The Savior's Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday)

On the last Sunday of the Savior’s mortal life the disciples brought to Him the donkey they had obediently obtained. As we talked about yesterday, the riding of a donkey was symbolic of the fact that He was King, but instead of a fine saddle of leather, gold and jewels that the king of the land would have had, this donkey was outfitted in humble cloaks from off the backs of the disciples—a gesture of love on their part.

This being the beginning of Passover week, Jerusalem was crowded with local Jews and thousands who had traveled from lands far away in order to celebrate Passover at the temple. Word that Jesus, the man who had raised Lazarus from the tomb, had come to Jerusalem spread quickly among them and curiosity impelled a great multitude to gather to see for themselves. Therefore, as Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives, crossed the wadi Kidron, and then began the assent to the Temple Mount, people thronged the streets to greet Him. Overcome with emotion many took off their cloaks and laid them on the ground to make a path for Him. Others cut palm branches, a symbol of victory, and waved them as He passed. And those that followed Him and those He approached all began to cry out saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9). Hosanna means “save now,” and these words are part of the Hallel which was used in the temple during sacrificial rituals to help the people remember that the animal sacrifices they were offering were a semblance of The Sacrifice that would occur when a Messiah atoned for the sins of mankind.

The Hallel consists of Psalms 113-118, which are recited not only during sacrificial rituals but on many other joyous occasions. The Hallel was traditionally recited as part of morning prayer services, and during the first night of Passover was part of evening prayers. Reading these six Psalms will help you feel the meaning of Easter, but there is one verse that is particularly poignant to me and illustrates the irony of what is occurring. Sunday the crowd praises Jesus and through word and actions proclaims Him their king, but on Friday they will cry out, “We have no king but Ceasar” (John 19:15). And in the Hallel we read, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Psalm 118:22).

As the crowd shouts “Hosanna!” the Pharisees call on Jesus to rebuke the disciples for such blasphemy. But Jesus answers them, “If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out!”

As the procession slowly drew near to the city, Jesus wept, and said, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes” (Luke 19:42). There is much debate over the meaning of the word Jerusalem, but some have said it means “Founded peaceful.” If that is the case, the Savior’s sorrow is even more meaningful. The city was intended as a place of peace and refuge for the House of Israel, but men had turned it into a place of iniquity. Thus great destruction, pain, and suffering await the inhabitants and Jesus prophecies of that impending doom while weeping. (Luke 19:42-44).

But the message is for all of us. God will save us from destruction. Even the stones of the earth know that. And the Savior was given us to “found us peaceful” in the midst of this world of chaos and iniquity. This is the promise that is ours—this “belongs to our peace” if we will lay down our cloaks on the path of righteousness and follow the Savior crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that came in the name of the Lord.”

Shibboleth

In the Old Testament we find the story (Judges 12:1-6) of a battle between the Gileadites and the Ammonite.The Gileadites win, but the Ephraimites, from the east side of the Jordan River, are upset that the Gileadites never invited them to be part of the war and so they invade Gileadite territory. The Gileadites win that war also and then to make sure none of the invading army escapes back to Ephraim they set guards at the passage over the Jordan river that leads back to Ephraim.

To get home the Ephraimite men pretend to be Gileadites so they can cross the Jordan. However, the Gileadite soldiers are wise. They stop everyone trying to cross the river and ask, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If the man answers no, the interrogator asks, “Then say Shibboleth.”

This was a clever test because the Ephraimites could not pronounce the “sh” sound and would reply, “Sibboleth,” at which point they were discovered and executed. We are told that 42,000 men lost their lives because they could not say shibboleth.

I’ve pondered on this story a lot and imagined what must have gone on. After the first dozen or so men were given the verbal test, at least some of the other 41,986 would have known what the test was and passed along the warning. But why then did so many fail the test and die? If they knew they couldn’t pronounce the word when asked, why did they attempt to cross? Were they self deceived? Did they think they were saying shibboleth when they were really saying sibboleth? Did they just hope no one would notice they weren’t saying it right? If the person giving the warning couldn’t say the word correctly either, perhaps they got the message wrong and mislead the others. We don’t know exactly what happened, but the absence of one tiny letter caused the death of thousands.

In the early 1600s the word shibboleth came into the English language and means “a use of language regarded as distinctive of a particular group” or “a custom or usage regarded as distinguishing one group from another.” In other words, a shibboleth is something that divides us from something else.

As I’ve pondered the story, I’ve realized it’s the detail in the application of the gospel in our lives that distinguishes us from others. I’ve learned that I need to watch that I’m not self deceived. I need to make sure I am following those who “pronounce” the gospel message correctly. I need to repent and not just hope that no one will notice that I’m doing something wrong. I need to make sure I “speak” the gospel language without missing a letter.

A Lesson From Legion

One of Jesus’ most interesting miracles is when he cast out devils who calls themselves Legion from a man and they request to be sent into a herd of swine. There are so many things we learn from this miracle, but what intrigues me the most is that after the miracle. Before the miracle all the people knew of the crazy man who was chained and held in a cave because he was so wild. They had seen him naked and hurting himself and threatening others and they had heard him rant and rave and bellow. And after Jesus mercifully casts out the devils, they see the man clothed and calmly eating. Yet what do they do? They ask Jesus to leave.

We are not told why they ask the Savior to leave but one suspects that it has something to do with the loss of the swine that ran into the sea and were drowned. In other words, they are more concerned with their material welfare than they are with their spiritual.

At first this may seem absurd, but each of us has to ask ourselves if we put material comfort and wealth ahead of spiritual welfare. Are we more concerned with getting the tasks of life done each day or with reading our scriptures? Are we more interested in increasing our spirituality or our bank account? It is a matter of priority and it is a choice that we make daily.

We must watch that we like the people of Gadara don’t do things that in essence are asking Jesus to leave.

Pain!

I don’t like pain. I don’t like emotional pain or physical pain or pain of any kind, but it is impossible to get through life without experiencing it. Pain with all it horrors is part of telestial life. People we love die and we hurt because they are gone. It’s a penetrating hurt that stings so deep into the bones we think our bones will crack. Betrayal thrusts a knife in the pit of our stomach when people we trusted disappoint us. Disillusionment squeezes the very breath out of our souls when we lose a job or don’t get the position we have been working so hard to achieve. I don’t know why, but pain is a necessary part of mortality.

However, as much as we don’t like pain, we mortals are very good at making pain. Necessary pain happens, but when we feel victimized or hold onto or fight against necessary pain, we create unnecessary pain. Unnecessary pain is just that—unnecessary. It doesn’t have to happen, but we create it. When we think that what happened shouldn’t have happened. We create more pain. When we continually recall and relive the painful experience we create more pain. When we lash out at others blaming them for what has happened we create more pain. When we blame God we create more pain. Unnecessary pain comes whenever we think things shouldn’t be the way they are.

The Truth is that what happened has happened and we can’t change it. Our only hope for peace is to turn to Jesus Christ. He will help us endure the necessary pain of life, and if we trust in Him we avoid the unnecessary pain of life. Realizing this and letting go of all the negative thoughts and emotions that cause unnecessary pain makes life so much easier to navigate. Your heart is open to receive love from others. Your mind is free to wander in creative, rejuvenating paths. Your soul is lighter so it floats closer to heaven.

The adversary will tell you it’s impossible to let go of unnecessary pain. But that is a lie. It is possible and it is wonderful. It is a simple decision. Let go!

What Can I Share?

The Savior taught us to follow Him and to do what He does. Most of the things He did are very apparent. We should be obedient to God. We should teach and help others. And we should love one another just like Jesus did. But other things He did are much more subtle.

One of the subtle things I have been thinking about is the fact that Jesus was always concerned with what He could give to others—never with what He could get from others. In today’s world everywhere you look people are crying out, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” They want rights and privileges. They want status and money. They want pleasure and easiness. And they cry out for these things to be given to them with the least amount of effort on their part. Young people choose for their heroes some of the loudest of these selfish people.

But Jesus was all about sharing. Of the 45 miracles he performed 19 were requested by the person or friends or family, and in two the unclean spirit within the person actually asks Him not to perform the miracle and in the remaining 24, Jesus simply sees a need and works His power to heal and help.

This is an important thing to realize if we want to be like Him. But it is also important because when we are always crying out “Gimme!” the universe seems to pull away from us and withhold all that is good. But when we cry out, “How can I share?” the universe seems to open up and share all it has to offer. We get back what we give out.