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(新加坡六十年代安迪的流行音乐影响力), SUDI MAMPIR !
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:4 [King James Bible].
As 14 April, 2017 comes to light after a peaceful Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday in Singapore, I was thinking of the lyrics of a song that could be suitable for the rather sombre and quiet period this Good Friday, a day when Jesus died, was buried and rose again on Easter Sunday. Sung originally as a Christmas Carol, it was made famous by Cat Stevens in 1972 and came from a hymn, first published at the beginning of the 1930's. The lyrics were by children's writer, Eleanor Farjeon using an original melody of a Scottish tune, written in Gaelic by Mary McDonald.
Neil Diamond: Morning Has Broken:
YouTube Video by: jasonfreakinbang
The song gives thanks to dawn, a new opening of each day, but unlike other days, the words become more significant as we know what happens eventually. Of course, interpretation varies... Morning has broken, like the first morning Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird Praise for the singing, praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the word
It was translated into English, with a lilt so lovely that the number went to the top of the hit parade in 1972. The piano arrangement was done by rock group member from Yes: Rick Wakeman.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci,
one of the world's most famous late 15th Century painting.
Judy Collins, Floyd Cramer, Neil Diamond, Art Garfunkel, Nana Mouskouri, Aaron Neville, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Sister Janet Mead, Roger Whittaker and a host of choirs have recorded covers of this beautiful song.
Looking at it positively, I find the freshness in the lyrics as we praise for the morning:
Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dew fall, on the first grass Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden Sprung in completeness where his feet pass... When Good Friday morning is broken, I remember it as such, a Good Friday.
Praise with elation, praise every morning God's recreation of a new day. Have a great Easter everyone. Any comment?
Recently, I recalled my time in Cambridge during Lent term commemorating Jesus’ last week on earth, also known as Passion Week. Although Pontius Pilate found Jesus innocent, he let Jesus to be crucified. He even gave Jesus a Latin title as inscribed in IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDÆORVM, meaning “Jesus The Nazarene, the King of Jews.” One may commonly find INRI on internet images as given above.
King's College Cambridge Easter: O Sacred Head Sore Wounded:
JS Bach. YouTube Video by: spiritdei.
John 19:19-22. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: "Jesus Of Nazareth, TheKing Of The Jews." Many of the Jews would have read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek, languages commonly used then.
The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews!'
"But this man claimed to be King of the Jews!"
Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written!"
Perhaps this sign is so important that all 4 gospels recorded it. Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38 and Matthew 27:37. Aramaic is closely related to Hebrew and was used by common Jews during Jesus’ era, while Hebrew remained the language of the upper class such as in religion and government. It was likely that Jesus and His disciples spoke Aramaic, in addition to Hebrew and Greek.
So what is the Hebrew translation of INRI:ישוע הנצרי ומלך היהודים (Yeshua` HaNatzri V'Melech HaYehudim. What is interesting and amazing is that the first letters of each of these words gives YHVH, more specifically (יהוה, pronounced as yod hey vav hey). This is the holy name of God. Unfortunately people call This Name, tetragrammaton (by inserting the English vowels, one gets the common found name as YeHoVaH) without knowing its significance. יהוה is recorded more than 6000 times in the Bible. The meaning of This Holy Name is explained in an earlier post below.
Interestingly, during the ancient Passover Festival, Hebrew families would put the family name around the neck of the lamb that they took to the Temple as a sacrifice so that they may receive their own animal thereafter for their Passover dinner.
For the Passover celebration in Jewish times, besides all Jewish males having to present themselves at Jerusalem, the High Priest would need to go to Bethlehem to find a firstbornlamb without broken bones and defect. After that, the High Priest would carry the lamb through the Eastern gate (old city of Jerusalem) to the Temple and numerous worshippers would be singing praises to God, waving their palm branches. There would be inspection over the next four days to confirm that the lamb was indeed without blemish. In the Temple days, at 3:00 pm the unblemished lamb for the Jewish nation was to be sacrificed and presented to the people.
The Parallel Account
Due to the Passover festival, there were already many people in Jerusalem when Jesus (firstborn of Mary) entered through the Eastern gate on a donkey but this time they were shouting Hosanna (meaning “save us”). Over the next four days, Jesus was examined by the Pharisees, Sanhedrin, Herod and Pilate. Eventually in Luke 23:4 “Then said Pilateto the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man."After all interrogation, Jesus was crucified at 9.00 am and died at 3:00 pm without broken bones. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.
This is the Eastern gate (also known as the Golden Gate, Acts 3:2). The Eastern Gate was sealedin AD 1540–41 by order of Suleiman the Magnificent, a sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Ezekiel 44:1–2, “The man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. The Lord said to me, ‘This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it.’”. Interestingly, this Golden gate will be open again when Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) and enters Jerusalem by way of the re-opened Eastern Gate.
[King Solomon once said, what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9]
Jesus was Crucified for my sins.
When Jesus died at 3:00pm, the Temple curtain separating the Holy and Most Holy places was torn into two. This was recorded in Mathew 27:50-51. Similar accounts are also given in Mark 15 and Luke 23. It is often interpreted that with the tearing of the curtain, we are now granted direct access to God in the Most Holy Place. However, there is no Ark of Covenant (as it was already lost) in the Most Holy place i.e. God’s presence is absent. Perhaps there is another take on the torn curtains i.e. in ancient times when a Jewish son died, the grieving father would tear his clothes.
Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross:
YouTube Video from: Celebrating Holidays.
Grace and Blessing of God
It is worth noting that Passover is the only feast where God allowed the Israelites to celebrate one month later compared to other ancient feasts. Somehow this grace period seems to imply that there is still time to believe in Jesus as the Passover lamb for our unsaved loved ones and friends. There is still opportunity to repent and receive Jesus, as one’s personal Lord and Saviour.
While the phrase “passion week” sounds sentimental or even romantic, in Latin “passion” really means suffering. However, there is great joy in this suffering of Jesus, as we now have access to the Living God, יהוה through His dying for our sins and His conquering of death through His resurrection.
Wishing you and your family good health, peace and a Blessed Good Friday holiday.
Author: Dr. Phil Chan.
Author: Associate Prof.
Dr. Phil Chan. [NUS].
Thanks Phil for taking so much time during your busy schedule.
Appreciate your sincere ways in explaining biblical passages and
selecting suitable songs for the posting, for so many years now.
Thank you for inviting me again. Last year, I think we reflected on how our Lord Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday instead of a horse.
However, this Passion Week reminded me of an old painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples. Some years ago, I realised with surprise that Leonardo knew of an important Hebrew Salt Covenant in the Bible that was reflected in this famous work. The clue came when one asked who is Judas in the picture. Judas is normally identified as the 4th person from the left. Why? Note there is spilled salt in front of this person.
Two Scriptures on Salt Covenant can be found in Leviticus 2:13: Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings. 2 Chronicles 13:5 : Don't you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?
How was the Covenant of Salt practised in ancient times?
In the past, it was customary for men to wear a pouch of salt tied to their belts. In the olden days, a man’s spoken words were highly valued and had to be kept at all costs. If there is any importance in their words of contract or promise, they will exchange salt. So grains of salt would become one when mixed together.
What if the men want to break the contract?
One would have to retrieve one’s grains of salt from each pouch and return them. Of course, this is an impossible task.
Hence it was understood the Salt Covenant is for eternity; it symbolises loyalty and honesty of a friendship that cannot be broken. In ancient times, men would pay special attention to when and where they ate … certainly no passing of salt containers. Salt may also represent blood and life. It was envisioned as dangerous to give away salt to a stranger lest one put one’s life in the power of the enemy.
In Matthew 5:13 (Luke 14:34-35), Jesus said if we lose our saltiness, we are worthless; He is effectively saying we break our Salt Covenant with Him. When Christians break our covenants, the world no longer sees a covenant-keeping God. Instead they may see a religious social club, a powerless church without God.
The Psalmist once said: (Psalm 25:12 -14) Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.
'Great is thy faithfulness'.
YouTube video by Dutchforward.
But when did we Christians make Covenant with Lord Jesus ?
At the Holy Communion table in church where we remember our Lord, Jesus. There is salt in the bread as it is used to inhibit the yeast during breadmaking. Without salt, the yeast will go wild consuming all the sugar that may be available in the dough from enzymatic activity.
1 Corinthians 11:25-17: In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it,in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
Leonardo Da Vinci seems to cast Judas as a spiller of salt who abuses his friendship with Jesus. John 15:15: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
A final thought.
Many years ago, I was naïve to wonder why this week is called Passion Week … what is so passionate or romantic about Jesus' crucifixion? Then I realised that passion is the Latin word for suffering. Every person can be Jesus’ friend by believing in His resurrection at Easter.
Keep in touch, God bless you and your family with good health and an enjoyable Easter.
Best Regards,
Phil.
Do leave a comment below if you wish. Thank you.
Written by A/Prof.
Dr. Phil Chan [NUS].
Special thanks to Phil for taking time during his very busy teaching schedule to write for the blog. His dedication to both his university work and the Christian faith is remarkable as he takes much effort to achieve what he wants with confidence, seriousness and... humility.
Choir of King's College, CambridgeKevin Leighton / King's College Cambridge
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Dear Andrew,
Below is what I wrote for my church fellowship group. Have a great Easter Resurrection Celebration.
Best Regards,
Phil
On the recent Palm Sunday, Andrew sent me an old King’s College Cambridge Easter Choir video. Memories flooded my mind when I recalled many years ago that I used to attend weekly King’s College chapel service… always seated facing the beautiful coloured stained glasses depicting the 12 disciples of Jesus.
This recall led me to a conversation I had with a godly friend (who has leukemia of the blood … we often prayed together) sharing with me the Hebrew take on the story of The Good Samaritan featuring the Priest, Levite and the Samaritan. Being an evangelical Christian, I have no trouble identifying myself with the good Samaritan and being a sheep. To my surprise, my learned friend said that this story is also about the donkey as much as the Samaritan. He went on to share that Jesus chose a donkey to carry him into Jerusalem through the Golden gate (currently the sealed Eastern gate as prophesied in the Old Testament … many Christians who have visited Jerusalem would have noticed this gate). Sheep are not strong enough, hence not suitable to carry the Messiah.
The ox and the donkey are given Sabbath rest in the Old Testament but not the sheep … sheep do not work. In Hebrew thought, a good Jew would make sure that his donkey would not get too heavily loaded. Donkeys faithfully carry the Master’s load quietly, almost unnoticed and without fanfare. Westerners (or Greeks) consider sheep as silly and donkeys, stupid and stubborn. But in actuality, donkeys are dependable, peaceful and doing important work for the Messiah and His kingdom.
I think many of us have seen donkeys… interestingly one could see literally “a cross” on the backs and shoulders of most donkeys.
The carol writer of the beautiful ''O’ little Town of Bethlehem'', Phillips Brooks, once said Christians could pray for a stronger back, not a lighter load. We could have suspected the important role of the donkey but are not sure why. We may find this verse puzzling i.e. Ecclesiastes 1: 9, commonly recited by Rabbis: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon used donkeys on important occasions … not surprisingly, Jesus used a donkey too.
Wishing everyone a wonderful Passover and Easter celebration recognising Jesus’ conquest of sin and death ! Shalom !
ФL
P.S. may be of interest to note that Samaritan in Hebrew-Aramaic “Samerim” means “to guard” i.e. the Samaritans are the guardians of the Scriptures (Torah).
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