Chapter 15
How Christ is both the
Father and the Son—He shall make intercession and bear the transgressions of
his people—They and all the holy prophets are his seed—He bringeth to pass the
resurrection—Little children have eternal life. About 148 B.C.
1 AND now Abinadi said
unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down
among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
2 And because he
dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the
flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—
3 The Father, because
he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus
becoming the Father and Son—
4 And they are one
God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.
5 And thus the flesh
becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God,
suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself
to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.
6 And after all this,
after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led,
yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth.
7 Yea, even so he
shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death,
the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.
Mosiah 15:1-7
Abinadi continues his sermon to the priest of Noah, quoting
Isaiah 53. This chapter deals with the
“suffering servant.” M. Catherine Thomas
writes, “The Book of Mormon clarifies many of the writings of Old Testament
prophets … [A]bout 148 B.C. the Nephite prophet Abinadi identified the
"suffering servant" of Isaiah 53 as Jesus Christ (Mosiah
15:2—5) and enlarged on Isaiah's discussion of the Messiah's atonement (Mosiah
14—15).”[1] Donald Parry clarifies, “Isaiah used the
prophetic perfect in Isaiah 53 to prophesy of Jesus Christ's atoning
sacrifice more than seven hundred years before Jesus' mortal ministry.”[2] In fact, Isaiah 53 could also refer back to
the servant in the Allegory of the Tame and Wild Olive Branches. “[T]he servant in Jacob 5 can be associated
with the "righteous servant" of Isaiah 53, whom Abinadi
explicitly identifies as Christ (Mosiah 15:5–7).”[3]
Abinadi continues his message. God Himself, Abinadi said, will come down to
Earth and become mortal. As a mortal,
His work will be to redeem all mankind.
Writing to Timothy, Paul told him, “And
without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the
flesh, justified in the [GR approved by the] Spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1
Timothy 3:16).
When God comes to Earth, he will be called the Son of
God. He will be “subjected [in] the flesh to the will of the Father.” The Savior taught this during His mortal
ministry.
27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand.
29
My Father, which agave them me, is greater than all; and no man is
able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30
I and my Father are one.
John 10:27-30
8
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not
known me, Philip? he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not
of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
John 14:8-10
Christ was the Father, “because
he was conceived by the power of God.” He
was the Son because He became a mortal, taking upon Himself a body of flesh. They are one God, “the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.”
Amulek would tell Zeezrom:
39
And Amulek said unto [Zeezrom]: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven
and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end,
the first and the last;
40
And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon
him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they
that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
Alma 11:39-40
See, when you have a reference to
the flesh, you are talking Son, and when you have a reference to the spirit,
you are talking spirit, or Father. Hence, Father and Son. Now, knowing that,
watch verse 4: "And they [the Father and the Son? No, the man and the God]
are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth." Jesus
and Jehovah are one. And thus the flesh (Jesus, the man) becomes subject to the
spirit (Jesus, the God, or the Son to the Father), being one God, suffering temptation,
yielding to temptation, suffering himself to be mocked, scourged, and so on.[4]
Further:
But note again where Abinadi says,
"And they are one God" (Mosiah 15:4). Abinadi is
emphasizing the perfect unity shared by the members of the Godhead; the plural
pronoun makes it clear that he is not teaching any idea like modalism. A
modalistic teaching would have to say, "And he is one
God, manifesting himself in different ways." No such teaching ever appears
in the Book of Mormon.[5]
Christ will become subject to the temptations that are a
part of mortality. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities [unable to sympathize with our frailties,
imperfections]; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”
(Hebrews 4:15). “Abinadi stressed that
the mortal Savior always placed his sonship, that is, his physical wants and
needs, under the strict control of his fatherhood, that is, his spirit.”[6]
[John] Welch, "10 Testimonies
of Jesus Christ," observes that "Abinadi strongly emphasized the
fatherhood and sonship of Christ, seeing Christ as the 'very Eternal Father of
heaven and earth' (Mosiah 15:5). Interestingly, the words of Abinadi contain
the word 'Father' exactly eight times, 'Son' eight times, and 'Christ' eight
times, as if to signal Christ's fatherhood and sonship equally."[7]
He will suffer during His mortality. “And he
began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be
rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and
after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).
He will be mocked, scourged, cast out, and disowned by the
Israelites.
Christ will work miracles as a part of His ministry. Even so, in the words of Isaiah, “he shall be led … as a sheep before the
shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.”
When Christ stood before Herod,
8
And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him
of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have
seen some miracle done by him.
9
Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.
Luke 23:8-9
and before Pilate,
9
And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art
thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10
Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify
thee, and have power to release thee?
John 19:9-10
He will be crucified and die, as all mortals must;
nevertheless, His desires will be sacrificed to serve the will of the
Father. “So many of us are kept from
eventual consecration because we mistakenly think that somehow, by letting our
will be swallowed up in the will of God, we lose our individuality. Abinadi
cited the key example, for he spoke of how Jesus let His will be ‘swallowed up
in the will of the Father’ (Mosiah 15:7).”[8]
“Saying,
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
“For
I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me” (John 6:38).
[1] Scripture,
Interpretation within Scripture, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute,
accessed October 2, 2014.
[2] Hebraisms
and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon, Donald W. Parry,
Maxwell Institute, accessed October 2, 2014.
[3] The
Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute,
accessed October 2, 2014.
[4] Abinadi:
The Message and the Martyr (Part 2), Todd Parker, Maxwell Institute,
accessed October 2, 2014.
[5] Letters
to an Anti-Mormon, reviewed Russell C. McGregor and Kerry A. Shirts,
Maxwell Institute, accessed October 2, 2014.
[6] The
Mortal Ministry of the Savior as Understood by the Book of Mormon Prophets,
Richard D. Draper, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 2, 2014.
[7] Looking
before and after the Exile, Kevin Christensen, Maxwell Institute, accessed October
2, 2014.
[8] King
Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
Maxwell Institute, accessed October 2, 2014.
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