Behold, Thy King Cometh

"Behold, Thy King Cometh" section covers Matthew 21-23; Mark 11; Luke 19-20, and John 20. (Come Follow Me - For Individuals and Families, Come Follow Me - For Primary, and Come Follow Me - For Sunday School)

Most notable stories covered:

• The fig tree that bore no fruit
• Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Tree
• Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the last week of his life
• Jesus cleansing the temple
• The hypocrites that wore phylacteries on their heads and arms to appear more righteous
• The Parable of the Two Sons
• The Parable of the Wicked Husbandman

While I loved all of these stories for different reasons, I am focusing on the two that affected me the most personally as I studied the scriptures.

Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Tree

I love the story of Zacchaeus because it's a story that probably everyone has experienced at some point in their lives, and it reminds us that we are loved. Everyone has at some point been made to feel rejected, alone, embarrassed because this is human nature - it happens in the schoolyard when two little children argue, it happens as we grow and develop relationships, and sometimes it happens when we do something that makes us feel unworthy in one way or another. Zacchaeus was hated by all because he was deemed a traitor for collecting taxes from his fellow Jews, yet he desperately wanted to be near and hear Jesus, so he climbed a tree. Jesus, with his pure light and love, looked at the heart of this man who had been rejected by others, and invited him to come down from the tree and come inside.

This powerful story reminded me of a talk by Elder Larry Echo Hawk in April 2018, "Even as Christ Forgives You, So Also Do Ye." His family grieved the loss of his brother, a promising young lawyer, who was killed by a nineteen year old drunk driver. Elder Hawk says of the day of the court hearing that sentenced the drunk driver to prison,

"After a moment, my parents and sister stood up and walked to the driver’s parents and offered them words of comfort and forgiveness. The men shook hands; the women held hands; there was deep sorrow and tears for all and a recognition that both families had suffered immensely. Mom, Dad, and Katy led the way with their quiet strength and courage and showed our family what forgiveness looks like.
That outreach of forgiveness in those moments caused my own heart to soften and opened a pathway to healing. Over time I learned how to have a forgiving heart. Only with the help of the Prince of Peace was my painful burden lifted. My heart will always miss Tommy and Joan, but forgiveness now allows me to remember them with unfettered joy. And I know we will be together again as a family."

This drunk driver did something that brought great wrath on him and had reason to be hated, but just as the Savior was able to look on the heart of Zacchaeus, Elder Hawk's family was able to look on the heart of this young driver's family.

Relating this to Primary children:

• Talk about a Christlike trait that you see in each family member, and about how the Lord looks upon the heart.
• In Singing Time or a larger group, draw names from a jar and when the child is called up, let them pick any song they would like to sing. Share one Christlike trait you see in that child. 
• I am a Child of God reminds us that we are all children of a loving Father in Heaven

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandman

In Matthew 21: 33-44, Jesus tells the parable of the wicked husbandman. In the story, a householder (a person who owns or rents a house) prepares a vineyard and a winepress, and rents it out to a husbandmen (a farmer). When it is time to collect rent, the landlord sends servants to collect from the farmer. In a horrifying sequence of events, the farmer doesn't just kill the servants to avoid paying rent - he has the servants beaten and stoned. The landlord then sends a new set of servants, and the farmer does the same thing. The landlord finally, he sends his son, thinking, they will respect the landlord's son. He says, "They will reverence my son."

This part of the story is so upsetting to me - that the landlord knowingly sent his son into danger, to a wicked farmer, trusting that the farmer would respect the son the way he should respect the landlord. The reason this part of this story upsets me is that the landlord took such a great risk, and in taking that risk, lost his precious, beloved son.

Now think of this story in the greater context - that the Lord of the vineyard (of the earth and its people) is Heavenly Father, and the precious Son is our beloved Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father first sent servants (prophets, teachers, and and missionaries), then he sent his Son (the Savior Jesus Christ), knowing that not everyone would love his servants or his Son. And the wicked husbandmen (priests and teachers of Israel) killed them all.

This story brought home to me the great love our Father in Heaven has for each one of us, that he knowingly sent his son, Jesus Christ, who also knew that he was coming to sacrifice himself - all so that each imperfect person here on the earth could be blessed by the atonement to seek eternal life. The parable is about the real life greatest sacrifice in the history of our world. It's upsetting, but it's also beautiful in that it's the true story of our Father's love for us, and our love for him. Verse 44 says, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." In relation to the parable - the vineyard will be taken from the wicked farmer and to someone else that is worthy and wants to reap the fruits of the vineyard. 

As I studied this gut wrenching parable, I also thought about the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard that I studied the previous week and how they relate - in both cases the Kingdom of Heaven is available for everyone.

Relating this to Primary children, with music:

• Love On Another - If we love our neighbors as ourselves, we would not want to do harm to them. Sing this song while passing a heart around the room. When the song stops, have whomever is holding the heart share one story they love about Jesus.