- Day 250
- Principle: Jesus Christ is your example in life in death and in life again.
- Book of Mormon Reading: Helaman 1:1 - 1:17 (You made it to Helaman!!!!!)
- Ponder Pahoran’s death. How do these verses refer to the days following his death? No ponder what you know about the days following Christ’s death. What is different about the experience of the Nephites after the death of Pahoran?
- On the Sixth Day of the week of the Atoning Sacrifice covered from the Betrayal of Judas to the Burial of Jesus. Here are some key points, in chronological order, to help you stay on track. Use the Table of the "Week of the Atoning Sacrifice" below and start reading at Matthew 26: 47.
- To help your study of the sixth day of Jesus Christ here are a few reference points
- Annas
- “Cyrenius . . . deprived Joazar of the high priesthood . . . and he appointed Ananus, the son of Seth, to be high priest, . . . [Valerius Gratus] deprived Ananus of the high priesthood, and appointed Ismael, the son of Phabi, to be high-priest. He also deprived him in a little time, and ordained Eleazar, the son of Ananus, who had been high-priest before, to be highpriest: which office, when he had held for a year, Gratus deprived him of it, and gave the highpriesthood to Simon, the son of Camithus; and, when he had possessed that dignity no longer than a year, Joseph Caiaphas was made his successor. When Gratus had done those things, he went back to Rome, after he had tarried in Judea eleven years, when Pontius Pilate came as his successor.” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18. 2. 1–2.)
- Caiaphas
- Joseph Caiaphas was high priest between the years A.D. 18–36, but Annas continued to exercise much religious and political control over the Jews as either substitute for the high priest, president of the Sanhedrin, or chief examining judge. Annas’ wealth was immense; and it derived, in part, at least, from the sale of materials used in the temple sacrifices. (See Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, s.v. “Annas”; Smith, Dictionary of the Bible, rev. ed., s.v. “Annas.”) Joseph Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest under Tiberius (see Matthew 26:3, 57; John 11:49; 18:13, 14, 24, 28; and Acts 4:6) and was appointed to the office of high priest by Valerius Gratus. (See Smith, Dictionary, s.v. “Caiaphas.”) In John 18:13 we read that Joseph Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas.
- The Sanhedrin
- Comprised of an assembly of seventy-one ordained scholars, including Levites, priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and those of other political persuasion, in the time of the Savior the Great Sanhedrin was the highest Jewish court of justice and the supreme legislative council at Jerusalem. Its main function was to serve as a supreme court when Jewish law was interpreted. The Sanhedrin met in the temple collonade in the impressive chambers of hewn stone, where members of the council sat in a semicircle. An accused prisoner, dressed in garments of mourning, was arraigned in front of the council; and if evidence against the prisoner warranted, the Sanhedrin had authority to decree capital punishment for offenses which violated major Jewish laws. However, the council was not authorized to carry out its sentence and execute the prisoner, for Roman law forbade them from putting an individual to death without the sanction of the Roman procurator. Jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin in the time of Jesus extended only throughout Judea; and as long as Jesus preached in Galilee and Perea, the council was unable to arrest him. When Jesus entered Jerusalem for his last Passover, however, he was within the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin, where evil and unscrupulous leaders of the council were able to take him, arrange a charge of blasphemy against him, and then manipulate Pilate, the Roman procurator, to bring about the crucifixion. (http://emp.byui.edu/DormanS/Rel%20212/New%20Testament%20Student%20Manual.pdf)
- Pontius Pilate
- Appointed in A.D. 25–26 in the twelfth year of Tiberius, Pontius Pilate was the sixth Roman procurator of Judea and was the Roman ruler during the time of Christ’s ministry. Arbitrary and anxious to please Caesar, his political life ended in misfortune. (See Smith, Dictionary, s.v. “Pilate, Pontius.”)
- Herod
The following genealogical table shows the relationship between the various members of the Herodian family mentioned in the New Testament.
The Herodian family were Idumeans by birth but had become converts to the Jewish faith. Their object was to found, under the protection of Rome, a semi-independent kingdom. By his marriage with Mariamne, Herod the Great allied himself with the family of the Maccabees, who had been for several generations the leaders of the patriotic party among the Jews. Herod was a successful ruler and was on terms of friendship with Augustus, the Roman Emperor. In order to gain favor with his subjects, with whom he was most unpopular, he rebuilt the temple at an immense cost. (See Temple of Herod.) His reign was disgraced by many acts of cruelty. In a fit of jealousy he had his wife, whom he dearly loved, put to death; later on he had her two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, also murdered. In the same year in which he gave the order for the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, he had Antipater, another of his own sons, put to death. A few months later Herod himself died. His kingdom was then divided between three of his sons: Archelaus, who received Judea, Idumea, and Samaria; Antipas, who had Galilee and Perea; and Philip, who had the northeast districts of Palestine.
After a reign of nine years Archelaus was deposed by Augustus, and Judea was attached to the Roman province of Syria, being governed by a prefect. Antipas (called in the New Testament “Herod the tetrarch”) built as his capital Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee; he is frequently mentioned in the Gospels (Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14; Luke 9:7; 13:31; 23:7–15). He took as his wife Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip. He was deposed by the Emperor Caligula and banished to Lugdunum in Gaul, A.D. 39. Philip made Caesarea Philippi (previously called Panias) his capital and remained in possession of his tetrarchy until his death in A.D. 33. His territory then became part of the province of Syria, but in A.D. 37 it was given by Caligula, along with Abilene (the tetrarchy of Lysanias), to Agrippa, who was allowed to assume the title of king. On the deposition of Antipas he obtained the tetrarchy of Galilee, and in A.D. 41, on the accession of the Emperor Claudius, he received Judea and Samaria as well, and so became ruler of the whole territory governed by his grandfather. He lived in Jerusalem and was anxious to be regarded as an orthodox Jew. He began a persecution of the Church and put James to death, Peter escaping by a miracle (Acts 12:1–23). His death is described in Acts 12:20–23. His son, Agrippa Ⅱ, was allowed by the Emperor Claudius to succeed to only a small part of his father’s dominions. He is mentioned in Acts 25:13. He was the last of the Herods. (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/herod?lang=eng)
- Travels of the Night
- See the table "The Appreciation of the Sorrow of the Final Hours" below.
- Annas
- Don’t worry if you don’t make it through everything today. You will have some time tomorrow as well.
- Additional Study:
- Yoshihiko Kikuchi, “The Healer’s Art”, March 2011
- Thy Will, O Lord, Be Done, Hymns No. 188
- I’ll Walk with You, Children’s Songbook No. 140
