Three Temptations and Four Kings

In the New Testament we read of the Savior's encounter with Satan and his myriad of temptations. Really, Lucifer only has three temptations in his arsenal, but there are some spin-offs.

He comes to Jesus first with the physical appetites. This may be his favorite, so he often tries this first. The verse says, "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread" (Matthew 4:3). Jesus has been fasting, and so He is hungry.

Jesus counters with, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Notice how Jesus always counters with scripture. Lucifer must be thinking, "Well, two can play this game."

Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, which says, "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

In ancient times the law of Moses was equated with manna--bread coming down from heaven. Just as God's law would sustain you, manna would also keep you alive. But there was also a "deadness" aspect of the law (see 2 Nephi 25:27). Jesus later gave His Bread of Life Sermon and said, 

"Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:49-51).

Had Jesus succumbed to this temptation, He would have preserved His own life, but not had the capacity to provide us the "bread of life" that could allow us to live forever and have eternal life.

So Lucifer tries his hand quoting scripture, which he knows well. Jesus is carried away in the Spirit and placed upon a pinnacle of the temple. Satan comes back with, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Matthew 4:6). He is quoting from Psalm 91, verses 11-12.

Notice how both temptations come with the challenge, "If thou be the Son of God . . ." Satan knows good and well who Jesus is, and he knows you and me as well, but he wants us to question our own identity and our potential as sons and daughters of God. He wants to alter our perception of the distance between us and God, to make it seem like an impossible journey.

I think the third temptation is quite lame, but Lucifer is getting desperate here. He tries again to get Jesus to question His identity by enticing the Creator of "millions of earths like this" (Moses 7:30) to worship him in exchange for those things He already created, and inherited from His Father.

It is interesting that both of these scriptures about the bread of life and angels having charge over us, are found in Section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants, and are part of the oath and covenant of the Priesthood (see verses 44 and 88). There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; Jesus could have easily performed both miracles of jumping off the temple pinnacle without getting hurt (at least physically), and transforming rocks to bread. But this is right before His ministry, and Satan, I believe, is trying to get Him to misuse His Priesthood, which would then nullify the Atonement for you and me.

There is one final aspect of this scene I find rather interesting. Who were the three greatest kings in ancient Israel before the kingdom was divided? It would have to be Saul, David, and Solomon.

All three kings succumbed to one of these temptations, and they each chose their own one. David was taken down by the appetites of the flesh (see 2 Samuel 11). Saul was taken down by pride, as David started getting more attention than he did as king. The women danced in the streets and chanted, "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands (see 1 Samuel 18:7-9). Ironically, at the beginning, Saul was so humble they could not find him to be king, as he hid himself (see 1 Samuel 10:21-22).

Solomon was taken down by riches and his wives who led his heart astray (see 1 Kings 11:4-9). Ironically, at the beginning, the Lord gave Solomon riches because he asked for wisdom instead of riches, so the Lord blessed him with both (see 1 Kings 3:9-11).

Jesus faced all three temptations, as "He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them" (D&C 20:22). And thus you and I can rejoice, as "Jesus Christ, your advocate, . . . knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted" (D&C 62:1).

Baptism, the Gateway to the Kingdom

All four Gospels declare the baptism of Jesus, but before Him must come an Elias, one who prepares the way. We read of John the Baptist, who declares his message of repentance, and Matthew records this as prophetic fulfillment as John is identified as, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight" (Matt. 3:3; see also Isaiah 40:3).

The voice comes from the Divine Council as a messenger is sent forth. And the wilderness represents apostasy, as the "voice" calls the Church out of the wilderness of apostasy, and back onto the pathway leading to eternal life.

There are at least two voices, John the Baptist at the Savior's First Coming, and Joseph Smith at the Savior's Second Coming. The Lord identifies Joseph in modern revelation by saying, 

"And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this church have I established and called forth out of the wilderness.

"And even so will I gather mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, even as many as will believe in me, and hearken unto my voice" (D&C 33:5-6).

Joseph Smith, and others, also spent some time "crying in wilderness."

Bethabara As the Place of Crossing

The exact location of Jesus' baptism is identified only two places in scripture. In John we read, "These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing" (John 1:28). Nephi also identifies the place by saying, "And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water" (1 Nephi 10:9).

Bethabara means "house of ford" or place of crossing. You can click here to read about the word origin of Bethabara.

The place of crossing would be the place where the children of Israel crossed over Jordan en route to the promised land of Canaan. In the Old Testament we read,

"That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho" (Joshua 3:16).

Click here to see Bible Map 11, and you will see Bethabara directly east of Jericho, the place described in Joshua, as the crossing point for the children of Israel. You can also click here to see Map 14, showing the elevation for Bethabara to be somewhere between 825 and 1,302 feet below sea level.

Gateway to the Celestial Kingdom

The symbolism of the journey to Canaan (or any other promised land) represents our mortal journey to the kingdom of heaven. In the Book of Mormon we read, 

"And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise" (Alma 37:45).

That "far better land of promise" is the Celestial Kingdom of God. And Jesus was baptized at the crossing point, or gateway, into the promised land representing heaven. So it follows that baptism is the gateway to heaven. Nephi exclaimed,

"Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost" (2 Nephi 31:17).

Jesus Descended Below All Things

There is another symbolic element to the Savior's baptism. He was baptized at probably the lowest point on earth--at around 1,000 feet below sea level. I am convinced that Map 14, showing the elevations of Jerusalem and Jericho, is there in our LDS Bibles for two reasons. First, to enhance the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. This story is reserved for another post. 

And second, to emphasize the point that Jesus was baptized well below sea level to make clear the doctrine of His descent below all things. Modern scripture records, "He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth" (D&C 88:6). The Prophet Joseph Smith was reminded of this in Liberty Jail, as the Lord said, "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" (D&C 122:8).

If ever you falsely believe you have descended below the grasp of His Atonement, remember and ponder upon these things.

Ironies of the First Christmas

I know Christmas is over, with all the feasting, excitement, and wonderful anticipation, but I say it's not, and I'm counting down the days, and come up with 78 days remaining until the revealed birth date of our Savior. At the organization of the Church in this dispensation, the Lord revealed,

"The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April" (D&C 20:1).

Is It Easter or Christmas?

So this brings to mind irony number one. Easter falls on April 5 this year (in 78 days), so why aren't we celebrating Christmas in April rather than the traditional December? This year we could have a holiday on Sunday and Monday. 

It reminds us of President Hinckley's statement that there would be no Christmas without Easter. And there is ample evidence in the true Christmas story that this sacred event took place in early April during Passover, which normally occurs the same time as Easter.

Luke records, "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). Were these shepherds simply bored and out wandering the fields on a cold December night? No, they were watching over the paschal lambs between the tenth and fourteenth days of Abib, preceding Passover when the paschal lambs would be carefully inspected and guarded to prevent any blemish (see Exodus 12:2-6). Ironically, at the end of Jesus' mortal life, he will be examined, questioned, and cross-examined as the true Paschal Lamb on these same calendar days of Abib 10 to 13 preceding His crucifixion (see Matthew 21-22).

No Room at the Inns

There were only three required feasts when Israel gathered to the temple. They were at Passover, Feast of Weeks, and Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles (see Exodus 23:14-17). Besides this being a taxation, or census count, there would have been a great gathering for Passover, and thus the inns were full. The Joseph Smith Translation changes inn to inns.

How ironic is it that He who stands at the door, knocks, and waits for each of us to let Him in, is denied entrance! (see Rev. 3:20). He who would offer the sacrament as a communion with Him, and would say to His disciples, "And as oft as ye do this ordinance, ye will remember me in this hour that I was with you and drank with you of this cup, even the last time in my ministry" (JST, Mark 14:24). And yet there was no room for Him.

A Stone Manger?

At Christmas we see manger scenes. And a feeding trough for animals, filled with hay, surrounded by domestic animals, may look picturesque and even comfy for sleeping. But was it really so? Due to a lack of lumber, a limestone feeding trough was more likely. 

You can click here to see pictures of possible stone mangers and an article explaining the likelihood of a stone versus a wooden manger for baby Jesus.

How ironic is it that He who was "the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning" is placed at birth in something that could have been as rudimentary as a hole carved in a rock!

The Davidic King Born in Poverty

Elder Russell M. Nelson once spoke of the significance of the swaddling bands mentioned twice in the Nativity. The swaddling bands were not just a receiving blanket, but had special markings identifying the Christ child. Elder Nelson observes, "The cloth would probably bear unique family identification. That procedure was especially applicable to the birth of a firstborn son." It would show Jesus to be of Davidic descent, and His right to be king in Israel. Elder Nelson compares this with the coat of many colors given to Joseph of Egypt. He said,

"I think that such a concept of a cloth with family markings might also have been relevant when Joseph, son of Israel, became the birthright son and received the unique cloth coat of many colors—a fabric symbolic of the birthright."

I have provided a link to this great speech given at BYU.

Click here.

The Lukan account tells us that an offering was made at the temple after Mary's purification days, which would be 40 days. The offering was according to the "law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24). The Leviticus passage gives this as an alternate sacrifice. The first choice would be a lamb of the first year. The law of Moses states,

"And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean" (Leviticus 12:8).

It's interesting that the real Atonement would be made 33 years later, and that a sin offering needed to be made for Him who was without sin.

But a couple who was too poor to offer a lamb, would present the Lamb of God at the temple.

Are We Dumber than Animals?

The stone manger where Jesus was likely placed as a newborn, would have been the feeding trough for animals. Isaiah observes, "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" (Isaiah 1:3).

Manger scenes usually involve animals, and rightly so. But when animals appeared on the scene for morning breakfast and found a little baby lying in their feeding place, they must have instinctively known that this tiny infant was Someone special. The donkey recognizes his Master's crib.

Do we ever forget that "there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise"? (2 Nephi 2:8).

I pray that we might always remember Him and make room for Him at all times during the year.

A Prayer Is Answered for All

Luke begins his Gospel with two beautiful stories involving Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. Their interactions with Gabriel, a heavenly messenger sent from the presence of God, are striking, and are demonstrations of the tender mercies of the Lord.

This is typical Lukan (a term to indicate it relates to the Gospel of Luke) style, to pair a story of a man with a story of a woman. Luke almost can't speak of one without the other. Before I go any further, I should tell you that about 90 percent of what I know about the New Testament, I learned from my friend, Eric Huntsman, a religion professor at BYU, either from his marvelous Education Week classes or his great books.

Luke addresses a Gentile audience and is a master at including everyone in his audience. He addresses his Gospel to a "most excellent Theophilus," whose identity is not known. We don't know of anyone historically with such a name, although there is much conjecture on the subject. In the Greek, Theophilus means, "friend of God," or "beloved of God." So if you consider yourself a "friend of God," welcome aboard.

Prayer Number 1 Is Answered

Zacharias was of the house of Aaron, as was his wife, Elizabeth (see Luke 1:5). In earlier times only the high priest of the Aaronic order would be eligible to offer incense upon the altar of incense, but after the second temple was built, the assignment to burn incense was decided by lot on a daily basis and all the priests became eligible.

Zacharias and Elizabeth are childless and "well stricken in years" (Luke 1:7). And perhaps the first tender mercy of the Lord was the opportunity Zacharias had to burn incense on the altar as the lot fell on him.

The altar of incense represents the prayers of the saints. John the Revelator sees a similar altar in vision as he states,

"And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne" (Revelation 8:3).

The smoke from the burning incense symbolized the prayers of the saints ascending to heaven.

Zacharias and Elizabeth must have spent hours on their knees praying for a child, and now, against all odds, their prayer is being answered. And just like Revelation, an angel is standing at the altar, and he announces himself as Gabriel (aka Noah; see Bible Dictionary, "Gabriel"). Who could be better than Noah to announce these glad tidings? Noah's family faced destruction from the Flood. Zacharias and Elizabeth are facing the likelihood of no children at all. Now their very personal prayer is being answered as Gabriel says, "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John" (Luke 1:13).

The incense offering is described in the Bible Dictionary as follows:

"Live coals were brought from the brazen altar of burnt offering and placed on the golden altar of incense; then the priest to whom the lot had fallen entered alone into the Holy Place, carrying in a censer the incense, which he cast on the fire. Then, bowing reverently toward the Holy of Holies, he returned to the congregation, who were praying outside, and pronounced the blessing in Num. 6:24–26." 

The prayerful incense offering involved a willingness to sacrifice, as represented by the brazen altar of burnt offering, and it involved the purifying influence of the Holy Ghost, as represented by the live coals (see Isaiah 6:6-7 for a similar experience with live coals). The priest went alone into the Holy Place as a mediator for the people and then returned to pronounce the blessing upon them. Christ, as the Great High Priest, went alone into Gethsemane, as He said, "I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone" (D&C 76:107).

Prayer Number 2 Is Answered

While the incense was being offered before the throne of God, the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies, toward which the priest would bow, the people outside were praying. God, in His omniscience, hears and responds to both prayers.

Zacharias has been struck dumb and left in humble reverence at the sacred nature of the events transpiring inside the temple, so he can't pronounce the blessing to the congregation. But the same angel, Zacharias, aka Noah, will deliver the glad tidings to a sweet, pure virgin named Mary, who faces potential ridicule, alienation, and separation from her espoused husband, Joseph.

Here is the blessing that Zacharias was unable to announce to the assembly outside:

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

"The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

"The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

"And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them" (Numbers 6:24-27).

So God sent His Son to bless them, keep them, make His face shine upon them, give them His grace, and put His name upon them to bless them. He sent the Prince of Peace.

And who could be better to deliver the message than Noah? He saved all remaining mankind from flood waters, just like Jesus saves us from death and hell and grants eternal life to those who will come unto Him.

 

A Logos Song, Seed, and Tree

Any serious New Testament study has to begin with the beginning, and, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). John begins his Gospel with poetic parallelism, as word, God, beginning, life, light, darkness, and the phrases "made by Him" and "any thing made that was made," are all paralleled together in beautiful poetic fashion, until verse 6 when John shifts to prose narrative.

The Logic of the Logos Song

I used to think it rather strange that God (and Jehovah in this case) would be compared to the word Word. But this word comes from the Greek word logos. It means "reason, cause, ground." It also is defined as "(the) reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating" (Strong's Exhaustive Bible Concordance # G3056). I am quoting here from an online Strong's Concordance and it goes on to talk of John's use of the word in defining the role of the Savior:

"Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world's life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man's salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth conspicuously from His words and deeds."

John may have borrowed this terminology from a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus, who "first used the term Logos around 600 B.C. to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe." 

You can read more on this by clicking here.

Logos is where we get the English word logic, and any words with the suffix logy, such as ecology, biology, and psychology. It is the reasoning or basis behind any study or reasoning. It's what makes something tick.

Indeed, Jesus Christ is the source of all life and existence. He is the logic and meaning behind everything we do, and everything we are. Mortal life only has purpose as we are centered in Him. In another reference written by John, "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man" (Revelation 1:13). He should be in our midst, or at the center of everything we do.

The Seed

If we take the concept of Jesus, as the Word, one step further, we can glean something from other scripture. Alma describes the word by saying,

"Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me" (Alma 32:28).

Many would say this discourse is about faith, and indeed faith is expounded plentifully. But the center of this discourse is about the divine Sonship of Jesus Christ. Lest we forget, the next chapter defines the seed by addressing the concerns of the audience and "how they should plant the seed, or the word of which he had spoken, which he said must be planted in their hearts" (Alma 33:1).

This discourse is about getting Jesus in our hearts every day, to enlarge our souls, enlighten our understanding, and perceiving Jesus to be delicious! Mormon said, "I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus (Mormon 1:15).

The word as a seed opens up another gospel concept. Jesus is in the "express image" of the Father (see Hebrews 1:3). In this beautiful, doctrinal discourse, Alma states, "For every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness" (Alma 32:31). Thus, Jehovah is "made flesh" (John 1:14) and became Jesus Christ, who grew up and received grace for grace to become just like Heavenly Father.

The Tree

What happens when such a seed is planted? Alma says the seed grows up into a tree. 

"But if ye will nourish the word (the seed), yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life" (Alma 32:41).

The tree will spring up unto eternal, everlasting life. If you place Christ in the center of your heart and let Him grow within you, you will obtain the promise described in the "Logos" chapter. 

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12).

Isaiah describes a seed being planted as "the planting of the Lord." They grow up to be "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified" (Isaiah 61:3). They become the sons (and daughters) of God, and every seed brings forth its own likeness. Modern revelation states, "Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God" (D&C 76:58). They are indistinguishable from the Father AND the Son! They are gods.