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 #3 "Unto You Is Born...a Saviour"

Luke 2; Matthew 2

Preparation:  Stick a little gold star somewhere around the room where it is in plain sight, but not obvious, like on the frame of the blackboard or on a doorframe. One of those little gold star stickers that we use to reward children for their schoolwork or piano practice would be fine.  Also, dig back out your nativity set (an unbreakable one) from the Christmas decorations you probably just put away. (Sorry about that.)  Put them in a box or a bag so that class members can reach in and pull them out without looking.  If you have a stable as a part of the nativity set, display that on the table, empty.  If you don't have access to a nativity set, you can put cards with the names of the nativity figures on them in a bag, or you can download cute little paper figures here.  If you don't have access to a printer or a Nativity set, draw stick figures as you give the lesson :) You will need the following:  one angel, three wise men, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, a shepherd, a sheep, a donkey.

ALL THINGS TESTIFY OF CHRIST

Ask the class if any of them noticed the gold star in the room.  Once they are told, they can look around and easily find it.  Ask why they didn't see it before, even though it was in plain sight.  Their answer will be because they didn't know to look for it.  When Christ was born, there was a special star in the sky.  The wise men saw it.  But what about all of the other people in Bethlehem, and in Jerusalem, and in the East?  Why did they not see the star?  Because they were not looking for it.

All around us, there are things that testify of Christ to us, just as the star testified of Christ's birth.  If we are looking we will see them: The beauties of nature, the miracle of the human body, the many times that we almost have accidents but don't, or the times that things that seem bad turn out to be really great in the end.  People who are not looking for them do not see them as proof of Christ's influence in their lives.  For example, everyone can watch General Conference on television or the Internet and see President Monson, but only those who are looking for a prophet see him as a prophet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!  (EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT REALLY YOUR BIRTHDAY)

Before we get started, let's talk about Christmas Day. "Both scriptural and historical evidence suggest [that Jesus was born] in the spring of the year, near the Jewish Passover" (Nelson, p. 3), so why do we celebrate Christ's birthday on December 25th?  The answer to that question is rather interesting and ironic.

The Romans crucified Christ for the Jews.  After Christ's death, Paul traveled to Rome to teach the gospel.  As a result of his efforts, Christianity spread to Rome, and eventually the Roman Catholic Church was born, which is the world's largest Christian denomination today.  As a result, the descendants of that nation that crucified Jesus Christ now wear crosses around their necks to remind themselves of Christ's sacrifice for them.  Sweet.

When the Romans made Christianity their official religion, they wanted to celebrate Christ's birth, but no one knew the correct date.  So they decided to honor it in the place of a celebration they already had: the imaginary birthday of the sun god they had previously worshipped: December 25th (Skousen, p. 15).  Some atheists therefore accuse present-day Christians of participation in idolatry, even though the Christians have never heard of the sun god and could therefore hardly be considered worshipping him.  But even though Christmas (as it was called hundreds of years later) wasn't a clean and instant break from paganism--all major cultural and religious changes take time--it was a way of turning the honor to Christ while eclipsing the centuries-old idolatrous traditions.  And it was effective:  At least a third of the world's population celebrates Christmas, while very few have even heard of the sun god Nimrod.

Regardless of the origin/evolution of Christmas, its present-day celebration is a powerful reminder of the divinity of Christ.  Let's look a little more closely at all the individuals and circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus and see how they, like everything else, testify of Christ. 

Have class members pull a figure out of the bag or box.  Then tell about that particular person or animal using the notes below as you place it in the stable.


ANGEL

The angel who told Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God was Gabriel.  Gabriel had also appeared to two other people that we know of:  Daniel of the Old Testament, and Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.  Who was Gabriel when he was a mortal?  Noah.  (History of the Church, 3:386).  Noah would have been one of Mary's ancestors, as well as Daniel's and Zacharias's, since everyone on the earth after the flood descended from him (Skousen, p. 9)

Luke 2:13 reads, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God."  We tend to think of the heavenly host as a choir, and they probably were, but the meaning of the word host in the scriptures usually refers to an army.  When we read that our God is "the Lord of hosts," the meaning is "the captain of the heavenly army" (Harper-Collins Study Bible; see also 1 Samuel 17:45).  The word host can also refer to "a great multitude" (See Topical Guide heading for "Host"), but as the word multitude is already being used in the scriptural sentence, a different meaning for the word host is logical--"A multitude of the heavenly multitude" just doesn't make a lot of sense.  Since our entire existence, including premortal and postmortal, is the story of a war being waged against evil, it would be appropriate for the heavenly army to rejoice at the birth of the one who would lead them to victory.

WISE MAN #1

How many wise men were there?  We have no idea.  Matthew 2:1 reads, "Behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem."  No number is ever mentioned.  Three gifts are itemized, so the assumption has been that there was one wise man for each gift, but there might have been only two wise men, or there might have been 100.

There is a fascinating new translation of an ancient text found in the Vatican that appears to be the record of the journey of the wise men.  It was just this month featured in multiple news stories.  In this record, there is a large company of wise men, they travel from China, and they are even baptized by one of the apostles.  According to the translator, the word magi means "to pray in silence," and has no reference to astrology or sorcery (Landau).  "When they first encounter the long-prophesied star, the text says it initially appears in a celestial form that then transforms into a human form or 'star child,' who instructs them to go to Bethlehem to witness its birth. Each of the Magi, in fact, sees the star child in a different form, with each vision representing a different time in the life of Christ."  You can read about it in USA Today or on KSL.com.  The book of the translation is called Revelation of the Magi.  The translator is Brent Landau.  It is available to the general public in bookstores.

WISE MAN #2

Most people think that the wise men were not Jews, and this new book suggests that they weren't, but it is possible they were.  There were Jews living in many different countries surrounding Israel.  When kings from other countries conquered Israel over the years, they usually moved some of the Jews out so that their own people could move in, and so there were little groups of Jews in many countries to the East.  It makes sense that it would have been Jews or Jewish converts who would have studied the prophecies of the Old Testament (see Matt. 2:5-6; Micah 5:2; Numbers 24;17) in order to know about the sign of the star, and the general location of the birthplace of the Messiah (McConkie, p. 358).

When the wise men traveled to Jerusalem, they thought it would be easy to find the baby king.  They expected everyone to be excited and the city to be in an uproar because of the birth of Jesus.  But, as we said, most people did not see the star because they were not looking for it.  So they had to figure out how to find the baby, and they decided to go to the palace and ask the king.  Perhaps they thought Jesus would have been the king's son (Skousen, p. 30).

When King Herod wasn't able to give them any information, they went back out searching and the star moved, perhaps like a satellite, or maybe as a vision.  "It went before them" (Matt. 2:9) until it led them the five miles to Bethlehem, and even to the right house where Joseph and Mary were living.  The census was over, all the people who had come to be taxed had left, and now there was a place available for Joseph and Mary to live (Matt 2:11).  We don't know the age of the Savior at this time, but he was under the age of two, since that is the age of children Herold commanded to be killed.

WISE MAN #3

We often call the wise men the three kings, but scriptures never say that they are kings.  This image results from the wealth they carried with them.  They brought gold, which has always been rare and pricey.  They brought frankincense, a very expensive crystalline resin from a tree in Arabia, used in temple worship, and also as a perfume.  They brought myrrh, an extracted resin from various thorny bushes in Arabia, and worth a small fortune.  It was a perfume, also used for temple worship, and particularly used to embalm the dead.  When Jesus was in the tomb, this may have been one of the "spices" that the women brought to put on his body (Skousen, p. 33).  It is sometimes said by scriptorians that the wise men honored three roles of Christ:  They brought gold for the King, frankincense for the High Priest, and myrrh for the Savior who would give His life to atone for our sins.

MARY

Joseph did not call his wife "Mary" and neither did anyone who knew her.  The New Testament was written in Greek, but Mary and Joseph and all of the Jews spoke Hebrew.  Mary is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Miriam. 

Mary was a direct descendant of King David, and if other countries had not taken over Israel, she could have been a princess and her baby could have become the earthly King of the Jews (Skousen, p. 6; see also "Joseph" in last week's lesson, and Matt. 1:1).

JOSEPH

Joseph was Mary's cousin; she was the daughter of his uncle Jacob.  Joseph was also a direct descendant of King David, and could have been the king of the Jews if the Hebrews were still in control (McConkie, p. 316).

We always assume that Joseph was poor.  Was he?  Yes.  How do we know this?  The Law said that all the firstborn boys should be presented at the temple and the parents should bring a sacrifice with them of a lamb, but if they couldn't afford a lamb, they could sacrifice two doves (Numbers 8;15-18; 18:15-16).  Joseph and Mary brought two doves (Luke 2:22-24; Talmage, p. 96).

BABY JESUS

Jesus was not called "Jesus" by the Hebrews.  The name Jesus is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Joshua or Jehoshua.  The meaning of the name Joshua is very significant:  "Jehovah saves."  Jehovah was the God of the Old Testament.  The name Joshua was a sign to them that this baby was Jehovah, the God in their scriptures (Nelson, p. 4; Skousen, p. 22; Bible Dictionary, Jesus; McConkie, p. 318).

Jesus was the first child born in the family, but was he the only one?  No.  He had at least four half-brothers and at least two half-sisters, so there were at least seven children in the family, and maybe more.  Four brothers, James, Joses, Simon and Judas and an unspecified number of sisters are mentioned in Matt 13:55-56.  James and Judas (Jude) became apostles and their writings are found in our New Testament.  The JST gives us a little more information about Jesus' childhood and youth.  "And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.  And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him" (JST Matt. 3:24-25 in the Bible Appendix).

SHEPHERDS

Shepherds were on the low end of society in the days of Christ.  The very low end.  Because their work required them to be out in the fields constantly, they couldn't keep all the Jewish customs and rules, all the hand-washings, and social mandates.  So they were looked down upon, and they weren't trusted.  Most "respectable" people lived in houses and were farmers or merchants.  Shepherds were a little like homeless people.  They had to sleep out on the ground with the filthy animals.  (Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick, Bp. of the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, "And There Were Shepherds in the Field..." sermon printed on the Internet; also Randy Alcorn, "A Second Glance at the Christmas Shepherds", Moody Magazine, Dec. 1982).  The witnesses of Christ's birth came from both ends of society:  the magi at the top, and the shepherds at the bottom.  He is the Savior for everyone, and in His sight, everyone is equal.

Did you know that the Christmas carol "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains" was written by a Latter-day Saint in the 1880s?  His name was John McFarlane and he lived in southern Utah.

SHEEP

Bethlehem is very near to Jerusalem, only 5 miles or so away.  So the shepherds outside the town of Bethlehem were also outside the city of Jerusalem.  And what was in Jerusalem?  The temple, of course.  According to the Law of Moses, the first-born sheep were offered as sacrifices in the temple.  The shepherds watching over these sheep had the responsibility of making sure which lambs were the firstborn and could be used in sacrifice.  They tended those lambs that were set apart for their temple worship in special flocks. In fact, by law, only these temple flocks could be pastured so near the city.  If the shepherds brought some of the lambs with them to the manger, as we always picture them doing, they would have been holy lambs that were being raised to be sacrificed in a similitude of what Jesus, the "Lamb of God," would later do for all of us (Kimberly Webb, New Era, Dec. 2003, p. 23; McConkie, p. 347).

DONKEY

The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is close to 100 miles, all over rough terrain, and the Jews actually traveled a longer distance in order to skirt Samaria.  Fortunately, the small varieties of donkeys in the middle east give a very nice ride.  The rider can simply come up behind and sit on the donkey, with her legs nearly touching the ground.  She sits up by the tail on the hips of the donkey, which do not move much while the donkey walks, making for a fairly comfortable ride (Skousen, p. 16).

THE TESTIMONIES OF SIMEON AND ANNA

As emphasized in the conclusion to the previous lesson, the Holy Ghost wrought upon those who were seeking the Christ child.  This happened to two significant individuals who are not a part of our Nativity sets:  Simeon and Anna.  Note that the role of the Holy Ghost is mentioned three times in the account of Simeon:

"And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.  And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, then he took him up in his arms and blessed God" (Luke 2:25-28).

In keeping with his unusually fair treatment of women, Luke gives equal credence to the witness of a woman.  (See "Luke" in a previous post.)  Not only does he mention her testimony, but he calls her a "prophetess."  There are different meanings for the word prophetess in the Bible.  In at least one instance it refers to the wife of a prophet (Isa. 8:3), but, more often, it refers to a woman who "who possessed the power to prophesy, who declared that [she] spoke God's message, and whose prophecies were fulfilled" (Hurd, p. 12; see Exo. 15:20; Judges 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14).  Anna was the latter.  A prophetess would not be the equivalent of the prophet of a dispensation who holds the keys of the priesthood, but as "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10), any righteous woman being moved by the Spirit and testifying of Jesus could be a prophetess.  This is what Anna did.  She "spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38).  Like John the Baptist, she helped prepare the way of the Lord before His ministry began.


As Latter-day Saints, it is our responsibility to follow the example of the star, the angels, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna and testify of Christ.  I love this little testimony-poem by C.S. Lewis, the great English testator of Jesus Christ:


THE NATIVITY


Among the oxen (like an ox I'm slow)
I see a glory in the stable grow
Which, with the ox's dullness might at length
Give me an ox's strength.


Among the asses (stubborn I as they)
I see my Saviour where I looked for hay;
So may my beastlike folly learn at least
The patience of a beast.


Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)
I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;
Oh that my baa-ing nature would win thence
Some wooly innocence!


--C.S. Lewis




Sources:

Russell M. Nelson, Wise Men and Women Still Adore Him
W. Cleon Skousen, Days of the Living Christ
Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, Book 1
James E. Talmadge, Jesus the Christ
Brent Landau, Revelation of the Magi
Jerrie Hurd, Leaven: 150 Women in Scripture Whose Lives Lift Ours
C.S. Lewis, Poems

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

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 #48 "The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord"

Zechariah 10-14; Malachi

INTRODUCTION

What do a coin, an argument, and the state line have in common?  (Wait for response.) They all have two sides--which leads us right into our topic, the Second Coming.  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5).  The Second Coming will have two sides:  it will be great on the one side, and dreadful on the other.

It is reported that President Faust was speaking at a regional Priesthood meeting.  At the end of the meeting he opened up the session for questions.  Someone raised his hand and asked what the Brethren knew about when the Second Coming would occur.  President Faust asked the man what priesthood he held.  The man said he was a high priest.  President Faust said, "Then I will fill you in on what the Brethren know:  (pause)  We haven't a clue."  But then he added, "Go to your High Priest's quorum next Sunday; I'm sure someone there will know."  (Story told by Scott B. Marsh at BYU Education Week, August 2001)

But even though President Faust didn't know when the Second Coming would be, it can't be too far away.  President Benson said, "This is the last and great dispensation in which the great consummation of God's purposes will be made, the only dispensation in which the Lord has promised that sin will not prevail.  The Church will not be taken from the earth again.  It is here to stay.  The Lord has promised it and you are a part of that Church and kingdom--the nucleus around which will be builded the great kingdom of God on the earth.  The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ's coming--and that time is not far distant.  How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event.  I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us."  This was originally said in the '80's and was repeated by President Hinckley in 1992 in the October General Conference.  (Ensign, Nov. 1992, p. 4)

THE NEW APOSTACY

The Second Coming is called "the great and dreadful day of the Lord."  It is two-sided, just like the coin and the argument.  On the one side, it will be great for the righteous, and on the other it will be dreadful for the wicked.  Of course, it's going to be great for all of us, because we are members of His Church, right?  Well, that depends on what kind of members of the Church we are. 

Christ told many parables about the Second Coming and one of them was the Parable of the Ten Virgins.  (Read Matt. 25:1-13.)  The most important thing to remember about this parable is that it is the Parable of the Ten Virgins, not the Parable of the Five Virgins and the Five Harlots!  All ten were members of the Church, members of the "wedding party."  All ten had lamps of testimony.  But five had let their lamps get low on oil, and while waiting for the "bridegroom" (the Second Coming), they were extinguished altogether.  They were drifting off to sleep and didn't even realize it was happening until it was gone!  They were victims of what Lynn Scoresby calls "The New Apostacy" (A. Lynn Scoresby, BYU Education Week Lecture, August 19, 1999).

Malachi warned of this type of apostacy.  "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my [respect]? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.  And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee?  In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.  And if ye offer the blind [lamb] for the sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick [animals], is it not evil?" (Mal. 1:6-8) 

What is the accusation?  Perverted obedience.  It's no sacrifice to give the Lord the leftovers, the things that we didn't need anyway, the sick animals that we couldn't have eaten or sold.

"Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.  Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.  But ye said, Wherein shall we return? [What did we do wrong?]  Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings" (Mal. 3:7-8). 

What is the accusation?  It's more than just not paying tithes.  It's not recognizing that everything belongs to God and should go for the good of His kingdom; that we are not entitled owners, but simply stewards.

"Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord.  Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?  Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?  And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered" (Mal. 3:13-15). 

What is the accusation?  Envying those who are not members of the church, or who are not active in their membership.  Who would do that?  Most of us at one time or another.  We get tired of church service and look at the "easier" lives of our nonmember neighbors who get to sleep in on Sunday mornings and don't have as many rules to follow.  We don't recognize the tremendous blessings that have entered our lives through our service to the Lord and our obedience to His commandments.  When something happens to us that we term to be a tragedy, we shout angrily at the Lord, "Hey!  I've been active in the church all my life!  I've read the scriptures, said my prayers, served a mission, gone to the temple, lived the Word of Wisdom!  Why did I get cancer?  Why did my house burn down?  Why did my daughter die in a car crash?  Why did my son go astray?  Look at my neighbor:  His life is perfect, and he's never gone to church!  I have been cheated!"  Instead of trusting the Lord's long-term plan for our lives and looking for lessons and blessings in trials, we blame Him for what we view as injustice or inattention.

THE DANGER OF HYPOCRISY

Let's look at another parable.  "A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.  And he came to the second, and said likewise.  And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.  Whether of them twain did the will of his father?" (Matt. 21:28-31).

Brother Scoresby defines the First Apostacy as getting angry and leaving the Church in a huff.  The Second Apostacy, he says, is to pervert the Church from within.  The Third Apostacy, or the New Apostacy, is much more subtle.  It's not really new, but it has experienced a resurgence in recent years.  It's like a virgin with not quite enough oil.  It's like a sacrifice of a lamb, but a blind one.  It's like paying 8% tithing.  It's like accepting a Church calling and never getting around to doing it.  The New Apostacy is to not do what you say you believe.  It is half-heartedness.  It is hypocrisy.  It is a lack of spiritual integrity.  If the integrity of a building is compromised, it may look fine, but in a hurricane or an earthquake, it will crumble.  So with the faith of one whose spiritual integrity is not solid.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "Some people are weak in their faith and testimonies but are not even aware of how precarious their situation is.  Many of them likely would be offended at the suggestion."  He explains what their problem is: "They raise their right hand to sustain Church leaders and then murmur and complain when a decision [made by those Church leaders] does not square with their way of thinking.  They claim to be obedient to God's commandments but do not feel at all uncomfortable about purchasing food at the store on Sunday and then asking the Lord to bless it.  Some say they would give their lives for the Lord, yet they refuse to serve in the nursery.

"The Savior spoke very explicity about people who 'draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me' (Isa. 29:13).  His words were: 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."  (Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony," Ensign, November 1992)

Brother Scoresby notes that when there is a conflict between your belief and your action--in other words, hypocrisy--the action wins; the brain will eventually adjust the belief to match the action.  The value of other beliefs in the brain are also compromised when one belief is overridden by action.  Over time, the individual continues to lose control over his own behavior.  This is why Christ condemned hypocrisy so soundly.  It is a powerful sin because it decreases integrity and eventually leads to apostacy.  It compromises the soundness of the spirit, it undermines the foundation of faith.

DEVELOPING SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY

How can we develop spiritual integrity, or help our children do it?  Most of us as children, if we were in good homes, developed the foundation for integrity, which forms the foundation upon which we can build spiritual integrity.  (This chart is my interpretation of the principles taught by Lynn Scoresby.) 

Keep in mind, these stages overlap, and we are often working on several of them at once.

Development of Personal and Spiritual Integrity
1. Adapting emotional behavior
    First, we learned to adapt our emotional behavior to the situation. 
    As infants we were more excited to see our mothers than to see a
    stranger, for example.
2. Adjusting language to situation
    Then we learned to adjust our language to different situations,
    such as learning to be reverent in Primary.
3. Self-regulation
    And we learned how to regulate ourselves in sports or in playing
    games or in restaurants to adhere to the rules or the social
    expectations.  Most children have reached this stage by about
    age five.  

At stage 4, we can begin to develop our spiritual integrity:

4. Formation and application of conscience
    "Put your trust in that spirit that leadeth to do good..."
     (D&C 11:12)
    The next step is to learn to listen to our conscience and recognize
    the direction of the Spirit.  This is the stage we would hope to
    have children reach by the age of accountability when they are
    baptized.  We continue to build on the ability to hear and follow
    the guidance of the Spirit throughout our lives.
5. Accurate view of self
    "I show unto men their weakness..." (Ether 12:27)
    We must also be able to recognize the truth about ourselves,
    without being afraid of what we might find, and then go to the
    Lord with repentant hearts.
6. Practice and internalize beliefs
    "Write it in your hearts..." (Prov. 3:1-4)
    Over the course of our lives, we must daily internalize our beliefs
    through our experiences; we must practice obedience to God
    until it becomes "second nature."
7. Change circumstances to match belief
    "Faith to move mountains..."  (Prov. 3:5; Matt. 21:21)
    Then we gain the ability to change circumstances based on our
    beliefs, rather than changing our beliefs to fit the circumstances;
    we use our faith in Jesus Christ to work for improvement in our
    world, to heal, to receive answers to prayer, to exercise the gifts
    of the Spirit, to change lives, even to work miracles.
8. Integrity and compassion
    "This is my work and my glory..." (3 Ne. 28:9-10; Moses 1:39)
    Finally, we reach a state of spiritual integrity: behavior that is
    consistent with belief.  In this stage, we truly live with charity
    and peace, wherein we love God so much that, not only do we
    trust Him, but we are one in purpose with Him, meaning that our
    top priority is always the temporal welfare and spiritual growth of
    those within our influence.  This is the effect of a celestialized
    person.

If we look carefully at ourselves, we may be able to find what is holding us back.  Instead of the positive development noted above, we may be stymied by acting in ways that are detrimental to our spiritual integrity, such as in the examples below.

4. Formation and application of conscience.
    We don't always listen to the Holy Ghost, trust what it says to do,
    or follow through on promptings.
5. Accurate view of self. 
    We are too prideful to recognize any error, or don't want to go
    through the storm of repentance to get to the peace of
    forgiveness.
6. Practice and internalize beliefs.
    We pick and choose which commandments to keep, or we keep
    them under our own terms like Cain did when he sacrificed grain
    instead of a lamb (Gen. 4:3-5).  We keep the commandments
    only if it doesn't require us to give up anything important, like
    offering a blind lamb as a sacrifice (Mal. 1:8).  We don't think the
    Brethren know what they're talking about it regarding some of
    their counsel to us, or we think we are an exception.
7. Change circumstances to match belief.
    We say we have faith in Jesus Christ, but we don't believe He
    can or will help us with this particular problem/church calling/
    weakness/sin/relationship. We look at our planner each morning
    and freak out, rather than trusting the Lord to guide us to do the
    most important things.  We second-guess the Lord's wisdom,
    and try to tell Him what to do in our prayers, rather than seeking
    to know His will.  We interpret unplanned events (accidents,
    illnesses, financial losses, etc.) to be tragedies, rather than
    potential blessings and stepping stones in our progression.  We
    look to the future fearfully, not remembering that our lives and
    our earth are cradled in God's hands. 
8. Integrity and compassion.
    We go to church, we read the scriptures, we carry out church
    callings, but we can't stand our relative/neighbor/coworker.  We
    gossip or judge.  We are jealous or judgmental.  We feel a
    constant sense of competition, as if to "win the prize" of celestial
    glory (Mosiah 4:27) we must beat our ward members to it, as if
    the Lord graded on a curve.  We continually break the great
    commandment to "love our neighbor as ourselves."

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY AT THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD

Read Malachi 3:1-4.  Do we want the Second Coming to be great for us, or to be terrible?  It's a no-brainer, but it's a question we need to ask ourselves every day in order to avoid the New Apostacy.  Do we want to be one of the five wise virgins, or one of the five unprepared virgins?  The days ahead will be a challenge to testimony, and those that are just a flicker will go out.  Those who have been hypocrites and not realized it will find that their "hearts fail them."  They will not be able to abide the Day of His Coming.  Their compromised foundations will crumble.  But those who have the integrity to stay on the Lord's side, who have built their lives upon the Rock, will be saved. 

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.  And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not" (Mal. 3:16-18).

"And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation. For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver" (D&C 45:56-59).

CHALLENGE

The New Year is upon us.  What better time to examine ourselves prayerfully, determine where our spiritual integrity is lacking, and make a resolution to strengthen that foundation?

Extra Christmas Lesson: The Measure of Our Faith

If your ward has more Sundays than the manual has lessons, you can use this extra lesson if you didn't use it last year:  The Measure of Our Faith.  It has a Christmas connection in it so it might work well on the Sunday before Christmas.  Then you could give Lesson 48 on the last Sunday of the year.