and no other: the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, tucked
     within the Temple, in the sacred city of Jerusalem.
    Entrance to the Holy of Holies is barred to all save the high priest, who at this
     time, 56 C.E ., is a young man named Jonathan son of Ananus. Like most of his recent predecessors,
     Jonathan purchased his office directly from Rome, and for a hefty price, no doubt.
     The office of high priest is a lucrative one, limited to a handful of noble families
     who pass the position between them like a legacy (the lower priests generally come
     from more modest backgrounds).
    The role of the Temple in Jewish life cannot be overstated. The Temple serves as calendar
     and clock for the Jews; its rituals mark the cycle of the year and shape the day-to-day
     activities of every inhabitant of Jerusalem. It is the center of commerce for all
     Judea, its chief financial institution and largest bank. The Temple is as much the
     dwelling place of Israel’s God as it is the seat of Israel’s nationalist aspirations;
     it not only houses the sacred writings and scrolls of law that maintain the Jewish
     cult, it is the main repository for the legal documents, historical notes, and genealogical
     records of the Jewish nation.
    Unlike their heathen neighbors, the Jews do not have a multiplicity of temples scattered
     across the land. There is only one cultic center, one unique source for the divine
     presence, one singular place and no other where a Jew can commune with the living
     God. Judea is, for all intents and purposes, a temple-state. The very term “theocracy”
     was coined specifically to describe Jerusalem. “Some people have entrusted the supreme
     political powers to monarchies,” wrote the first-century Jewish historian Flavius
     Josephus, “others to oligarchies, yet others to the masses [democracy]. Our lawgiver
     [God], however, was attracted by none of these formsof polity, but gave to his constitution the form of what—if a forced expression be
     permitted—may be termed a ‘theocracy’ [
theokratia
], placing all sovereignty and authority in the hands of God.”
    Think of the Temple as a kind of feudal state, employing thousands of priests, singers,
     porters, servants, and ministers while maintaining vast tracts of fertile land tilled
     by Temple slaves on behalf of the high priest and for his benefit. Add to this the
     revenue raked in by the Temple tax and the constant stream of gifts and offerings
     from visitors and pilgrims—not to mention the huge sums that pass through the hands
     of the merchants and money changers, of which the Temple takes a cut—and it is easy
     to see why so many Jews view the entire priestly nobility, and the high priest in
     particular, as nothing but a band of avaricious “lovers of luxury,” to quote Josephus.
    Picture the high priest Jonathan standing at the altar, incense smoldering in his
     hand, and it is easy to see where this enmity comes from. Even his priestly garments,
     passed down to him by his wealthy predecessors, attest to the high priest’s opulence.
     The long, sleeveless robe dyed purple (the color of kings) and fringed with dainty
     tassels and tiny golden bells sewn to the hem; the hefty breastplate, speckled with
     twelve precious gems, one for each of the tribes