“Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”
Lesson 4 – Matthew 3-4; John 1:35-51
The Hebrew word Messiah, means anointed. The Jews had waited centuries for the coming of the Messiah, who, according to prophecy, would be their anointed King and Deliverer. The Greek word for Messiah is Christ. Jesus Christ was the long-awaited Messiah, and John the Baptist was the prophet sent to prepare the way for him. Today’s lesson should inspire us to draw near to the Savior by repenting of our sins, keeping our baptismal covenants, and avoiding temptation.
John the Baptist prepared the way
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 40:3; 1 Nephi 10:7-10
Centuries before John’s birth, many prophets foresaw his ministry and testified
of his greatness as the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah.
In preparation for John’s ministry:
Luke 1:13-19
- the angel Gabriel announced John’s forrthcoming birth
Luke 1:67-79 -
Zacharias prophesied on the day of John’s naming and circumcision
D&C 84:27-28
- and an angel ordained eight-day-old Joohn to his mission
Luke 7:28
- The crowning statement of John’s greattness came from the Savior himself, who
said,
“Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John
the Baptist”
John was born about six months before Jesus.
Shortly after Jesus’ birth, Herod, feeling threatened by the announcement that
a new king of the Jews had been born, “slew all the children that were in
Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under” (Matthew
2:16). To protect Jesus, an angel appeared to Joseph
in a dream and directed him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt (Matthew
2:13-15). To protect John, “Zacharias
caused [Elisabeth] to take him into the mountains, where he was raised on
locusts and wild honey” (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 261).
John began his public ministry many years later, first preaching in the
wilderness and then in Jerusalem and “all the region round about Jordan”
(Matthew 3:5).
Luke 1:76-79; 3:3-4
foretells the mission of John the Baptist.
It was important that someone prepare the way by teaching salvation
through repentance and God’s mercy and to give guidance unto peace.
Matthew 3:1-2 tells us that
John preached to prepare the people for the coming of the Savior. Repentance
requires at least the following steps:
3 Nephi 27:19 -
Repentance prepares us to dwell with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by giving
us an opportunity to come unto Christ, cleanse ourselves, demonstrate faith,
and endure to the end.
Matthew 3:7; Luke 7:29-30
The Pharisees and Sadducees witnessed baptisms performed by John but chose not
to be baptized.
Matthew 3:35 (JST)
John rebuked them, urging them to “repent … and bring forth fruits meet
for repentance” (Fruits refers to results and
that the word meet means worthy or appropriate).
Moroni 8:25-26 The fruits of
repentance include baptism, fulfilling of the commandments, remission of sins,
development of meekness and humility, the reception of the Holy Ghost, being
filled with hope and perfect love, being diligent in prayer, and enduring to
the end.
Matthew 3:11 John
baptized “with water unto repentance” and promised that Jesus would baptize
“with the Holy Ghost, and with fire”.
We are baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire when we receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (D&C 20:41). “The gift of
the Holy Ghost is the right to have, whenever one is worthy, the companionship
of the Holy Ghost. … It acts as a cleansing agent to purify a person and
sanctify him from all sin. Thus it is often spoken of as ‘fire’ ”
(Bible Dictionary, “Holy Ghost,” 704).
Jesus was baptized by John the
Baptist.
Matthew 3:14 John was
hesitant to baptize Jesus because he felt unworthy compared to Jesus.
Matthew 3:15; 2 Nephi 31:6-7, 9-11
Jesus need to be baptized “to fulfil all righteousness”, meaning that even
though he had no sin, he would commit a sin of omission if he did not covenant
to keep the Father’s commandments and set a righteous example for all mankind.
2 Nephi 31:5, 12-13, 17-18; D&C 20:71;
D&C 49:13-14 We need to be baptized to receive
remission of sin, make a covenant of obedience with the Father, follow the
Savior’s example and do what he did, and to enter into the gate to the strait
and narrow path that leads to eternal life.
D&C 20:37 The
covenants we make when we are baptized include: taking the name of Christ,
serving Him to the end, doing good works, and joining His Church.
Mosiah 18:8-10 These
covenants should affect our daily actions, causing us to be true “Christians”,
serve our brothers and sisters, keep the commandments, and be guided by the
Spirit.
Jesus withstood Satan’s
temptations in the wilderness.
Matthew 4:1 (JST)
Soon after Jesus was baptized, the Spirit led him into the wilderness to be
with God. The spiritual strength he gained there prepared Jesus to withstand
Satan’s temptations. Fasting, prayer,
and being “led … of the Spirit” can also fortify us against temptation by
strengthening our spiritual control over our physical appetites and needs.
Matthew 4:2-3 Satan tried to
appeal to the desire to satisfy physical appetite when he tempted Jesus, who
had been fasting, to turn the stones into bread. Satan tempts us to give in to
physical appetites by making those appetites seem overwhelming and important.
We can recognize and resist these temptations by retaining an eternal
perspective on what is important.
Matthew 4:5-6 Satan tried to
appeal to pride when he tempted Jesus to cast himself down from the pinnacle
and prove that he had the power to be saved by angels. Satan tries to appeal to
our pride. We can recognize and
withstand temptations to gratify prideful desires only if we have developed
humility.
Matthew 4:8-9 Satan
offered Jesus worldly riches and power if Jesus would worship him. Obviously, he uses those same temptations on
us today.
Matthew 4:10 We can
recognize and resist temptations by worshiping and serving only God.
D&C 104:14 Satan’s offer
to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world was false. Satan makes some false offers to us today to entice us to sin.
Matthew 4:3-4, 6-7, 8-10
Jesus responded to each of Satan’s temptations by quoting the scriptures.
Helaman 3:29-30
The scriptures give us strength to withstand temptation by overcoming the
“wiles” of Satan and lead us “across that everlasting gulf of misery”
to
“the right hand of God”.
Matthew 4:3, 6 Satan twice
questioned whether Jesus was the Son of God.
Think about it: Why did Satan
raise this question? How does he raise this question in the world today?
Moses 1:12-22 When we face
temptation, it helps to know that we are children of God because it strengthens
our resolve to be like our Father and reach our true potential.
Hebrews 4:14-15
It helps us to know that Jesus, the Son of God, faced temptations similar to
those we face because we can then follow his example when such temptations are
presented.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:
“The
Lord is well aware of our mortality. He knows our weaknesses. He understands
the challenges of our everyday lives. He has great empathy for the temptations
of earthly appetites and passions” (Ensign,
May 1996, 34).
Some of John the Baptist’s
disciples decided to follow Jesus.
John 1:35-37 When
Jesus began his mortal ministry, John the Baptist encouraged his own disciples
to follow the Messiah.
John 1:38-39 When Jesus saw
two of John the Baptist’s disciples following Him, He asked them what they
sought. Think about what you seek by
following the Master.
John 1:40-42 When
Andrew heard and recognized the Savior, he went to alert his brother, Simon
Peter.
John 1:43-46 After receiving a witness that Jesus was the Messiah, Philip answer Nathanael’s doubts by inviting him to come and see for himself. Consider what we can do to invite others to “come and see” the Savior.
The invitation to “come and see” the Savior is
extended to each of us. We can accept that invitation by repenting, being
baptized, keeping our baptismal covenants, and withstanding temptation.
These
lessons are posted on the Internet at http://www.neumanninstitute.org