Part 15
These testimonies, you see, are of such a nature that they cannot be doubted. Altogether more than five hundred persons saw Jesus after His resurrection. And His appearance in many instances was accompanied by such evidence that there can be no doubt that the resurrected body of Jesus was an actual body of flesh and bones, as material and as tangible as was the body before death. {284} And with this material body Jesus ascended into heaven before the adoring eyes of His devoted followers.
[Sidenote: Where had Jesus been?]
But there remains a statement made by Jesus during the first recorded appearance after His resurrection, which needs to be explained. When Mary Magdalene would have touched Him, you recall, Jesus prevented her, saying, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." Now, the common belief of the world is, that, at death, the spirit of the righteous departed ascends immediately to heaven, into the kingdom of God. Jesus had been nearly three days dead; still, at His resurrection. He had not yet been in the presence of His Father. Where had He been? What had He been doing? Do the scriptures give us any information in answer to these questions?
[Sidenote: Today in Paradise.]
Evidently, Jesus had been in a place called Paradise. When Jesus was put to death, two thieves were crucified with Him. "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, it is recorded, "saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Can there be any doubt that Jesus went at His death to the place called Paradise and abode there? But where is Paradise, or what kind of place is Paradise?
{285} [Sidenote: The Gospel to the dead.]
Where Paradise is we may not be able to determine; but what kind of place it is, it should not be difficult to discover. Teaching at Jerusalem one day, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." But how could the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, unless He should minister also in the place of the dead? This undoubtedly is what Jesus meant; this, too, must be what He meant when He said to the malefactor, "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise." And this is what the apostles learned to know to be the meaning of these sayings of Jesus. Peter, writing to the scattered churches, declared the truth in these words: "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 to the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." And again, in the same epistle, Peter said, "For, for this reason was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." This makes it clear to us, then, that Jesus's promise to the malefactor, meant that Jesus would meet him that day in the abode of spirits. For thither did Jesus go that the dead also might hear His voice. His mission to the living was accomplished; He had yet to minister to the dead. Only {286} when that ministry was finished could He return to His Father and report His labor accomplished. We may not know where Paradise is; but we know that the place called Paradise is the abode of the spirits of those who have lived in the flesh and have not yet been resurrected.
[Sidenote: A plain explanation.]
As usual, modern revelation makes plain to us things that are somewhat obscure in the Jewish Scriptures. The great Nephite prophet and philosopher, Alma, writing under the direction of an angel and the inspiration of Jesus Christ, explains very clearly the state of the spirit during the time between death and the resurrection. Says he, "Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death, and the time of the resurrection. And now I would inquire what becometh of the souls of men from this time of death, to the time appointed for the resurrection? 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, etc. 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 {287} 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."
[Sidenote: Every knee and every tongue.]
Not only in His life, but in the spirit ministry and in His resurrection, Jesus taught truths of vital importance to man in his search after God and eternal life. Resurrection is an actual uprising of a tangible physical body. In the resurrection we shall be as Jesus was. And the privileges of the divine plan of salvation are extended to the dead as well as to the living. That is why we perform the saving ordinances for the dead in the House of the Lord. "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under earth; and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
THE REFERENCES
Matt. 28:1-20. 1 Cor. 15:5-7.
Mark 16:1-20. John 5:25.
Luke 23:56-24:53. 1 Peter 3:18-20.
John 20:1-21:25. 1 Peter 4:6.
Philip 2:9-11. Alma 40:6-14.
{288} THE QUESTIONS
1. What was the nature of Christ's resurrection?
2. What evidence can you adduce to prove that Jesus was actually resurrected?
3. How can you prove that the resurrected body of Jesus was a tangible body of flesh and bones?
4. Where was the Spirit of Jesus while His body lay in the tomb?
5. What kind of place is paradise?
6. What Gospel privileges are extended to the dead?
7. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us?
{289}
{290} PICTURE: THE GOOD SHEPHERD, Plockhorst
{291}
XXXVII
OTHER SHEEP
[Sidenote: The first commission to the twelve.]
When Jesus called the twelve apostles and sent them out to preach His word, He gave them these instructions, "Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Evidently, then, the apostles were not to trouble to deliver the glad message of the Gospel to any who were not purely of the house of Israel. They were to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;" but none of these good works were they to do amongst the Gentiles, nor in the land of the Samaritans. It seemed almost that Jesus did not want those not of Israel to enjoy the privileges and blessings of His great redemption.
[Sidenote: The leaven of the Gospel.]
But such an intention was only apparent; it was not real. All men, of whatever race or color, are the children of God; and the great atoning sacrifice was made for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. Said Jesus once in a parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The whole world is to be leavened with the Gospel of Jesus Christ; indeed, the Savior's last charge to His apostles was that they should go into all the world, and preach the word of God. Only when the Gospel has been heard by every nation, tongue, and people, will the end come.
{292} [Sidenote: The kingdom to the Gentiles.]
The apostles were slow, however, to understand this truth, though Jesus taught it to them plainly. It was right, of course, that they should minister first to the children of Israel. Israel constituted the chosen people. From them, and through them, had come to the world the knowledge of the one great God--the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. From them, too, had come now the Messiah, by whom was to be wrought the salvation of the world. What the apostles did not appreciate, however, was that the Jews would prove themselves unworthy of their Savior. Yet, Jesus taught this, too; and in teaching this truth, He declared further that the Gospel would be given to others. To the woman of Samaria, Jesus declared, "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." No longer, after the ministry of Jesus, should Jerusalem be the center of divine worship. The world over, men should learn to worship God in spirit and in truth. Not only so; but Jesus asserted also that because of the unbelief of the Jews, the privileges of His Church should be taken away from them and given to others. "Did ye never read in the scriptures," Jesus asked of the Jews, "The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? {293} Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." And, indeed, such a transfer of privilege and responsibility was almost necessary to fulfill the ancient prophecy, "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. . . . And in His name shall the Gentiles trust."
[Sidenote: The case of Cornelius.]
When the apostles were left to themselves, however, they continued still to minister only to the Jews. It required a special revelation from heaven, to arouse them to the fact that the Gospel was for the Gentiles also. There lived in Caesarea a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius was a devout and God-fearing man, though a Gentile, and prayed much that he might learn what to do to gain eternal life. One day an angel appeared to him, and instructed him to send messengers to Joppa for one Simon, surnamed Peter, who should tell Cornelius what to do. Cornelius sent two of his men immediately to seek out Peter. Meanwhile, Peter, at Joppa, "went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him. Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have {294} never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This vision appeared to Peter three times; and while he was pondering on the meaning of it the messengers of Cornelius arrived. Peter hurried to Caesarea to minister to Cornelius; and when he saw that God had blessed Cornelius, Peter understood the meaning of the vision. "Of a truth," said he, "I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him."
[Sidenote: The preaching of Barnabas and Paul.]
Thenceforth, the apostles preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Paul and Barnabas told the truth fearlessly to the Jews themselves. "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life were saved."
[Sidenote: "Other sheep."]
Thus was the word of God carried to the Gentiles. But Jesus did not Himself minister to them during his earth-life. While yet ministering to those who followed Him in the Holy Land, however, Jesus uttered a strange declaration. He said, "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth {295} me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
[Sidenote: A puzzling question.]
From the time that Jesus made this statement until the restoration of the Gospel in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, it has never been fully understood by men. That Jesus is the Good Shepherd is clear enough. He has earned the undisputed right to that title by the devoted sacrifice He made for His sheep. But what did He mean by "other sheep" not of the fold of Palestine, who must also hear His voice, that there might be one fold, as there was one shepherd? Where else did Jesus personally minister besides the Holy Land and Paradise? These questions have puzzled many; and because of failure to find any other adequate answer, the "other sheep" have been usually interpreted to mean, the Gentiles. But how the Gospel came to the Gentiles has been pointed out. They could not have been the "other sheep," who were to hear the voice of Jesus. Who, then, were the "other sheep."
[Sidenote: Forty days.]
You will remember that after His resurrection Jesus appeared at ten different times to His disciples in Palestine. It seems, however, that between the resurrection and the ascension there elapsed a period of about forty days. What did Jesus do during those forty days? Of course, we cannot hope to be able ever to account for all those days, nor would it help us much perhaps to do so. {296} But it was during that interesting but shrouded period of forty days that Jesus visited the other sheep.
[Sidenote: In the land of the Nephites.]
Far over the waters, in another and then unknown land, lived the Nephites. They had been taught to look forward to the coming of the Lord. When He was born a babe in Bethlehem, the star of promise shone brilliantly in the land of the Nephites. For three days there was light, and no darkness at all. Again, after thirty-three years, the land of the Nephites became shrouded in darkness when the Lord was crucified. The earth was shaken and torn asunder. Cities were sunk into the sea, and places that had been sea were made dry land. Mountains were levelled and valleys were upheaved. And countless numbers of the wicked were destroyed. When the terrible convulsions and the darkness had passed, there was a multitude of the people of Nephi assembled near the temple in the land Bountiful. Suddenly, a voice spoke to them out of heaven. It was the voice of God declaring, "Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name: hear ye Him." The people cast their eyes upward; and lo! they saw a man clothed in a white robe descending out of heaven.
[Sidenote: The appearance of Jesus to the Nephites.]
It was Jesus. He came and stood in the midst of His people, the Nephites; and He showed them the prints in His hands and in His feet, and the wound in His side. Then He proceeded to teach them as He had taught His disciples in Palestine, and to choose twelve apostles, and to organize His church, so that the people might enjoy the privileges of the priesthood and of a {297} holy worship. Jesus appeared to these people more than once; and on one occasion, He said, "Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph. And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you. And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem; Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment, that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land. This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them. That other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And now because of stiffneckedness and unbelief, they understood not my word: therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them. But, verily, I say unto you, that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity, that they know not of you. And verily, I say unto you again, that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity, that they know not of them. And verily, I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said, other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
In the unselfish ministry of Jesus Christ there is no one forgotten. All the children of Israel are ministered {298} to; the dead hear the voice of Jesus; and the Gentiles have the Gospel preached to them. The Jewish Scriptures are united with the Nephite Scriptures in the personal ministry of Jesus to His "other sheep."
[Sidenote: A promise to us.]
"I am in your midst," said Jesus to the Prophet Joseph Smith, "and I am the good Shepherd, and the Stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall, and the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me, and know that I am, watch, therefore, that ye may be ready."
THE REFERENCES
Matt. 10:5-7. Acts 10:1-48.
Matt. 13:23. Acts 13:44-49.
John 4:21-23. John 10:14-16.
Matt. 21:41-44. 3 Nephi 15:12-21.
Matt. 12:14-21. Doc. and Cov. 50:44-46.
THE QUESTIONS
1. What was the nature of the first commission to the twelve apostles?
2. What is the meaning of the parable of the leaven?
3. What did Jesus teach concerning the kingdom of God and the Gentiles?
4. What do we learn from the case of Cornelius?
5. What did Jesus say about "other sheep"?
6. What did the Nephites know about the coming of Jesus?
8. What promise has Jesus made to us?
7. What did Jesus tell the Nephites?
{299}
{300} PICTURE: COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOR, Bloch
{301}
XXXVIII
OUR ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER
[Sidenote: The house-holder and the husbandmen.]
A parable Jesus related to the chief priests and elders of the Jews while He was yet with them in the flesh: "There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But, last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him. He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons."
[Sidenote: God the great householder, Jesus the Son.]
Just so is it with the kingdom of God; for just as the wicked husbandmen did with the servants and with the son of householder, so did the stiff-necked children of Israel with the prophets, and with the Son of God. {302} Therefore was the kingdom taken from them, as we have already learned, and given to the Gentiles. And therefore will the Great Householder miserably destroy the wicked who persecute His servants, kill His prophets, and reject His Only Begotten Son. But the righteous will He bless, and all those who serve Him; and even though we should fall into error, yet need we not despair. For if we repent, God will forgive our sins, so only we do not as did the wicked husbandmen of the vineyard. "My little children," wrote the Beloved John in a letter to the saints, "these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
[Sidenote: The exaltation of Jesus.]
It is, indeed, a joyful thought that, even though Jesus was slain by the husbandmen. He was not and Mark assures us that when He ascended into heaven, Jesus assumed the place of honor at the right hand of the Father. "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them. He was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God." There Stephen was privileged to see Him in vision some time later. Stephen is described as a man full of faith and power, who did great wonders and miracles among the people. Stephen preached fearlessly to the Jews the fact that Christ had risen. The Jews became enraged, and stoned him; but before his death, Stephen, "being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, {303} and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." To Jesus had come the deserved glory for which He had wrought. In His exaltation was fulfilled literally the sayings He had taught to His disciples, "Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." "Whosoever would be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."
[Sidenote: Our advocate with the Father.]