More About the Palms
God appointed feasts for Israel to celebrate. In Leviticus 23 the feasts are listed. Among these feasts was the Feast of Tabernacles.
This was a seven day festival that was a huge camping party. All the native people of Israel from near and far would come to Jerusalem and live in huts made of branches for the duration of the festival. One of the significant activities which would be practiced at this festival is found in Leviticus 23:40. “On the first day you are to take choice fruit from trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.”
The successful Maccabean revolt resulted in Israel’s reinstatement of power in Jerusalem, which would last for one hundred years and the rededication of the Temple, still celebrated today as Hanukah. (Read the previous post for info on the revolt.)
After the successful campaign of the Maccabees, palm branches would once again be waved and displayed, but would also take on a new symbolic meaning. The palm branch was not only used in honor of God’s instructions for the Feast of Tabernacles; it was also used to represent the Zealot clan.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey, the Zealots placed their cloaks and palm branches on the ground for Jesus and his mode of transportation, the donkey, to travel over. Both of these, the prayer closets (talit, prayer shawls) and the palm branches both represented who they believed Jesus to be.
In 2 Kings 9:13 Jehu is recognized as king with the laying down of their prayer closets which the writer says were “spread under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, ‘Jehu is king!’”
The other symbol placed under Jesus was that of the palm branches, which signified the Zealot Jews’ acceptance of Jesus as not only their Jewish king, but their Zealot military leader who would help them to violently destroy the Romans and their Western oppressors once and for all.
Jesus’ disappointment and sadness which is written in Luke 19 reflects Jesus’ words to those who followed him into Jerusalem to say, “Zealots, put away your palm branches!” Jesus was not a fan of violence, but of peace that included loving one’s enemies.
Forever learning,
Johnny
7 comments:
Walker said:
Des this perhaps explain the Pharisees' line in John 12:19?
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
Perhaps they figured the palm strewn path showed Jesus was associated with their rival Zealots?
Namaste
Johnny,
Interesting . . . I preached this very thing today.
Walker,
Just to add to what you said . . .
The people, Pharisees and Sadduceean Priests so feared the Romans they were afraid that if people began to follow Jesus, the Romans would destroy the city and the temple.
John 11:47-48 says “Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
Good post.
Blessings,
Bret
Hello Walker,
Bret is right on and so are you (according to those who study and teach the Hebraic perspective of Jesus and his first century world.)
The Pharisees were staunch pacifists. They knew that a Zealot uprising would mean trouble for all Jews. The Zealots, like many religious terrorists today, were not concerned with backlash. However, the Pharisees could see the writing on the wall and knew, just as Jesus taught, that the Romans would eventually destroy Jerusalem, the Temple, and every Jew they could put a sword through, if the Zealots waved their palms in the middle of Jerusalem during a highly publicized event like the Feast of Tabernacles.
During these Jewish feasts, Rome sent extra soldiers into the city to keep an eye out for any Jewish threats. Palm branches were a dead give away that the Zealots and their supposed leader were not planning on a friendly march.
That is exactly why the Pharisees were fearful and why Jesus was saddened as he entered the city.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Walker Said
Many/most/all(?) of my friends seem to picture Jesus and the Pharisees as dead set against each other and the Pharisees as his main "opponent"
I'm beginning to think that the picture was far more complex
Bearing in mind that I consider the Bible to be man's word on man's paper, as inspired by God, but subject to man's limitations and fallibility ....
Would it be unfounded to consider that perhaps the "attitude" expressed towards the Pharisee's to be an element of politicking - setting up an enemy for a group to coalesce around?
(I beleive human nature hasn't changed all that much, and there have been political spinmasters throughout history)
Namaste
Walker,
I think you are on to something. According to authors John Crossan and Jonathan Reed in their very controversial book, "Excavating Jesus," they propose that there is a political battle going on in the sacred texts.
After A.D. 70, the Nazarenes and the Pharisees, who were the only surviving Jewish sects, began to battle over the issue of the Nazarenes' (followers of Jesus)decision to escape to the mountains of Pella in A.D. 68, instead of staying in Jerusalem to to suffer through the battle with the rest of the Jews in A.D. 70. (Remember the palm branches and Jesus' promise.)
It's interesting that the Pharisees actually stayed. Maybe they chose not to take up the sword (that's what pasifists do), which may be why they were not killed. (Only my assumption and a good research topic.)
The Pharisees were calling them cowards and traders.
So, the Nazarenes began to write in their "gospels" and "letters" with obvious hits on the Pharisees, so that the readers would give credit to them for the death of the Messiah.
This is an interesting topic, especially when we learn that the "Rav" or "Pious Ones," would be called Rabbis and Pharisees. Jesus was more than likely, according to historical Jewish culture, a Pharisee or most like a Pharisaic rabbi.
The Sadducees would have had more of a problem with Jesus than the Pharisees, if only because they did not want any Messianic movement to mess up their livelihoods and good standing with the Romans.
The Pharisees would only have had a problem with the "trigger-happy" Zealot following that Jesus was attracting.
Great subject.
Thanks, Walker.
Johnny
Ray Vander Laan and Brad Young suggest that Jesus’ theology was consistent with the Pharisees. Although Jesus did condemn some of the hypocrites (perhaps a minority) within the Pharisee group he instructed others to follow their teaching “as only an insider could" (Brad Young wrote something like that).
The Pharisees were a highly respected group. They, at least on one recorded occasion, tried to save Jesus.
The Pharisees had hypocrites in their group just like we have them in our churches and denominations today. The Pharisees probably had more disagreements and arguments among themselves than they did with other groups (kind of like we do today.)
The Pharisee problem, I think, is made to look bigger than it really is by Christian tradition.
Read Brad Young’s chapter on “Jews or Pilot?” from “Jesus the Jewish Theologian.” He goes into quite a bit of detail.
Blessings,
Bret
Bret,
Thank you for the insights and the references.
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