While the Savior was alive on
the earth, there were many different reactions about Him. Some thought that He
was a good man. Others said that he was not, for he deceived the people. The marveled
at the things He was able to do.
These reactions in many ways
are similar to the reactions of people today in the way people think of Jesus
Christ. Many people think that He was the Savior. Many others just simply think
that He was a great teacher or prophet, not the actual Savior. And still others
do not believe anything that He taught.
In these verses the Jews ask
the Lord how he knew his letters, meaning how could he read, write and teach,
without having ever learned them.
· We learn in Jacob 4:14 that the Jews were a
stiffnecked people. They despised the words of plainness, killed the prophets,
and sought for understanding of those things which they could not understand.
Therefore, they were blinded. They looked past the mark which was Jesus Christ,
and so God took away His “plainness from them and delivered unto them man
things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they
desired it and God hath done it, that they may stumble.”
·
We also learn in Colossians 2:8 to beware of the
traditions of men. The traditions of men will spoil us through philosophy and
vain deceit. They are after the world. They are not after Christ, therefore
they take us away from Christ.
Putting all these scriptures together, we realize that
the Jews could not understand how Christ could do the things that He did
because they were looking beyond Him. They were not willing to have faith and
believe in Him. They wanted those things that they could not understand. Christ’s
gospel is a gospel of simplicity, humility, and diligence. They were so caught
up in the traditions that they had established for themselves. They thought
that the more little rules they followed the more righteous they were. They had
allowed outward appearance of righteousness to replace the inward
righteousness. They were so caught up in all of this that they could not see
the truth when it was before them.
In contrast to that, we learn
in Doctrine and Covenants 93:11-17 where Christ gained His wisdom and His
knowledge. Christ received His knowledge directly from God the Father. He received
“grace for grace; and he received not the fulness at first, but continued from
grace to grace, until he received a fullness…and he received all power, both in
heaven ad on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in
him.” Christ only did what Heavenly Father wanted Him to do. Because He was
willing to do all that the Father asked of Him he was able to receive all that
the Father had to give to Him!
The same is true with us!
Christ teaches us in verse 17 that if we will do His will, if we will follow
His teachings, we can know the truth of the doctrines that He taught. We can gain
a personal testimony of the words of Christ as we follow them and keep them
with all our hearts! Then we too can begin to receive all the Father has in
store for us.
President David O. McKay in
Conference October 1966 said of this test that Jesus prescribed to know the
truth of the doctrine, “That test is most sound. It is most philosophical. It is
the most simple test to give knowledge to an individual of which the human mind
can conceive. Doing a thing, introducing it into your very being, will convince
you whether it is good or whether it is bad. You may not be able to convince me
of that which you now, but you know it because you have lived it. That is the
test that the Savior gave to those men when they asked him how they should know
whether the doctrine was of God or whether it was of man.”
One gospel principle that has
been especially important for me lately, and that I have really come to
appreciate and rely on, is obedience. We learn in D&C 82:10 that the Lord is
bound when we do what He says. When we are obedient we are promised to have His
guidance and His Spirit. We will feel of His presence and be encircled about in
the arms of His love. I have experienced this so many times in my life! I am
especially grateful for this testimony that I have received right now. Life is
so busy with school, being married, having Jackie to take care of, trying to
practice and develop my talents on the piano, and everything else I feel like I
am supposed to do that at times it nearly become overwhelming. But, every time
I begin to feel overwhelmed or feel like I can’t do it, I remember the promises
that are in the scriptures and the promises I have felt personally from the
Lord. He will guide me. As I strive to do what He would have me do, He will
lead me where I need to be! I am so grateful for that knowledge! Obedience
brings so many blessings! It is so important to be obedient to every
commandment. We cannot pick and choose what we want to do and not do. We must
be willing to give our lives and our hearts to the Lord and be obedient to all
He would have us be. When we are, great blessings come! I know it is true. It
is hard to be obedient at times, but the rewards that come are so worth it!
