it was the high priest caiaphas who had to collaborate with the roman occupation. now, how would jesus, as a gallilean peasant, see the temple? i think with ferocious ambiguity. on the one hand, it was the seat of god, and you would die to defend it from, say, a roman emperor like caligula putting a statue in there. but what would you do when it was also the place where caiaphas collaborated with the romans? was the temple really the house of god anymore? what jesus does is not cleanse the temple; he symbolically destroys it. >> if you really think the end of the world is at hand, that has a kind of liberating and frantic energy that goes along with it. it's not good for quiet crowds and social stability. and given the... the emotional and religious tenor of this holiday anyway, to have somebody preaching that the kingdom of god was really on its way-- perhaps it was going to be coming within, you know, within that very holiday-- preaching that the... the... in the days before passover, it's the equivalent of shouting "fire!" in a crowded theater. >> narrator: the