New Testament Lesson #2 "My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord"

Luke 1; Matthew 1

Preparation:  Make cards with one of each of the following names on them: Zacharias, Elizabeth, John, Mary, Joseph.  Tape the cards under chairs in the classroom.  (If you typically have a lot of empty chairs in your room, this might not work as well.  In that case, you can either just pass them around, or have people look under all the chairs near them until all the cards are found.  Cards under the chairs would work better with teenagers or young adults rather than older people who may have a hard time kneeling down or bending over.)

THE FIRST "CHRISTIANS" IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Ask the class to check under their chairs for a card listing one of the first Christians in the New Testament.  Ask those who have cards to think of something to share about this person; something they admire, something interesting they know, whatever.  (If someone doesn't want to participate, let them give the card to another.  Sunday School should be a place where people feel comfortable.  Those who don't read well or are afraid to speak out shouldn't be afraid to come to class.)  If your class is not terribly knowledgeable about scriptural figures, you can list a scripture on the board for each of the names (from the notes below), and give them a few minutes to read about their person and learn something to share.  Use the ideas below to supplement what the class members share.  You can discuss the individuals in any order that the class members choose.

ZACHARIAS

Read Luke 1:5-10.  "In the court of the priests stood the great altar of unhewn stones whereon the sacred sacrifices were offered; this was open to the view of the people.  Entrance was gained to the Holy Place through two great gold-plated doors.  In this sanctuary were the two tables--one of marble, one of gold--on which the priests laid the candlestick with its seven lamps and, most importantly, the altar of incense.


"It was into this sacred sanctuary that Zacharias went, accompanied by another priest who bore burning coals taken from the altar of sacrifice; these he spread upon the altar of incense and then withdrew.  It then became the privilege of [Zacharias] to sprinkle the incense on the burning coals, that the ascending smoke and the odor might typify the ascending prayers of all Israel"  (McConkie, p. 307)

Keep in mind it had been 400 years or so since Malachi, the last prophet we have record of in the Old Testament, had been on the earth, and we don't know of any angelic ministrations that had happened in the interim.  So those people undoubtedly thought such things were in the past.  (See Talmadge, p. 77.)

Read Luke 1:11-13.  "What prayers did Zacharias make on this occasion?  Certainly not, as so many have assumed, prayers that Elisabeth should bear a son, though such in days past had been the subject of the priest's faith-filled importunings.  This was not the occasion for private, but for public prayers.  He was acting for and on behalf of all Israel, not for himself and Elisabeth alone.  And Israel's prayer was for redemption, for deliverance from the Gentile yoke, for the coming of their Messiah, for freedom from sin.  The prayers of the one who burned the incense were the prelude to the sacrificial offering itself, which was made to bring the people in tune with the Infinite, through the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing of their lives.  'And the whole multitude of the people were praying without [meaning, outside] at the time of incense'--all praying, with one heart and one mind, the same things that were being expressed formally, and officially, by the one whose lot it was to sprinkle the incense in the Holy Place." (McConkie, p. 307-308)  So why did the angel say, "Thy prayer is heard and thy wife shall bear a son," if he wasn't then praying for a son?  Because of the son's role:  Read Luke 1:16-17.

"The last words Zacharias had uttered prior to the influction of dumbness were words of doubt and unbelief...The words with which he broke his long silence were words of praise unto God in whom he had all assurances, words that were as a sign to all who heard, and the fame whereof spread throughout the region"  (Talmadge, p. 79).

Read Luke 1:18-20.  But this sign made the visitation much more obvious to the people.  When Zacharias emerged deaf and dumb, it was a testimony to everyone, in addition to what he might have told them.  So maybe that was part of the reason that the angel was so hard on him.

Zacharias died a martyr.  Jesus blasted the Jews for it: "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel [the first martyr] unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias [the most recent martyr], whom ye slew between the temple and the altar" (Matt. 23:34-35).  It is confusing because the prophet Zechariah of the Old Testament was killed in the same manner and his father was named Barachias.  But Zacharias' father must have had the same name, because Joseph Smith specifies that this Zacharias is John the Baptist's father:

"When Herod's edict went forth to destroy the young children, John was about six months older than Jesus, and came under this hellish edict, and Zacharias caused his mother to take him into the mountains, where he was raised on locusts and wild honey.  When his father refused to disclose his hiding place, and being the officiating high priest at the Temple that year, [he] was slain by Herod's order, between the porch and the altar, as Jesus said" (Smith, p. 261).

Zacharias' testimony is recorded in Luke 1:68-79.  It has been set to music and performed over the centuries in the Roman Catholic Church under the title "The Benedictus."  Add in the JST change that is not included in the LDS Bible for verse 77 and an additional insight is gained:  "...salvation unto his people by baptism for the remission of their sins."  (If you would like to know how to find JST changes that are not in our LDS edition, follow this link to a previous post on the JST.)

ELIZABETH

Read Luke 1:5-7; 24-27; 39-45; 56-60 for Elizabeth's story.  Elizabeth was both the daughter and the wife of a priest.  She was righteous before God and blameless.  She was childless until old age.  We know that she also knew that the baby should be named John, whether from the Spirit or from her husband.  We know she had an intimate relationship with Mary (Luke 1:40-45).  She had loving and supportive family and friends (Luke 1:58).  We know from Joseph Smith that she raised her little boy, John, in hiding in the wilderness without her husband.  (See notes on Zachariah.)  We have her testimony (Luke 1:42-45).

JOHN

The scriptures specifically tell us that John was of priestly descent through both parents.  "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth" (Luke 1:5).  "This lineage was essential, since John was the embodiment of the law of Moses, designed to prepare the way for the Messiah and make ready a people to receive him" (BD, p. 714).  There was never any doubt in the Jews' minds that John had priesthood authority, and this created big problems for those who did not want to believe his witness.  When the chief priests and elders challenged Christ's authority, He had only to refer them to John's authority to flummox them.  They could not publicly doubt John's authority, as it was fully established.  Yet, if they acknowledged it, they would also have to acknowledge his testimony of Christ as the Son of God.  So they did not answer at all.  (See Matt. 21:23-27.)

Why was it so important that the baby be named John, and not Zacharias?  Couldn't he just as well have been "Zacharias the Baptist?"  Well, just as there is a meaning for every number for the Hebrews, there is also a meaning for every name.  The name John, Jochanan in Hebrew, means "the grace or mercy of Jehovah."  John was foreordained to be the one who would go forth ahead of Jehovah to proclaim his grace and mercy.  (See McConkie, p. 335)

What do we know about John's childhood?  We know he was raised in the wilderness.  And modern-day revelation tells us more fascinating details.  "And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.  For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power" (D&C 84:26-28).

John was the forerunner in almost every instance.  He was born just before Christ and testified of Him even from the womb, as he leapt in His presence.  He started his ministry before Christ started his, declaring that there would be a greater One to come.  He laid down his life for the testimony of Jesus before Jesus died, and therefore he was also the forerunner into paradise to announce that the captive spirits would soon be free.  And in the final dispensation, ours, he came again to prepare the way for the Second Coming by restoring the Aaronic Priesthood to the earth so that others could be baptists.  (See McConkie, p. 302)

So John has ministered in three dispensations on the earth:  "He was the last of the prophets under the law of Moses, he was the first of the New Testament prophets, and he brought the Aaronic Priesthood to the dispensation of the fullness of times."  (BD, p. 715)

Let's read what John the Beloved wrote about John the Baptist:  "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  The same came into the world for a witness, to bear witness of the light, to bear record of the gospel through the Son, unto all, that through him men might believe.  He was not that light, but came to bear witness of that light, which was the true light, which lighteth every man who cometh into the world; Even the Son of God.  He who was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not" (JST John 1:6-10 in the Bible Appendix).

John the Baptist's testimony of Jesus Christ is found in the same scriptural location, JST John 1:15-33.

JOSEPH

Read Matthew 1:18-25 for information about Joseph.  Matthew and Luke both give genealogies of Christ (Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38).  The genealogies are different, but this only testifies to their validity.  The genealogy of Matthew is the sequence of the legal successors to the throne of David.  The account from Luke is a personal pedigree of actual father/son relationships, also demonstrating descendence from David.  Both of them offer claim to the throne.  Luke's record is thought to be the pedigree of Mary even though it is Joseph's name that is mentioned, and Matthew's is thought to be Joseph's.  Where in Matthew it says Joseph's father is Jacob, Luke says Joseph's father is Heli.  Jacob and Heli were brothers, and Mary and Joseph, their children, were therefore first cousins.  Elder McConkie thinks Jacob was Joseph's father-in-law and Mary's father (McConkie, p. 316).  Never did the Jews accuse Jesus of being ineligible to be the Messiah based on his heritage.  With the great emphasis that the Jews placed on genealogy, this testifies that his genealogy correctly placed him as King of the Jews (Talmadge, p. 86-87).

MARY

Mary's history is found in Luke 1:26-45, and Luke 2.  "Jesus Christ was to be born of mortal woman, but was not directly the offspring of mortal man, except so far as his mother was the daughter of both man and woman.  In our Lord alone has been fulfilled the word of God spoke in relation to the fall of Adam that the seed of the woman should have power to overcome Satan by bruising the serpent's head" (Talmadge, p. 83).  (See Genesis 3:15 and Moses 1:21.)

"In respect to place, condition, and general environment, Gabriel's annunciation to Zacharias offers strong contrast to the delivery of his message to Mary.  The prospective forerunner of the Lord was announced to his father within the magnificent temple, and in a place the most exclusively sacred save one other in the Holy House, under the light shed from the golden candlestick, and further illumined by the glow of living coals on the altar of gold; the Messiah was announced to His mother in a small town far from the capital and the temple, most probably within the walls of a simple Galilean cottage" (Talmadge, p. 82).

Her testimony is preserved in Luke and, like Zacharias', has been set to music and performed many times over the centuries in many Christian churches under the title "The Magnificat."  It is found in Luke 1:46-55.

CONCLUSION

We have a written testimony from each one of these first five great Christians except Joseph, and his testimony is manifest in his works.  How did all of these great early saints gain their testimonies in these unbelievable circumstances?  Through the same power by which you and I gain ours and continue to strengthen them:  The power of the Holy Ghost.  John, as we read in both Luke 1:15 and D&C 84:27 "was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb," and that is how he knew that the unborn Christ was near.  Elizabeth, when she greeted Mary "was filled with the Holy Ghost" (Luke 1:41) and that is how she knew.  Zacharias was "filled with the Holy Ghost" at the naming of his child (Luke 1:67).  Mary, Joseph and Zacharias all had the additional privilege of seeing an angel, but even seeing an angel does not necessarily give a person a testimony--Laman and Lemuel saw an angel and it made no difference to them (1 Nephi 3:29-31).  We don't need to see an angel to know that Jesus is the Christ, and that His gospel is the Way; we have the Holy Ghost, and that's all we need. 

"When a man has the manifestation of the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased.  It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force.  A manifestation of an angel, or even the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase" (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:151).

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:13-18).  What is "this rock?" Joseph Smith asked.  He answered his own question:  revelation through the Holy Ghost.  (See Smith, p. 274.)

Sources:
Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, Book 1
James E. Talmadge, Jesus The Christ
Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Bible Dictionary

Old Testament Lesson #11 "How Can I Do This Great Wickedness?"

(Genesis 34; 37-39)

THE IMPORTANCE OF JOSEPH

As near as we can guess, the Book of Genesis covers approximately 2,500 years. During this 2,500-year time period, a remarkable man lived whose name was Joseph. The very last verse of the very last chapter of Genesis tells us how long he lived: 110 years. 110 years is 4.4% of the time span of the Book of Genesis, yet the story of Joseph's life begins at Genesis 30:24 and ends at Genesis 50:26--40% of the book of Genesis is used to cover the 110-year history of Joseph! Obviously, the story of Joseph is very important (Russell M. Nelson, "Remnants, Gathered, Covenants Fulfilled, Voices of Old Testament Prophets, p. 4).

WATER VS. ROCK

How would you describe water to an alien from Mars? What does it look like? What color is it? What shape is it? The answer is that it depends upon the situation it is in: what is behind it, what is in it, what is underneath it, what is above it. The water of Bear Lake, Utah is a stunning turquoise blue in sunny weather. The water in the Black Sea of Russia is black in stormy weather. Yet the water in both has the same chemical composition: H2O. If you put water in a box, the water is square. If you put water in a vase, it's a cylinder. If you spill it on the floor, it's flat. If it evaporates into the air, it becomes invisible. If it gets too cold, it becomes solid.

A rock would be much easier to describe. Each individual rock is slightly different from another. You could say what shape it is, what size it is, what color it is. A rock does not change to match its environment. If you drop it on the ground, it's still the same shape, size and color. If you put it in a box, it's still the same shape, size and color. If it is larger than a vase, it will not change in order to fit, and you won't be able to put it in there. A rock is solid and stable.

This lesson is about water and rock.

THE FAMILY OF ISRAEL

To understand the story of the family of Jacob, renamed Israel, we need to know the characters.  Here are Jacob's sons, listed in order of birth.

1) Reuben, son of Leah
2) Simeon, son of Leah
3) Levi, son of Leah
4) Judah, son of Leah
5) Dan, son of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid
6) Naphtali, son of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid
7) Gad, son of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid
8) Asher, son of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid
9) Issacher, son of Leah
10) Zebulun, son of Leah
11) Joseph, son of Rachel
12) Benjamin, son of Rachel

THE MEANING OF THE BIRTHRIGHT

In Old Testament times, the father was the patriarch of the entire family.  His rule was nearly absolute, as was his responsibility for the welfare of his family.  He decided upon the marriage partners of his children.  He provided training, employment, and land for all his sons.  Any single women or orphaned children within the family had claim upon his care.  When he died, the right and responsibility of the patriarchy of the clan fell to the son who was born first, hence the term birthright.  Each of the sons would receive an equal inheritance at the father's death, except the birthright son.  He would receive double in order to carry out his responsibilities.

It was clear to see who was the birthright son when there was only one wife.  But with multiple wives, the question became confusing.  In addition, if the birthright son did not prove himself worthy in terms of righteousness and ability, he could lose the privilege to another son, as in the case of Jacob and Esau.

BYU Professor Victor Ludlow considers Joseph to have been second in line for the birthright:  "As the firstborn son of the first wife, Reuben was the birthright son. When Reuben proved to be unworthy by committing adultery...the birthright went to the firstborn son of Rachel (see 1 Chr. 5:1). Although Joseph was the eleventh-born son in order of birth, he was second in line for the birthright because he was the firstborn son of the second wife. Jacob had a special coat made for Joseph so that the other brothers would recognize Joseph’s right to preside over the family upon his father’s death" ("Question and Answer," Daniel H. Ludlow, Liahona, Sept. 1981, p. 33).

The writers of the Old Testament Student Manual for the Religion 310 Institute class, however, see most of the brothers as possible birthright candidates. The oldest child of Leah would be the obvious choice, she being the first wife. If he failed to earn it, it could fall to the oldest biological child of the second wife, which would be Joseph, but it also could likely fall to each of the remaining sons of the first wife, because they were all older than Joseph. The first sons of the concubines could also qualify, since their mothers were handmaids or property of the first and second wives. Each of them was older than Joseph (p. 93).

Israel, however, chose Joseph to be his birthright son.  Many Bible experts agree that the special "coat of many colors" likely was an expression of this pending privilege.  On his deathbed, Israel officially pronounced Joseph as the birthright son.

OPPOSITES

The Old Testament often teaches great principles by juxtaposing severely opposite stories.  Genesis 34 tells a ghastly tale.  Jacob's and Leah's daughter, Dinah, is raped by a local prince, Shechem, who then decides he wants to marry her (v. 2-3).  He's important enough that the area was probably named for him (33:18).  His father asks Jacob to let his son marry Dinah, offering any dowry they might ask (v. 6-12).  Apparently, she is being held at their city.  Jacob's response is not recorded, but her brothers, Simeon and Levi, tell these Canaanites that they will agree to the marriage if the Canaanites will all be circumcised.  Shechem did not delay (v. 19).  He and his men trusted the little fledgling clan of Israelites (v. 21).  Every man that "went out of the gate of his city," in other words, every man who was fit to go out in battle in defense of the city, was circumcised (Harper-Collins Study Bible).  When they were all in the worst pain, three days after the procedure, Simeon and Levi (probably with a band of their servants, their own fighting men), marched into the city and killed every one of the men (v. 25), including the king and his son (v. 26).  They grabbed Dinah, all the women and children of the city, and every bit of property (v. 27-29).  Jacob, who apparently was not privvy to these goings-on, chastised them and said, "Now we have to move.  Everyone here is going to be repulsed by us, and we are just a little band.  We'll be wiped out if we stay here" (v. 30).  And the sons reply, "Well?  He started it!" (v. 31).  They justify a premeditated, horrific massacre because of a crime against a single person, committed in passion, which the perpetrator was trying to rectify.

The next two chapters detail their move and their genealogy. 

Sandwiched in between these factual recitations, we find another appalling event:  Reuben, who is Leah's oldest son, and would normally be the birthright son, goes in and lays with his father's wife, Bilhah!  Bilhah is a concubine, or a servant-wife, and may not have had much say in the matter (35:22).  (See "Abraham's Wives" in a previous post for more about concubines.)  So now three of the possible top contenders for the birthright have committed heinous crimes, and their father knows they are all unworthy.  Later in the story (Gen. 38), Judah, the fourth, commits adultery with his daughter-in-law Tamar, who was masquerading as a prostitute.  The double standard of the day is clearly evident as he is prepared to burn her at the stake when he finds out she's pregnant, until she proves he's the father.  The reason she committed this grossly immoral deception was that 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, a state that would undoubtedly lead to devastating poverty in her old age. 

And all of Joseph's brothers, as we know, were willing to either kill their younger brother or sell him into slavery because of jealousy, and then tell their father the heartbreaking lie that he had been killed.  Their jealousy was over the birthright, doubly emphasized by Joseph's dreams in which his family bowed in obeisance to him.  Ironically, the harm they did to Joseph was the exact opposite of the way a birthright son should treat a younger brother.  Clearly, they were each totally unfit to be the family patriarch.

So, all of the older brothers of Joseph gave up blessings because they yielded to temptations, emotions, and circumstances.  In the traditional deathbed blessing from his father Israel, the oldest son Reuben received the chastisement, "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel" (Gen. 49:4).

JOSEPH'S INTEGRITY

We are all very familiar with the story of Joseph's kidnapping, enslavement, labor, and imprisonment in Egypt (Gen. 37, 39-40).  Its position in the Book of Genesis directly following the stories of his brothers' lack of integrity and of their heinous crimes clearly shows that Joseph was their polar opposite.  It did not matter in which land he lived, which woman he was with, whether he was a best-loved birthright son, a prosperous servant in an Egyptian's household, or a prisoner in a dungeon: Joseph was always the same.  He was kidnapped, beaten, nearly murdered, enslaved, lied about, tempted, framed, and forgotten, yet his integrity remained unchanged.  Joseph was a rock.  Because of his integrity and his unwavering faith in God, he excelled at home in his father's household, in Potipher's home as his chief servant, in prison as the guard's assistant, and in all of Egypt as Pharoah's right-hand man.

On his deathbed, Father Israel said of Joseph: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; from thence is the shepherd, the stone [or rock] of Israel" (Gen. 49:22-24).  (See the comment from reader Steve below this post for an explanation of this scripture.)

Joseph was always faithful to his God, Jehovah, and Jehovah was therefore always with Him.  As Chapter 39 details the rags to riches to rags to riches story of Joseph in Egypt, four times we read one significant phrase:  "The Lord was with Joseph" (v. 2, 3, 21, and 23).  Joseph always qualified for the companionship of the Holy Spirit, and always followed the direction he knew was right, regardless of what the consequences would be to himself.  Why?  Because he trusted in the Rock.  "Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall" (D&C 50:44).

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Helaman 5:12)

Update on Joseph's and Emma's Posterity

I ordered the new DVD mentioned in my Lesson 40 post, and it came within days. It is a half-hour documentary, not really dramatized but with a few clips from the Emma movie. Most of it is Joseph's and Emma's descendants who are members of the Church speaking, as well as other historians, giving the history of the family briefly, and then the history of the gathering they have been doing.

As of the production time of the DVD, which was very recent, there were 129 descendants of Joseph and Emma who have joined the Church, but each time they gather, they find the number has increased. There are only about 1,000 living descendants altogether, so over one-tenth have been gathered back to the Church in these fourth and fifth generations, the generations in which it was prophecied by Elder George A. Smith that their children would return!

A few people claiming, through their family's oral history, to be descendants of Joseph Smith through plural wives have gone through DNA testing, and all have been proved not to be descended from Joseph Smith, so all of the known descendants of Joseph are Emma's children. (See http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Children_of_polygamous_marriages for explicit test results. The results are also noted in the DVD.)

"I believe that Joseph and Emma are deeply involved from beyond the veil in all the things that are unfolding in our lives today." --Gracia Jones, Great-Great Granddaughter

(Source: "Children of Joseph: The Unknown Story" DVD)