The Savior continues the Sermon by teaching the Nephites He
did not destroy the law, but He came to fulfil it. Verse 18 is slightly
different from Matthew 5:18. He tells the Nephites “one jot nor one tittle hath
not passed away from the law,” (3 Nephi 12:18), but it all had been fulfilled
in Him.
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Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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And behold, I have given you the law and
the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall
repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite
spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is
fulfilled.
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Verse 19 differs from Matthew 5:19. He reminds them He had
given them the law and commandments from the Father. They then told:
-to believe in Him;
-repent of their sins;
- to come to him with a broken heart and contrite
spirit.
“[They] have the commandments before [them], and the law is
fulfilled” (3 Nephi 12:19).
“It is true that they had heard that an old temple teaching,
found in Psalm 51:17, namely the law of the sacrifice of ‘a broken heart and a
contrite spirit’ (3 Nephi 9:20), was to be given greater prominence as the
essence of the new law of sacrifice. And they may have understood that the fire
of the old burnt offering was done away, being fulfilled in the baptism ‘with
fire and with the Holy Ghost’” (9:20). But beyond these words from heaven
ending an important part of Nephite temple practices, no further directions had
been given to the Nephites about what they should now commence doing at their
temple instead…
“[Dana M. Pike] … meticulously unfolds the essence of this
aspect of the law of obedience and sacrifice, which was known under the law of
Moses (see Psalm 51:17). Now, the offering of the broken heart became the key
to this law, as the law of sacrifice by the shedding of blood was done away.
The law of sacrifice is not so obvious in Matthew’s version of the Sermon, but
it is unmistakable in 3 Nephi 12:19.”[1]
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For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven.
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Therefore come unto me and be ye saved;
for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I
have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven.
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Verse 20 significantly differs from 3 Nephi 12:20. He told
the Jews their righteousness was to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. It
makes sense He did not include this in the Sermon at the Temple. That would have no meaning to the Nephites.
He gave the Nephites a differing standard to enter the
kingdom of heaven. He tells them to come to Him and keep His commandments,
which He gave them. This is what He
requires of the Nephites.
“On the
Galilean mount Jesus would not accept the Pharisees who ‘say, and do not’
(Matthew 23:3; 5:19–20). The same principle was expressed to the American
multitude as a clear condition: ‘Except ye shall keep my commandments…ye shall
in no case enter the kingdom of heaven’ (3 Nephi 12:20). But the American
teachings wholly guard against a manipulative externalism. Christ gives the
command of repentance: ‘Come unto me with full purpose of heart’ (3 Nephi
18:32). Every Gospel has its equivalents of the ‘pure in heart’ spoken of in
the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:8). And in Third Nephi the Lord continually
stresses the challenge of the spirit within: ‘Suffer none of these things to
enter into your heart’ (3 Nephi 12:29).”[2]
The differences in verse 21 and 3 Nephi 12:21 aren’t that
significant. They both make it clear they should not kill. The only real difference is Matthew ends with
“shall be danger of the judgment [GR subject to condemnation].” The Sermon at the Temple clarifies what their
judgment would be. Those that kill will
be in danger of God’s judgment.
Matthew 5:22 tell us “But I say unto you, That whosoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger
of the judgment…” The Savior drops “without a cause” from this when teaching
the Nephites.
“According
to Matthew, Christ said to his disciples, ‘Whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment’ (Matthew 5:22). But in the
Book of Mormon, Christ tells the Nephites, ‘Whosoever is angry with his brother
shall be in danger of his judgment’ (3 Nephi 12:22). Why isn't the phrase ‘without
a cause’ repeated in the Book of Mormon account? First, we
might ask ourselves what it means to be ‘in danger of the judgment.’ Other
translations of this phrase are ‘brought to judgment’ (New English Bible) and ‘will
answer for it before the court’ (Jerusalem Bible). So it appears that an angry
person isn't necessarily a sinful one—only that he had better be able to justify
his anger. Christ seems to be saying, ‘If you are angry, watch out!’ We know
that the Lord himself becomes angry on occasion; but godly anger, like godly
sorrow, must be quite different from worldly anger, which, like worldly sorrow,
works death, not repentance (see 2 Corinthians 7:10). Most human anger seems to
us worldly, not godly. The phrase ‘without a cause’ thus seems unnecessary. If
you do have a just cause, and your answer "holds up in court," you
won't be condemned. But if you do not, you will be condemned” (italics in
original).[3]
Verse 23 is basically the same as Matthew 5:23, with minor
differences. The difference is instead
of “bring thy gift to the altar,” 3 Nephi 12:23 reads, “if ye shall come unto
me, or shall desire to come unto me.” The altar represents the requirements of
the Mosaic Law. Since the Law had been
fulfilled in the Savior, we now come to Him.
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
24 Go thy way unto thy brother, and
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full purpose of
heart, and I will receive you.
The differences in verse 24 once again deal with the Mosaic
Law having been fulfilled. The two
references to placing a gift on the altar are replaced with the commandment to
come unto Christ.
They both emphasize the importance of reconciling
differences between you and others before you come to Him.
“If the command is ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ then surely we
would want to avoid anything that would get us in the path of that. So, the
Savior tells us, in verse 21 and thereafter, to avoid anger. Let's go to 3
Nephi 12:23—24: ‘Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come
unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee—go thy way
unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me
with full purpose of heart, and I will receive you.’ I think we usually read
that this way: If you want to come unto the Lord and you know you have bad
feelings toward someone, work them out. But that is not what he said. He said,
if you want to come unto the Lord and you know that someone has bad feelings
toward you, you better go work on them. Our tendency is to say, ‘That's his
problem.’ The Lord is saying that it is your problem too, indicating that you
and I have a responsibility to do what we can to work out unkind feelings that
other people have toward us. Now, we may not be able to do that, but we can
try.”[4]
[1] Seeing
Third Nephi as the Holy of Holies of the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other
Restoration Scripture 19/1 (2010): 41-42, 54.
[2] Imitation
Gospels and Christ's Book of Mormon Ministry, Richard Lloyd Anderson, Reprinted
by permission from C. Wilfred Griggs, ed., Apocryphal
Writings and the Latter-day Saints (Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center,
1986), Maxwell Institute Website
[3]Pondering
the Word, Dennis Packard and Sandra Packard, Maxwell Institute website.
[4] The
Doctrine of the Risen Christ: Part 2, Robert L. Millet, Maxwell Institute
website.
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