Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19

Matthew 26:47-27:66; Mark 14:43-15:39; Luke 22:47-23:56; John 18-19

THE BETRAYAL, ARREST, TRIAL & CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
FROM EACH PERSPECTIVE OF THOSE INVOLVED

Judas Iscariot (Betrayal)

Judas' name "Iscariot" meant "man of Kerioth."  "If Judas indeed came from the town of Kerioth, he was the only Judean among Jesus' disciples.  [The rest were Galilean.]  Judeans looked down upon the Galileans as crude frontier settlers.  This attitude may have alienated Judas Iscariot from the other disciples"  (J.I. Packer, M.C. Tenney, Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 529).

When Judas was in the Upper Room with the disciples, Jesus said to him, "That thou doest, do quickly, but beware of innocent blood.  [Then Judas went to betray him] for he turned away from him and was offended because of his words." (JST Mark 14:28, not included in the LDS Bible.  For more on the JST see a previous post.)

After the deed was done, Judas "repented himself and brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.  And they said, What is that to us?  See thou to it; thy sins be upon thee" (Matt. 27:3-5 including JST footnote).

To the Jews, "shedding innocent blood pollutes the land and brings 'bloodguilt' on the people" (Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 1908).

The Other Disciples (Abandonment)

"And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, which was a garden; and the disciples began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy, and to complain in their hearts, wondering if this be the Messiah.  And Jesus knowing their hearts, said to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.  And he taketh with him, Peter, and James, and John, and rebuked them, and said unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here and watch" (Mark 14:36-38, JST in the LDS Bible Appendix, p. 805). 

"From this passage we understand that the apostles had begun to question whether Jesus really was the Messiah.  We may imagine that the more Jesus suffered, the more the apostles doubted his messianic identity.  After all, the King-Messiah, in the minds of most Jews, was not supposed to suffer, not supposed to fail in restoring the great Davidic kingdom of ancient times, not supposed to collapse under the weight of spiritual distress nor retreat in the face of expectations of great demonstrations of power, signs, and wonders.  Obviously, the apostles did not fully comprehend the true and varied roles of the real Messiah" (Andrew C. Skinner, Gethsemane, p. 108)

When the mob came to get Jesus, the disciples were still with him.  They wanted to fight the officers, but Jesus said, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matt. 26:53).  A Roman legion was 6,000 infantry and 120 cavalry (Harper-Collins).  "But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" (Matt 26:54). 

The JST gives the impression that it was Christ's words "But the scriptures must be fulfilled" that terrified them and caused them to flee:  "And the disciples when they heard this saying, all forsook him and fled" (JST Mark 14:49-50, not in the LDS edition).  David H. Stern lists 20 Old Testament prophecies of the evil that would befall Christ, with their corresponding New Testament fulfillments (David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 79-80).  They realized there was nothing they could do to help him, no hope of saving him, and undoubtedly were terrified of their own fates, which had been prophecied by Christ during his Olivet Discourse, to be rather dire:  "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations [possibly referring to all the races of people in the area] for my name's sake" (Matt. 24:9).

Peter had promised the Lord that he would go with him "both into prison and to death" (Luke 22:33).  Peter did not entirely forsake his promise: he went with him, after a fashion, following him "afar off" (Luke 22:54).

Christ told Peter he had prayed for him that his faith would fail not, "and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke 22:32).  We might think that Peter had been converted by this point in time, being one of the first to follow Christ, and a member of the inner circle of three disciples who had been with him on the Mount of Transfiguration, but Peter had not yet received the baptism of fire that would convert him into a new man.  The Gift of the Holy Ghost was not given him until after Christ's death.  (See a previous post for more on this.)  Without the Gift of the Holy Ghost, he was not strong enough to withstand his fear, but after he received it, his faith became unshakeable.  (See Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, Vol. 4, p. 20.)

The Chief Priests and Elders (Jewish Trials)

"Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees (temple guards), cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?  They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus saith unto them, I am he.  And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground" (John 18:4-6).

Why were the men so shocked that they fell backwards?  Wasn't he just identifying himself as "Jesus of Nazareth," the person they were seeking?  No.  The King James Bible Translators took great care to be precise and convey the exact meaning from the original language.  At times, they added a word to make the meaning clearer, and whenever they did this, they italicized the word, so the reader would know it was not in the original text.  (For more on the King James Version, see a previous post.)  When we remove their italicized word here, we understand why the officers were so appalled:  Jesus was not saying, "I am he, Jesus of Nazareth," he was saying "I Am," which was one name for the God of the Old Testament, Jehovah.  (Remember, when Moses asked who he should say sent him to free the enslaved Hebrews, he was told, "I Am that I Am" [Exo. 3:14].)

He repeated the phrase immediately, in case anybody missed it (v. 8), thus inflaming the mob.  This cemented their desire to have him killed, and they sought a judgment against him that would deliver that end.

"The primary object of the Hebrew judicial system was to render the conviction of an innocent person impossible" (James E. Talmadge, Jesus the Christ, p. 647).  But the chief priests and elders broke just about every law in the book to convict Christ during the night trial recorded by in Matthew 26 and Mark 14.  Here are a few:

• An arrest at night was illegal.
• An arrest by treachery (using an accomplice such as Judas) was illegal.
• A trial before a single judge (such as Caiaphas) was illegal.
• A trial at night was illegal.  The Sanhedrin itself was only allowed to convene court during certain hours of the day, after morning devotional.
• The Sanhedrin had not the power to originate the charges, only to judge after a case was brought to them.
• A trial during Passover or on the eve of the Sabbath was illegal.
• A trial resulting in the sentence of death could not take place in only one day.
• Impartiality on the part of the judges was required.  Here the Sanhedrin was serving as both prosecutor and judge.
• The charge of blasphemy, the focus of his entire conviction, was extremely loosely used.  Blasphemy was actually defined as cursing God's name, which Christ never did.
• There must be two or more witnesses against the defendant, but the Sanhedrin "sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; but found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none [that witnessed his charge of blasphemy].  At the last came two false witnesses."  And all they testified that Christ had said was, "I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days." (Matt. 26:59-61)  Or according to Mark, "many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together" (Mark 14:56).
• It was illegal to use a man's confession of his own guilt as evidence against him.  Jesus knew this and "held his peace" when asked if he was God, until, according to Matthew, the high priest "adjured" him "by the living God." (Matt. 26:63).  In respect for the position of high priest, he finally answered, "I Am" (Mark 14:62, see also Matt. 26:64).  Jesus' conviction, therefore, was based solely upon his own testimony, his own "admission of guilt" that he was the Christ (Mark 14:62).  "Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, 'What need we any further witnesses?'" (Mark 14:63).  Well, yes, according to their own law, they most certainly did need further witnesses!

(James E. Talmadge, Jesus the Christ, p. 645-648; also Harper-Collins Study Bible)

Pilate (Trial)

After the illegal nighttime trial, it appears that there was a formal trial before the Sanhedrin, although the details are uncertain.  In any case, following the Jewish trial, Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor over the province of Judea.  Pilate asked for the charge: "What accusation bring ye against this man?" (John 18:28-29).  They answered that there certainly was a good one: "If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee" (v. 30).  Pilate replied, "You're Hebrews, he's a Hebrew, this is a Hebrew offence--Take him and judge him according to your Hebrew laws."  (See v. 31.)  But the Jewish leaders did not have the legal power to put him to death, which was what they wanted, so they needed the conviction and sentence of a Roman judge.

Their own conviction of Jesus, under Hebrew law, was that he had committed blasphemy.  But the Romans couldn't care less about that, so the Jews brought three false charges against him, tailor-made to incense a Roman leader:

1. "perverting the nation" or forming a revolt
2. "forbidding to give tribute to Caesar" or sedition
3. "saying that he himself is Christ a King" (Luke 23:2).  A Hebrew could be king--Herod, for example--but must be appointed by the Romans (Harper-Collins).

When Pilate asked Christ about the accusation, he believed his reply that his kingdom was not of this world.  As Jesus said, "If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight [for takeover with me]" (John 18:36).  And, indeed, there was no evidence of his forming a revolution since nobody in the world, at the present moment, seemed to be on his side.  Even when his disciples tried to fight the temple officers who took him from Gethsemane, Jesus had stopped them.

None of the chief priests or elders were personally present for this examination by Herod because they didn't want to "defile" themselves by entering a Gentile's home during the Passover.  So Pilate had to go back and forth between Christ and the Jewish mob outside.

Pilate found no criminal offense in him (John 18:38; Luke 23:4), but this inflamed the crowd (Luke 23:5).  So Pilate sent him to Herod, the Hebrew political leader (Luke 23:6-7) who was in town for the Passover.  Herod had sought unsuccessfully for the title "King of the Jews" from the Romans for himself.  Christ wouldn't answer a word to Herod to appease his curiousity, so he finally gave up, mocked him with his soldiers, and sent him back to Pilate.

Pilate called together the accusers so they could personally hear his verdict, "not guilty" (Luke 23:13-16).  The mob was infuriated to hear this declaration, and they scared Pilate.  He was a serious fence-sitter, afraid of both sides of the situation.  He believed Christ innocent, and possibly even had a small testimony of his holiness.  He was also afraid of convicting him because of a warning his wife had received in a dream (Matt. 27:19).  He knew the accusation was totally false (Matt. 27:18).

But, on the other hand, he was afraid of the Jews and they were the more immediate danger.  He had only been in office a short while and in that time had committed many blunders and acts of violence and offence against them.  The Roman government had a policy to be generally tolerant of occupied nations, and Pilate had not conformed to this.  Therefore, petitions had been previously sent to the Roman emporer by the Jews, including four of the Herodian princes, to have Pilate removed from office.  "He realized that his tenure was insecure, and he dreaded exposure.  Such wrongs had he wrought that when he would have done good, he was deterred through cowardly fear of the accusing past" (James E. Talmadge, Jesus the Christ, p. 649).

It was a Jewish tradition that at Passover their governor could release one prisoner of their choice (Matt: 27:15; Mark 15:6; Luke 23:17; John 18:39). So Pilate tried to get out of this sticky situation by using their own custom to give the Jews a preposterous choice: letting them choose between Christ who was totally innocent and hadn't harmed a soul or been convicted of a crime, and Barrabas who was a murder involved in insurrection with no doubt as to his guilt.  Had they chosen Christ, they would have solved Pilate's problem, but they were so black of heart, they chose Barrabas.

Pilate said then, "What should I do with Jesus?  He's innocent."  "But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him" (Luke 23:21).  "The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God" (John 19:7).

Although one of the hymns of the Passover sung that very week proclaimed to God, "We have no God but you" (Harper-Collins), when Pilate said, "Shall I crucify your King?" the chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15).

Crucifixion was a horrible, torturous death, as you can imagine.  In fact, death by crucifixion sometimes took as long as nine days (Illustrated Manners & Customs, p. 520).  Therefore, the Romans would weaken the person to make death quicker by scourging them, and also requiring them to carry their own cross, but it was only the crossbar that they carried: the stakes were permanently in place, as we will later see in a video (Harper-Collins).

It was customary to put the crime of the convict up on his cross as a deterrent to others (Harper-Collins).  It was unusual, however, to put it above the person on his cross (Matt: 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19-20).  Pilate went to the extra care to post Christ's charge in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, so that everyone could read it.  The priests wanted the sign changed to read, "He said he was the King of the Jews," but Pilate, for once, stood up for his own belief and refused to change it.  So the charge symbolically became reversed, plainly convicting the Hebrews of killing their own king, "The King of Jews."

The Roman Soldiers

The soldiers then cast lots for his clothing (John 19:23-24).  The outer "garment" was a single long piece of cloth, which could be useful for other things if cut into pieces.  The "coat" was an ankle-length tunic, T-shaped, and woven in one piece--much more useful untorn (Harper-Collins).

"Then said Jesus, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (meaning the soldiers who crucified him)" (Luke 23:34 with JST footnote).  Jesus many times accused the Jews of knowing exactly what they were doing.  But later, when Jesus died and the earth reacted in commotion "the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt. 27:54; also Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47-48).  (Although, we shall see a couple of lessons from  now, that even the Jews who called for Christ's crucifixion were offered his mercy.)

The Other Convicts

Jesus was hung between two thieves.  Matthew and Mark report that both of them reviled him, but Luke writes that one of them defended him (Matt 27:44; Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39-43).  So which was it?  Once again, the JST clarifies, although it is not found in the LDS edition:  All three in the JST agree with Luke's account. 

Friends of Jesus (Burial)

Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin who had been a follower of Christ, "but secretly for fear of the Jews." He had the power because of his position to approach Pilate and ask for the body of Christ (Matt. 27:57-58; Mark 15:42-43; Luke 23:50-52; John 19:38)

Nicodemus, also a member of the Sanhedrin and secret believer in Christ "brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight" (John 19:39).  Myrrh is a dried resin from a tree, used as medicine, perfume, and in embalming the dead.  "So valuable has it been at times in ancient history that it has been equal in weight value to gold" (Wikipedia).  Aloe was an aromatic wood from a tree, not the succulent plant we refer to as aloe vera today.  Portions of the trunk heavily saturated with resinous substances where the wood has been attacked by fungi are particularly valuable.  It was used for perfume and incense.  (Here are 2 sources on that: (1), (2).)  Both myrrh and aloe would have been in powdered form (Harper-Collins). 

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, these substances of great value in healing, beautifying, and staving off the decay of a dead body are best created as a reaction to a wound in the tree, just as Christ's Atonement, the greatest source of healing, sanctifying, and overcoming death was created through his immense suffering and injury in the Garden and on the tree.  The amount Nicodemus brought was the equivalent of 75 lbs. today--much, much more than was necessary for a burial (Harper-Collins).  It was a gift of great honor, respect, and love.

Joseph offered a sepulchre he owned as a burial place for Christ.  It was unusual in that it had never been used before (John 19:42).  In a sepulchre, there was a niche or alcove cut in the wall with a shelf for the body to lie on.  Sepulchres were difficult to come by and were often reused, the bones from the previous occupant being put in a hole in the floor (Illustrated Manners and Customs, p. 521).  Christ's sepulchre had no one else's remains in the floor.

The Jewish Nation (Common People)

Pilate had literally washed his hands of the business, an action which decreased his legal liability, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see that ye do nothing to him.' Then answered all the people [the word translated here means more than just the mob of chief priests and elders, but the nation as a whole according to Harper-Collins] and said, 'His blood be on us, and on our children'" (Matt. 27:24, JST in italics, not included in the LDS edition).

This was a terrible cry which was, thirty years later, answered upon their heads and the heads of their children as, in that very spot, 3,600 Jews were victims of the fury of Rome.  Many were scourged and crucified right there, including the nobles, the chief priests and elders.  In the words of the historian Edersheim, "A few years more, and hundreds of crosses bore Jewish mangled bodies within sight of Jerusalem.  And still have these wanderers seemed to bear, from century to century, and from land to land, that burden of blood;  and still does it seem to weigh on them and their children" (Talmadge, Jesus the Christ, p. 648).

However, it is good to remember that Jesus "died for all, not just for Jews: the righteous Messiah died for everyone who is unrighteous, which is to say, for everyone.  Everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, is a sinner.  By sinning, everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, killed him" (David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 83).  We all may not have been there crying, "Crucify him," but "he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities" (Isa. 53:5) and we all contributed to the agony which he suffered in order that we might be healed.

As he died, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, Father, it is finished, thy will is done, yielded up the ghost" (Matt. 27:50, JST in italics, not in the LDS edition). 

And here comes the triumphal moment, the beginning of the happy ending which we will study and rejoice in during our next lesson:  "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matt. 27:51).  This veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.  Only the high priest was allowed to pass through the veil into the Holy of Holies, and only once a year, during the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), to symbolically approach God and offer an atonement for his sins and the sins of the people.  Of course, this was a type of Christ.  Once Christ had died and offered the real Atonement, the veil was destroyed, symbolizing that now anyone could approach God himself and seek his own Atonement through the merits of Christ (David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 84).

VIDEO PRESENTATION

You may want to end the class with the last 8-9 minutes of the poignant video "To This End Was I Born" from the Church's New Testament Video Presentations.  Begin the video or DVD at the spot where the disciples are singing the hymn at the end of the Last Supper, and end it after the stone is rolled over the sepulchre and the picture fades to black.  (The complete video segment is 16 minutes long.)

If you would like a different and thought-provoking ending to the movie, you can turn on a recording of the American spiritual "Were You There?" on a separate CD or mp3 player while fading out the sound on the video.  Do this at the point in the video when Christ is nearly at the top of the cross and the words will align very nicely with the images if you use a version of the song that is just over 3 minutes long.  It is on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's album "O Divine Redeemer" and the single mp3 is also available from i-Tunes for 99 cents.  Another gorgeous version (my favorite) is on the album "My Soul Delighteth: The Best of the Gibbons Family," produced by Deseret Book several years ago, and still available from Amazon.com, either new or used.  (The entire album is really beautiful and peaceful and worth the purchase price in my opinion.) 

Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22

Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46

Imagine standing at the bottom of a great canyon looking up at the cliff above.  The cliff is so high that you cannot even see the top.  Imagine that the people you love the most (your parents, grandparents, spouse, children...) are at the top of this cliff, and the only way that you will ever see them again is if you climb this cliff.  In fact, your very life depends upon getting to the top of the cliff.  At the bottom is a swiftly moving, muddy river, full of treacherous rapids, ready to sweep you away if you step away from the narrow bank, or if you fall from your climb.

On the other hand, you know that at the top of the cliff is not only the great joy of the reunion with your loved ones, but the most beautiful view imaginable, and the most glorious and happy existence.

Unfortunately, you are no climber.  You have never tackled even a small hill before, but now there is this huge rock face before you, and no way out but up.  You wonder how you ever got in such a predicament.  As you look around, however, you see that there are steps, fingerholds and toeholds, cut into the rock in a stairway as steep as a ladder going straight up.

So you put your hand in one crack, and you wedge your toes in another, and you start to push yourself up.  You climb and climb with all your might.  The rocks are slippery, though, and your hands get scraped and sore from the rocks, sometimes you can't see the next handhold, and then you start to slip.  Suddenly you realize that you are falling down, down, down, scraping all along the cliff side as you tumble down, and soon you will be in a bloody heap at the bottom.

OUR TERRIFYING FALLEN EXISTENCE

(Draw the following diagram and add to it as the lesson progresses.)

Here is the top of the cliff.  Here is where you started.  Here is the raging river.  Here is the climbing path.

What is this diagram?  It is the plan of salvation.

"The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam" (Mosiah 3:19).  Ever since we entered this mortal existence, we have found ourselves at the bottom of this cliff, inches away from the raging river.

As the scene stands, there is absolutely no way to succeed.  Every person who tries to climb this pathway is going to slip, or get tired, or suffer an injury, or be pulled down by someone else who is falling, or run out of handholds partway up, and they will all, every one, land in a broken heap at the bottom and be swept away to their deaths by the muddy, ferocious river.

That's not a very nice story, is it?  Fortunately, there is something missing from this picture.  And this brings us to the scriptures.

SOMEONE IS THERE TO SAVE US

"And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, which was a garden; and the disciples began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy, and to complain in their hearts, wondering if this be the Messiah.  And Jesus knowing their hearts, said to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.  And he taketh with him, Peter, and James, and John, and rebuked them, and said unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here and watch" (Mark 14:36-38 JST, p. 805 in the LDS Bible Appendix).

"And he went forward a little and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him" (Mark 14:35).  In the original language "prayed" here implies a repeated action; he begged several times (KBYU, "Our Savior in the Gospels" televised scripture discussions with BYU religion professors).

"And he said, Abba, Father..."  "Abba (Aramaic), a child's intimate address to its Father" (Harper-Collins Study Bible).  In the U.S., the equivalent would be "Daddy."

"...all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt" (Mark 14:36).

"If...the Messiah and God the Father are one, how could their wills ever differ?  ...As a human being [Jesus] was in every respect...tempted just as we are, the only difference being that he did not sin.  'Even though he was the Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings.'  It was as a human being, not as God, that he experienced the process of learning to conform his will to his Father's will, since as God, who is omniscient, he did not need to 'learn.'" (David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 145-146)

Luke's version validates the idea that Jesus prayed repeatedly to have this trial removed from him.  "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 falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:42-44).

But Christ completed the trial, he conquered the foe!  "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink--Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men" (D&C 19:16-19).

BACK TO THE FALL

So back to our cliff and our fall down, down, down, and our bloody hands and kness, and our bumps and bruises, and the certain death below.  What could save us from this fate?

Suppose when you started the climb, you strapped on a harness.

And then suppose you clipped it with a carabiner onto a sturdy rope which was being held most securely by someone incredibly strong at the top of the cliff who was watching your every move.  Then what would happen when your fingers slipped, or if the climb took more energy than you had, or if you had received an injury down by the river before you even started that made it impossible for you to climb well, or if you reached a point where you couldn't find a handhold?  Would you fall to certain death?  Never!  Not a chance!  As long as you kept your harness on and clipped to that rope, you could get right back on the rock.  That person at the top of the cliff could even pull you up a little higher to a good resting spot that you couldn't have reached yourself, and then you could get more strength to keep going.

Who is that person at the top?  Jesus Christ, our Savior, of course!  He is the only one who made it to the top of the hill.  It was unbelievably hard for him.  He was bruised and bloody and broken and exhausted and filled with terrible grief and loneliness as he made this awful climb all by himself in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross of Calvary.  It was a terrible task, more terrible than we can ever imagine, and he had no rope.  But he did it, and who did he do it for?  You and me.

(Add to the diagram, but leave the scripture off until it comes up a little bit later in the lesson.)

The first step of our ascent is baptism.  As we make that step, we clip on the harness, the keeping of our covenants.  The river is the evils of the world, the wiles of Satan, the fallen existence in which we live.  The handholds and footholds on the cliff are the keeping of commandments, endurance of trials, efforts to become like Christ, following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  The rope which Christ holds out to us is the power of his Atonement, also known as Grace.

SAVED BY GRACE, OR SAVED BY WORKS?

When I was at a weeklong piano institute once, I was lined up with a born-again Christian roommate.  She came to me late one night and said, "You are a Mormon, aren't you?"  I said yes.  She said that her grandmother was a Mormon.  Her grandmother was the best person she knew in the whole world, the kindest, and the most Christ-like, yet once when she asked her grandmother whether she thought she was going to heaven, her grandmother said, "I don't know."  She just couldn't believe that her grandma, being so good, did not know whether she qualified to go to heaven!  She asked me why our religion would cause her grandmother to be uncertain about her salvation.

I understood the grandmother completely--I had felt exactly that way my whole life!  Fortunately, I had just recently read Stephen E. Robinson's Ensign article, "Believing Christ," which has since been expanded into a book.  The article had straightened out my understanding of the plan of salvation, and I was able to explain it to her.  I only wished I could have explained it to her grandmother.

The problem was that her grandmother (along with many of us) thought she had to climb that cliff all by herself.  She thought she had to do everything right, and never make a mistake, and then she might barely crawl up over the top.  But every time she came across an inadequacy or a mistake, the possibility seemed less likely.  She didn't understand what it meant to have faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

My roommate, however, had the opposite problem.  She thought that all you had to do was grab onto that rope, declare Christ as your Savior, and he would pull you all the way with no other effort of your own.

Each of them was halfway right.  It is "by grace we are saved after all we can do" (2 Ne. 25:23).  (Add the scripture to the diagram.)

A MAGNIFICENT COMBINATION

Question #1--What would be wrong with a plan in which we just climb and be good and do our best without the rope? 

We'll never make it!

"And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent [or all-powerful]" (Mosiah 3:17).

The steps do not go all the way to the top for us.  No matter how strong we are, no matter how righteous we are, no matter how hard we try, we can never get to the top on our own merits.

Question #2--What would be wrong with a plan in which we just accept Christ as our Savior, grab onto the rope, and let him pull us all the way to the top?

What happens to your legs when you climb?  They get stronger.

What happens to your heart when you try your very hardest?  It expands.

What happens when you hike instead of ride?  You have all kinds of wonderful experiences and you see all kinds of wonderful things.

What happens when you try every day to climb like Christ climbed and live like he lived and love like he loved?  You become more like him.

If you were just "beamed up," like on the old TV series "Star Trek," there would not be much point in the journey, would there?

To get to know Christ through prayer and scripture study and repentance and belief and trust and the testimony of the Holy Ghost while you obey the commandments and keep your covenants and serve your neighbors--That is how you use the rope and the stair.

So, to validate these concepts, let's turn to the scriptures and remind ourselves of the definition of Eternal Life.  "...to believe in [Jesus Christ]..." (take hold of the rope) "...and to endure to the end..." (keep climbing the ladder) "...which is Eternal Life" (2 Ne. 33:4).


THE SCOPE OF THE ATONEMENT

How far does the power of the Atonement extend?

Some people have been hurt by someone at the bottom of the cliff who should have been helping them.  Maybe even their parents mistreated them.  Now they are so damaged that they can hardly climb at all, and none of it is really their fault.  Is there any hope for them?

Some people are trying their best, but they just keep slipping up.  Each day they think they will be kind and loving and patient and exercise self-control, and every day they mess up again and blow up at their family members, or gossip about their neighbors, or treat their coworkers meanly, or return to their addiction.  Is there any hope for them?

Some people have gotten sick or injured partway up the stair, or maybe they were born with a defect.  Maybe they got cancer or they were hurt in a terrible car wreck or they have been afflicted by a mental illness, and now they are so sad and discouraged and overwhelmed, they cannot even see the next step.  Is there any hope for them?

Some people had good, kind parents, and family home evening, and scripture study every day, and partway up the path, they just got distracted by something down below and decided they would rather go swimming in the river or play on the beach than climb the cliff.  Is there any hope for them?

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

"Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith:  Come unto me all ye ends of the earth..." (2 Ne. 26:25).

OTHER KINDS OF SORROWS

"Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows...and with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:4-5).

There are many types of sorrow.  It is wonderful that, through the Atonement, we can be forgiven of the stupid sins we commit, but the Atonement wipes away other types of tears, too.  Elder Bruce C. Hafen in his marvelous article, "Beauty For Ashes," in the April 1990 Ensign, wrote that "the degree of our personal fault for bad things that happen in our lives [is on] a continuum ranging from sin to adversity; the degree of our fault dropping from high at one end of the spectrum to zero at the other."

Elder Hafen writes, "Bitterness may taste the same, whatever its source, and it can destroy our peace, break our hearts, and separate us from God."

The purpose of the Atonement is to reunite us with God.  So which of these sorrows can the Atonement compensate for?  Every one of them!  (Circle the whole chart.)  Elder Hafen continues, "[The Atonement] is the healing power not only for sin, but also for carelessness, inadequacy, and all mortal bitterness.  The Atonement is not just for sinners."

WE ALL CAN REACH THE TOP

Jesus Christ can and will save anyone who will leave the world at the bottom of the cliff, get baptized, and begin the climb of obedience and covenant-keeping the best they can, and repent and pray and love with all their hearts and conform their will to his and rely on the rope of the Atonement to help them and lift them each and every step of the way. 

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philip. 4:13).

"Hast thou not known?  Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?  There is no searching of his understanding.  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:  But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:28-31).

You may want to close the lesson with a soloist or the class singing "I Stand All Amazed" or "Come Unto Jesus."

Luke 22; John 13-15

Luke 22:1-38; John 13-15

ATTENTION ACTIVITY

(If you have access to rectangular children's blocks, or wooden 2x4's that are each about 6 inches in length, you can build this pyramid.  If not, you can draw it on the board.)

Which block is the most important? 

(Knock off the top block and nothing happens.  Then rebuild or redraw the pyramid, inverted.)

Which block is the most important now?

(Flick off the same block--now on the bottom--and the whole pyramid collapses.)

This is what happens when the greatest becomes the least.  His actual importance (or influence) becomes much greater.  This was the main topic of Christ's last counsel to his Apostles during his last week on the earth.

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

Jesus wanted to eat the Passover Feast with his disciples, his last meal with them before he died.  Apparently none of them had a safe place for this in the City of Jerusalem, which was now dangerous for Christ.  So Peter and John asked, "Where wilt thou that we prepare?  And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.  And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?  And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready" (Luke 22:9-12).  The disciples did as they were told and very easily discerned who they should ask, even in the great city bustling with Passover pilgrims, because a man bearing a pitcher of water was a highly unusual sight. (Please check out Michaela Stephen's great insight on this in the comments below the post.)

As they sat to eat, there was a dispute among the disciples about who was the greatest among them (Luke 22:24).  Possibly this was because of the traditional seating arrangements at the Passover table.  Jesus was the honored guest and so it would have been appropriate for the next in authority to sit next to him. 

It seems a petty deal for the Apostles of the Lord to worry about, but maybe two considerations make it seem not quite so silly.  One is that Jesus was continually telling them that he would be dying, and he had just barely restated that prophecy.  Naturally they would have wondered then, who would be the leader when he left?  The other consideration is that the Apostles likely were not the aged, wizened, bearded men picture in all the paintings.  "Most lived into the third and fourth quarter of the century [so] they must have been only teenagers when they first took up Christ's call" (Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 525).  The New Testament often depicts them as being impetuous--Peter and John especially--so they were likely very young and inexperienced.

CHRIST'S VISUAL/VERBAL/TACTILE ANSWER

"[Jesus] said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.  But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.  For whether is greater [in the eyes of the world], he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth?  Is not he that sitteth at meat?  but I am among you as he that serveth" (Luke 22:25-27).

Christ actually had been trying to teach this to his disciples on many occasions before.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all recorded him saying that one must become as a little child in order to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:32; 18:1-4; Mark 9:33-36; Luke 9:46-48).  And all four gospel writers record him telling them to find their lives by losing them in service (Matt. 10:39; 16:25-27; Luke 9:24; 17:33; Mark 8:35; John 12:25), but apparently it hadn't quite stuck.  So this time he added a terrific visual, tactile aid they could not forget.

It is helpful to understand the differences between the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and the Gospel of John.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all wrote their books about Jesus' ministry before John wrote his.  When John was writing, much later, he very likely had the other three texts in front of him as a reference.  Therefore he usually did not write the same details they wrote, but filled in things he noticed were missing, particularly things that were important for the members of the Church to understand.  (See Bible Dictionary, "Harmony of the Gospels" for a chart that illustrates this.)  This is one of these occasions. 

And this is what John wrote:

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end"  (John 13:1).

"He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.  After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded" (John 13:4-5).

This was possibly a new ordinance Christ was introducing to his disciples, probably related to some of our temple ordinances today, although not a lot of detail is given about that.  (It is alluded to in the JST Appendix to the Bible, p. 809, in the John 13:8-10 entry.)  But even if it was a ceremonial washing, he did not put on high-priestly robes.  Instead he stripped himself down to take on the appearance of a Roman slave.  The Jews were so modest that what they called "naked" was to have one's elbows and knees showing, so by this shocking state of un-dress, Jesus got the Apostles' attention in a way they would not soon forget.  His actions actually caused Peter to recoil and protest, "Thou shalt never wash my feet" (John 13:8).  Jesus then explained that he was offering a spiritual cleansing (vs. 8-11), and that he was trying to teach them a vital lesson.

"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?  Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them"  (John 13:12-17).

CHRIST'S MODEL OF HIERARCHY

Jesus clearly illustrated to them that God, the greatest of all, is a servant, not a boss.  And it's true:  He issues commandments for our happiness, but he never forces us to do anything.  Yet he is always there ready to help us when we ask.

Church positions, such as theirs or ours or anybody else's, are opportunities to practice this type of service.  Our roles in our families, in our neighborhoods, and even in our workplaces also give us these opportunities.  What we might consider the "highest" position in a ward is the bishop, right?  But the Greek word from which the word bishop came means literally, "chief slave."

Christ was warning us that we must not turn a service position into a status position.

(Credit for this model goes to Logan Institute teacher, Rhett James.)

During the years that my older children were in elementary school, we had a school secretary and a school custodian who were both nearing retirement.  The secretary was famous for refusing to help unless it was part of her job.  The parents, students and even teachers learned to tiptoe around her. 

The custodian, however, contributed to every activity.  If we were setting up chairs for the PTA, Gary put down his broom and took over.  If we had a meeting after school, he stayed and helped with the setup.  If we couldn't get the microphone to work, he'd fiddle with it until it did.  When one of my children was falsely accused of pulling the fire alarm, he jumped to his defense because he knew the children well enough to know that although this child might have enjoyed pulling the fire alarm, he wouldn't have lied about it if he had.  He loved the kids, he loved the teachers, and he loved the parents.  He was everywhere, offering his service.  If we needed help with anything, we could rely upon Gary and we could know that he would never be annoyed by our asking.

Guess which one we sorely missed when they both retired?  It was a little like the collapsing inverted pyramid when the custodian left.

CHRIST AS THE LEAST

Christ was the greatest of all who ever lived on earth, yet he offered himself as the servant to every single one of them.  He lived his ministry upon the earth as a service, healing, blessing and teaching great truths, and then he gave his great sacrifice, the Atonement, which allows every one of us the opportunity to be resurrected, to repent, and to live with and become like God.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Jesus commanded his disciples to follow this model.  "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35).

He encouraged his Apostles by telling them the immediate result, while still here on earth, of following his model of love and service:  "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (John 15:10).

Wait a minute!  Does God only love us when we keep his commandments?  Isn't his love unconditional?

The answer is that we are always loved, but we can only abide or live in that love, i.e. feel its effects in our lives and character, when we are obedient to the commandments.  If we don't keep his commandments, we are "beyond feeling"--we don't experience the comfort of his love even though it is there.

"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11).  If we abide in God's love, our joy will be full.  We abide in God's love by keeping his commandments.  And what are the commandments? "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:12-13).

Our lives will be calmer, happier, less stressful, more joyful, if we can only love God and our fellow man well and in every situation.  We can die for our friends as Christ did, or we can live for our friends, as John "The Beloved" is still doing--either way we are laying down our life for them.  Dying seems like the ultimate sacrifice (and in Christ's case that is actually true), but living for your friends has its own challenges in that you have to keep doing it again, day after day, placing yourself at the bottom of the pyramid.

USING THE SACRAMENT TO SANCTIFY OURSELVES

At the Last Supper, Christ introduced the sacrament, as his "parting gift," something significant with which to remember him.  (Credit goes to my friend LeAnn Whitesides for that idea.)  Michael Wilcox also looks on it as an opportunity to "breathe heavenly air" when we experience that "longing for home" mentioned in the hymn "More Holiness Give Me" (Of These Emblems: Coming Closer to Christ through the Sacrament, p.5).

"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19-20).

In D&C 27:2 we are given a clarification:  "[It is to remember] my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins."

"This verse indicates the two main things Christ did for us that we are to remember.  Jesus laid down His body that He might take it up again and thus bring to us all the gift of the Resurrection.  He also shed His blood that we might receive a remission of our sins through the compassion and mercy of the Atonement...As we partake of the sacrament we are invited to ponder, receive hope, and be comforted by the twin thoughts of Christ's dual victory over the two deaths...The sacrament is a memorial of both gratitude and hope" (Wilcox, p. 4-10).  The broken bread can remind us of the broken flesh of his body, which brought us the hope of resurrection.  The water can remind us of the blood which flowed from every pore as he suffered for our sins, offering us the hope of peace through repentance in this life and sanctification for Eternal Life.

We can also use the sacrament as a weekly reminder to ponder Christ's model of serving with love and consider how we could better use it in our lives this very week, this very day, this very hour.  Every few minutes of our day we are given the opportunity to choose between service or status.  With every opportunity we use to fit ourselves into the service position, we will become just a little more like Christ.

THE PROMISE TO RETURN

In Chapter 14 of John, Jesus helped to prepare his Apostles for his coming death by letting them know He would not be gone for good, and that, in the meantime his influence would remain. 

Note: We'll discuss the gift of the Comforter in more depth with the next lesson.) 

First he said, "Let not your heart be troubled...I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know" (John 14:1-4)

Then he said, "I will not leave you comfortless:  I will come to you" (John 14:18).

And then, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21).

And, "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23).

And finally the grand promise, which circles back to the first, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"  (John 14:27).

What he was telling them is a great and marvelous truth that is a comfort to us as well:  the struggling Kingdom of God on earth would be (and is now) linked with the Kingdom of God in Heaven.  We are never separated from the love of Christ.  (See Romans 8:35-39.)  Through our Christ-like service to all around us, and through our weekly sanctification at the sacrament table, we draw our earthly existence closer to heaven.


Elder Holland gave a beautiful conference address on the sacrament with very practical ways to remember Christ in October 1995.  Read it here.

The New Testament: Overview of the Four Gospels

Isaiah 61:1-3; JST Luke 3:4-11; John 1:1-14; 20:31

THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST

Isaiah 61:1-3 is such a beautiful scripture, it begs to be read aloud over and over!  These verses, understood, can change one's understanding of the Atonement, and are a great passage to read and ponder during the sacrament.  Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote a wonderful treatise on it entitled "Beauty for Ashes" which you can read here.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our god; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty [to replace] ashes, the oil of joy [to replace] mourning, the garment of praise [to replace] the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

Christ read this scripture in the synagogue to proclaim himself the Messiah, "but stopped short so that he could say, 'Today as you heard it read, this passage of [Scripture] (up to but not including the day of vengeance) was fulfilled,' for at his first coming he healed and brought Good News of the Kingdom and salvation; it was not his time to take vengeance or judge" (Stern).  "And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.  And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke 4:20-21)

Notice each of the things Christ has been anointed to do, each marked by the word "to."  Which of these things do you need in your life?

1. to preach good tidings unto the meek
2. to bind up the broken-hearted
3. to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound
4. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
5. and [to proclaim] the day of vengeance of our God
6. to comfort all they that mourn
7. to give [or exchange] to [those that mourn in Zion] beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

The next part of the reading assignment is JST Luke 3:4-11, and it also contains a long list of gifts that Christ has brought, each also marked by the word "to:"

1. to take away the sins of the world
2. to bring salvation unto the heathen nations
3. to gather together those who are lost, who are of the sheepfold of Israel
4. to prepare the way, and make possible the preaching of the gospel unto the Gentiles
5. to be a light unto all who sit in darkness, unto the uttermost parts of the earth
6. to bring to pass the resurrection from the dead
7. to ascend up on high, to dwell on the right hand of the Father
8. to administer justice unto all
9. to come down in judgment upon all
10. to convince all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds.

The Atonement is for the washing away of sins, clearly, and for the resurrection of the dead, obviously, but these scriptures show that it is so much more than that, and very applicable and helpful to our everyday problems and challenges.

The third scripture in the reading assignment is John 1:1-14.  I always had trouble understanding why Christ was called "The Word" here.  The JST makes the meaning of that term clear:

"In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son.  And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God" (v. 1).  In him was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men" (v. 4).

(When reading the JST in the LDS Bible Appendix, it is helpful to notice that the changes from the King James Version have been italicized.)

OVERVIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

As we look at the Table of Contents of the New Testament we can see that the book can be easily divided up into four sections: 

1. The Gospels (testimonies of Christ)
2. Acts (work of the apostles, especially Peter's work among the Jews and Paul's work among the Gentiles)
3. Epistles (letters from Church leaders to the saints)
4. Revelation (revelation received by John on the isle of Patmos)

Why are there four gospels, four different tellings of the life of Christ?  Sure, there is the reason that all truth is established by God in the mouth of two or three witnesses, and here we have even more than that, but couldn't they have collaborated and put together one story that would have been a comprehensive, all-inclusive, chronological biography of Christ, with four witnesses to it?  Then there wouldn't have been any contradictions, and everything would have been covered.  Right?

Well, the gospels are not just biographies, but testimonies of Christ (Bible Dictionary, p. 683).  Each author came from a different walk of life, and was writing to a specific audience.  The study of the authorship, audience, and angle of each of the gospels is fascinating and instructive.

OVERVIEW OF THE FOUR GOSPELS

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are quite similar in phraseology and content, and for that reason they are called "The Synoptic Gospels" (Bible Dictionary, p. 683).  The Gospel of John is quite different, and we will discover the reason for that later.

The Gospel of Mark

Scholars agree that Mark was probably written first, and that the other writers had access to it when writing their gospels.  Mark was not one of the apostles.  He was younger.  He likely was alive when Christ was alive, but he would have been a child.  After his conversion, he became the younger missionary companion of Paul, and later of Peter, serving mainly among the Gentiles.  Therefore, he wrote his gospel from his missionary perspective: a Jew writing to Gentiles.  One can see that hee assumed that the reader would be unfamiliar with Jewish customs and terms and with Palestinian geography, because he explained and described those things.  One can also see that he assumed that the reader was familiar with Latin terms and customs.

"[Mark's] object is to describe our Lord as the incarnate Son of God, living and acting among men.  The gospel contains a living picture of a living Man.  Energy and humility are the characteristics of his portrait.  It is full of descriptive touches that help us to realize the impression made upon the bystanders" (BD, p. 728).  It is "fast moving, emphasizing the doings more than the sayings of the Lord" (BD, p. 683).  Note how many times Mark uses the words "immediately, "straightway," "anon"--all translations of the same word. (Fronk)  This one word is used eight times in chapter one alone, in verses 10, 12, 18, 20, 21, and 28.  Reading Mark leaves one breathless.  The intensity of the ministry is emphasized:  No time to rest, no time to eat.  Mark is full of miracles.  An interesting experiment: Camille Fronk recommends reading it all in one sitting, to catch the energy in the telling. 

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew was a Jew.  He was a publican, and so he was not popular by profession.  He was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, and he was alive when these things were happening, although he certainly wasn't eyewitness to all of them. "Matthew was probably a thorough Jew with a wide knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures, and able to see in every detail of the Lord's life the fulfillment of prophecy" (BD, p. 729).  His book was written to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.  For this reason, he highlighted the number 14 in Christ's genealogy and he noted 14 prophecies from the Jewish scriptures that were fulfilled by Christ.  (See "The Importance of the Number 14" in a previous lesson.)  He knew that the number 14 was significant to his readers, who were Hebrew.  He knew that they knew that 14 meant "salvation." 

Matthew picked and chose who to represent in the genealogy, as there were actually more than 14 generations between each important individual (and this was acceptable to the Jews, because the symbolic number was the most important thing, not the literal number), but in that picking and choosing, he referenced five women.  Besides Mary (1:16), he listed Thamar or Tamar (1:3), Rachab or Rahab, Ruth (1:5), and Bathsheba (1:6).  Every one of these women had questionable pasts, particularly in relation to their conception and child-bearing, but produced great results for the House of Israel, making themselves ancestral heroines. 

1) Tamar conceived while masquerading as a prostitute!  The father of her child was her own father-in-law.  The reason she committed this grossly immoral deception was that, in opposition to Jewish law, Judah and his sons had cheated her out of progeny, sent her back to her father's house, and consigned her to life as a childless widow (twice widowed, actually), a state that would undoubtedly lead to devastating poverty in her old age.  (See "Opposites" in a previous lesson.) 

2) Rahab was an idolatrous prostitute in Jericho. With no gospel training, no missionaries, no "members" living nearby, and in the most wicked environment in the world, she gained a testimony of Jehovah.  After her conversion, and after saving the spies of Israel, she raised her son, Boaz, to be a great, kind, wise, and faithful man, the man who married Ruth! (See a previous lesson for more on Rahab.)

3) The next woman mentioned, Ruth, was Rahab's daughter-in-law, a convert from idolatry as well, a Moabitess.  She was married to a Hebrew, and then widowed, which dropped her to the bottom of Jewish society.  From this low point, she sought her own marriage, contrary to custom, and was most likely not the first wife.  (See OT Lesson #20.)

4) Last mentioned was Bathsheba, who conceived as a result of an extra-marital date-rape, or at least an event beyond her control, since the perpetrator happened to be the all-powerful king David.  (See a previous lesson for more on this.)

5) By including these particular women, revered by the Jews but with imperfect and even abhorrent family situations, Matthew presented the perfect defense for Mary's unusual circumstance of conception.  (Bokovoy)

A little parable recorded in Matthew is especially applicable to the Jews.  "Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt. 13:52).  The "scribe" would be a man knowledgeable in the Jewish religion.  "Things old" would be the Law of Moses, and "things new" the Gospel of Christ.  Matthew included a lot of anti-Pharisee comments to show that the Law was not an end in itself, as the Pharisees seemed to think.  Chapters 5-7 give the higher law.  "The Kingdom of Heaven" would be important to the Jews, and many of the parables in Matthew liken something to the Kingdom of Heaven.  The parables describe trees growing or bread rising, showing that the Kingdom of Heaven is a process, not an event.  (Fronk)

Matthew's is the only gospel that includes the story of the wise men.  Jews would have been most impressed by wealthy, learned men who had studied the scriptures in far away lands (they might possibly have been displaced Jews) and recognized the signs of the Messiah's coming. 

Matthew included five major discourses given by Jesus Christ.  He highlighted these in a way similar to the way he highlighted the 14 prophecies, using a key phrase at the end of each.  The phrase is "When Jesus had finished these sayings..."  Is there a reason he chose five sermons?  Of course!  There is a reason for every number used by a Jew in the Bible!  In this case, Matthew was adding a sequel to five writings that were very near and dear to every Jew, and were in fact, a foundation of their religion:  The five books of Moses, the Torah.  By doing this, he was showing the Jews that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, and that His counsel superseded or added to that Law.  (Bokovoy)

1. 5:1-7:27 The Sermon on the Mount, given to the multitude.  The tag is found in 7:28.
2. 10:5-42  The instruction for the ministry of the 12 apostles.  The tag is 11:1.
3. 13:1-52  The Sermon from the Ship, given to great multitudes.  The tag is 13:53.
4. 18:1-35  "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God?" spoken to the apostles.  The tag is 19:1.
5. 24:3-25:46  The Olivet Discourse, given to the 12 apostles.  The tag is 26:1.

The Gospel of Luke

Luke's gospel is the one with the beautiful Christmas story, told from a woman's perspective.  (Matthew tells it from a man's.)  Luke was a Gentile convert, likely converted through the labors of Paul (see BD, p. 726), writing to Gentiles and to minorities, and to those looked down upon by the Jews:  women, lepers, Samaritans, sinners (prostitutes).  Luke was a physician, and therefore had close contact with and compassion for all types and both genders of people, a unique position.  Most male professions in that day involved dealings with other men only, but a physician dealt with all, even the "unclean." 

As a missionary, Luke ministered to the Gentiles with Paul.  Like Matthew, Luke gives a genealogy of Christ, but it differs from Matthew's.  Matthew introduced Christ as "the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1).  This is what was important to the Jews: that Christ was one of the chosen people, and was in the kingly and priestly line.  It was the first thing Matthew said in his testimony.  Luke, on the other hand, gives a genealogy of Christ that identifies him as "the son of Joseph" (Luke 3:23) (even though Luke testifies of the divinity of Christ) and takes Christ's ancestry all the way back to Adam (Luke 3:38), making everyone, Jew and Gentile, a relative of Christ.  (Fronk)

Luke had a special understanding of women as a result of his medical ministry among them.  He wa the only one who wrote of the annunciation of Mary, and of her visit to Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother.  He knew that "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).  He knew of Simeon's personal prophecy to Mary that "a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also" (Luke 2:35).  How did he know of these things?  Very likely he was a close personal acquaintance of Mary's in the Church, and he heard these stories from her own mouth.  Luke gives what little information we have about the childhood of Christ. He was the one who told of Mary's terror when she realized her 12-year-old was not with the caravan.  (See Luke 2:51).

Where is the parable of the Good Samaritan found?  Only in Luke.  What about Christ's visit to Mary and Martha?  Only in Luke.  Many of the most treasured parables are found only in Luke:  The woman with the lost coin, the shepherd with the lost sheep, the Prodigal Son, the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.  The cleansing of the ten lepers is recorded only in Luke.  Luke wrote to the underdog, to tell him (and her!) that Christ was come for them as well as for anyone.

The Gospel of John

John is the gospel that is not like the others.  Like Matthew and Mark, John was a Jew converted to Christianity.  Like Matthew he was one of the apostles.  But unlike Matthew, he was not writing to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, and unlike Mark, he was not writing to convince the Gentiles that Jesus was the Christ.  He was not writing to convince anyone that Jesus was the Christ: he was writing to those who already knew.  He was writing to the Christians.  This makes his gospel very different.  Near the conclusion of his book, we read, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31).  The Harper-Collins Study Bible translates the intention of that passage to be slightly different:  "But these are written, that ye might continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ..."  "The Gospel of John," wrote Bruce R. McConkie, "is the account for the saints" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 336).

John was in the Church from the very beginning.  A follower of John the Baptist, he then became one of the first disciples of Christ.  John was one of the "inner circle of three who were with the Lord at the raising of Jairus's daughter, at the Transfiguration, and in Gethsemane" (BD, p. 715).  So he was like a member of the First Presidency, one of the "three pillars of the Christian Church".  John wrote not only his gospel, but also three of the epistles, and the amazing book of Revelation.  He identified himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," the one who wanted to continue to minister upon the earth until the Second Coming. His testament was the last one written, and contains unique contributions, and many more of Christ's teachings than do the others.  He had a deep understanding of the Savior and his gospel by the time he wrote his book.  (Ludlow)

Only John tells how Christ raised Lazarus from the dead.  Only John records the cleansing of the temple.  In John, Christ explains his death to the apostles.  Only in John do we read of Jesus washing his disciples' feet, and his commandment to them to be an example of love for each other.  In John, the apostles are warned that the world will hate them and try to kill them.  In John the gift of the Comforter is explained.  The Intercessory prayer for the disciples is found in John.  Only in John is Peter told three times, "Feed my sheep."  More of the resurrected Christ's visit back to his disciples is recorded in John than in the other gospels.  (Fronk)

John records seven miraculous signs of the divinity of Christ, five of which are only found in his gospel.  (To see this list, see Victor Ludow's article,  "John: The Once and Future Witness".)

The Gospel of John is a college text, where the other gospels are elementary school primers.  The other three gospels are like sacrament meeting, and the Gospel of John is like a temple.  In fact, John is better understood in relation to the temple ceremony.  It is deep and rich and symbolic, and it builds upon what the other gospels give us and raises our understanding to a higher level.  It is for the increased edification of those who are already saints.

Only John records the descriptions Christ gave of himself, many of which hearken back to the term used in the Old Testament to identify Jehovah: "I AM."  (Ludlow)  Seven of them are especially noted, possibly symbolic of the meaning of the number seven: godly perfection.  These are marked with a tag, similar to Matthew's tags; they all begin with some form of the phrase "Jesus said unto them."

1. When the multitude asked Christ to show them a sign, like the manna in the wilderness, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (6:35).
2. After saving the adulterous woman from stoning, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (8:12).
3. Later in that same conversation, "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am" (8:58), identical with the term used in Exodus 3:14, and after which they tried to stone him, but he spirited himself away.
4. After telling the parable of the sheepfold to the Pharisees, "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep...by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (10:7, 9).
5. To Martha, before raising Lazarus from the dead, "Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (11:25-26).
6. When Thomas asked how they would know the way, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (14:6).
7. When Judas was betraying him, (I'm removing the King James translators' additions, which are in italics in the scriptures) "Jesus saith unto them, I am.  And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground" (18:5-8) and Jesus repeated the statement.

"John's witness of the Lord is unique.  His Gospel and epistles record some of the Savior's noblest feelings and doctrines, especially His message of love" (Ludlow).


Sources: 
Bible Dictionary entries for Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 114.
Camille Fronk [Olson], "The Four Gospels," Know Your Religion Lecture, January 1998, Logan, Utah
David Bokovoy, "A Literary Analysis of the Four Gospels," BYU Education Week Lecture, August 2002
Victor Ludlow, "John: The Once and Future Witness," Ensign, December 1991, p. 51-52
Thomas Mumford, Horizontal Harmony of the Gospels

Old Testament Lesson #40 "Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent"

Isaiah 54-56; 63-65

CHAPTER 54

"Isaiah 54 and 55 are beautiful chapters of encouragement; chapter 54 portrays the glory of Zion in the last days, and chapter 55 extends an invitation to all people to partake of the gospel.  Building upon the prophecy of the Messiah (chapter 53), these two chapters promise special blessings from the Savior's mission...

"[Chapters 54-58 lay] a foundation for the following eight chapters concerning the great blessings of a Zion society, a millenial reign, and a new heaven and new earth in the last days (chapters 59-66)"  (Victore Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer and Poet, p. 458).

This chapter was quoted by Christ to the Nephites (3 Ne. 22).

v. 1 The places and peoples that were previously unfruitful in the gospel will produce a great harvest:  "More are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife." 

v. 2-3 "In the last days, or the time in which we now live, the Lord will bring many people to Zion.  They will be so many that they cannot all fit in one place.  Rather than there being only one land of Zion, she will be established in many stakes" (Parry, et.al, p. 479).  The stakes will spread all over the earth, "on the right hand and on the left," and cities that previously had no Latter-day Saints ("the desolate cities") will now be inhabited with them.

v.4-10 Although the House of Israel suffered a temporary "widowhood," or being abandoned by the Lord because of their sins, the Lord is still her "husband" and will not permanently forsake her.  It is just as with the flood at the time of Noah: the Lord promised he would never drown the earth again, and he did not.  So also he has promised that he will not be angry with the House of Israel forever, and he will not.  His love and "the covenant of his peace" are more solid than the very mountains.

v.11-14  Despite the troubles the people have been through, partly because of their wickedness, the Lord will prepare an astonishingly beautiful city for them, in which their children can be taught of the Lord--"taught by the Lord" and/or "taught about the Lord."  (New Revised Standard Version and New International Version both translate this as "taught by the Lord.")  The result of this teaching is great peace for the children.

v.14-17 Evil people will still conspire, but it will not affect those who are near the Lord, who fall under his protection.  The Lord is in total control.

v. 17  President Ezra Taft Benson carried this verse in his wallet (Ensign, July 1994, p. 32).

CHAPTER 55

According to Victor Ludlow (p. 463), this chapter is in chiastic form.  (For more on chiasm, see Should I Not Spare Ninevah? in a previous entry.)

v. 1-3 Invites all to receive the everlasting gospel.
          v. 4-5 Promises help.
                    v. 6-7 Requests a turning back to the Lord.
                               v. 8 States that God's plans and ways are not
                               man's plans and ways.
                                         v. 9 Testifies that the heavens (spiritual
                                         plans) are above the earth (mortal
                                         designs).
                              v. 9 States again that God's plans and ways are
                              not like man's.
                    v.10-11 Declares that some things have already returned
                    back to God.
          v. 12 Promises that we can be led back to God's presence.
v. 13 Invites us to become God's everlasting sign.

CHAPTER 56

v. 1-2 Blessings to those who are obedient to the Lord.
v. 3-8 This is a beautiful passage about how the Lord desires to gather "the outcasts of Israel".  Those who have previously been excluded from the church, eunuchs (castrated slaves) and strangers (foreigners or Gentiles) (see Deut. 23:1-3) are now welcomed and afforded every privilege, even temple privileges, if they will keep the Sabbath and "take hold" of their covenants. Much more detail is available about keeping the Sabbath in chapter 58.
v. 5-8 "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people," the Lord says.  Note the many, many references to temples in this passage:  "mine house," "within my walls," "a place (sometimes translated 'hand') and a name better than of sons and daughters," "an everlasting name," "my holy mountain," "my house of prayer," "burnt offerings and sacrifices," and "mine altar."  (If you have access to pictures of temples, or can print them off the Internet (see link later in this entry), each time one of these temple phrases is read in the passage, post a picture of one of our latter-day temples, so that the board will be covered with pictures of 8 or 10 temples as you read this verse.  If you plan to do the "Stakes of Zion ABCs" game, you may want to post the pictures of the temples refered to in the game.)
v. 9-12 "A short rebuke to the wicked of the time" (footnote 9a).

CHAPTER 63

v. 1 A question is asked:  "Who is this that cometh from Edom [symbolic of the wicked nations, according to Harper-Collins Study Bible], with dyed garments from Bozrah [a major city of Edom, also according to Harper-Collins]? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?"  Who is the conquering hero?  Jesus Christ gives the answer:  "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
v. 2 A second question is asked:  "[Why] art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"  There is something very striking, very unnatural, about his clothing that draws the attention of the questioner.
v. 3-6 Christ answers again: "I have trodden the winepress alone..their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment."  It is the symbol of the great suffering of the Atonement.  Not coincidentally, geth means "garden" and "semane" means "a press for liquids" (Victor Ludlow, p. 514).
v. 4 Throughout the book of Isaiah, alternating prophecies are found regarding Jehovah's anger towards the wicked (which includes all of us at some time or another), and his mercy towards them when they repent.  In this verse, "The phrases 'day of vengeance' and 'year of redemption' show the ratio of the Lord's vegeance and redemption:  he will execute vengeance for only a day, but his redemption lasts for a year.  In other words, his punishments will be temporary, but his blessings permanent" (Victor Ludlow, p. 519).

The rest of the chapter is a prayer of praise for the Lord.  Some beautiful passages lie here.

v. 9 "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried tham all the days of old.
v. 10 The people rebelled, however, and offended the Spirit, so that he had no choice but to be at enmity with them.
v. 11-13 Note the footnotes which greatly clarify who is speaking and about what.  The people remembered the previous great works of the Lord.
v. 14 As a result of their repentance, the Spirit of the Lord brought rest to them (see footnote 14c), just as a cow naturally heads into the furtile lands of the valley (see footnote 14a).
v. 15-19 The people offer a prayer to the Lord to "look down from heaven" upon them.  Even if they were not connected to their great fathers, Abraham and Israel, they know that God is their Father, and he will care for them forever and ask him to help them regain their inheritance from their enemies.  (Note footnote 17a.)

CHAPTER 64

v. 1-4 The prayer continues, glorifying God and his mighty works, which are beyond the understanding of men. 
v. 5-7 The people, admittedly, have sinned and departed from the Lord's ways.
v. 8 But now they acknowledge that they are nothing more than clay in the hands of the potter.  They are willing to let him shape their lives.
v. 9-12 They acknowledge that they have abandoned Zion and the temple, but they hope the Lord will be merciful to them.

CHAPTER 65

Here is the answer to the prayer.
v. 1-5 The Lord has "spread out [his] hands all the day unto a rebellious people."  They continue in their idolatrous ways, and they reject the Lord, saying they are holier than he is.  Sacrificing in groves of trees was an idolatrous practice.  Brick altars were idolatrous altars.  (The Lord instructed his people to sacrifice on altars of unhewn stone (Exo. 34:1-3).  Trying to communicate with ghosts, and eating pork were also against the commandments.
v. 6-10 So the Lord must mete out judgment.  He will not destroy them all.  A few people shall be "inheritors of [his] mountains (temples)."  Places that were previously troubled (Sharon, the valley of Achor) will now be peaceful pastures.
v. 11-12 The Lord again rebukes the wicked, those that forget "my holy mountain," that feed the idols of fortune and fate (see footnotes 11a and 11b).
v.13-15 Blessings will be given to the righteous, while the wicked will suffer.
v. 16 The sealing power will be available (see footnotes 16a and 16b).
v. 17-25 There will be a new heaven and earth, filled with joy.  No infants will live a life of only days, but will completely fill the life of an old man.  Fairness and justice will reign; people will be blessed in proportion to what they have done.  The Lord will answer their prayers before they are even spoken.  There will be no more predators or carnivores on the earth, but all animals shall live in peace with each other.  "There shall not [anything] hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," suggesting that the entire earth will be as a temple, and all people will dwell in the presence of the Lord.

Here is a chiasm identified in Victor Ludlow's book, p. 528:

v. 8 "Thus saith the Lord...I may not destroy them all" because
some good is still present.
     v. 9-10 Servants and animals dwell in the land.
          v. 11 The wicked warned
               v. 12 War
                    v. 13 The righteous vs. the wicked
                         v. 14 Shouting, crying, howling
                              v. 15 Cursing
                                   v. 16 Former troubles forgotten
                                        v. 17 The Lord will create a  new
                                        heaven and earth
                                   v. 17 Former things not remembered
                              v. 18 Blessing
                         v. 19 Rejoicing, no weeping and wailing
                    v. 20 JST The innocent vs. the sinners
               v. 21 Peace
          v. 22 Chosen ones blessed
     v. 23-25 People and animals at peace on the earth
v. 26 Every being on the earth will do only good, "saith the Lord."

"President Joseph Fielding Smith repeatedly stressed that this chapter of Isaiah does not refer to a celestialized earth.  Instead, the new heavens and earth prophesied by Isaiah will come at the beginning of the Millennium." (Ludlow, p. 529. He gives four references.)

"Verse 20 shows that two characteristics of all people during the Millennium will be a long life and the retention of agency and the capacity to sin."  Most people, in this righteous environment, would choose to come to Christ, but agency still exists.  Sinners (meaning those who sin and do not repent--no one will be perfect yet) living to be 100 years old will be cursed because they will not enjoy the post-earthly period of spirit prison in which to pay for their sins, but will have to suffer for them on the earth before their own resurrections (Ludlow, p. 531).

Isaiah 65 and 66 are in striking contrast to Isaiah 1 and 2, indicating the highly structured form of Isaiah.

Stakes of Zion ABCs
Here is a fun little game to play to emphasize the spread of the Church, and the growth still to come as the gathering of Israel takes place.  I have chosen some countries that were interesting to me, but if you would like to choose others (for example, those in which you have ward members serving missions, or those in which class members have ancestry or special interest), go to cumorah.com, choose "International LDS Database," and then "LDS Country Database."  Click on your country or type it into the "search" bar, and then scroll down through the country's article until you find "Official LDS Statistics."  Or look down below in the first comment where reader CarlH has left a link to the statistics on the Church's website.)


For large classes:  Print up the list of countries, cut them apart, and pass them out among class members.  Have them simply stand up and read them in alphabetical order.


For smaller classes:  Print up the list of countries and keep it to yourself.  Say the letter of the alphabet and have the class members guess which country is on your list.  Toss a small treat to the student who guesses the country.  If no one guesses it within 10 seconds, give the name.  Then have the class members guess how many saints might be in that country.  The class member who guesses the closest gets a small treat.  Tell them the real number, as well as how many congregations, and how many missions and temples are in the country.  Keep the game moving fast.


For competitive classes:  Divide the class into two teams, and play as above, taking turns between the classes, and giving a point to the team who guesses each item correctly.


If you would like to print up photographs of the temples included, you can find them at lds.org.  As you read each country's data, you can have them guess which temple pictured is in that country, if you posted the pictures earlier while reading through Isiaah 56:5-8.  If not, you can post them now as they are mentioned.


A--Albania:  1,730 saints in 10 congregations, 1 mission
B--Botswana:  1,302 saints in 4 congregations
C--Cuba:  50 saints
D--Domican Republic:  98,268 saints in 183 congregations, 3 missions, 1 temple
E--Egypt:  less than 100 saints in 1 branch
F--Fiji:  14,120 saints in 44 congregations, 1 mission, 1 temple
G--Guatemala:  200,537 saints in 428 congregations, 4 missions, 1 temple
H--Hong Kong:  22,939 saints in 42 congregations, 1 mission, 1 temple
I--India:  1,752 saints in 26 congregations, 1 mission
J--Japan:  122,422 saints in 294 congregations, 7 missions, 2 temples
K--Kazakhstan:  125 members in 1 congregation
L--Lebanon:  139 members in 1 congregation
M--Malaysia:  4,626 saints in 19 congregations
N--New Zealand:  96,027 saints in 201 congregations, 2 missions, 1 temple
O--Oman:  no Latter-day Saints
P--Pakistan:  200 saints in 4 congregations
R--Russia:  15,615 saints in 102 congregations, 8 missions
S--South Korea:  80,420 saints in 143 congregations, 4 missions, 1 temple
T--Taiwan:  47,034 saints in 97 congregations, 3 missions, 1 temple
U--Ukraine:  10,394 saints in 49 congregations, 2 missions, 1 temple
V--Vietnam:  100 saints in 2 congregations
W--Western Sahara:  no Latter-day Saints
Y--Yemen:  no Latter-day Saints
Z--Zimbabwe:  16,969 saints in 45 congregations, 1 mission

CONCLUSION

Isaiah 60 offers a glorious call to missionary work, to hasten the coming of the Lord.

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.  (These verses are also found in the Messiah oratorio.)  (Isaiah 60:1-3)

How many of us have seen the Light of Christ manifest in the face of another?  Those who are seeking the truth often recognize a light about the members of the Church, and they are drawn to it.

People of other faiths are also attracted to the light of the temples.  "For years now, they've been flocking to the Freiberg Germany Temple, the LDS Church milestone that 25 years ago became the first Mormon temple operating inside the Iron Curtain. They come to stroll the walkways in solitude or sit on the outside benches to ponder and pray. They gather on the lawns for bridal photos and wedding-party snapshots. They call it 'our temple' — one leader recently boasted that 'Freiberg has become world-famous because of the temple.' Oh, and 'they' are the non-Mormons living in and around Freiberg. And the leader? The current mayor of Freiberg, who joined past and present civic dignitaries and local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a silver-anniversary celebration..."  (Deseret News, Sept. 6, 2010)

"Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

"Then thou shalt see, and [be radiant], and thine heart shall [reverence the Lord], and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea [great multitudes] shall be converted unto thee, the [wealth] of the Gentiles shall come unto thee...

"And the sons of strangers [converts] shall build up thy walls [the city of Zion, and the temples], and their kings shall minister unto thee...Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought...

"The glory of Lebanon [the most beautiful building materials available] shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box [tree] together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary [the temple], and I will make the place of my feet [the temple] glorious...

"Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the [earth] forever, the branch of my planting, the word of my hands, that I may be glorified."  (Isaiah 60:4-5, 10-13, 21)

End class with a challenge for each class member to focus on what he could do to participate in this joyous expansion of missionary work and temple-building, and to increase the Light of Christ in his own countenance that it may be recognized by those seeking it.