The Most Pivotal Weekend Ever

 I have for some random reason been avoiding the tale of an illegal trial, torture, and crucifixion.

How discouraged and downhearted Christ's disciples must have felt on Thursday night, Friday, and even Saturday.  They didn't know Sunday was coming.

We can rest assured that Sunday did come.

One small detail from the empty tomb.  Jesus cast off the linen shroud in which His body had been wrapped, but He took special care to fold the napkin place over His face.

Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and sees the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

Why did John tell us that little detail? I have heard that it was a Jewish tradition, when one finished a meal, to leave the napkin on the table.  However, if someone stepped away, and was planning to return, He would fold his napkin so all that saw it would know that He would come again. That is an important detail to understand. Thank you, John.  He had risen and He will come again!

 

Maundy Thursday- the 5th Day of Holy Week - Steps to the Betrayal

Who was Judas Iscariot? What do we know about his character? John the Beloved tells us quite a bit about him. Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, the Leper. Lazarus and his sisters were there.

There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard*, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

* Nard or Spikenard was a very costly oil imported from India.

Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

Judas was the treasurer among the Apostles.  Apparently, he stole money regularly from the bag.  John recognized that Judas was a thief at heart.  He didn't care about the poor.  He only cared about not being able to embezzle the 300 pence from the Apostles' treasury. Jesus rebuked Judas.  He recognized that Mary was a true worshipper and Judas was a thief and a liar.

Jesus knew even then that Judas was the one who would betray Him to His enemies, consulting in his death, part of the conspiracy.  Even then, his love for money came into play as Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver (the price of an average slave) to betray his Master.

Later, at the Last Supper, the plot of the betrayal was completed.  In John 13, we read:

For he knew who should betray him; therefore, said he, Ye are not all clean. (v 7)

When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (v. 21)

The Apostles all asked, "Is it I Lord?" 

Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. (26)

And after the sop Satan entered into [Judas]. Then said Jesus unto him, That [which] you do, do quickly. (v 27)

After Jesus began His atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas completed his vile act by identifying Jesus to His enemies with a kiss.

Days 3 and 4 of Holy Week, continued

 

After Jesus spoke about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, he also foretold the tribulations even unto death, that the Apostles themselves would experience. 

The incursion of Antiochus Epiphanes of Rome marked the first abomination of desolation, but Christ prophesied about another Abomination of Desolation, and these verses answered their second questions: tell us about your coming and the end of the world. I recommend that you read them all as there is so much meat there, it would be difficult for me to summarize without missing something important. Here are some key verses:

In those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets. (22)

You also shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars; see that you be not trouble for all I have told you must come to pass; but the end is not yet. (23)

For as the light of the morning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west, and covers the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. (24) 

His coming won't be secret.  All the earth will see it.  

And now I show unto you a parable. Behold, wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together; so likewise, shall mine elect be gathered from the four quarters of the earth.

Watch for the signs of the times.  One of those signs is the acceleration of the gathering of Isarael, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of Christ's Church.

And again, this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked. 

And again shall the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.

I wonder what form this Abomination will take.  I have some personal ideas, but no personal revelation, so I choose not to share them.  I took for the prophet to tell us when the time is right.  As Paul said, Christ will come as a thief in the night for the children of darkness, but He will not overtake the Children of Light. (See 1 Thessalonians 5)

Days 3 and 4 of Holy Week - The Olivet Sermon

 

The Lord confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees at the Temple on Monday. After He cast out the moneychangers, the temple hierarchy tried to home in on Moses relating to the temple.  Jesus cut it short when He told them: "Your house is left unto you desolate." Here was Jehovah, the God of the Jews and of Moses and of the temple, walking out of His temple.  He never returned.  He had told them they had turned His Father's house into a den of thieves the first time He cleansed the temple.  This time, He told them they had turned His house into a den of thieves.  Finally, He told them that because of their sins, they had turned their own house into a den of thieves; He withdrew His acceptance of His temple, and it was ripe to be destroyed.

On Tuesday, He called the twelve to Him and gave what has been called the Olivet Discourse since they were on the Mount of Olives. The fullest account in the New Testament is in Matthew 24, but the best account is found in J.S. Matthew 24 found int the Pearl of Great Price which is: An extract from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet in 1831: (Matthew 23:39 and chapter 24.)

And Jesus went out and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him, for to hear him, saying: Master, show us concerning the buildings of the temple, as thou hast said—They shall be thrown down, and left unto you desolate.  And Jesus said unto them: See ye not all these things, and do ye not understand them? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here, upon this temple, one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. (J.S. Matthew 1: 2-3)

Joseph Smith's translation of the Matthew text clarifies that there were 2 questions the Apostles asked, and Jesus answered both.  Christians have struggled for years trying the understand the timeline as if it were 1 question.

Tell us when shall these things be which thou hast said concerning the destruction of the temple, and the Jews; and what is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or the destruction of the wicked, which is the end of the world? (JS Matthew 1: 4)

The first part of the discourse centers on the near future and the destruction of the temple. 

When you, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet*, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, then you shall stand in the holy place; whoso reads let him understand.

Then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains; Let him who is on the housetop flee, and not return to take anything out of his house. Neither let him who is in the field return back to take his clothes.

And wo unto them that are with child, and unto them that give suck in those days.

Therefore, pray ye the Lord that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.

For then, in those days, shall be great tribulation on the Jews, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, such as was not before sent upon Israel, of God, since the beginning of their kingdom until this time; no, nor ever shall be sent again upon Israel.

All things which have befallen them are only the beginning of the sorrows which shall come upon them.

And except those days should be shortened, there should none of their flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake, according to the covenant, those days shall be shortened.

This is the first part of Jesus' answer dealing with the immediate future of Jerusalem, the Jews, and the Temple.  Because the Jews saw the temple as a holy place, when Roman legions entered the city, they ran there.  But the temple was no longer protected by Jehovah.  Therefore, the Jews at the temple site were slaughtered by the hundreds.

Disciples of Jesus had been told to flee to a neighboring town, Pella, as their holy place. It was this flight to which Jesus was referring when he told them to go immediately and not go back. History tells us that the early Christian Jews in Pella were spared and survived the tribulation of the Roman siege. 

Tomorrow, I will deal with the second part of Christ's answer: the last days.

*Abomination of desolation

Daniel spoke prophetically of a day when there would be “the abomination that maketh desolate” (Dan. 11:31; 12:11), and the phrase was recoined in New Testament times to say “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Matt. 24:15).

Conditions of desolation, born of abomination and wickedness, were to occur twice in fulfillment of Daniel’s words. The first was to be when the Roman legions under Titus, in A.D. 70, laid siege to Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15; JS—M 1:12).

Speaking of the last days, of the days following the Restoration of the gospel and its declaration “for a witness unto all nations,” our Lord said: “And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled” (JS—M 1:31–32). That is, Jerusalem again will be under siege.

In a general sense, abomination of desolation also describes the latter-day judgments to be poured out upon the wicked wherever they may be. And so that the honest in heart may escape these things, the Lord sends His servants forth to raise the warning voice, to declare the glad tidings of the Restoration, lest “desolation and utter abolishment” come upon them. The elders are commanded to reprove “the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days” (D&C 84:114, 117; 88:84–85).   

Abomination of desolation (churchofjesuschrist.org)

Day 2 of Holy Week - Cleansing the Temple

And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves . . .

And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. * And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his doctrine. (Mark 11: 15-18)

(*bng is the Hebrew word ganab which means thief. It also implies one who usurps or steals another's authority.  The temple leaders were not legitimate holders of the Levitical priesthood.  They had usurped or stolen their authority through political appointment.  Jesus' use of the word ganab was deliberate and the implication of the word was not lost on the chief priests.)

Artist: Benjamin West Healing in the Temple

Matthew tells us that after cleansing the temple, He also healed the people gathered to Him.  To the temple hierarchy, that must have been like pouring salt on an open wound.  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. (Mattew 21: 14)

Day One of Holy Week

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the account was told far and wide in Judea.  The people reasoned that this Jesus of Nazareth must be the promised Messiah.  However, the temple hierarchy were even more angry and sought earnestly to take His life. 

The prophet Zachariah wrote:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zachariah 9:9) This prophecy explains why Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem on a donkey and not a horse. In ancient Israel, horses were seen as animals of war.  Kings going to their crowning ceremony, therefore, rode on asses, which were seen as animals of peace. It is fitting that the King of Peace should choose to do so.

Jesus, therefore, sent two of his disciples to secure the animals. According to the Gospel of Mark:

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples, And said unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say you that the Lord has need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loosened him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.

And they brought the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees and strew them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

The Significance of Palm Sunday

I ran   across a blog while looking for a picture of the triumphal entry.  It is called Faith Matters: Exploring the Christian Journey by Dr. David E. Ewan.  I found it thought provoking on this subject, from the perspective of a Protestant minister.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithmatters/2024/03/the-revelation-and-understanding-of-palm-sunday/ 

Come Follow Me, March

 

As I approach the end of our March study of 2 Nephi, I look forward to the most important week in the history of the world.  Tomorrow we celebrate Palm Sunday, a day commemorating the entry of our Lord and Savior into Jerusalem, ushering in the final week of His mortal life.

Easter comes early this year, on March 31.  What a great way to say good-bye to the month.  I want to spend this next week thinking of the things that happened in that final week.

Coming in April, I anticipate with joy General Conference on the 7th and 8th.  This first week of April also introduces us to the Book of Jacob.  Hang on tightly to the Spirit because it's going to be an exhilarating journey!