21 And this Zeezrom
began to question Amulek, saying: Will ye answer me a few questions which I
shall ask you? Now Zeezrom was a man who
was expert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which was
good; therefore, he said unto Amulek: Will ye answer the questions which I
shall put unto you?
22 And Amulek said
unto him: Yea, if it be according to the Spirit of the Lord, which is in me;
for I shall say nothing which is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord. And Zeezrom said unto him: Behold, here are
six onties of silver, and all these will I give thee if thou wilt deny the
existence of a Supreme Being.
23 Now Amulek said: O
thou child of hell, why tempt ye me?
Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?
24 Believest thou that
there is no God? I say unto you, Nay,
thou knowest that there is a God, but thou lovest that lucre more than him.
25 And now thou hast
lied before God unto me. Thou saidst
unto me—Behold these six onties, which are of great worth, I will give unto
thee—when thou hadst it in thy heart to retain them from me; and it was only
thy desire that I should deny the true and living God, that thou mightest have
cause to destroy me. And now behold, for
this great evil thou shalt have thy reward.
Alma 11:21-25
As I write this, 2,000 years ago the Savior’s body lied in
the tomb. Two days earlier, the Savior
and disciples ate the Last Supper.
Later, he entered Gethsemane and there suffered great pain. “And he
was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying,
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
strengthening him. And being in an agony
he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood [and
he sweat as it were great drops of blood...] falling down to the ground” (Luke
22:41-44). Here, he took upon Himself
the sins of all of us.
After He left the garden, He was betrayed by Judas and taken
by the chief priests.
Friday began the most important 72 hours in the entire
history (and future) of our world.
Christ faced a mock trial and was convicted and condemned to death.[1] He was taken before Pilot and sent to be
judged by Herod. “Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing”
(Luke 23:9).[2] He was mocked, placed in a royal robe, and
returned to Pilot (see Luke 9:11).
Pilot proclaimed Him innocent. He said he would “chastise Him and release Him” (Luke 9:16). As was the tradition at the Passover, one
prisoner could be released. He offered
to release the Savior or a criminal named Barabbas. They chose Barabbas and demanded Christ be
crucified (see Luke 9:16-23). Pilate
surrendered to the will of the crowd.
Christ was taken to Calvary and crucified Him between two
thieves. He willingly gave up His life
and died on the cross (see Luke 9:32-49).
Joseph of Arimathaea took His body and placed it in a tomb. This was the first day.
This day represents Christ’s second day in the tomb.
Returning now to the Book of Mormon. At the end of Chapter 10, we were introduced
to a lawyer named Zeezrom.[3] He was a very prominent and skilled attorney.[4] He approached Amulek and asked if he was
willing to answer a few questions. His
intent was to trap him into contradicting himself. Little did he know, his life would be changed
by this encounter.[5]
He approached Amulek and asked if he would be willing to
answer a few questions. His intent was
to trap him into contradicting himself.[6]
As we follow Zeezrom’s questions, we will see he has three
significant misunderstandings about the Gospel:
a difficulty understanding the concept that the Son of God would redeem
mankind from their sins, the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed
all men; and, in the end and all men should have eternal life, and a problem
not only with believing in the consequences of sin and the need for repentance,
but also with the fundamental doctrines of the resurrection and the judgment.[7]
Amulek responded he would, “if it be according to the Spirit of the Lord … I shall say nothing
which is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord.” Zeezrom’s first response was
an offer of a bribe. He offered him six
onties if he would deny the existence of God.
The onti had the most value in Mosiah’s monetary system.[8]
Amulek knew what Zeezrom was doing. He called him a child of hell.[9] He reminded him he would not give into such
temptation. He was able to see through
him. He proclaimed Zeezrom knew he knew
there is a God, but he loved money more.
He also told him, he knew he was lying.
He had no intent of giving him the bribe.
Before Zeezrom began, he offered
Amulek, a man of considerable wealth, a substantial bribe of six onties (Alma
11:22). This was a very large bribe—worth forty-two days of professional
labor—large enough that it might not have been taken seriously. Amulek
generously discounted Zeezrom's ploy as a disingenuous offer and did not accuse
Zeezrom of having made a serious attempt at bribery, but rather accused him of
lying (v. 25).[10]
[1] It
is the ultimate irony that those who wanted to stop Christ and His follower
ended up making Christ’s atonement and resurrection possible. Through their evil, we can all be forgiven of
our sins and return into the presence of God.
[2]
Herod is the only person we know to whom Christ refused to talk.
[3] And there was one among them whose name was
Zeezrom. Now he was the foremost to accuse
Amulek and Alma, he being one of the most expert among them, having much
business to do among the people. (Alma 10:31).
[4] “He
had associations, he had connections, he was making a lot of money, etc.—the
typical lawyer.”(see Semester
2, Lecture 48 – Alma 10–12 – Zeezrom and Lawyers, Maxwell Institute,
accessed April 4, 2015).
[5] And it came to pass that Zeezrom was
astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also knew concerning the blindness
of the minds, which he had caused among the people by his lying words; and his
soul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness of his own guilt; yea, he
began to be encircled about by the pains of hell. And it came to pass that he
began to cry unto the people, saying: Behold, I am guilty, and these men are
spotless before God. And he began to
plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him, saying: Art thou
also possessed with the devil? And they
spit upon him, and cast him out from among them, and also all those who
believed in the words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast
them out, and sent men to cast stones at them (Alma 14:6-7).
[6] Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all
their imaginations against me. Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all
their imaginations against me; The lips of those that rose up against me, and
their device against me all the day. (Lamentations 3:60-62).
[7] The
Temple in Time and Eternity – Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah,
Thomas R. Valetta, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 4, 2015.
[9] When
Elymas offered to buy the priesthood, Paul responded – But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood
them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is
called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full
of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness,
wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the
hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for
a season. And immediately there fell on
him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the
hand (Acts 13:8-11).
[10] The
Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 4, 2015.
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