HIS NAME WAS ANNAS

He was a high priest.

He shared high-priestly duties with Ciaphas because of familial and religious/political considerations.

It was on of Annas' responsibilities to oversee the affording of worship paraphernalia to those who came to the Temple for worship.

In fact, the "money changers" were all a part of a scheme called THE BAZAAR OF ANNAS.

He sold animals for sacrifice and changed currency into an "acceptable" form for giving.

Annas, himself, performed the blessing over the merchandise, declaring it "kosher."

In today's dollars, here is the way it would have worked:

Annas had "salesmen" at the tables in the outer court who sold doves that cost $2.00 each, and that would have "retailed" in the market for $6.00 a piece. Annas' price was $10.00.

Each salesman would have received $4.00 of the profit. Annas would have kept the additional $4.00 from each sale for himself.

In other words, Annas was extorting the worshippers, charging them more than the merchandise was worth, under the guise of providing them with the necessities for worship.

Jesus called Annas and his salesmen "thieves."

The question we might ask is, "Did Jesus call them thieves because they were merchandising, or because they were thieves?

According to John 18:12, Jesus was taken to Annas after His arrest in the garden.

Annas was probably miffed with Jesus.