Prophetic statements pertaining to Acts 1-5

Regarding Acts 1:4-5; 2:4, 38; 4:8, 31

“Conversion … is such a significant change that the Lord and His prophets refer to it as a rebirth, a change of heart, and a baptism of fire” (True to the Faith, p, 40).

“Baptism by water is half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half … the baptism of the Holy Ghost…. The baptism of water, without the baptism of fire … is of no use.”(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 95.) 

Elder David A. Bednar said: “We must be baptized by immersion in water… We must also be baptized [or] immersed in the Spirit ‘and then cometh a remission of sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost’(2 N. 31:17)….  The statement ‘receive the Holy Ghost’ in our confirmation was a directive to strive for the baptism of the Spirit…. ‘Receive the Holy Ghost’ was not a passive pronouncement; [but] a priesthood injunction—an authoritative admonition.” (April 2006 & Oct 2010, Conference Report.) 

Elder Boyd K. Packer said “baptism by water is a symbolic witness of repentance. ... When [we] are teaching [about] baptism by water, we must always also teach about the baptism of fire.” (See ‘The gift of the Holy Ghost: What every Member should know." Aug 2006 Liahona).

“It is also through receiving the Holy Ghost … that we may be sanctified . . . becoming free from sin—pure, clean, and holy—through the Atonement of Jesus Christ … as we yield our hearts to God…. We may appropriately speak of sanctification as the baptism of the Spirit, or being baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost.” (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, June 2001 Ensign; March 2010 Liahona.)

Some personal experiences of the baptism of the Holy Ghost:

“[Several] weeks after I was baptized [in water], I began to reflect upon the fact that I had not obtained [the baptism of the Holy Ghost] and I began to feel very uneasy…. At length, realizing that the usual time had come for secret prayer, I … knelt as I was in the habit of doing…. I had no sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray, than … the Spirit of God descended upon me, completely enveloping my whole person, filling me from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and O the joy and happiness I felt! …. It was a complete baptism--a tangible immersion in the Holy Ghost…” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, 59, 61.)

“The feeling that came upon me was that of pure peace, of love and of light…. I felt as if I wanted to do good everywhere to everybody.... There was not one par-ticle of desire for evil left in my soul.” (Teachings of the Presidents: Joseph F. Smith, 59.)

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin told of a friend who “had prayed often and long” to receive the baptism of fire and had nearly given up on receiving it. “One morning, while pondering the scriptures, he felt something surge through his body from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. ‘I was immersed in a feeling of such intense love and pure joy,’ he explained, ‘there was no room in me for any other sensation.’” (April 2003 Conference Report.)

Regarding Acts 2:44; 4:32-5:2

President Wilford Woodruff said, “Those who contribute of the means which the Lord gives them to assist the poor … give Satan less power to lead them astray…. [T]hose who supply themselves and their families with luxuries and advantages that [others can’t afford], are in danger…”(October 1887 Conference Report.)

President Joseph F. Smith said, “[Zion] is to be built … preparatory to the second coming …. Latter-day Saints [in the beginning] entered into a communal order similar to the one instituted by the Savior's disciples at Jerusalem, as briefly mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. ‘They had all things common’ meaning their material possessions… [S]uch a system had sanctified the City of Enoch in antediluvian days, and … the same system had flourished among the Nephites for two centuries after the coming of Christ.” (Messages of the First Presidency 4:237)

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Many are starving, and we throw away much and waste much…. As [members] gain control of their desires and … see their own wants in light of others’ needs … they insure not only temporal salvation but also spiritual sanctification.”(See October 1974 and October 1977 Conference Report).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “Far too many in the world experience hunger ... ache with cold … suffer from sickness … grieve for their children … mourn for the safety of their families. These people are our brothers and our sisters….  If, while we have the means to do so, we do not … come to their aid, we are in danger of being among those the prophet Moroni spoke of when he said, ‘Behold, ye do love money, and your substance … more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.’ (April 2001 Conference Report.)

Elder D. Todd Christofferson has said that to “establish Zion” we must “care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us.” He quoted D&C 70:14, “In your temporal things you shall be equal [or] the abun-dance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld,” and cited D&C 49:20, “[T]he earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance. But it is not given that one man should possess … above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.” (Oct 2008 Conference Report.)

Elder Robert D. Hales has said, “Living at the subsistence level ... relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened [and many] do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.” When we are “faced with the choice to buy, consume, or engage in activities, we need to learn to say ‘We can’t afford it’ but also, ‘We can afford it, but we don’t need it.’” He warned us against acquiring “things we do not really need” with funds “we could have used to help [others].” (See April 2009 Conference Report.)

“[T]he temporal and spiritual are inseparable” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2011 Conference Report).

NT#28 Acts 1-5 Study/discussion questions

What did Jesus promise His disciples they would receive after His ascension? (See Acts 1:4–5.)

Why was Matthias called to be an Apostle?

(See Acts 1:21–26.)

What happened on the day of Pentecost, 1 week after the Savior’s ascension? (See Acts chapter 2.)

What did Peter tell those who believed his testimony to do?

(See Acts 2:38.)

How was the lame man made whole?

(See Acts 3:12; 4:10.)

How did the priests’ and Sadducees’ response to Peter’s testimony differ from the response of many in the multitude? (See Acts 4:1–4.)

What did those who were baptized do after they had been converted?

(See Acts 2:42, 44–47; 4:32, 34-35.)

How did Barnabas respond to the law of consecration?  

(See Acts 4:37.)

How did Ananias and Sapphira violate the law of consecration?

(See Acts 5:1–2.)

What did the Apostles say and do after being threatened and imprisoned for  preaching the Gospel?     (See Acts 5:29–32.)

What change did the gift of the Holy Ghost bring about in the Apostles? (Compare Matt. 26:56, 74 with Acts 4:5–12, 18-20; 5:26–32, 40–42.)

New Testament Lesson # 27 "He is Not Here, for He is Risen" —Alison

New Testament Lesson # 27 Matthew 28; Luke 24; John 20–21

“He Is Not Here, for He Is Risen”

 Introduction

Last week we focused on Peter, and this week Peter again comes to the fore. Although the women were the first to know of Christ’s resurrection through the two angels, and Mary Magdalene is the first to see Him, a woman’s testimony did not fully count in the ancient world. It was Peter to whom the Lord showed Himself, and Peter who was forever thereafter the prime witness of the Resurrected Lord. Nevertheless, it is significant that women were the first witnesses and further testimony of the esteem in which the Lord holds His daughters.

The lesson manual does not deal with Christ’s visit to the spirit prison, what is known as “the harrowing of hell,”[1] but I wanted to quote Talmage here: "On the third day following, Jesus, then a resurrected Being, positively stated to the weeping Magdalene: 'I am not yet ascended to my Father.' He had gone to paradise but not to the place where God dwells. Paradise, therefore, is not Heaven, if by the latter term we understand the abode of the Eternal Father and His celestialized children. Paradise is a place where dwell righteous and repentant spirits between bodily death and resurrection. Another division of the spirit world is reserved for those disembodied beings who have lived lives of wickedness and who remain impenitent even after death. Alma, a Nephite prophet, thus spake of the conditions prevailing among the departed:

‘Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection. Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass that the spirits of those who are righteous, are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise; a state of rest; a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil; for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house; and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and this because of their own iniquity; being led captive by the will of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked: yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection^’ (Alma 40:11–14). While divested of His body Christ ministered among the departed, both in paradise and in the prison realm where dwelt in a state of durance the spirits of the disobedient. To this effect testified Peter nearly three decades after the great event: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water’ (1 Peter 3:18–20).”

Bishop Lott provided me with some further quotes on "spirit prison." I imagine that anything that keeps one from the presence of God can be termed a prison. 

In his epistle on baptism for the dead, Joseph Smith said that God had “ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison” (D&C 128:22).

The Gospel Principles (2011, pp. 243-244) manual says:

            “The righteous and the wicked are separated, but the spirits may progress as they learn gospel principles and live in accordance with them. The spirits in paradise can teach the spirits in prison….

“In the spirit prison are the spirits of those who have not yet received the gospel of Jesus Christ. These spirits have agency and may be enticed by both good and evil. If they accept the gospel and the ordinances performed for them in the temples, they may leave the spirit prison and dwell in paradise.

“Also in the spirit prison are those who rejected the gospel after it was preached to them either on earth or in the spirit prison. These spirits suffer in a condition known as hell. They have removed themselves from the mercy of Jesus Christ.”

The Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual (2002, p. 447) says:“Righteous spirits, those who have been converted to the gospel in spirit prison, are still held in spirit prison until [their] ordinance work is done.”

President Lorenzo Snow said: “A wonderful work is being accomplished in our temples in favor of the spirits in prison” (Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, p.98).

The Women at the Tomb JST Luke 24: 2–10 John 20:17

“And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher, and two angels standing by it in shining garments. And they entered into the sepulcher, and not finding the body of the Lord Jesus, they were much perplexed thereabout; And were affrighted, and bowed down their faces to the earth. But behold the angels said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

James E. Faust: “No woman should question how the Savior values womanhood. The grieving Mary Magdalene was the first to visit the sepulchre after the Crucifixion, and when she saw that the stone had been rolled away and that the tomb was empty, she ran to tell Peter and John. The two Apostles came to see and then went away sorrowing. But Mary stayed. She had stood near the cross [see Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; John 19:25]. She had been at the burial [see Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47]. And now she stood weeping by the empty sepulchre [see John 20:11]. There she was honored to be the first mortal to see the risen Lord” (“Woman, Why Weepest Thou?” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 54).

Regarding the instruction to Mary, “touch me not,” Bruce R. McConkie elucidates: “The King James Version quotes Jesus as saying ‘Touch me not.’ The Joseph Smith Translation reads ‘Hold me not.’ Various translations from the Greek render the passage as ‘Do not cling to me’ or ‘Do not hold me.’ Some give the meaning as ‘Do not cling to me any longer,’ or ‘Do not hold me any longer.’ Some speak of ceasing to hold him or cling to him, leaving the inference that Mary was already holding him. There is valid reason for supposing that the thought conveyed to Mary by the Risen Lord was to this effect: ‘You cannot hold me here, for I am going to ascend to my Father.’ But the great message that was preserved for us is Jesus’ eternal relationship to his Father. ‘My’ Father and ‘your’ Father—Elohim is the Father of all men in the spirit, and of the Lord Jesus in an added and special sense. He is the Father of both Jesus’ spirit and his body. ‘My’ God and ‘your’ God—and again Elohim is the God of all men, but in Jesus’ case, though he himself is a God and has all power, though he is a member of the very Godhead itself, yet is he everlastingly in subjection to the same God who is our Father” (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [1979–81], 4:264–65).

“President Howard W. Hunter said that the words “He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:6) “contain all the hope, assurance, and belief necessary to sustain us in our challenging and sometimes grief-filled lives” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1986, 18; or Ensign, May 1986, 15–16).

Peter and John, Luke 24:11–12

Bruce R. McConkie: “Together they view the grave-clothes-linen strips that have not been unwrapped, but through which a resurrected body has passed. And then, upon John … the reality dawns first. It is true! They had not known before; now they do. It is the third day! Christ is risen! ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ (1 Cor. 15:54.)” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:842). When we learned about the Savior raising Lazarus from the dead, we saw Lazarus having to be helped out of the burial wrappings. The Savior needed no help.

Luke 24:13–32 On the Road to Emmaus

This is about a 7 mile stretch. We are still on the same day and Cleopas and his companion have heard about the empty tomb and, of course, they are talking about it. The great question that this episode brings is “would we recognize the Savior if we saw Him and heard Him speak, and even broke bread with Him.” As we have been learning from Bishop Lott, the salient difference is that we have the Spirit and, if we are sufficiently in tune, there would be an immediate witness of His divinity.

A special appearance to Peter: Luke 24:34 (see also 1 Corinthians 15:15)

Bruce R. McConkie, “We feel free to suppose [that this appearance] was one in which the tears of Peter’s denial in the court of Caiaphas were dried; one in which he was assured that though Satan desired to sift him as wheat, yet because Jesus had prayed for him, the noble Peter would yet come off triumphant; one in which a blessed bond of unity, of love, and of peace was established between the Master and his servant” (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [1979–81], 4:272).

Appearance to the Apostles and their Initial Unbelief: Mark 16:14; Matthew 28:16–20; Luke 24:33–53; and John 20:19–31.

Joseph F. Smith, “Why were they thus forgetful and seemingly ignorant of all they had been taught by the Savior respecting the objects of his mission to the earth? Because they lacked one important qualification, they had not yet been ‘endowed with power from on high.’ [Luke 24:49.] They had not yet obtained the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 20).

James E. Faust, “Perhaps the Apostles should not be unduly criticized for not believing that Jesus, having been crucified and buried in a tomb, had come back to earth as a glorified being. In all human experience, this had never happened before. It was completely unprecedented. This was a different experience than the raising of Jairus’ daughter (see Mark 5:22, 24, 35–43), the young man of Nain (see Luke 7:11–15), or Lazarus (see John 11:1–44). They all died again. Jesus, however, became a resurrected being. He would never die again. … Said President David O. McKay of this experience: ‘The world would never have been stirred by men with such wavering, doubting, despairing minds as the apostles possessed on the day of the crucifixion. What was it that suddenly changed these disciples to confident, fearless, heroic preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ? It was the revelation that Christ had risen from the grave. His promises had been kept, his Messianic mission fulfilled. … On the evidence of these unprejudiced, unexpectant, incredulous witnesses, faith in the resurrection has its impregnable foundation.’ (Treasures of Life, comp. Clare Middlemiss, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1962, pp. 15–16.) “Like the Apostles of old, this knowledge and belief should transform all of us to be confident, settled, unafraid, and at peace in our lives as followers of the divine Christ. It should help us carry all burdens, bear any sorrows, and also fully savor all joys and happiness that can be found in this life” (“The Supernal Gift of the Atonement,” Ensign, Nov. 1988, 13–14).

Luke 24:36 “Peace be unto You”

Shalom was and remains a common greeting, even if it took on “Peace Out” in recent times. As such it is somewhat debased. But when the Savior greeted His apostles in this manner, He gave great significance to the phrase. Question: How does our knowledge of the Savior’s resurrection, and in fact, all that we have learned of Him this year, bring us peace?

That the Lord would provide a physical witness in the scars in his hands, wrists, side, and feet; and that He would sit and eat with his remaining Apostles and the others in that room, was a reassurance that He was a resurrected physical being, not a spirit. That because of this witness, all mankind could have faith, believe, and know that He had conquered death and we all would be resurrected to a perfected physical body.

Joseph Fielding Smith, “After [Jesus Christ] had laid down his life and had taken it again on the third day, he presented himself to his disciples and told them to handle him and see, for a spirit had not a body of flesh and bones as they saw that he had. And so they came, and they handled him. Further to convince them, he partook of the fish and honeycomb. He ate in their presence and convinced them by a practical demonstration that it was he himself, that the uneducated may read and understand; and yet the wise men in all their learning, close their eyes against these truths. … After the resurrection from the dead our bodies will be spiritual bodies, but they will be bodies that are tangible, bodies that have been purified, but they will nevertheless be bodies of flesh and bones. … They will no longer be quickened by blood but quickened by the spirit which is eternal, and they shall become immortal and shall never die [see Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:44; D&C 88:15–32]” (Doctrines of Salvation, ed. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:268–69, 285).

Joseph Smith, “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body,” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 181).

The Apostles at the Sea of Tiberius (Galilee), John 21

Question: Why do you think Peter said “I go a fishing?” How do we balance the practicality of our lives—feeding ourselves and our families, with the spirituality—feeding our souls?

 

From Charting the New Testament

Bible Video

Jesus is Resurrected

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-10-021-jesus-is-resurrected?category=bible-videos-the-life-of-jesus-christ&&lang=eng

On the Road to Emmaus

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-01-009-christ-appears-on-the-road-to-emmaus?category=bible-videos-the-life-of-jesus-christ&lang=eng

---

[1] See Hugh W. Nibley, at https://www.lds.org/ensign/1983/07/christ-among-the-ruins?lang=eng.

Prophets’ Commentary on verses from NT#26

Regarding Matthew 26:69–74 . . .

“[Peter became] weak and fearful and … denied his Lord” (President Thomas S. Monson, April 1987 Conference Report).   

“[U]nder the pressure of accusation, his resolution crumbled. Then, recognizing his wrong and weakness, ‘he went out, and wept’” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, March 1995 First Presidency Message).   

“[A]fter bitter tears of repentance, he was forgiven” (President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine). 

“Has anyone repented more sincerely [than Peter]?” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 471). 

“[W]e should not be discouraged if we should be overcome … but, [like Peter] straightway repent of the wrong we have committed, and as far as possible repair it, and then seek to God for renewed strength to go on and do better.” (Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, 34.)

“If Peter had received the gift of the Holy Ghost prior to the terrible night … the result would have been very different… The other disciples and apostles of Christ were in precisely the same condition.” (President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 20.)

“Peter had a testimony. He knew that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah, and he had declared it (Matt. 16:15–17)…. Later, the Savior confirmed the importance of being converted, even for those with a testimony of the truth…. He told Peter, ‘[W]hen thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren’.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks Oct 2000 Conference Report.)

“[On] the day of Pentecost, Peter was born again. … The change wrought in his heart is apparent when we contrast his words and actions on the night of the trial with his words and actions thereafter.” (Elder Marion G. Romney, October 1941 Conference Report.)

“[O]ne of the most positive and powerful demonstrations of what the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can do for a man … is the experience of the great apostle Peter. You remember just prior to the Savior's crucifixion Peter [denied knowing Him]....  But after he had received the [gift of the] Holy Ghost, we have a different Peter. When he was commanded [by the Jewish authorities] that he should no more preach Christ … in the streets of Jerusalem, his answer was, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’.” (Elder LeGrand Richards, April 1966 Conference Report.)

“So many of us are so much like [Peter]. We pledge our loyalty; we affirm our determination … that come what may we will do the right thing …. Then the pressures begin to build…. There is a weakening of the will…. There is capitulation…. If there be [any] who by word or act have denied the faith, I pray that you may draw comfort and resolution from the example of Peter, who … rose above this and became a mighty defender” of the faith (President Gordon B. Hinckley, March 1995 First Presidency Message; quoted in New Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 109).

Regarding John 18:36. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: “The earth itself is the Lord's, and he is its ruler; but the world (the corrupt society [of men] on earth) is under the rule of him who is the god of this world” (Mormon Doctrine, 324); Elder John Taylor stated: “The world … has never been under [God’s] control” (The Government of God, 85).

Regarding Mark 15:15.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “Pilate sought to refuse responsibility for deciding about Christ; but Pilate’s hands were never dirtier than just after he had washed them” (October 1974 Conference Report [CR]).  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said, “Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea, [interrogated Jesus twice and declared:] ‘I … have found no fault in this man.’ Then, in an act as unconscionable as it was illogical, Pilate ‘scourged Jesus, [and] delivered him to be crucified.’  Pilate’s freshly washed hands could not have been more stained or more unclean.”(April 2009 CR.)

Regarding Luke 23:43 & John 19:26–27.  Church Patriarch Eldred G. Smith said: “All He did was for others… There was not one selfish act” (April 1968 and 1976 Conference Report.)  Elder Howard W. Hunter said: “To the very end of his mortal life [Jesus] was not selfishly engrossed with his own sorrows ... He was anxiously attending to the present and future needs of [others].” (April 1974 Conference Report.)

Regarding Mark 15:34.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said:

“I speak very carefully, even reverently, of … those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’

“The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, ‘Behold, the hour … is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me’ and ‘The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.’

“With all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour…. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.

“But Jesus held on. He pressed on … even in a state of complete anguish…. When the uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully, it was ‘finished.’” (April 2009 Conference Report.)  

Lesson #26 Study/Discussion Questions

(drawn from New Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 107–11)

[Please consider trying first to answer as much of the following as you can,  
then reading the scripture references to see what else you might learn.]

John 18:10)   How did Peter respond to the men who came to take Jesus?

John 18:11; Luke 22:51)   How did Jesus respond?

Matthew 26:53; John 10:17–18) Could Jesus have escaped?

Matthew 26:56) After Jesus was taken, what did most of His disciples do?

John 18:15-16).  Who were the exceptions?

Matthew 26:69–74) What did Peter say when people said that he knew Jesus?  

Matthew 26:75) What did Peter do when he recognized what he had done?

How might we, like Peter, sometimes deny our faith?

Luke 23:9) How did the Savior respond to Herod’s questions?

John 18:36) What was Jesus’ answer when Pilate asked if He was a King?

Mark 15:15) Why did Pilate sentence Jesus to be crucified?

                 What did Pilate do after sentencing Jesus?

How might we sometimes try to avoid responsibility for our decisions?

What did people do to Jesus after he was sentenced to death?

(See Matthew 27:27–44; Isaiah 52:3-5; 1 Nephi 19:9.)

What 7 statements Jesus made from the cross are recorded in the Bible?     What can we learn from each of these statements?

Luke 23:34

Luke 23:43

John 19:26–27

Mark 15:34

John 19:28

John 19:30

Luke 23:46

NT Lesson #25, “Not My Will, but Thine, be Done”—Alison

New Testament Lesson #25 Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46.

“Not My Will, but Thine, be Done”

Introduction

This week’s and next week’s lessons are inextricably linked: the Atonement and the Crucifixion. Together, these two pivotal events that seal the mortal life of our Savior form the last of what Bruce R. McConkie called the great pillars—Creation, Fall, Atonement. “God himself, the Father of us all, ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby his spirit children might advance and progress and become like him. It is the gospel of God, the plan of Eternal Elohim, the system that saves and exalts, and it consists of three things. These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.”[1] For this week’s blog entry, I will offer little commentary and mostly bring together some of the beautiful quotations from Church leaders to help us gain a personal understanding of what the Atonement means to each one of us as we strive to increase our discipleship in environments that become increasingly difficult.

The Garden of Gethsemane: Gat Shemen means oil press in Hebrew. It is aptly named— “Just as the grape or olive is pressed and crushed by the heavy stone in the press, so the heavy burden of the sins of the world that Jesus had to carry would press the blood out of the body of this Anointed One.”[2]

Luke 22:39–40, “And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.”Question: This was His last instruction to the disciples before he went to this crushing task. What does this mean to us?  (see also Luke 22:44).

Quote 1: Several years before Elder Orson F. Whitney was ordained an Apostle, he received a vision of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“I seemed to be in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony. I saw Him as plainly as ever I have seen anyone. Standing behind a tree in the foreground, I beheld Jesus, with Peter, James and John, as they came through a little … gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and pray, the Son of God passed over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed. It was the same prayer with which all Bible readers are familiar: ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ As He prayed the tears streamed down his face, which was toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I also wept, out of pure sympathy. My whole heart went out to him; I loved him with all my soul, and longed to be with him as I longed for nothing else. Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least show of anger or impatience, asked them plaintively if they could not watch with him one hour. There He was, with the awful weight of the world’s sin upon his shoulders, with the pangs of every man, woman and child shooting through his sensitive soul—and they could not watch with him one poor hour! Returning to his place, He offered up the same prayer as before; then went back and again found them sleeping. Again he awoke them, readmonished them, and once more returned and prayed. Three times this occurred” (Through Memory’s Halls [1930], 82).

Mark 14:33–36. Question: Why do you think Christ was “sore amazed” (also translated as astonished, surprised)? Christ had never before experienced sin. Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Quote 2: Neal A. Maxwell, “Imagine, Jehovah, the Creator of this and other worlds, ‘astonished’! Jesus knew cognitively what He must do, but not experientially. He had never personally known the exquisite and exacting process of an atonement before. Thus, when the agony came in its fulness, it was so much, much worse than even He with his unique intellect had ever imagined!”[3]

Quote 3: James E. Talmage, “Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. … He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. … In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world,’ could inflict. … In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 613).

“In other words, in Gethsemane Jesus became us, each one of us, and we became Him. Our sins were transferred to Jesus. His perfection was transferred to us. He was a substitute recipient for our pain and punishment. He acted in our place to take the consequences and sorrows of wicked behavior, which each of us deserves, so that we could be free from the devastation effects of sin.  . . . The Savior took to himself the full force of the punishment deserved by each of us. He suffered God’s wrath in our place. Elder Neal A. Maxwell observed that, ‘Jesus always deserved and always had the Father’s full approval. But when He took our sins upon Him, of divine necessity required by justice He experienced instead “the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God” (D&C 76:107; 88:106)’ (Lord, Increase our Faith, 13).”[4]

Quote 4: Elder Packer: “He, by choice, accepted the penalty for all mankind for the sum total of all wickedness and depravity; for brutality, immorality, perversion, and corruption; for addiction; for the killings and torture and terror—for all of it that ever had been or all that ever would be enacted upon this earth. In choosing, He faced the awesome power of the evil one who was not confined to flesh nor subject to mortal pain. That was Gethsemane!”[5]

Matthew 26:39: “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” The requirement for this sacrifice was a lamb without blemish: a man without sin, a willing sacrifice. The foreshadow of this ultimate sacrifice was Abraham and Isaac, the Akedah, at which time their willingness and total submission to the will of the Lord was sufficient (Genesis 22). Perhaps the mortal part of Christ’s being was asking for the same blessing. See D&C 19:16–18.

 Nevertheless. That word never carried so much meaning as it did for mankind at that time in that place. Joseph Smith taught that the Savior, “descended in suffering below that which man can suffer; or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be.”[6] Question: What does it mean that the Savior descended below all things? See D&C 122:8.

Luke 22:44, “great drops of blood.” As with other aspects of the Atonement in Gethsamene, Restoration Scripture bears out what has been disputed in mainstream Christianity. (See D&C 19:18; Mosiah 3:7.)

Quote 5: Jeffrey R. Holland, “I testify that He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family free.”[7]

So, knowing all this, has your understanding of the Atonement increased, and how does this help you approach the Sacrament each Sunday?

Quote 6: Dallin H. Oaks: “If the emblems of the sacrament are being passed and you are texting or whispering or playing video games or doing anything else to deny yourself essential spiritual food, you are severing your spiritual roots and moving yourself toward stony ground. You are making yourself vulnerable to withering away when you encounter tribulation like isolation, intimidation, or ridicule.”[8]

Quote 7: Dale Renlund: “President Thomas S. Monson has taught, “One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.” Even if we’ve been a conscious, deliberate sinner or have repeatedly faced failure and disappointment, the moment we decide to try again, the Atonement of Christ can help us. And we need to remember that it is not the Holy Ghost that tells us we’re so far gone that we might as well give up.”[9]

Bible Video

---

[1] https://www.lds.org/ensign/1982/06/christ-and-the-creation?lang=eng.

[2] Ogden and Skinner, The Four Gospels, 592.

[3] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1985/04/willing-to-submit?lang=eng.

[4] Ogden and Skinner, The Four Gospels, 593–94.

[5] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/04/atonement-agency-accountability?lang=eng.

[6] Lectures on Faith, 5:2.

[7] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng.

[8] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-parable-of-the-sower?lang=eng.

[9] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/latter-day-saints-keep-on-trying?lang=eng.