February 4–10
Matthew 4; Luke 4–5
“The Spirit of the Lord Is upon Me”
Matthew 4:1–2
Communing with God prepares me to serve Him.
My Thoughts:
The Joseph Smith Translation clarifies this verse, explaining that the Lord did not go into the wilderness in order to be tempted, but in order 'to be with God.' We don’t know exactly what transpired. I assume it was very special and sacred. A Son talking with His Father before He sets out on His mission. Much like fathers and sons talk before missions and marriage or school.
What Others have said:
Bruce R. McConkie
"For forty days Jesus pondered upon the things of the Spirit, poured out his soul to his Father in prayer, sought diligently to receive revelations and see visions, was ministered to by angels, and was enwrapt in the visions of eternity-during all of which time he was not subject to temptation. We may also suppose that during this period he was 'with God' in the literal sense of the word, and that the Father visited him." (The Mortal Messiah, 1: 410.)
David O. McKay
"Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord. Jesus set the example for us. As soon as he was baptized...Jesus repaired to what is now known as the mount of temptation. I like to think of it as the mount of meditation where, during the forty days of fasting, he communed with himself and his Father, and contemplated upon the responsibility of his great mission."(Conference Report, April 1946, p. 113.)
Think of what you do to feel close to God. How does this prepare you for the work He wants you to do?
A few years ago we found out that my wife had cancer in her uterus. It was stage 3 so that meant having a full hysterectomy followed by chemo and radiation. While she was in the operating room and recovery I felt close. When we first got the news I had a long prayer with my Father and explained basically “You know I am 57, and we have a daughter that just turned 8 and was going to be baptized. You know I cant do this alone. You know I need my wife.” I was filled with peace and basically heard “Dude, tell me something I don’t already know. Relax, peace, I got this” (Yes I say dud a lot myself)
I never felt closer than then. I know I can do all things with Christ by my side.
Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13
Jesus Christ set the example for me by resisting temptation.
My Thoughts:
Christ had to be tempted in all things and all ways. Knowing that He has gone through it really helps me understand the He truly knows what I am going through. Not just sins but the little things. Losing a family member, having a rotten day at work, being in a bad mood for no real cause. The atonement applies to this as well.
As you read Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13, what do you learn that can help you when you face temptations?
My Thoughts:
1-Remember who you are
2-Remember who’s you are.
3-Remember scripture
4-Stay strong and loyal to yourself and your Lord
5.Ignore the Devil
What Others Have Said:
Pres Uchtdorf
Temptation wouldn’t be temptation if it didn’t appear attractive and fun. fireside 11-1-09
David R Webster
Temptations serve a purpose- otherwise the Lord would not allow them. Pres Webster Deer Hallow Ward Conference
Neal A. Maxwell
"The Lord has declared not only of this first temptation, but of all His genuine and varied temptations, that He 'gave no heed unto them.' (DC 20:22) Yet He was tempted, not representatively, but 'in all points.' (Heb 4:15) Once put, however, Jesus dismissed each of these summarily. He did not temporize with temptations. He 'yielded not.' And neither should we.
"Brooding over temptations can produce self-pity and a false sense of nobility. Prolonged consideration of a temptation only increases the risks-but it does not increase our options: the two options and the consequences remain the same regardless of our dallying.
"Moreover, protracted consideration of a temptation does not increase the justification to succumb-only our rationalization...Lucifer is best dispatched at the doorstep-not after he's been invited in and has unpacked his things." (Even As I Am, p. 73-4.)
Neal A. Maxwell
"What further lessons emerge for us from the temptations of Jesus?
"Just as personal goodness in mortality consists of accumulating service rather than a single act, so temptation is not a one-time thing either. The points of our personal vulnerability, as Satan cunningly observes them, will be exploited. Lucifer will quote scripture if it helps, or cite supposed opportunities for us to do good. He will offer chances for self-indulgence and even provide the preparatory self-pity-whatever might induce rationalization on our part.
"Therefore, our challenge is to do as Jesus did-first, to resist temptation by giving it 'no heed.'
"Our doubts will also be used against us. Equivalent ifs will be flung at us, like darts designed to inflict pain. Circumstances may be used to cause us to call into question our true identity and our past spiritual knowledge. In fact, is not apostasy a denial of that which was once genuinely known but which now comes to be doubted, discounted, and discarded? Neglected and unnourished, the tree of testimony is, alas, plucked up and cast out. But the tree was there, a fact to which its dried branches and roots are stark witness.
"Power and authority and position, as Jesus taught and showed us, are not to be misused by us for personal gain or self-gratification. Almost all-not just a few-succumb to this particular temptation. Jesus was the enormous exception. Gloriously, Jesus did not succumb." (Even As I Am, p. 76)
Howard W. Hunter
"The question for us now is, Will we succeed? Will we resist? Will we wear the victor's crown? Satan may have lost Jesus, but he does not believe he has lost us. He continues to tempt, taunt, and plead for our loyalty. We should take strength for this battle from the fact that Christ was victorious not as a God but as a man.
"It is important to remember that Jesus was capable of sinning, that he could have succumbed, that the plan of life and salvation could have been foiled, but that he remained true. Had there been no possibility of his yielding to the enticement of Satan, there would have been no real test, no genuine victory in the result. If he had been stripped of the faculty to sin, he would have been stripped of his very agency. It was he who had come to safeguard and ensure the agency of man. He had to retain the capacity and ability to sin had he willed so to do. As Paul wrote, 'Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered' (Heb. 5:8); and he 'was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin' (Heb. 4:15). He was perfect and sinless, not because he had to be, but because he clearly and determinedly wanted to be. As the Doctrine and Covenants records, 'He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.' (D&C 20:22.)
"What about us? We live in a world of temptation-temptation that seems more real and oppressively rampant than any since the days of Noah. Are we remaining faithful in such a world? Every individual in the Church should ask, 'Am I living so that I am keeping unspotted from the evils of the world?'" (That We Might Have Joy, p. 35-6)
David O. McKay
"Your weakest point will be the point at which the Devil tries to tempt you, will try to win you...Resist him and you will gain in strength. He will tempt you in another point. Resist him and he becomes weaker and you become stronger, until you can say, no matter what your surroundings may be, 'Get thee behind me Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' (Luke 4:8.)" (Conference Report, Oct. 1959, p. 88.)
Hugh Nibley
"...we are confronted by two opposing concepts of dominion that have always divided the human race. From the beginning men have been asked to choose between them. Thus the Clementine Recognitions tell us that Abel's claim to dominion was challenged by Cain, that Noah was challenged by the giants (the 'Watchers' of Enoch's day), Abraham by Pharaoh, Isaac by the Philistines, Jacob by Esau, Moses by the magicians of Egypt, Christ by the adversary in person, Simon Peter by Simon Magus, the apostles by the whole world, and finally, in the last days, Christ by the anti-Christ again. In each case the challenger argued from a position of strength and promised 'all the kingdoms of the world' with all their power and glory to those who would worship and follow him, while the other offered the kingdom of heaven hereafter to those who worship the Lord and serve him only. (Luke 4:5-8.)" (Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless [Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1978], 86 - 87.)
Neal A. Maxwell
"Perhaps the adversary hoped Jesus would actually consider a mortal Messiahship in which He could commence His reign at once. Perhaps the adversary hoped Jesus would reflect on how, by so doing, He could accomplish so much good, fulfilling the very type of Messiahship that, by the way, the Jews were confidently expecting.
"Satan obviously hoped Jesus would take second place, so Satan could have that preeminence once refused him. The rebel made his new bid for ascendancy, but, again, he was dispatched!" (Even As I Am [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 75.)
Elder Eldred G. Smith
"The only power I know of that will bind Satan, or render him powerless, is righteous living....When you have resisted a temptation until it no longer becomes a temptation, then to that extent, Satan has lost his power over you, and as long as you do not yield to him, to that degree he is bound.
"For instance, if you have learned to pay tithing until it is no burden or no real temptation anymore, then to that extent you have bound Satan. The same is true in keeping the Word of Wisdom or living the laws of chastity, or the other laws of the gospel. Satan becomes powerless to you in that field.
"Then step by step, you may bind Satan now; you don't have to wait for the millennial reign." (Conference Report, April 1970, Afternoon Meeting 142.)
Joseph B. Wirthlin
"Willing obedience provides lasting protection against Satan's alluring and tantalizing temptations. Jesus is our perfect example of obedience. Learn to do as He did when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. Even though He was weakened by fasting, His answer was quick and firm: 'Get thee behind me, Satan.' Elder Neal A. Maxwell said this of the Savior's example in resisting temptation: 'Jesus noticed the tremendous temptations that came to Him, but He did not process and reprocess them. Instead, He rejected them promptly. If we entertain temptations, soon they begin entertaining us!' When Satan comes calling, cast him out as quickly as possible. Do not let temptation even begin to entertain you." ("Live in Obedience," Ensign, May 1994, 40)
Hugh B. Brown
"I wish all of us could do what Jesus did. Some of us say, 'Get thee behind me, Satan,' but when we are struggling with some weakness, we turn right around and face him and expect him to stay behind us. By that I mean that we tempt ourselves by overestimating our strength." (The Abundant Life [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965], 292.)
Howard W. Hunter
"In power and dignity, Jesus commanded, 'Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' (Matt. 4:10.) Anguished and defeated, Satan turned and went away. 'And when the devil had ended all the temptation,' Luke adds, 'he departed from him for a season.' (Luke 4:13.) Matthew tells us that 'angels came and ministered unto him.' (Matt. 4:11.)
"As with Jesus, so with us, relief comes and miracles are enjoyed after the trial and temptation of our faith. There is, of course, running through all of these temptations, Satan's insidious suggestion that Jesus was not the Son of God, the doubt implied in the tempter's repeated use of the word if. 'If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' (Matt. 4:3.) 'If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down.' (Matt. 4:6.) These, of course, foreshadowed that final, desperate temptation which would come three years later: 'If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.' (Matt. 27:40.) But Jesus patiently withstood that ploy also, knowing that in due time every knee would bow and every tongue confess.
"It was not necessary then, or ever, for Jesus to satisfy the curiosity of men, least of all unholy men. As victory in every encounter came to Jesus, so the pathos and tragedy of Lucifer's life is even more obvious: first, bold and taunting and tempting; then pleading and weak and desperate; and finally-ultimately-simply banished.
"The question for us now is, Will we succeed? Will we resist? Will we wear the victor's crown? Satan may have lost Jesus, but he does not believe he has lost us. He continues to tempt, taunt, and plead for our loyalty. We should take strength for this battle from the fact that Christ was victorious not as a God but as a man." (Howard W. Hunter, That We Might Have Joy [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994], 35.)
Howard W. Hunter
"Satan tempts us when we are weak and vulnerable. When Jesus had completed the fast of forty days and had communed with God, he was, in this hungry and physically weakened state, left to be tempted of the devil [see Matt. 4:3-10]. That, too, was to be part of his preparation. Such a time is always the tempter's moment-when we are emotionally or physically spent, when we are weary, vulnerable, and least prepared to resist the insidious suggestions he makes. This was an hour of danger-the kind of moment in which many men fall and succumb to the subtle allurement of the devil." (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, p. 31)
Neal A. Maxwell
"Unsurprisingly, Satan appeared at this time of maximum importance for what he hoped would also be a time of maximum vulnerability: 'Lo, he [the Lord] shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer.' (Mosiah 3:7)
"Perhaps this period of temptation was the most difficult of all for the Savior-except for those later hours in Gethsemane and on Calvary. The dawning of the enormity of what He had yet to do; the weight and fate of so many souls resting upon Him; the realization that He, though innocent, must, in achieving the Atonement, experience the 'fierceness' of the justice of God; and the reality that He could actually choose-or refuse-to go through with it all: No one has ever faced anything like that! Yet Jesus was not exempted from the challenge of temptations common to mankind. As Elder Bruce R. McConkie has written: 'Jesus was tempted-if we may so say-to fulfill all righteousness. It was part of the eternal plan. It gave him the experiences he needed to work out his own salvation, and it prepared him to sit in judgment upon his erring brethren, who, in a lesser degree, are tried and tested as he was.' (The Mortal Messiah, 1:416.)
"Total obedience and submissiveness would be required." (Even As I Am, p. 70.
James E. Talmage
"Satan had chosen the most propitious time for his evil purpose. What will mortals not do, to what lengths have men not gone, to assuage the pangs of hunger? Esau bartered his birthright for a meal. Men have fought like brutes for food. Women have slain and eaten their own babes rather than endure the gnawing pangs of starvation. All this Satan knew when he came to the Christ in the hour of extreme physical need, and said unto Him: 'If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.'" (Jesus the Christ, p. 121)
Bruce R. McConkie
Lucifer had made the providing of food for Jesus' hungry body a test of his divinity. 'If thou be the Son of God,' do this thing. It was as though he had said: 'Cut off your arm and restore it and then I will believe you are the Son of God and have the power you seem to think you have.' Of course he could turn stones into bread; in less than two months he would turn water into wine in Cana; and not long thereafter, on two separate occasions, he would multiply loaves and fishes so that thousands could eat...But here Lucifer was challenging him to glory in his divinity and to prostitute his powers. He was demanding that he prove something that needed no proof." (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 1: 412.)
James E. Talmage
"Moreover, the superior power that Jesus possessed had not been given to Him for personal gratification, but for service to others. He was to experience all the trials of mortality; another man, as hungry as He, could not provide for himself by a miracle; and though by a miracle such a one might be fed, the miraculous supply would have to be given, not provided by himself." (Jesus the Christ, p. 121-2)
Bruce R. McConkie
"Of all the inspired words ever recorded by the prophets who preceded him, these few constituted the perfect rebuke to the rebel Lucifer. They are taken from the very sentence in which Moses reminded Israel of the bread from heaven, as it were, with which they had been fed for forty years... (see Deut. 8:2-3.)
"That is, even as Israel relied upon Jehovah for their daily bread, lest they die physically, so they must rely upon him for the word of God, which is spiritual bread, lest they die spiritually. Neither temporal nor spiritual bread, standing alone, will suffice; man must eat of both to live; and in the eternal sense, the word of God, which is the bread from heaven in the full sense, is the more important. Those who make the search for earthly bread their chief concern lose sight of eternal values, fail to feed their spirits, die spiritually, and lose their souls." (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 1: 413.)
"Every word. Not every other word, not those words that are most acceptable and pleasing, not those words that support my own peculiar views. Every word. Members of the Church would seldom become embroiled in doctrinal disputes, controversial dialogues, or gospel hobbies if they truly sought to live by every word that has come from the Lord, the scriptures, and the servants of God. To live by every word of God also implies the need to read and study widely, to be seeking for at least as much breadth in our gospel scholarship as we have depth, to seek to have the big picture. It has been wisely said that the greatest commentary on the scriptures is the scriptures themselves." (Selected Writings of Robert L. Millet: Gospel Scholars Series, p. 387.)
David O. McKay
"Satan then tried Him in another way. He dared him-an appeal to His pride, to His vanity, quoted scripture to support his temptation, for remember the devil can find scripture for his purpose, and 'an evil soul producing holy witnesses is like a villain with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart.'" (Conference Report, Oct. 1999, p. 58 - 59)
James E. Talmage
"We need not concern ourselves with conjecture as to whether Satan could have made good his promise in the event of Christ's doing him homage; certain it is Christ could have reached out, and have gathered to Himself the wealth and glory of the world had He willed so to do, and thereby have failed in His Messianic mission. This fact Satan knew full well. Many men have sold themselves to the devil for a kingdom and for less, aye, even for a few paltry pence." (Jesus the Christ, p. 124)
Howard W. Hunter
"In speaking of the three temptations that came to Jesus, Elder David O. McKay made this statement concerning them: 'Classify them, and you will find that under one of those three nearly every given temptation that makes you and me spotted, ever so little maybe, comes to us as (1) a temptation of the appetite; (2) a yielding to the pride and fashion and vanity of those alienated from the things of God; or (3) a gratifying of the passion, or a desire for the riches of the world, or power among men.'" (That We Might Have Joy, p. 36)
What additional insights do you gain from the Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 4? (see footnotes throughout Matthew 4).
"The Joseph Smith Translation gives a different view: 'Then Jesus was led up of the Spirit, into the wilderness, to be with God. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, and had communed with God, he was afterwards an hungered, and was left to be tempted of the devil.' ([Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible]. The Holy Scriptures: Inspired Version. Independence, Mo.: Herald Publishing House, 1970 Matt. 4:1-2.)
"Furthermore, the account given by Luke states that Jesus was 'forty days tempted of the devil' (Luke 4:2). The Joseph Smith Translation corrects this by saying, 'And after forty days, the devil came unto him, to tempt him' ([Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible]. The Holy Scriptures: Inspired Version. Independence, Mo.: Herald Publishing House, 1970 Luke 4:2).
"Thus the Joseph Smith Translation contributes in three ways toward a better understanding of Jesus' experience in the wilderness. First, his purpose for going there was not to seek out the devil, but to commune with God; second, he was not tempted for the forty days, but after the forty days were over; and third, it was the Spirit of God, not the devil, who conveyed Jesus to the mountain and the pinnacle. The Joseph Smith Translation account is also more reasonable than that of the King James Version, for one would not fast and seek solitude in order to be tempted of the devil, but would do so to commune with God." (Robert J. Matthews, Behold the Messiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1994], 188.)
Luke 4:16–32
Jesus Christ is the prophesied Messiah.
My Thoughts:
What Others have said:
Jeffrey R. Holland
"Perhaps no more beautiful passages have ever been written about the Savior's atonement and crucifixion than those written by Isaiah. We have already noted the first three verses of the 61st chapter of Isaiah, the passages with which Christ announced his Messiahship to what must surely have been a startled synagogue in the tranquil village of Nazareth. Those verses would rank among the most moving and meaningful ever written, particularly in light of their true Messianic meaning and the use that the Savior himself made of them." (Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 89.)
Jeffrey R. Holland
In what would be the most startling moment of His earthly ministry, Jesus stood up in His home synagogue in Nazareth and read these words prophesied by Isaiah and recorded in the gospel of Luke: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and ... set at liberty them that are bruised."
Thus the Savior made the first public announcement of His messianic ministry. But this verse also made clear that on the way to His ultimate atoning sacrifice and Resurrection, Jesus's first and foremost messianic duty would be to bless the poor, including the poor in spirit.
From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus loved the impoverished and the disadvantaged in an extraordinary way. He was born into the home of two of them and grew up among many more of them. We don't know all the details of His temporal life, but He once said, "Foxes have holes, and... birds... have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Apparently the Creator of heaven and earth "and all things that in them are" was, at least in His adult life, homeless. (Ensign, Nov. 2014, 40)
Sheri Dew
"The Lord has promised to heal our broken hearts and 'to set at liberty them that are bruised' (Luke 4:18); to give power to the faint, to heal the wounded soul, and to turn our weakness into strength (see Isa. 40:29; Jacob 2:8; Ether 12:27); to take upon Him our pains and sicknesses, to blot out our transgressions if we repent, and loose the bands of death (see Alma 7:11-13). He promised that if we will build our lives upon His rock, the devil will have no power over us (see Hel. 5:12). And He has vowed that He will never leave us or forsake us (see Heb. 13:5). There is simply no mortal equivalent. Not in terms of commitment, power, or love. He is our only chance.
"Our responsibility is to learn to draw upon the power of the Atonement. Otherwise we walk through mortality relying solely on our own strength. And to do that is to invite the frustration of failure and to refuse the most resplendent gift in time or eternity. 'For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed ... and he receive not the gift?' (D&C 88:33). My brother and I would have been foolish to not seek or accept our father's help when we were stranded. Likewise, the Lord is our advocate, and He 'knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted' (D&C 62:1). In other words, He knows how to succor all of us. But we activate the power of the Atonement in our lives. We do this by first believing in Him, by repenting, by obeying His commandments, by partaking of sacred ordinances and keeping covenants, and by seeking after Him in fasting and prayer, in the scriptures, and in the temple." ("Our Only Chance," Ensign, May 1999, 67)
Anthon H. Lund
"He read these verses, which describe His own mission. Among other things, His mission, He tells us, was to liberate the captives and to open their prison doors. This part of His mission He did not fulfill while living in the flesh, so far as we have any account, but we have an account that He fulfilled it afterwards. Peter tells us that He preached to the spirits in prison-those that Job speaks of when he says that they should be brought forth out of the pit and out of their prison. Jesus went and opened their prison doors; He led captivity captive; He brought joy to the many millions that were waiting in prison, for His coming, who were there because at one time they had rejected the Gospel. They belonged to the antediluvians, and when Noah preached the Gospel to them they rejected him; hence they had a long time to wait, but finally the joyful tidings came to their prison house. Jesus went and preached the Gospel to them, and salvation was offered to them once more. They had learned by sad experience what it meant to reject the Gospel." (Conference Report, October 1900, Second Day-Morning Session 25.)
James E. Talmage
"[Jesus]...as was His custom, attended the synagog service on the Sabbath day. Many times as a boy and man He had sat in that house of worship, listening to the reading of the law and the prophets and to the commentaries or Targums relating thereto, as delivered by appointed readers; but now, as a recognized teacher of legal age He was eligible to take the reader's place. On this occasion He stood up to read, when the service had reached the stage at which extracts from the prophetical books were to be read to the congregation. The minister in charge handed Him the roll, or book, of Isaiah; He turned to the part known to us as the beginning of the sixty-first chapter, and read: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' Handing the book to the minister, He sat down. It was allowable for the reader in the service of the Jewish synagog to make comments in explanation of what had been read; but to do so he must sit. When Jesus took His seat the people knew that He was about to expound the text, and 'the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.' The scripture He had quoted was one recognized by all classes as specifically referring to the Messiah, for whose coming the nation waited. The first sentence of our Lord's commentary was startling; it involved no labored analysis, no scholastic interpretation, but a direct and unambiguous application: 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.'" (Jesus the Christ, 167.)
Neal A. Maxwell
"They were truly impressed. Yet they asked, 'Is not this Joseph's son?'
"Mark's writings, too, indicate how impressed His own people were as Jesus spoke to them in their own country. They marveled at His wisdom and His works. No doubt they had heard of His miracles. (Mark 6:1-6.) Matthew says they were astonished at His 'wisdom and these mighty works' (Matthew 13:53-58).
"Yet all of this was discounted or dismissed by some because in their view, after all, 'Jesus was Joseph the carpenter's son.'
"In His sermon in one synagogue, Jesus boldly declared His Lordship. He was rejected, and some of the people even tried to throw Him off the brow of a hill...Familiarity got in the way of their recognizing Jesus' divinity.
"Instead of truly assessing Him, they used labels-'the carpenter's son'-to classify Him. Past proximity caused townsfolk and kinsmen alike to regard Him with indifference.
"In addition to the problems caused by familiarity and proximity, something else was present. Though subtle, this insight must not escape us. There was apparently no objection to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. However, the Sermon at Capernaum (John 6) caused a violent reaction. Why? Because in the sermon at Capernaum, Jesus declared His Lordship! The more declarative He was, the more restive His audience and the more attrition among His followers. The more specific His message, the more difficult He was to follow." (Sermons Not Spoken [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1985], 41-43.)
Theodore M. Burton
"Thus Jesus Christ was rejected by the people because he told them what saving work he would do for the captives then confined to a spiritual prison and for those who had been bruised in their souls through iniquity. Instead of rejoicing in this liberation, the people hated Jesus for being so presumptuous as to tell them that he had been anointed to open the prison doors. Even his very life was threatened. Nevertheless, he continued to preach this doctrine even more clearly, in the hopes that people would understand him and the importance of the work he had been called to do." (Conference Report, October 1970, Afternoon Meeting 34.)
Bruce R. McConkie
"How he escaped the wrath and murderous designs of the Nazarene mob is not recorded. Luke says simply: 'But he passing through the midst of them went his way.' 'Perhaps His silence, perhaps the calm nobleness of His bearing, perhaps the dauntless innocence of His gaze overawed them. Apart from anything supernatural, there seems to have been in the presence of Jesus a spell of mystery and majesty which even His most ruthless and hardened enemies acknowledged, and before which they involuntarily bowed. It was to this that He owed His escape when the maddened Jews in the Temple took up stones to stone Him; it was this that made the bold and bigoted officers of the Sanhedrin unable to arrest Him as He taught in public during the Feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem; it was this that made the armed band of His enemies, at His mere look, fall before Him to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane. Suddenly, quietly, He asserted His freedom, waved aside His captors, and overawing them by His simple glance, passed through their midst unharmed. Similar events have occurred in history, and continue still to occur. There is something in defenseless and yet dauntless dignity that calms even the fury of a mob.' (Farrar, p. 175)" (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979-1981], 2: 27.)
If you were asked to describe what Jesus Christ was sent to earth to do, what would you say?
To bring to pass and fulfill the plan of His Father. To endure all things so we could live forever and with our families and our Father
What do you learn about His mission as you read these verses?
Is there anything that might prevent you from fully accepting Christ as your personal Savior?
Myself
Matthew 4:18–22; Luke 5:1–11
As I trust in the Lord, He can help me reach my divine potential.
My Thoughts:
What others have said
Matt 4:20 they straightway left their nets, and followed him
Marvin J. Ashton
"Straightway is a power word. Straightway is an action word. It means immediately, without delay or hesitation. It means at once. Also, it is associated with having no curve or turn-a straight course, track, or path. Procrastination would be the very opposite of straightway....My remarks today are going to be centered around this key word, straightway. 'And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.' How descriptive, how powerful, how rewarding when properly applied in human conduct.
"We invite all to serve the Savior and walk in His paths straightway. There is an urgency for all of us who have this knowledge of His divinity to act upon it without hesitation or delay. The time is now.
"Joshua reminds us of the importance of making decisions promptly: 'Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' (Joshua 24:15.) Not tomorrow, not when we get ready, not when it is convenient-but 'this day,' straightway, choose whom you will serve. He who invites us to follow will always be out in front of us with His Spirit and influence setting the pace. He has charted and marked the course, opened the gates, and shown the way. He has invited us to come unto Him, and the best time to enjoy His companionship is straightway." (Be of Good Cheer, p. 56.)
Luke 5:4 Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught
Jeffrey R. Holland
"'Launch out into the deep,' he counseled this fisherman one morning in Galilee, 'and let down your nets for a draught.' After an unsuccessful night of effort, Peter's judgment told him a final effort was useless. But this was a man of genuinely childlike faith, and he lowered the net. The number of fish taken in that single attempt strained the strings until they began to break, and filled two boats until they began to sink. In that small ship Peter, stunned, kneeled at the feet of the Master. Jesus said lovingly, 'Henceforth thou shalt catch men.'
"Launch out into the deep! Peter could not have known the ever-widening circles that single command would make in the stream of his plain and simple life. He was launching out into the expanse of godliness, into the eternal possibilities of redeemed and celestial life. He would be learning the mysteries of the kingdom. He would be hearing unspeakable things. To launch out into that limitless sea of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Peter brought his craft to shore, turned his back on the most spectacular single catch ever taken from Galilee, 'forsook all, and followed him.' (Luke 5:1-11.)
"From that moment on, Jesus taught and trained Peter at every opportunity. He walked with him in the hills outside of Capernaum. He sat with him beside the sea they loved so much. He stayed in his home, ate at his table, gave blessings to his family and friends. Peter watched silently as the Son of God cast out devils, healed the sick, restored the blind. When Jesus sought some respite from the crowd, Peter appealed to him in their behalf. 'All men seek for thee' (Mark 1:37), he told the Master, and Jesus smiled a knowing smile. Peter did not know that very soon other men would seek Jesus-and not to receive a blessing at his hand. But Jesus knew, and he hastened the work." (However Long and Hard the Road [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], 92.)
Luke 5:5 Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing
Cheiko Okazaki
"Think of Peter who, with his friends, had spent the entire night fishing. Then Jesus told him to let down the net on the other side of the boat. Peter was a professional. He and his friends had grown up on the Sea of Galilee. He knew about currents, the feeding habits of fish, and the best times to catch fish. He also knew that the water on one side of the boat was a lot like the water on the other side of the boat. He explained to Jesus, respectfully but candidly, that they had been fishing all night without luck. Then he added, 'Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.' So he did, and he caught so many fish that the net broke (Luke 5:5-6).
"Now, it's interesting to me that Jesus didn't scold Peter for his lack of faith. He listened patiently to Peter's description of the facts. They were, after all, facts. But Peter did his part, too. When he was sure that Jesus, a carpenter, hadn't accidentally overlooked any of the facts important to a fisherman, he let down his net and gathered in his reward." (Sanctuary [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 17.)
Luke 5:8 he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man
"Sometimes we assume that everyone else is doing better than we are. We think that other people are not sinners, that they keep all the commandments all of the time, and we loathe ourselves because we cannot do the same thing. As a result, many of us, often the best among us, despair at what we see as an unbridgeable gap between what God demands and what we do. Thus even the great fisherman, Peter the Rock, said when first confronted by the Master's power, 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' (Luke 5:8.)
"Once he saw the power of Jesus Christ and knew that He was genuinely sent from God, Peter could come to only one conclusion-'I'm not worthy. You shouldn't be here with me. If you knew how rotten I am, you'd realize it's hopeless. I'm not like you-I'm sinful. So don't waste your time here on me; go find someone righteous and religious, someone who can be saved. One as holy as you deserves a much better disciple than a poor wretch like me.' No one knew better than Peter the vast chasm between the demands of God and the ability of unaided humans to meet those demands. And before he learned the good news, even the great fisherman apparently could see no hope, no way out of the Great Dilemma." (Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ: The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992], 3.)
Ronald E. Poelman
"Each one of us, at times, may feel like Peter, conscious of our failings and uncomfortable at the thought of approaching the Lord. Transgression causes us to feel estranged from our Father in heaven, and we feel unworthy of his love and fearful of his disapproval. Yet, having transgressed his laws or disobeyed his commandments, we need the strengthening influence of our Father to help us overcome our weakness, to help us repent and become reconciled with him. Unrepented sin tends to become habitual and is frequently accompanied by a deepening sense of guilt, which may make repentance increasingly difficult. This feeling of estrangement from the Lord becomes an impediment to repentance and reconciliation with him.
"Knowing we have offended our Father in heaven, we are afraid to ask his help, feeling that we don't deserve it. Paradoxically, when we are most in need of the Lord's influence, we deserve it least. Nevertheless, in such circumstances he says to us, as Jesus said to the trembling Peter, 'Fear not.' (Luke 5:10.) "(Love [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1986], 89 - 90.)
Spencer J. Condie
"Despite all of the human frailties of the great Apostle Peter, it is well to remember the circumstances surrounding his calling to the holy apostleship...After catching a great multitude of fish, Peter, instead of boasting of his prowess as a fisherman, humbly acknowledged the Savior's power by falling to his knees and saying: 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' But the Savior looked beyond the current sins of this humble sinner, proclaiming: 'Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.' (Luke 5:1-10.) A calling in the kingdom is not necessarily so much a confirmation of our personal worthiness as it is an invitation to improve our lives.
"The Savior called men like Peter and Paul and Alma, not because of what they had done, but because of what they would be able to do with His help, and they remembered the source of their spiritual guidance. By contrast, King Saul had to be reminded by the prophet Samuel of the time 'when thou wast little in thine own sight' (1 Sam. 15:17), and King Solomon forgot the time he prayed: 'I am but a little child' (1 Kgs. 3:7). The challenge is to grow in confidence while still retaining humility, and increasing in boldness without losing meekness." (In Perfect Balance [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1993], 190.)
Luke 5:10 he was astonished...at the draught of the fishes which they had taken
David O. McKay
"Jesus had manifested His power, and in so doing had taught Peter the lesson that he and all the world, sooner or later, must learn; viz., that obedience to Christ's words brings blessings, temporal as well as spiritual. As the realization of this truth was pouring balm on his awe-struck feelings, Jesus said unto him, 'Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.'" (Ancient Apostles [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1964], 18 - 21.)
Luke 5:11 when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him
James E. Talmage
"The occupants of the second boat were Zebedee and his two sons James and John, the last named being he who with Andrew had left the Baptist to follow Jesus at the Jordan. Zebedee and his sons were partners with Simon in the fishing business. When the two boats were brought to land, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and Zebedee's two sons James and John, left their boats and accompanied Jesus.
"The foregoing treatment is based on Luke's record; the briefer and less circumstantial accounts given by Matthew and Mark omit the incident of the miraculous draught of fishes, and emphasize the calling of the fishermen. To Simon and Andrew Jesus said: 'Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.' The contrast thus presented between their former vocation and their new calling is strikingly forceful. Theretofore they had caught fish, and the fate of the fish was death; thereafter they were to draw men-to a life eternal. To James and John the call was no less definite; and they too left their all to follow the Master." (Jesus the Christ, 186)
When have you felt the Savior calling you to follow Him?
Still trying to sort this one out. I hope I will also go straight way and not delay when it comes
Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening
Matthew 4:1–2; Luke 4:1–2
My Thoughts:
What insights can we gain from this account about the power of fasting?
My Thoughts:
For me fasting is extremely hard. No real solid reason other than I like to eat, and I am a wimp. So this year I know I need to really try to embrace fasting.
What others have said:
Gordon B Hinckley
Is it too much to ask anyone, any member of this Church, that you actually fast for two meals a month? It will only bless our lives if we do so. I am satisfied that if every man and woman and child in the United States of America were to observe this great and marvelous practice, which costs no one anything, not a thing, that it would take care of all the welfare problems of this nation. The Lord’s way is a simple way that takes nothing from us, adds to our humility, to our spirit of worship, to our physical well- being, and takes care of those in need and in distress.
Gordon B Hinckley “Stand a Little Taller”
Henry B Eyring
…fast and allow your children to fast once a month before the meeting in which they will partake of the Lord’s Supper, hear others bear testimony, and perhaps themselves feel prompted to testify. The spiritual blessing will be even greater for them if they know that their choice to overcome their physical desires for food is making possible the caring for the poor. That can’t happen unless we pay a generous fast offering with a joyful heart.
Henry B Eyring “To Draw Closer To God.”
Matthew 4:3–4; Luke 4:3–4
Why does Satan try to make us doubt our divine identities?
He has lost his divine identity and would love nothing more than have us loose ours. We already are one better than him since we have bodies and will all be resurrected, he won’t.
Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 4:11
How are we blessed as we follow Christ’s example of thinking of others before ourselves?
How can we follow His example?
Do as He would. Strive daily to be better than we were the day before
How can we help others receive the Savior’s healing and deliverance?
Support
Be in tune so we can be there when needed.
Example without judging
