3 Nephi 9:16-22
9:15 - This is the big event, the Lord introduces Himself saying “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” HN noted that he revealed himself with minimal fanfare, there weren’t chariots of fire or anything like that, he wanted the people to know that until his work was finished, he’s just like the rest of us. He reveals himself as the creator of “the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.” I heard someone ask once how it must have been for the Savior to walk down the road of Jerusalem, knowing that he was the one who created the dust that clung to his feet, I thought that that was pretty profound. Jesus as the creator of all things gives him a sense of ownership, an investment in the world and what’s happening in it. It also gives us an eternal perspective, Jesus created the world indicating that there was an existence before this one, and that the plan was created before construction on the earth even began, for instance, God didn’t make the earth and then say “oh no, the devil tempted Eve to sin and they were fallen, what am I going to do now?” Jesus’s involvement in the creation of the world and also his role as the Savior of the world indicate that the plan came long before anything Satan could have done to throw us off course. Jesus continues “I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.” A few interesting points here, first, is the indication that there is more than one God, there’s Jesus and then Jesus’s father, who is also God. Second is again, God had this plan and Jesus was always a part of it, there was no surprises, Satan didn’t pull a fast one and throw any of this off, everything has been known from the beginning and planned for. Third is more symbolic, Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him, but literally? It wouldn’t seem like it, since that doesn’t occur naturally, that explanation doesn’t make sense, so if we take it abstractly, how is Jesus in the Father? Well, Jesus could belong to the Father in purpose, they could be joined together with a common mission, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I am in the Father’s plan, His purpose, and perhaps in his family. How is the Father in Jesus? Jesus could also be alluding to the fact that we are spiritual offspring of our Heavenly Father, and in that case, the Father is in all of us. The Father is literally Jesus’s physical father so they could be joined that way. The last phrase is interesting, how would the Father glorify his name through Jesus? I’d imagine that might be one way of saying “this has all been planned by us from the beginning and the plan is going well so far.” Just a thought on the use of the word Father here, Jesus says “the Father” not “my Father” or even “our Father,” and I wonder if that word usage is significant. Maybe using the word “my” is exclusionary, because really God is the Father of all of us, and maybe saying “our” would give a sense of superiority, and yes, Jesus is superior to us, but I don’t think that he wants us to feel that way. If it were to say “I am in our father, and our father is in me,” that might be the feeling that that sentence conveys. A very interesting reference to the personal relationship between Jesus and Heavenly Father is given in an October 1996 general conference talk entitled “The Atonement” in which Elder Russell M. Nelson taught “Even though the Father and the Son knew well in advance what was to be experienced, the actuality of it brought indescribable agony. ‘And (Jesus) said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.’ (Mark 14:36. The word Abba is significant. Ab means ‘father’; Abba is an endearing and tender form of that term. The nearest English equivalent might be Daddy.) Jesus then complied with the will of His Father.” That’s pretty intense right there.
9:16-22 - Jesus went to his “own, and my own received me not.” Like the saying “no prophet is accepted in his own land,” this kind is a little bit more than just a group of people who refuse to acknowledge the positivity of someone who they saw grow up. Many of the people whom Christ claims as his own were so wicked that they could stand in his face, see his miracles, and still kill him. It’s said in the scriptures that if Christ had lived among another people, they would have recognized him as their God and worshiped him. But they were wicked enough to kill him, and he was righteous enough to allow it, to fulfill the ends of the mission that the Father gave him. And he announced that “the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled. And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.” The Nephites have already had this dispute after Christ was born, so they clearly had a relatively decent grip on the meaning and symbolism behind the law of Moses, but I guess my question is why interject the whole “redemption comes through me” in between the “law of Moses and scriptures are fulfilled in me.” I guess we could think about it like, previously many people mistakenly thought that salvation came through the law of Moses, and Jesus uses a “A=C” type formula when he says that “those who receive me can become the sons of God, because redemption comes through me, so the law of Moses is fulfilled in me.” The IM teaches “the command to offer animal sacrifice was first given to Adam. The purpose of animal sacrifice was to point one’s mind to the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice. The faithful were taught that animal sacrifice would cease after the Son of God had offered His blood as the ‘Great and last sacrifice.’ Amulek explained that following the Atonement of Jesus Christ, animal sacrifice would no longer be required… Once the offering of Jesus Christ was complete, the voice of God proclaimed to the Book of Mormon people, ‘I will accept none of your sacrifices and burnt offerings.” Makes sense, but what will He accept then. The IM quotes Elder D. Todd Christofferson as teaching “The Savior said He would no longer accept burnt offerings of animals. The gift or sacrifice He will accept now is ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit…’ You can offer the Lord the gift of your broken, or repentant, heart and your contrite, or obedient, spirit. In reality, it is the gift of yourself- what you are and what you are becoming. Is there something in you or in your life that is impure or unworthy? When you get rid of it, that is a gift to the Savior. Is there a good habit or quality that is lacking in your life? When you adopt it and make it part of your character, you are giving a gift to the Lord.” I love that, kind of like when we sin, it’s like we are crucifying Christ all over again, when we repent and are happy, it’s like giving him a precious gift that only we can give. I thought about this before, when I have a good attitude instead of being angry, that’s a gift, it’s my way of saying ‘thank you, you’re amazing!’ I really like that. The Lord refers to himself as "Alpha and Omega" and I wish that I could find the HN transcript that talks about this but he says something about Alpha being the first letter in the greek alphabet being "Alpha" and the last letter being "Omega." He also says "speaking in their language, he would probably use aleph and taw), the beginning and the end." I hadn't considered that before, I never understood what Alpha and Omega meant but it would be like Jesus saying in English "I am A and Z," which means all encompassing, total, and whole. There's an interesting little blurb about those who come unto him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit "him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." That's an interesting observation. The IM quotes President Ezra Taft Benson as teaching "Day by day (Latter-day Saints) move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a god like life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said 'were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." We think so many times that we need big dramatic displays, or an angel coming down and telling us that we are doing a good job. I remember when I realized that I had made such a miraculous change, I had been going back to church for several years already and trying my best to be obedient, and I had a friend come over for family Sunday dinner and they made some really dirty off hand comment and I almost choked at the inappropriateness of it, and that's when I really saw how much I had changed. The last little bit that I want to talk about is coming to Christ "as a little child." I really wish I could find the HN transcripts because he spends several minutes expounding this saying that child like wonder and obedience is so important to any field in which you are trying to learn. He says that all the major philosophers say that in order to grow you have to be like little children, open to ideas, not jaded, believing, and trusting. Kids don't have those natural walls built up, they aren't judgmental or insecure, not in the ways that hinder us as adults. Kids can be taught, kids can be obedient, do I approach the gospel without reservation? Do I obey quickly like I expect my children too?
9:16-22 - Jesus went to his “own, and my own received me not.” Like the saying “no prophet is accepted in his own land,” this kind is a little bit more than just a group of people who refuse to acknowledge the positivity of someone who they saw grow up. Many of the people whom Christ claims as his own were so wicked that they could stand in his face, see his miracles, and still kill him. It’s said in the scriptures that if Christ had lived among another people, they would have recognized him as their God and worshiped him. But they were wicked enough to kill him, and he was righteous enough to allow it, to fulfill the ends of the mission that the Father gave him. And he announced that “the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled. And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.” The Nephites have already had this dispute after Christ was born, so they clearly had a relatively decent grip on the meaning and symbolism behind the law of Moses, but I guess my question is why interject the whole “redemption comes through me” in between the “law of Moses and scriptures are fulfilled in me.” I guess we could think about it like, previously many people mistakenly thought that salvation came through the law of Moses, and Jesus uses a “A=C” type formula when he says that “those who receive me can become the sons of God, because redemption comes through me, so the law of Moses is fulfilled in me.” The IM teaches “the command to offer animal sacrifice was first given to Adam. The purpose of animal sacrifice was to point one’s mind to the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice. The faithful were taught that animal sacrifice would cease after the Son of God had offered His blood as the ‘Great and last sacrifice.’ Amulek explained that following the Atonement of Jesus Christ, animal sacrifice would no longer be required… Once the offering of Jesus Christ was complete, the voice of God proclaimed to the Book of Mormon people, ‘I will accept none of your sacrifices and burnt offerings.” Makes sense, but what will He accept then. The IM quotes Elder D. Todd Christofferson as teaching “The Savior said He would no longer accept burnt offerings of animals. The gift or sacrifice He will accept now is ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit…’ You can offer the Lord the gift of your broken, or repentant, heart and your contrite, or obedient, spirit. In reality, it is the gift of yourself- what you are and what you are becoming. Is there something in you or in your life that is impure or unworthy? When you get rid of it, that is a gift to the Savior. Is there a good habit or quality that is lacking in your life? When you adopt it and make it part of your character, you are giving a gift to the Lord.” I love that, kind of like when we sin, it’s like we are crucifying Christ all over again, when we repent and are happy, it’s like giving him a precious gift that only we can give. I thought about this before, when I have a good attitude instead of being angry, that’s a gift, it’s my way of saying ‘thank you, you’re amazing!’ I really like that. The Lord refers to himself as "Alpha and Omega" and I wish that I could find the HN transcript that talks about this but he says something about Alpha being the first letter in the greek alphabet being "Alpha" and the last letter being "Omega." He also says "speaking in their language, he would probably use aleph and taw), the beginning and the end." I hadn't considered that before, I never understood what Alpha and Omega meant but it would be like Jesus saying in English "I am A and Z," which means all encompassing, total, and whole. There's an interesting little blurb about those who come unto him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit "him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." That's an interesting observation. The IM quotes President Ezra Taft Benson as teaching "Day by day (Latter-day Saints) move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a god like life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said 'were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." We think so many times that we need big dramatic displays, or an angel coming down and telling us that we are doing a good job. I remember when I realized that I had made such a miraculous change, I had been going back to church for several years already and trying my best to be obedient, and I had a friend come over for family Sunday dinner and they made some really dirty off hand comment and I almost choked at the inappropriateness of it, and that's when I really saw how much I had changed. The last little bit that I want to talk about is coming to Christ "as a little child." I really wish I could find the HN transcripts because he spends several minutes expounding this saying that child like wonder and obedience is so important to any field in which you are trying to learn. He says that all the major philosophers say that in order to grow you have to be like little children, open to ideas, not jaded, believing, and trusting. Kids don't have those natural walls built up, they aren't judgmental or insecure, not in the ways that hinder us as adults. Kids can be taught, kids can be obedient, do I approach the gospel without reservation? Do I obey quickly like I expect my children too?
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