Jesus Christ, The Anointed One
In this week we learn that Matthew was a Jewish publican, or a tax collector, that Jesus called as one of His Apostles. Matthew wrote to fellow Jews, so he chose to focus on the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah that were fulfilled through Jesus's life and ministry.
Luke was a Gentile (non-Jewish) physician who traveled with the Apostle Paul. He wrote his Gospel after the death of Jesus Christ. He wrote it primarily to a non-Jewish audience. He testified that Jesus was the Savior to both the Gentiles and the Jews. He recorded eye witness accounts of the events in the Savior's life, and he also included more stories about women than the other Gospels.
Something that stood out to me during my studies this morning, was that Messiah and Christ both mean "The Anointed One." Messiah comes from Hebrew and Christ comes from Greek. So when we say Jesus Christ, we are saying Jesus the Anointed One. I thought that was really awesome to learn.
One of the questions that is asked, is how the descriptions of both Matthew and Luke strengthen our faith in our Savior. The first thing that increases my faith in the Savior is to read that Matthew is sharing that in the Old Testament that it was prophesied that a virgin would be with child, and that child would be a son, and that they would call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. Matthew shares that Joseph was visited by an angel in a dream and told that the child that Mary carried was this child of prophecy. I also pondered on the fact that they state that his name will be Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins. I looked up what Jesus's name means in Hebrew, which it means to rescue or to deliver.
From Luke, I pondered about the angel Gabriel and that he was sent by God into Nazareth, which is a city of Galilee. She shares that the virgin is espoused already to Joseph, and that Joseph was of the house of David, and that the virgin's name was Mary. The angel tells her that she will conceive and bring forth a son and to call him Jesus. That he shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. That he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and there will be no end to his kingdom.
Mary asks how this can be since she has not been with a man at all. And she is told that the Holy Ghost will come upon her and that the power of the Highest shall overshadow her, Because this is the case, the holy child that will be born from her will be called the Son of God.
The testimonies of these witnesses, strengthens my faith in the Savior because he is the child of prophesy. He came as was foretold, and in the way that was foretold. And he did what the prophecy said he would do.
The next question that is asked is why it is important to know that Jesus was both the Son of God and the son of Mary. It is important to me to know this because it shows us that Jesus was literally the Only Begotten Son of God. We all are the spirit children of Heavenly Father, children of God, but through the Holy Ghost and the Power on High, Jesus was conceived as the Son of God, literally. By being the Son of God, he has the ability to overcome death. His mother being Mary, a mortal, gave him the power to be able to die, and being the Son of God, he had the power to rise again. Two very important abilities to have in order to be able to overcome death and bring about resurrection for all of us.
In order for the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be complete, there had to be a sacrifice for sin. We see the evidence of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament and prior to Christ's sacrifice in order to cleanse sin. That was in similitude of what has always been known as what needed to come to pass to truly free us from sin and death.
We also learn from this lesson that God's blessings come in his own timing. Elizabeth conceived in her old age. Mary conceived as a virgin. I have no idea how long Elizabeth prayed to have children, but I imagine that it was a long time. And perhaps in her old age, she had determined that it wasn't going to happen. We have no way of knowing how long she prayed that prayer, but we do know that both her and Zacharias prayers were answered.
This story reminded me of how much I prayed to be able to be a mother, to have children. I experienced a miscarriage of multiples, and then a still birth. I was starting to think that I was never going to be a mother. I even questioned if I was worthy enough to be one. I started thinking that something was wrong with me, after all, my body was failing me, and my children were not being born alive. I still kept faith. And I continued to pray and do all I could do to be a mother. And those prayers were answered. I had a set of girl/boy twins. I still had many miscarriages after that, but I knew that I could be a mother, and I was still a mother to those that did not get to have long mortal lives. I am grateful for the 4 living children that I have. God did answer my prayers in his timing. I am grateful that those answers came in this life, but I know that I would have had children eternally even if it wasn't in this life. I believed that I would have them someday. I still believe that the 11 miscarriages I had and the one stillborn son will be mine. I will get to raise them in the millennium. That they are eternally part of my family.
Another section of the lesson teaches that the faithful willingly submit to God's will. The example given is Mary. She likely had a different plan for her life before she learned what God's plan for her was. I think we all can relate to this. There are many events that happen in our lives that change the direction that we were heading. Some are choices that are made by others, and others are choices that we make. I know I did not plan on being divorced ever in my life. Yet, here I am married to my third husband. I learned a great deal from each marriage, and developed in ways I am not sure I would have otherwise. It also brought about a lot of healing and growth. But, these changes drastically changed the direction in life that I was going each time. While at times, it was difficult, I accepted that this was God's will in my life. Others had their agency, but God knew what they would choose. They had to be allowed to choose for themselves, but God also provided a way for me as they made those choices. I think that I have been blessed greatly for trusting God's direction each time.
We learn from both Mary and Joseph that they accepted God's will in their lives. Neither had planned to have a child from on high! But Joseph accepted it and took Mary as his wife. And Mary accepted that she was going to be with child even though she has not ever been with a man. Both are great examples of accepting God's will, or God's plan for your life.
From Zacharias I learned that it is important to believe the first message especially when given by an angel. Doubting the message and questioning how God would do it led to him being struck dumb for a little while. Elizabeth wasn't sure that it could happen either. Both of them learned that with God, nothing is impossible. After all, they were not the first couple to have a child in their old age. All we have to do is look at Abraham and Sarah to see God can make a way when He wants to.
Mary's words in Luke 1:46-55 really do resonate as I read Samuel 2:1-10 and Matthew 5:3-12.
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