“If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for shall bear thee up,” ( Matt. Then, on the pinnacle of the temple, an ugly thought was planted.
4:3.) Bread would have tasted so good at that moment. Hungry after a long fast, Jesus needed sustenance, and the cruel question came hurling at him: “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” ( Matt. Jesus had spoken of his Father-Son relationship. By subtlety and challenges he thought to destroy the Savior. Their encounter in the previous world had been on more equal terms, but now Jesus was young and Satan was experienced. Perhaps Lucifer had heard him say when he was still but a lad of twelve: “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” ( Luke 2:49.) Then came the time when Satan sought to entrap him. The trip back to Nazareth from Egypt was a longer and more arduous journey, this to avoid again a heartless ruler. When still young, he was whisked away to a far country to save his life, a perilous journey in great haste and fear, a trip which was undoubtedly hard for the new infant, perhaps still being nursed by his mother. Born in a manger without the conveniences even of the average Israelite home, he was an unwelcome guest. Would he himself be able to live up to the exalted ideal of perfection? Could he stand the continuous strain?īut his life day by day confirmed his power, his ability, his strength. Perhaps he already had some conception of what was to come in the tests he would face. 53:3.) How could he effectively lead his people-how could he show us the way to keep his commandments-unless he experienced sorrow as well as joy? How could it ever be known if individual perfection is possible, or how could one be persuaded to reach for it, if someone did not prove it could be done? So he lived through trials all his life.Įarly in his ministry he gave the command to be perfect. As predicted, he was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” ( Isa. For forty days he remained to prepare the Apostles in leadership and the people in Sainthood.Īs we look upon his life, we see prophetic patterns. Yet, even after his early death, it seemed that he could not leave the earth until he had further trained his disciples. It seemed that not only human enemies would snarl his life, but even his friends would desert him and Satan and his cohorts would hound him ceaselessly. Perilously he lived with a price upon his head, the final price paid being thirty pieces of silver. From Herod’s horrible murder of Bethlehem’s infants to Pilate’s giving him to the bloodthirsty mob, Jesus was in constant danger. But it seemed that he must live a longer, danger-filled life so he could establish firmly the way to perfection.įor more than three decades he lived a life of hazard and jeopardy. Perhaps he could have died long years earlier and accomplished the first of the requirements: resurrection and immortality. His celebrated Sermon on the Mount seems to have included all the commandments and all the requirements, and his conclusion was-“Be ye therefore perfect.” ( Matt. Leading the Jewish multitudes up onto the mountain, he elaborated extensively upon the requirements for exaltation.
To the Nephites, he summed up the eternal plan for exaltation: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” ( 3 Ne. But we must join our efforts with his to bring about the second, to attain eternal life. The Savior came “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” ( Moses 1:39.) His birth, death, and resurrection brought about the first. But Christ’s death and plan are in vain if we do not take advantage of them: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.” ( D&C 19:16.) We can have all the blessings Christ lived and died to give us. His birth was humble, his life was perfect, his example was compelling his death opened doors, and man was offered every good gift and blessing. He died a propitiation for our sins to open the way for our resurrection, to point the way to our perfection of life, to show the way to exaltation. His birth and life and death were the greatest of all. How grateful we are that the baby Jesus was born. We celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ at this season of the year.
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