New Testament Lesson #4 "Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord"

Matthew 3-4; John 1:35-51

THE MESSAGE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Let's look at a very familiar passage from the Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 25:26.  Ask your class if they can fill in the blank without opening their scriptures; good chance nobody will be able to do it.  Here is the scripture: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophecy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that...[fill in the blank]."  The missing phrase is: "that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

John the Baptist stood in a unique position in history:  He "was the last legal administrator of the old dispensation, the first of the new; he was the last of the old prophets, the first of the new. With him ended the old law, and with him began the new era of promise. He is the one man who stood, literally, at the crossroads of history; with him the past died and the future was born"  (McConkie, p. 113).

In this pivotal spot, what was his message?  "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  This was also the first recorded phrase of the Savior's ministry.  (See Matt. 4:17.)

We spend great effort teaching and preaching about the importance of keeping all of the various and specific commandments and striving to "be therefore perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect," sometimes so much that we eclipse the greatest message of the gospel:  that everyone is going to mess up in major ways and minor ways and fall short of that perfection, and so our Father in Heaven has provided the wonderful opportunity, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, for us to repent.  Repeatedly.  Throughout our lives, we must hear this message and heed it over and over and over.  We must drill it into our children's heads and hearts so that they know there is always a way back, a way out, a way up from wherever they are right now, and that Way is Jesus Christ.  (See John 14:6.)

The Greek word translated as "repentance" in the New Testament "denotes a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world...a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined" (Bible Dictionary, p. 761).

WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?

John the Baptist was the prophet who prepared the way for the Lord. And what did he preach? Repentance, of course. (See Luke 3:7-9.) He demanded of the multitude that they show by their actions that they were sincere about repenting, or they would be cut down like a tree that didn't produce good fruit.

Three groups of people were listening: the Jews (the people), the Jewish tax collectors (the publicans), and the Roman soldiers. Each asked him, "What shall we do?"

To the Jews, the "Church members," he said, "Give your excess to the poor" (Luke 3:11). Throughout scriptural history, whenever someone sincerely repents (think=Enos, Alma, sons of Mosiah) they are filled with the love of God (manifest in the Spirit) which immediately creates in them an overwhelming desire to share that love with others. If you truly repent, you are then filled with the Spirit, which prompts you in how to help others.

To the publicans, the Jewish tax collectors who worked for the Romans, he said, "Don't cheat or embezzle" (Luke 3:13). They were well known for padding their own coffers from the taxes they collected.

To the soldiers, he said, "Don't be violent. Don't frame people for crimes. Don't complain about your wages (Luke 3:14).

It's interesting that for each of these people, he offered them the next "best step" they could take in the repentance process. He told the Jews, who were already trying to be good, to help those less fortunate; in essence, to start working towards a Zion society in which everyone is cared for. That's a big step! But this is not what he told the other two groups. He told the publicans the next "best step" they could take, which was simply to be honest. And he didn't tell the soldiers, "Join the church, be baptized, get circumcised, go to the temple, give all your money to the Church." He told them three ways in which they could improve themselves and come just a little closer to Christ.

This is a very helpful example for us when we are working with nonmembers, wayward children, or even ourselves. All we/they need to do now to "bring forth fruits meet for [worthy of] repentance" is to take the next "best step." We can ask the Lord daily for this instruction for ourselves, and if we are trying to help someone else, we can ask Him how we can help them with their next best step. We don't need to expect people to make massive changes right away. One step at a time (more steps, if we're far, far away from the path) is enough. The Lord is infinitely patient. The more we read the scriptures, the more we see that He is willing to wait for us to learn; He is willing to wait for our children and our neighbors to travel the path to Him, one step at a time.

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS CHRIST

According to some historians, the Jews would baptize their proselytes, but were not baptized themselves (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 103).  With our additional Latter-day revelation, we know that baptism has been a necessary ordinance since the world began--even Adam was baptized (see Moses 6:53)--but perhaps this practice had disappeared with the decline into apostacy that preceded John's time.  The Jews seemed to feel that simply being of the House of Israel made them holy, and they had no need of the ordinance of baptism, or of a Savior.  That would explain why Jesus criticized the Pharisees and Saduccees who came to his baptism, but did not intend to be baptized themselves.  To be told they were "outside the Messianic kingdom, and unfit to enter into it without a [baptism] was distasteful to [their] pride..." (Dummelow, p. 630).  (Notice the JST change in verse 7.)

But Jesus was baptized of John to set the example, "to fulfill all righteousness."  Even for the Perfect Person, the ordinance was required.  As a ratifying sign, a dove came down, witnessing the presence of the Holy Ghost.

"The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage...The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence" (Smith pp. 275-76).  "It thus appears that John witnessed the sign of the dove, that he saw the Holy Ghost descend in the "bodily shape" of the personage that he is, and that the descent was 'like a dove'" (McConkie, p. 123-4).

"The dove was the only fowl that was offered in sacrifice (Lev 1:14), and Christ by the spirit, the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God.  The tidings of the decrease of Noah’s flood were brought by a dove, with an olive-leaf in her mouth; fitly therefore are the glad tidings of peace which God brought by the spirit as a dove" (Henry, p. 24).

THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

The first thing that is very important to note in the telling of the temptation of Christ is that the devil did not take Christ anywhere; he has no such power over the Son of God.  The JST footnotes to Matt. 4:1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9 tell us that it was the Spirit that led Christ to the wilderness, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and took him up to the high mountain.  It is specifically mentioned that his purpose in going to the wilderness was to commune with God His Father, and that is also the purpose for which one would go to the temple or to a high mountain.  Jesus did not intentionally go to a place where he would find temptation (nor should we).  He prepared himself for 40 days to meet his Father.  (For the symbolic meaning of 40 days, see a previous entry.)  It is not our privilege to be told what transpired between the Father and the Son in those communications, but it is important for us to know that the devil will try with all his might to win us over once we have taken a giant spiritual step such as this.  (See Moses 1 for another example.)

Each time, presumably after the spiritual enlightenment, the devil approached the Lord with a temptation.

1) "If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread" (verse 3).  Satan tried to cast doubt as to Christ's relationship with God.  This is the same thing he will try to do to us. 

Lucifer also tried to convince Christ that God The Father would not want him to hunger.  How similar is this to the argument we often hear:  "If there was really a God, he would not allow his children to suffer."  And this temptation often succeeds in casting doubt!  Another angle in this first temptation is the temptation to feed the flesh and neglect the spirit.  Jesus answered, "Man shall not live by bread alone [physical concerns], but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God [covenants and commandments]" (verse 4). 

"In the life of Jesus there is not a single example of a miracle worked for His own advantage" (Dummelow, p. 633).  His turning the stones to bread would have been in direct opposition to his role as the Savior.  By overcoming this temptation he proved that he could be trusted to always have our best interest (or God's will) in mind over his own.

2) "If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee" (verse 6).  The devil loves to twist scripture to his advantage.  Here he quoted Psalm 91:11-12. 


"The porch on the south side [of the temple] was...150 feet high.  From the top of this to the bottom of the valley below was more than 700 feet, and Josephus says that one could scarcely look down without dizziness….How much more easy would [a dramatic leap and angelic rescue] be than to engage in a slow work of years to establish [the] claim [of divinity]; to encounter fatigue, and want, and poverty, and persecution, before that claim would be admitted?  And where could be a more fit place for thus at once demonstrating that he was the Son of God, than on this pinnacle of the temple, in the very midst of Jerusalem, and perhaps in the presence of thousands who would see the wonderful performance?" (Barnes, p. 34-35)  The temptation here was not just showing off (pride: something by which we are also often tempted), but taking a short cut.  There are no shortcuts in the Kingdom of God--not for Christ's mission and not for ours.


Jesus said, "It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."  What is meant by tempting God?  Trying to get him to change his plans to fit ours.  We also try to "tempt the Lord" when things are rough and we question God's designs.  It is good to remember that "God casts down, that he may raise up; the Devil raises up, that he may cast down…." (Henry, p. 28).


3) "All [the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them] will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me" (verse 8-9).  What was the temptation here?  I've always struggled with this one.  Why would Christ, who had such great knowledge that he couldn't even be taught by men (see JST Matt. 3:25), be tempted by this kind of power?  I'll give credit to my awesome husband who pointed me toward an answer neither of us had thought of before, but which finally satisfies me.


First, let's clarify that Lucifer did not have the power to show Christ all the kingdoms of the world; "such was done by the Spirit; it was after he had seen the vision that the devil made his false offer" (McConkie, p. 128).  What might this vision have been like?  Well, the best commentary on scripture is always other scripture.  Who else in scripture had this type of a vision?  Enoch comes to mind instantly.  Enoch saw in a vision the God of heaven crying.  He asked what could be so devastating that it could cause God himself to cry. (Moses 7:31)  In answer, he was shown a great vision of the children of men, their sins, their refusal to accept the Atonement, and their resultant agony in spirit prison (Moses 7:38-39).  The scene tormented Enoch so that he "wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook" (Moses 7:41).

If the God of heaven wept when he showed this devastating vision to Enoch, it is likely that he was similarly in an agony when he saw it at the beginning of his earthly ministry in his semi-mortal condition.  How discouraging to see how many people would not accept his great sacrifice!  In this state, might there be the tiniest doubt as to whether Satan's plan had been the best one after all?  Wouldn't any good parent give almost anything to alleviate such intense suffering in their offspring?  If he would worship Satan, he would be accepting Satan's plan.  He would then be given power to rule over the kingdoms of the world and force everyone to do what was best for them (or at least that was Satan's claim), and all this misery to his dearly beloved children would be circumvented.

But the scriptures were written in Jesus' heart, and he would not abandon his Father's plan.  "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (verse 10).  He knew, as we should also learn, that our Heavenly Father's plans and designs are always best, and that our only chance to experience joy and growth and any degree of glory is through the exercise of our agency, even if that agency leads us first through various degrees of hell. 

(Note the JST footnote to verse 11.)

THE CALLING OF THE APOSTLES

John notes the call of five apostles immediately after his baptism (John 1:35-51), where the other gospels report them called later, in a different order, and under different circumstances (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11).  Is this a contradiction?  "If we take [John's account] as historical, Simon, Andrew, Philip, and Nathaniel first followed Jesus at an earlier date [than that recorded in Matthew and Mark].  On returning to Galilee, they again took up their normal work.  This is inherently plausible.  The disciples’ commitment and understanding advanced by degrees; even after the Resurrection, they returned once more to their fishing.  Here an earlier commitment may explain their haste in following Jesus [later]."  (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 119)  In this preliminary or preparatory call, they were invited to "come and see" (verse 39).  They spent time with Jesus, and their testimonies grew as they did so.  First, Andrew told his brother Simon, "We have found the Messias" (John 1:41).  This term means "the anointed one," who was prophesied to lead the Israelites to freedom.  The next day, Philip was invited to follow Christ, and afterwards he told Nathanael, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45).  As Jesus let Nathanael know he was aware of a private moment of divine communication Nathanael had experienced under a fig tree, Nathanael's witness expanded: "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel" (John 1:49).

Later, when their call to full-time apostleship came, the disciples were told, "I am he of whom it is written by the prophets; follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (JST Matt. 4:19).  Knowing they had previously had the opportunity to "come and see," to learn of Christ, and to educate their desires, we can comprehend how they could now, with joy, and without a moment's hesitation, "straightway [leave] their nets," follow Christ, and become fishers of men (Matt. 4:18-22).

SOURCES:

Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 1
J. R. Dummelow, The One Volume Bible Commentary
Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 5
Albert Barnes, Barnes' Notes on the New Testament, Vol. 9

I am indebted to my stake president, Kent R. Wallis, who shared his copious research with me.

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