7. The Fate of Herod Antipas.—He was not allowed to enjoy his prosperity long. His nephew Agrippa having obtained the title of king, Herodias urged him to make a journey to Italy and demand the same honor. He weakly assented to his wife's ambitious representations; but the project proved fatal to them both. Agrippa anticipated their design; and when they appeared before Caligula, they were met by accusations of hostility to Rome, the truth of which they in vain attempted to disprove. Sentence of deposition was accordingly passed upon Herod, and both he and his wife [Herodias] were sent into banishment and died at Lyons in Gaul.—Kitto.
8. The Sign of the Dove.—The Holy Ghost descended in the form of a dove, or rather in the sign of a dove, in witness of that administration [Messiah's baptism]. The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It (he) does not confine itself to the form of a dove, but in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence.—Joseph Smith.
REVIEW.
1. State what you can of the childhood of Christ.
2. What can you say of Nazareth?
3. What happened when Jesus was twelve years old?
4. Describe the Passover. (Note 2.)
5. What can you say of the fabulous stories related of the childhood and youth of Christ?
6. At what time did John the Baptist appear as a preacher?
7. Who were the parents of John? What their descent?
8. Relate all you can concerning John's birth and childhood.
9. What was the burden of John's message?
10. How did he treat the deceitful Pharisees and Sadducees?
11. As whom did some of the Jews regard John?
12. What was the extent of his pretensions?
13. What can you say of Elias? (Note 5.)
14. Relate the baptism of Jesus.
15. Tell the story of John's martyrdom.
16. What was the fate of Herod Antipas? (Note 7.)
SECTION IV.
1. The Temptations of Jesus.—After his baptism Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days and forty nights. Then at the moment of his great physical weakness Lucifer came tempting him, but all the allurements of the wily foe were thwarted, from the challenge to turn the stones into bread to the offer of the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them. After his failure to seduce Jesus to sin, Lucifer left him—"for a season," and angels came and administered unto him. (See notes 1 and 2, end of section.)
2. Commencement of Christ's Ministry.—Having in all things resisted the temptations of Lucifer, Jesus returned from the wilderness into Galilee, the Spirit of God resting upon him in mighty power. It was then that he began his great ministry among the people, teaching in their synagogues, astonishing all with the graciousness of his doctrines, and his power in healing the sick, until his fame extended throughout the land and great multitudes of people from Galilee, and also from Decapolis (De-kap-o-lis), Jerusalem and other parts of Judea followed him.
3. The Doctrines Christ Taught.—The burden of his teaching at this period of his ministry seems to have been: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."[26] In addition to this, he also taught beautiful truths and moral precepts in brief, emphatic sentences (see note 3, end of section), that were especially comforting to the poor; such as, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. * * * Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
4. In some things His teachings seemed to come in conflict with the traditions of the people; and, indeed with the law of Moses itself, as witness the following: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,[27] shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Again: "Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; * * * but let your communications be Yea, yea; Nay, nay. * * * Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil. * * * Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you."
5. Yet Jesus claimed that He came not to destroy the law nor the prophets, but to fulfill them, and declared that though heaven and earth should pass away not one jot nor tittle of the law should pass away but all should be fulfilled. Still it cannot be denied that some of his teachings set aside many parts of the law of Moses, and seemed to be in conflict with its spirit.
6. The Gospel Supplants the Law.—The seeming conflict, referred to in the last paragraph, between the law of Moses and the teachings of Messiah disappears when it is understood that the gospel of Jesus Christ was about to supplant the law. The gospel, under Moses was offered to ancient Israel before they received the law of carnal commandments; but they would not live in accordance with its divine precepts, but hardened their hearts against it until the gospel, as also the higher priesthood, was taken from among them. The lesser priesthood, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel, repentance and baptism, and the law of carnal commandments (the spirit of which is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) remained with them,[28] to educate and instruct them, that they might be prepared eventually for the fullness of the gospel. When Jesus began his ministry by proclaiming his gospel, the law of Moses was about fulfilled, and many of the carnal commandments and precepts were being pushed aside by the more excellent precepts of the gospel, even as many of the sacrifices and burnt offerings were to be discontinued after Messiah should be offered up as a sacrifice, of which the sacrifices before mentioned were but types and symbols. (See note 4, end of section.)
7. Twelve Apostles Called.—From among the disciples which followed him Jesus selected twelve men whom he called apostles. Their names were: Simon, commonly called Peter; Andrew, brother to Peter; James, the son of Zebedee, sometimes called James the Elder; John, brother to James above named; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew, the publican, author of the book of Matthew in the New Testament; James, the son of Alphaeus, also called James the less, perhaps to distinguish him from James the elder, or because of his small stature;[29] Lebbaeus usually called by his surname Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite; Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
8. These twelve men Jesus sent out on a mission to the cities of Israel, forbidding them to go into the way of the Gentiles, or into the cities of the Samaritans. Their mission was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.[30] They were sent without purse and without scrip, nor were they to provide themselves with two coats nor take thought as to what they should eat, or wherewithal they would be clothed; but they were to trust to the Lord, being assured that the laborer is worthy of his hire.
9. The burden of their message was to be: "The kingdom of heaven is at