Toward Greater Inclusion: Re-examining the Gospel Net Parable of Matthew 13:47-50

 

I was reading my scriptures today, particularly in Matt 13, reminding myself of some of Christ’s parables, when I ran across v47, which made me ponder.

 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:47-50)

 

There is no explanation for this parable, unlike that of the wheat and the tares. And it is really short, so it’s almost like it is expected that the reader will understand it without too much trouble.  

 

And yet, beyond the pretty obvious message of judgment and the fact that the plight of the wicked is highlighted when they are removed, it is hard to know why Christ thought it was necessary to tell this in addition to the parable of the wheat and the tares.  I felt like there had to be something more in this that I had overlooked.  These parables are supposed to share the mysteries of the kingdom, after all.

 

I started thinking about the process of catching fish with a net. Is the kingdom of heaven like a net used in fishing?  Honestly, I don’t really know because I’m so far removed from anything like that.  It seems like fish don’t just jump willy-nilly into the gospel net through missionary work unless they are super-spiritually-prepared. I’ve grown up in the gospel net and I’ve chosen to stay in it.  I’ve heard of some life-long members who might feel like they are “caught” or “trapped” in the Church’s net though.

 

Something that caught my attention in the parable was the phrase “gathered of every kind.” I have seen short clips of movies of workers on fishing boats sorting through a catch of fish, picking out the types of fish they want.  That made me wonder with relation to the parable--what happens to the types of fish they don’t want?  What if the fishermen catch a jellyfish, for instance?  Is that a marketable product, or do they throw that out?  What if the fishermen in this parable don’t want jellyfish? 

 

That’s when I noticed that in this parable Christ doesn’t necessarily talk about the fish-sorting people being particular about the kind of fish they want. He only tells of them distinguishing between “good” and “bad.”  He speaks of the net having “gathered of every kind.”

 

This led to an encouraging realization—Christ wants every kind of “fish” in His kingdom. He wants jellyfish, shark, and sea anemone, right along with tuna and salmon. He wants every type.  I love that because there are times when I can get my tuna on, but there are other times when I’m a crazy sea cucumber, letting my freak flag fly, and that’s the best I can do.  But if Christ will accept my sea cucumber, I’ll be the best darn sea cucumber I can be.

 

Something else I noticed is what happens to the fish. We might make the assumption that the good fish of the parable are sold in the market for other people to eat, but they’re actually not. They are actually “gathered…into vessels.”  But what for? What happens to them? 

 

This might make you laugh, but the only thing I could imagine those vessels might be was—an aquarium collection!  If they were to be eaten, the fish could just be in baskets, but “vessels” implies some kind of pot that can hold water and thus keep a fish alive. Even though we don’t visualize Bible people having aquariums back then, an aquarium actually makes perfect sense.  Because if the fish are gathered in vessels for an aquarium, then the fish stay alive, and they are fed and stay safe, and they don’t have to worry about other fish eating them out in the big scary sea where big fish are always eating little fish. The aquariums are a safe, nourishing place.

 

So of course the aquarium-owner wants every kind of fish! He loves them all! He wants to see the best specimens of every kind of fish out there. (This is kind of like Finding Nemo, but in reverse…)

 

So maybe this parable is teaching us that we don’t have to worry about fitting to some stifling cultural norm that doesn’t take into account our various personalities and quirks. The only thing we have to worry about is being the best we can be according to God’s commandments. And maybe this parable was meant to teach church leaders to appreciate the good manta rays along with the good trout and bass so they don’t throw them out just because they don’t fit trout-and-bass expectations. It’s also a good lesson for all of us that maybe we need to be humble enough to observe each other and study each other to learn what type of “fish” we’re meeting. We may have met a very good hammerhead shark or moray eel and we just don’t know it.

The Fountain of All Righteousness

 

Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness. (Ether 12:28)

This verse struck me as profound for some reason today, but I’m not sure I can quite articulate why. (But I’ll try.) The idea that faith, hope, and charity brings or leads us eventually to Christ is wonderful. It means you just have to follow the threads of faith, hope, and charity that you find in your life and among the people you meet, and you’ll eventually find Christ and His true church.

Also, I love the Christ calls Himself “the fountain of all righteousness.” It’s a beautiful image—a fountain perpetually springing up with good works, a fountain that never runs dry, a fountain that is the source of ALL righteousness in the world. If a person find a stream of righteousness anywhere, they can follow it back, and it would eventually lead them to Christ.

If suppose if we want to be like Him, then we must similarly become fountains of righteousness as well. Today, let’s try to be a fountain of faith, hope, and charity.

Binding and Loosing, Differences in Translation

I was looking at Matt 18:18 about the sealing power Christ promised to His disciples.  It seems like there are two different ways this scripture has been translated. They have great implications for doctrine.

Reading #1

King James Bible
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

New International Version
"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

New Living Translation
"I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.   [My thought: Forbidden?  Permitted? What? Authority to make new commandments?]

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.

New American Standard 1977
“Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Reading #2

Berean Literal Bible
Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.

NET Bible
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And truly I say to you, everything whatsoever you will bind in the earth will have been bound in Heaven, and anything that you will release in the earth will have been released in Heaven.

King James 2000 Bible
Verily I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be what has been bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be what has been loosed in heaven.

World English Bible
Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

International Standard Version
"I tell all of you with certainty, whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted in heaven.                   [Prohibit? Permitted?  Already?]

Note that half of these translations say that people on earth are binding what has already been bound in heaven.  If this were the case, then all a priesthood holder would need would be simply revelation to know what was bound or loosed and then communicate it.

But the interpretation that we believe in is the one in which the priesthood holder declares the binding or loosing, and the heavens ratify the action and honor it.  This power is much greater, and also requires great holiness, doing what the heavens and God would do anyway if they were here.

We read this as referring not only to church discipline, but also to the joining of a man and woman in matrimony for eternity and for the sealing of their children to them. When the sealing power was given to Joseph Smith, the meaning and significance of binding and loosing expanded. It no longer can be seen as only having to do with a person’s individual relationship with God, but also as a medium of creating and cementing eternal family bonds and ultimately a more ordered and stable society, not just here, but beyond the grave.

Building on the foundation of Christ

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. ( 1 Cor. 3:10-15)

This section stuck out to me recently when I was reading. This comes in a context in which Paul was telling the Corinthians that they shouldn’t file off into parties (“I’m of Apollos!” “I’m of Cephas!” “I’m of Paul!”)  based on the people who initially taught them the gospel because the message of Christ should have been the commonality.

Here, he focuses on what should happen after that foundation of Christ has been laid. Once the foundation is laid, you don’t just stop there; you add more to that. You have to anchor to that foundation, but you keep building and keep learning additional stuff and teachers teach additional doctrine.

I think Paul was making the point that whatever else is taught that builds on the foundation of Christ needs to be good and valuable and lasting so that when the trials come (as they always do) we can endure through it.   

Paul suggests different building materials people might use in their building—gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble—and compares that to various types of doctrines that could be taught, then says the fire will try every man’s work. 

We can eyeball each of those materials Paul lists and have an idea of how they would stand up to fire. Gold and silver will still remain, although, depending on how hot the fire gets, they may melt. Precious stones will melt at a very high temperature and pressure, but I don’t know if Paul knew that. Perhaps he considered them most enduring. They certainly wouldn’t be completely burned; they’d just change to a different sort of form that would handle it better.   Now, wood, hay, and stubble would most obviously go up in flames immediately, so they wouldn’t be the best building material to build with if one expects to go through fire.  I suspect Paul meant for gold, silver, and precious stones to represent doctrines that are valuable and lasting.

This is a pretty good analogy for the importance of teaching good, solid doctrine because that will get through the fire and result in a reward instead of loss.   A modern-day way of teaching the same principle is that we want to teach nourishing doctrines of milk and meat, rather than

what is sometimes called “doctrinal twinkies” or “fried froth,” because when a famine of the Word hits the world, the twinkies and fried froth are going to leave us feeling malnourished and empty.

Sooner or later, the principles we’ve learned or taught will be tested by temptation or tribulation or persecution, so if we have to have that foundation of Christ and then solid, edifying doctrines to stand up to it. Otherwise things collapse, and it is really hard to rebuild in the middle of a storm or fire.    I’ve heard stories of people who have had to rebuild their faith in the middle of a tribulation, and my heart goes out to them. It’s possible, but it is very hard.

Some Thoughts on the Parable of the Wheat and Tares

24 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matt. 13:24-30)

To me, this parable is about the church and how the church ends up with a mix of people in it, both good and bad. We wish it were all good, but of course people have their choice and at the same time that God does His work, Satan is also on the march, seeking to destroy faith and tempting to sin. It stands to reason that at the same time that God has His successes, Satan is going to have his as well, even in the church.

At the beginning, all the seed looks the same, but over time when the fruits of our works start to appear, then it becomes clear that some fruits are good, and other fruits are…not so great. Naturally, the bad fruits concern us, and we want to correct the people who were responsible or root them out.

To the desire to gather out the tares, Jesus says “Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” Rooting out the bad requires a surgical precision and accuracy. Our knowledge is so often incomplete that we can’t always see the line between the good and the evil or the causes behind each, so if we were to try to root out the bad, we might accidently condemn something good that had been intertwined with it. Good people might see the condemnation and say to themselves, “I have those qualities in myself too; I must be evil as well,” and become discouraged and self-condemning. Or we might not root out all the bad and thereby give those left some reason for self-justification and complacency.

Instead, Jesus says, “Let both grow together until the harvest.” The key word there is grow. Both good and evil does not remain the same over time. They both grow. Evil that was present only in thought or intent eventually become action, and if it isn’t arrested by repentance, it multiplies into a pattern of behavior, then grows into a habit, and hardens into a way of life. And naturally, patterns of life may be hidden for a while, but eventually they manifest in stronger and bolder public actions. When evil gets that big, then it can be dealt with by church discipline.

In the same way, good that was only sporadic likewise turns into a pattern, then a habit, then a confirmed way of living that brings a rich harvest of blessings.

So how does this parable help us? If we’re wise, we will look at everything we do and think about what it might turn into if it is grows bigger and stronger in our life. If we don’t like what it will become, we need to squash it. If we want more, we need to nurture it.

Our errors and mistakes and sins will magnify over time if we don’t repent and overcome them.  Laziness will turn into inactivity and spiritual apathy. Unbelief and fault-finding will grow into apostasy. Looking to lust will turn into adultery. Occasional meanness and flashes of temper will grow into cruelty and abuse.

On the other hand, our service will become sacrifice. Diligence in the scriptures will become the skills of a scriptorian. Kindness will become deep charity. Following the promptings of the Spirit will make us a mighty instrument in the hands of God. Paying regular tithing will become complete and total consecration. Encouraging others will become inspirational leadership. Exerting a particle of faith over and over turns into the ability to move mountains and work wonders.

No doubt the Lord wants us find the tares in our own character and weed them out before they grow into something so malignant and poisonous that requires others to remove us out of the kingdom. He also wants us to continue to nurture the goodness within us that we can eventually enjoy the unspeakable satisfaction of heaven’s favor.

Jesus casts out an unclean spirit

23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. (Mark 1:23-26)

One observation frequently made about this story is that the unclean spirits recognize Jesus, not having a veil over their memory. But if you notice, that knowledge doesn’t do any good.  The effect they have on the man they have possessed is to torment him, making him think he can have nothing to do with Jesus, as if Jesus is some different kind of person and that He has come to destroy all the wicked.  The man seems to have had an over-consciousness of his sins combined with despair, a view that he could expect no help from Jesus.

But once Jesus cast the unclean spirit out, the man knew Jesus could help him. Unclean spirits want to paralyze people with a sense of their unworthiness to keep them from getting the spiritual help they need.

Now, here’s a question – if the text had not labeled this man as having an unclean spirit, would we have been able to tell that was his problem? (Read through it, covering up the label, and see.) Could we have known from his words and behavior what his problem was?   I suspect this story is in the scriptures exactly so that we can learn to recognize and diagnose this problem.

Here’s another question—If we ever recognize this kind of spirit in ourselves, can we discern that and cast it out?  Because it must be cast out in order to exert the faith for salvation.

I think this story should help us learn discernment so we can recognize when we are under the influence of this kind of unclean spirit so we can escape. It is hard to escape that sort of thing if you think it is you instead of realizing it is a spiritual influence. Remember, it is not you.  Cast it out. Tell Satan where to get off.

By What Basis Do You Judge?

 

14 ¶ Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.

15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?

26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

27 Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.

29 But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.

30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

32 ¶ The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.

33 Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.

34 Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.

35 Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?

36 What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

40 ¶ Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.

45 ¶ Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?

46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

53 And every man went unto his own house. (John 7:14:53)

In this chapter it is interesting that Jesus tells the people, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (v24)  He tells them this because they allow people to be circumcised on the Sabbath to keep the 8-day law, but they had been angry at Him for healing on the Sabbath to make someone completely whole.

Throughout the rest of this chapter, we get to see a variety of opinions people express about Jesus as they try to work out whether He is to be followed or not. We get to see the basis on which they judge Christ. This challenges us to think about how we decide to trust the prophets, as well as the bigger issue of how we decide Christ is the Messiah and the one to put our faith in.

V26 – Some note that Jesus speaks boldly and that the leaders let Him continue instead of shutting Him up. They wonder if that’s because the leaders believe He is Christ. They were judging based on the fact that the leaders hadn’t stopped Him yet. In their mind, permission equaled agreement.

V27 – Some note they know where Jesus is from, but that Christ’s origins are supposed to be mysterious. I have to wonder if they get this idea from some scripture we don’t have or whether this was folk tradition. They judge based on Jesus’s place of origin. (They aren’t the only ones who do this.) Is this a good basis for judgment? I doubt it.

V41-42 --   Some say, “Shall Christ come out of Galilee?” They cite the scriptures that Christ comes from the seed of David out of the town of Bethlehem. We have stories that show us Christ fulfilled that, even if Bethlehem was a very short-term residence.  Ignorance was tripping them up here.

V52 -- Some Pharisee say, “Search and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” They think that just because no prophet has come from Galilee that means no prophet can come from there. It’s as silly as Latter-day Saints saying “No modern prophet can arise outside of Utah.” God can easily upend those notions.

V31 – Some say, “When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?” They judge on the basis of miracles. Miracles are significant, but they can’t be the foundation of faith. Miracles follow faith, confirming it rather than preceding it.

V40-41 – Some say, “Of a truth, this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” They say this in response to Jesus’s promise that those who come to Him and drink will have living waters flow out of their bellies. They judge by Jesus’s sayings and promises and how they felt and how it matches the scriptures.

V46 – The officers who were supposed to apprehend Jesus and take Him, did not do it, and they say, “Never man spake like this man.” They judge by how Christ speaks and the authority they sense from Him that is greater than any other they have heard (and since they work for the Jerusalem temple administration and chief priests, they’ve had the opportunity to hear the greatest that Judaism had at that time).

V48 – The Pharisees say, “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?”  They judge by the numbers of rulers that accept Him, in effect holding themselves hostage to popularity among the elite.

V50-51 – Nicodemus says, “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” It seems Nicodemus didn’t feel like the Pharisees knew enough about Jesus—what He said or did—for them to be able to tell one way or the other, and he felt to caution them to reserve judgment until they have the real facts.

When we add it all up, we get this:

Bad basis for judging	Good basis for judging
--Looking for mysterious origins --Judging based on where He comes from --Judging based on whether authorities allow it --Judging based on whether authorities accept it and believe it --Judging based on popularity among elites and authority	--Doing many miracles to benefit others --Based on sayings and promises given, how they feel and how it matches scripture --Based on authority felt when He speaks --Based on what one knows about what He does and says

I’m taking a Global Business law and ethics class this semester and I get to read summaries of court cases and see how judges make their decisions. Mostly it is based upon law, but when they hit fuzzy areas where there isn’t clarity, often they create tests for themselves with various criteria, and those tests get used by other judges.

 In John 7, we get to see how people of John’s day had their own tests they used to judge, some of which were mental shortcuts that depended upon the judgment of others rather than their own, some of which failed because of their ignorance, and some of which were simply created out of prejudice. 

It think it shows us the importance of thinking about the basis by which we judge the modern prophets or anything, for that matter.  It challenges us to become more conscious of the criteria we judge by. If our criteria is faulty, sooner or later we will run up against something that challenges our notions. If we can’t adjust those criteria appropriately, we will reject something good, thinking it is evil, or accept something evil, thinking it is good.

The Lunatic Child

14 ¶ And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. (Matt. 17:14-18)

It struck me as I was reading this how odd it was that the child often fell into the fire or the water. A footnote on the “falling” says the Greek means “throws himself” instead of falling. So this child is actually trying to destroy himself, not falling accidentally. The child was vexed and suffering mentally-emotionally to such an extent that the only way he could think of to end it was to try to kill himself.

And actually, Jesus seems to have understood this. His statement, “how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?” shows that Jesus knew what it felt like to suffer at length and wonder how long it would go on and when it would all be over.  His description of “faithless and perverse” shows that He knew a lack of faith and perverse tendencies contributed to the suffering the child was going through.  The fact that He rebuked shows that the child needed to learn some principles and the fact that He cast out a devil shows that there was a devil that was involved in the child’s suffering, making it worse.

If we ever feel like we can’t go on through our suffering, we need to fast and pray and exert our faith. We can get through it. Christ can help us get through it. Take it moment by moment, day by day.

Three Different Places Christ Was to Come From

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Matthew 2:4-6, emphasis added)

And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (Matthew 2:15, emphasis added)

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:23, emphasis added)

In these verses are recorded three different prophecies about where Christ was to come from: born in Bethlehem, called out of Egypt, called a Nazarene.  If we didn’t know the circumstances of Christ’s birth and youngest years, we might be inclined to say these were seriously contradictory and mutually exclusive. But Matthew’s record shows how all of them were fulfilled in their way: by movements because of universal taxation, by threat requiring flight, and by strategic settlement ostensibly out of reach of a different danger.

This shows us that the Lord knows the unusual circumstances that will occur, even hundreds of years in the future. (I wonder if the Lord decided to give those prophecies in such a way as to make them sound mutually exclusive so that He could underline His ability to carry His plans out.)

This is another one of those things that shows we can trust the Lord will do His own work and fulfill His covenants.

What 1 Nephi 1 teaches about Christ

The Lord sees our abominations (1 Ne. 1:13)

His works are great and marvelous (1 Ne. 1:14)

The Lord’s power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth (1 Ne. 1:14)

Because the Lord is merciful, He will not suffer those who come unto Him to perish (1 Ne. 1:14)

The Lord’s throne is high in the heavens. (1 Ne. 1:14)

The Lord shows marvelous things to the prophets in vision (1 Ne. 1:15, 18) also about coming destruction (1 Ne. 1:18).

Christ manifested His coming before He came (1 Ne. 1:19)

The tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom He has chosen to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Ne. 1:20)

It's cool to me that the very first chapter of the Book of Mormon contains material about the mission of Christ, how He reveals that to the prophets, the necessity of repenting, and His great mercy to save and deliver those who will come to him.

This post is a part of a series that will sum up what can be learned about Christ from various chapters in the Book of Mormon in connection to President Nelson’s challenge to the women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to read the Book of Mormon completely by the end of 2018.

Christ still gives glory to the Father

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. (D&C 19:18-19)

I think it is notable that Christ gives glory to the Father in the midst of telling how hard it was to bear the sins of the world. Look at that last dash in the text and think about all the things He could have said following it.

He could have forgotten to give that credit for His success and take all the credit for Himself, but He didn’t. This shows how serious He is about doing the will of the Father and giving the Father the glory. He was serious when He said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”

It’s a nice reminder that I need to give the Father credit for my successes. After all, He gave me my life, He has supported me from day to day, lending my breath, letting me move and try things. Even allowing me to make mistakes (though I would prefer not to). All the intelligence I gain is from learning principles that He knew first and has shared with humanity. Any good I do is because I learned His commandments and felt inspired by the Spirit to do it. Any sins I’m forgiven of through repentance are because He put the Plan of Salvation in place so I could repent.

Isaiah testifies of Christ’s resurrection and others’ too

He will swallow up death in victory;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces;

and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth:

for the Lord hath spoken it.

(Isaiah 25:8)

I love that image of death being swallowed up in victory. The only way that could be done was for Christ to lay down His life and take it up again.

However, that isn’t the end of what this verse says about resurrection. The second line about the Lord wiping tears from all faces, which we generally take to mean the ending of all kinds of sorrow, is meant to refer to the grief at someone’s death. The only way that can be wiped away is for all the dead to arise.

The third line about the rebuke of the Lord’s people being taken away from off all the earth is also about resurrection. Think about the biggest way that the Lord’s people have been rebuked by the world. It’s by martyrdom, isn’t it? Killing the Saints and prophets has been the world’s way of saying, “Shut up forever, and leave us alone.” So when that rebuke is taken away, it means the Lord resurrects the righteous, and they can’t be gotten rid of any longer.

The Samaritan’s First Aid

 

In the parable of the good Samaritan, I wondered about some of the things the Samaritan did for the wounded man.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (Luke 10:33-34)

Why put oil and wine in the wounds? Wine would have some alcohol in it, and so would be an antiseptic and disinfect it. The oil would keep the skin soft and prevent any forming scabs from cracking prematurely and reopening the wound. Antibiotic ointment today is made up of a petroleum jelly with antibiotics in it, and the jelly does about the same thing as the oil.

So, it seems the parable had some solid practices of wound treatment in it, and this makes me wonder if this represented the first aid knowledge of that time or if this shows Jesus knew something about wound care that others didn’t and put that in the parable too.

Others have observed how the parable could be read as an analogy for the way Christ saves us, so this makes me think about what spiritual care might be analogous to pouring oil and wine into wounds. Perhaps they correspond with the way Christ purifies us from our sins and begins the process of healing with the Spirit, helping us to keep a soft heart.

A prophecy in puzzling context

In 1 Nephi 22, Nephi describes different ways the righteous will be saved and the wicked destroyed in the last days. As part of the section, there is a series of verses I’ve wondered about each time I’ve read them:

19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.

20 And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.

21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness. (1 Nephi 22:19-21)

Nephi is quoting a prophecy Moses gave in Deuteronomy 18:15:

The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

…which is re-iterated in Acts 3:22-23:

22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

In those contexts of Moses and Peter, it makes sense that it would be talking about Christ raised up from among the people because Christ did grow up to maturity among the Israelite people. However, it is puzzling to see Nephi quote the scripture about a prophet raised up among the people, say it is the Holy One of Israel (Christ), and apply it to a context of the last days. because once Christ ascended, He can’t grow up among the people again.

The only way this scripture works is if we say it is about prophets raised up among the Latter-day Saints, prophets who speak the words of God according to the promise, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38). Also, note that the prophet is raised up by the Lord, not by the will of man, which nicely describes the seniority system in the quorum of the twelve apostles.

The next question that comes up then is, “Why then did Nephi want to underline that the prophet was the Holy One of Israel?” I think there are several reasons. 1) There are people who would love to think that they are the prophet that would be raised up, so pointing to Christ immediately stops that self-aggrandizing impulse. 2) Nephi is speaking about future things that technically fall in the responsibility of the apostle John to write about, so he might worry he’s saying too much and might feel he has to conceal or veil some things. 3) Since Nephi was answering a question about literal-versus-figurative for his brothers, creating this paradox is a good way to show how it is literal about prophets, but figurative about it being the Holy One of Israel in the latter-day context (since Christ can’t be physically born and grow up again). We really are in the best position to understand his meaning because we see how a prophet is raised up among the apostles.