New
Testament Lesson 3: “Unto Us A Child is Born”
Luke 2; Matthew 2
Quotes:
Thomas S. Monson—“We need not walk by the
shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked. All of
us can walk the path He walked when, with His words ringing in our ears, His
Spirit filling our hearts, and His teachings guiding our lives, we choose to
follow Him as we journey through mortality. His example lights the way. Said
He, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”[1]
James E Talmage—“Tidings of such import
had never before been delivered by angel or received by man—good tidings of
great joy, given to but few and those among the humblest of earth, but destined
to spread to all people. There is sublime grandeur in the scene, as there is
divine authorship in the message, and the climax is such as the mind of man
could never have conceived—the sudden appearance of a multitude of the heavenly
host, singing audibly to human ears the briefest, most consistent and most
truly complete of all the songs of peace ever attuned by mortal or spirit
choir. What a consummation to be wished—Peace on earth! But how can such come
except through the maintenance of good will toward men? And through what means
could glory to God in the highest be more effectively rendered?”[2]
Introduction: Most biblical
commentators agree that the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem “to be taxed”
was more likely to take part in a kind of census . “Joseph and Mary went from
Nazareth to Bethlehemto be taxed because Caesar Augustus decreed a taxation of
some kind, or enrollment for
taxation, throughout his empire. (JST)”[3]
Under Roman Law, once you reach the age of thirteen you are considered an adult
and therefore liable for taxes. Joseph must have had property in Bethlehem for
him to have to go there to pay the taxes.[4]
They almost certainly made the 100 mile journey in a caravan with other
travelers. It would have been too dangerous to go on their own.
Luke
2
See Video presentation here https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/1996-06-02-lesson-3-luke-ii?lang=eng.
Verse 4—David’s family originally
came from the Bethlehem area which is why, here only, Bethlehem is also called
a “city of David”—normally reserved for Jerusalem.
7—“brought forth” Question: How do we bring Christ into our
own lives? When we are born we almost have a greater knowledge of Christ
than we can gain in a lifetime because we were with Him and our Father, and the
veil is so very recently applied. How will we, from now, this minute on, bring
Christ into our lives?
8–17 That Luke brings in the
shepherds as the first recipients of the glorious news via the visit of an
angel that Christ is born ties into Christ as the Lamb of God, His humble birth
and upbringing, His role as the Good Shepherd. What would it have taken for
them to leave their flock since their main job in life was to guard them? They
had to search for the “manger.” And when they had seen and gained a testimony
of the divinity of the Babe, they “made known abroad the saying which was told
them concerning this child” (Luke 2:17).
Elder
Holland: “So why should we bear frequent and powerful testimony of Christ
as Savior, as Redeemer, as Atoning Lamb of God? Because doing so invites and
becomes part of the divine power of testimony borne by God the Father and by
the Holy Ghost, a testimony borne on wings of fire to the very hearts of
investigators. Such a divine testimony of Christ is the rock upon which every
new convert must build. Only this testimony of the atoning Anointed, Victorious
One will prevail against the gates of hell. So saith the Son of God Himself.”
19, 51 Mary kept all these
things/pondered them “in her heart.” Question:
What does pondering in your heart help
gain, a greater understanding, a different perspective, a strengthening of
faith?
22, 42—taking Jesus to the temple.
Once gain Luke emphasises the centrality of the temple in the life of righteous
Jews. In ancient times, the journey was made for feast and special occasions.
Today we can go pretty much anytime. Question:
What is our main purpose in going to the temple?
25–38 Simeon and Anna. Whether or
not divine inspiration through the Holy Spirit came in between the Testaments,
Luke details it in abundance. Simeon in vs. 26 had revelation “by the Holy
Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” Anna
“served God with fastings and prayers night and day” and was prvileged to know
of Christ’s divinity.
Quote:
Joseph F. Smith, Jr. said “The Prophet Joseph Smith has declared that every
man who has come into this Church; and every woman, for that matter, who has
received the testimony of the Spirit of the Lord, is a prophet or a prophetess;
that every man should be a prophet, because every man in the Church should have
the testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy; and he should declare
the truth, teach the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, call
upon the people to repent of their sins, and instruct them in the things of the
kingdom. This is the duty of a prophet and constitutes the office and calling
of a prophet just as much as the declaration of things which are yet to come.”[5]
Verse 40: All we know about Christ’s
childhood! Plus D&C 93:11–14. Question:
How can we receive a fullness?
Matthew 2
1–9 The wise men and Herod. Micah
5:2 prophesies of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem and the wise men point
this out. Herod who wants to maintain his position at all costs has a history
of annihilating rivals, but is the arch politician so he courts the wise men
and encourages them to return with a report “that I may come and worship him
also.”
12 The wise men also receive
revelation—not to report to Herod.
13. Joseph receives revelation to
flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s infanticide.
16-17 With the slaughter of the
innocents in Bethlehem and its environs, scripture is again, tragically,
fulfilled (Jeremiah 31:15).
19—another angelic visition to
Joseph for their return, eventually to Nazareth, Galilee rather than Jerusalem.
Question:
With all these heavenly visions and manifestations attending the birth of
Christ and the restoration of the Gospel in the early 1800s, what can we expect
in our own lives?
Quote:
Hugh Nibley, “If you pray for an angel to visit you, you know what he'll do
if he comes. He'll just quote the scriptures to you—so you know you're wasting
your time waiting for what we already have. I'm quite serious about that.”[6]
[1]
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/ponder-the-path-of-thy-feet?lang=eng.
[2]
James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ at
https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-8?lang=eng.
[3]
D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew Skinner, Verse
by Verse: The Four Gospels (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006), 49.
[4]
See Naphtali Lewis, Life in Egypt under Roman Rule (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1983), 156–57, 172.
[5] Conference Report, April 1918, 159.
[6] Hugh
Nibley, Of All Things (Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book, 1993), 42.
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