People
in the New Testament
Mary the mother of Jesus
From the Book of Mormon we learn that Mary lived in Nazareth before Jesus
was born (1 Nephi 11:13); she was a virgin (1 Nephi 11:20; Alma 7:10); she was
overshadowed and conceived the Son of God "by the power of the Holy
Ghost" (Alma 7:10). Jesus was the literal son of Mary, after the manner of
the flesh, and was the Son of God the Father, not the offspring of the Spirit
or of a mortal man (1 Nephi 11:18, 21; Mosiah 3:8). Luke 1:26–27 shows she lived
in Nazareth--a rural area.
Marriage in those times consisted of a two-event contract. The first when
the girl was around twelve was a formal "betrothal," really an
engagement agreed between the families of the man and girl. The second was
later when they set up house together, often in the husband's parents' home. So
when in Matthew 1:18 it says that Mary was "espoused" to be married
to Joseph, this means the first part of the contract had been carried out, but
not the second.
Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist
There is a lot more information about Elisabeth than is usual in the New
Testament. She was born into the priestly lineage, a "daughter of
Aaron" (Luke 1:5). She was therefore the daughter of a priest, and her
name is the same as the wife of Moses's brother Aaron, Elisheba (Hebrew; Exodus
6:23), which means "my God is my oath/treasure," signifying "the
one by whom I swear." Luke calls her "righteous before God"
(Luke 1:6)--equal with her husband. Luke further defined righteous as
"walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blameless" (Luke 1:6).
Traditionally, Elisabeth and Zacharias lived in Ein Kerem, five miles west
of Jerusalem. When she knew she was pregnant, as is traditional she went into
seclusion for five to six months (see Luke 1:24–26). Since Zacharias was deaf
and dumb, the knowledge of her pregnancy could not have reached Mary, who could
only have known it through the angel (Luke 1:36). With a deaf and dumb husband
and being in seclusion, it is a stark contrast that when Mary arrived and the
Holy Ghost bore witness to Elisabeth through her unborn son, John, that Mary
would give birth to the Son of God, Elisabeth "spake out with a loud
voice."
When John was born, typically a son would be named after the father, but again
Elisabeth spoke out with the name given her by revelation. Probably a lone
woman in a room filled with men, at the time of John's circumcision, she had
the conviction to declare John's name and was rewarded with support from
Zacharias.[1]
Zacharias, the father of John the
Baptist
Zacharias,
like Elisabeth, is descended from Aaron and therefore served in the temple. He,
like Mary, saw Gabriel and was forthright enough to converse and even question
with him. Unlike Sherem in Jacob 7 and Korihor in Alma 30, the curse of dumb
and deafness will be removed because of his righteousness.
Joseph, husband of Mary
Gerald N.
Lund, who later became a member of the Seventy, discussed Joseph’s visions and
spiritual sensitivity: “Matthew tells us that [Joseph] was of the lineage of
King David, that he was a just and considerate man, that in a dream an angel
told him who Jesus would be, that he was obedient, and that he gave Jesus his
name, which means savior. (See Matt. 1.) We know that he took Mary to
Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. (See Luke 2:4–6.) Less than two years later,
Joseph took his family into Egypt to escape Herod, after being warned in a
dream. In Egypt, a dream again told him when to return, and another dream told
him to go to Galilee. (See Matt.
2:13–15,
19–22.) Four dreams from God! Joseph must have been an exceptionally visionary
and spiritually sensitive man” (Jesus
Christ, Key to the Plan of Salvation, 1991;51–52).”[2]
Luke, writer of the Gospel (Testimony)
of Luke, and Acts
The
JST for Luke 1:1 describes him as “a messenger of Jesus Christ.” Paul, to whom
Luke was a missionary companion calls him, “beloved physician” (Colossians
4:14). It is not known exactly when Luke wrote his Gospel, but scholars
estimate it was composed between AD 60 and 85. Luke’s sources were those
people who “from the beginning were eyewitnesses” (Luke 1:2) of the Savior’s
mortal ministry and Resurrection. We do not know where the Gospel of Luke was
written. It is principally addressed to the Gentiles.[3]
Matthew, writer of the Gospel (Testimony)
of Matthew
Matthew
was one of the Savior’s Twelve Apostles and an eyewitness to many of the events
he described. This is supported by the title given to his Gospel in the Joseph
Smith Translation:
“The
Testimony of St. Matthew.” Before his conversion and call to the apostleship,
Matthew was a publican, or tax collector, known as Levi, the son of Alphaeus
(see Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27–32). Some evidence suggests that Matthew
used Mark’s Gospel as a source. Matthew may have placed confidence in Mark’s
account because Mark had relied heavily on Peter’s eyewitness accounts of the
Master’s life. Matthew edited, corrected, reorganized, and added
significantly
to the material he obtained from Mark; he may also have drawn upon other oral and
written sources. Most scholars date the writing of the book of Matthew to AD 70–90.
His Gospel is addressed principally to the Jews.[4]
John the Baptist
A
vigorous preacher, John taught many principles and doctrines of the gospel and
filled his mission in every particular. Latter-day revelation confirms the
biblical account and also makes known additional events in the ministry of
John. We learn that he was “ordained by an angel,” when he was eight days of age,
to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews and to prepare a people for the Lord. We
learn also that he was baptized while yet in his childhood (D&C
84:27–28). On May 15, 1829, this same John came to Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery near Harmony, Pennsylvania, and ordained these men to the Priesthood of
Aaron (D&C
13; 27:7–8;
JS—H
1:68–72). Thus his ministry has operated in three dispensations: 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 fulness of times. [5]
Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a leader of the Jewish people. He was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the high court in Israel. He stood up for Jesus when the Pharisees were conspiring against him: Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?" (John 7:50-51, NIV). He helped Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus' body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb, at great risk to his safety and reputation. Nicodemus also donated 75 pounds of expensive myrrh and aloes to anoint Jesus's body after Jesus died.
The
Samaritan Woman at the Well
Because
she came to Jacob's Well which is near the foot of Mount Gerizim, it is likely
that she lived in Sychar, a village that in the Old Testament was known as
Shechem and is near the Palestinian city of Nablus today. Usually, women
drew water early in the morning, but Jesus was resting there "about the
sixth hour," around noon (John 4:6). It is possible that she had been
ostracized from her own people, as well as the Jews because of her having had
five husbands and was currently living with a man not her husband.[6]
[1] See
Camille Fronk Olson, Women of the New
Testament (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2014).
[2] New
Testament Student Manual at
https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/10734_bookmarked-eng.pdf.
[3] New
Testament Student Manual.
[4] New
Testament Student Manual.
[5] See https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/john-the-baptist?lang=eng.
Also Robert J Matthews, “There is Not a Greater Prophet,” at https://www.lds.org/ensign/1991/01/there-is-not-a-greater-prophet-the-ministry-of-john-the-baptist?lang=eng.
[6] Olsen, Women of the New Testament, 219–25.
[6] Olsen, Women of the New Testament, 219–25.
No comments:
Post a Comment