�鶹��ý

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:3–7)

Harry Anderson, Go Ye Therefore. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

The opening of the book of Acts reports that Jesus was seen by his apostles over the course of forty days before his ascension (Acts 1:2‒4). While records of most of these appearances have not been preserved in the canonical books of the New Testament, the Gospels contain accounts of two important visitations in Galilee, one by the seashore (John 21:1‒22) and another on a mountain (Matt 28:16–20). Yet even after Jesus’s ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50–52; Acts 1:6‒11), the Risen Lord continued to manifest himself to his special witnesses—later in the New Testament, in the Book of Mormon, and in our own dispensation in the latter days. Indeed, as the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles solemnly testified in April of 2000, “His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world.”[1] The ongoing apostolic witness constitutes a vital postlude to our story, testifying to the saving suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Text: John 21:1–25

The final chapter of the Gospel according to John constitutes an “epilogue,” which many scholars believe was written after the rest of the Gospel. Apparently intended to show how the Risen Lord provided for the continuing needs of the Church, it constitutes an important resurrection appearance that also teaches important lessons about discipleship in any age.

John

21¹After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. ²There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. ³Simon Peter saith unto them, “I go a fishing.” They say unto him, “We also go with thee.” They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. ⁴But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. ⁵Then Jesus saith unto them, “Children, have ye any meat?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶And he said unto them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

⁷Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, “It is the Lord.” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. ⁸And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. ⁹As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus saith unto them, “Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.” ¹¹Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. ¹²Jesus saith unto them, “Come and dine.” And none of the disciples durst ask him, “Who art thou?” knowing that it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 1⁴This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

¹⁵So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” He saith unto him, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” He saith unto him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶He saith to him again the second time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” He saith unto him, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” He saith unto him, “Feed my sheep.” ¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, “Lovest thou me?” And he said unto him, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” Jesus saith unto him, “Feed my sheep.” ¹⁸”Verily, verily, I say unto thee, ‘When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.’” ¹⁹This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, “Follow me.”

²⁰Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, “Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?” ²¹Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, “Lord, and what shall this man do?” ²²Jesus saith unto him, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” ²³Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, “He shall not die;” but, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?”

²⁴This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

James Tissot, Christ Appears on the Shore of Lake Tiberias. Artokoloro/Alamy Stock Photo.

The Risen Lord by the Sea of Galilee

Interpretation and Application

At some point after the first Easter, a group of Jesus’s disciples returned to Galilee, apparently in response to the direction that they had received Easter morning (Mark 16:7; parallel Matt 28:7, 10). The final chapter of John describes a particular appearance of the Risen Lord to seven of his followers (John 21:1‒14), but it is also one that serves an important literary function, using its characters as important types of how different disciples continue to follow Jesus. The first two listed are Simon Peter and Thomas, which is significant because they are usually seen as having stumbled in their discipleship, Peter through his denial of knowing Jesus and Thomas for his initial doubt.[2] Their appearance in this select group thus signals their rehabilitation and renewed acceptance as disciples. Nathanael, one of the first disciples whose call was described in this Gospel, was also the one who made the fullest and most complete Christological confession in that first group, proclaiming, “Master, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49, authors’ translation). Although some traditions have attempted to associate him with the apostle Bartholomew, he may well have been an early important, nonapostolic disciple, in which case he can represent those who fully follow Jesus even though they are not members of the Twelve.[3] Although the sons of Zebedee are never named in John, from the Synoptics we know that they are the apostles James and John, with the latter generally being understood to have been the same as the figure of the Beloved Disciple. The last two of the seven are unnamed; though likely members of the Twelve, their anonymity here allows them to serve as types of any disciples in any age. Given that the number seven represents fullness or completeness, symbolically the group can represent all disciples.

Kamille Corry, Feed My Sheep. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

According to tradition, the site of this appearance was near a place called Heptapegon (the modern Tabgha), northwest of the Sea Galilee, which was also known in this period as the Sea of Tiberias.[4] The seven have spent the night fishing but have not caught anything, which is reminiscent of Peter’s first call in Luke 5:1‒11. As with Mary of Magdala and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the group does not at first recognize Jesus when he appears on the shore, bidding them to cast their nets one more time. When they do so, the resultant catch is so great that they cannot haul it into the boat. The similarity to the original calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, when a miraculous catch of fish resulted in the nets breaking (Luke 5:6‒7), seems to have been what caused the Beloved Disciple to realize, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:6‒8). Jesus had called his first disciples “to be fishers of men,” yet whereas their first call to the ministry was imperfect, perhaps symbolized by the broken nets, this time they are able to tow the full net all the way to shore, bringing all one hundred fifty-three fish with them to present to Jesus.[5] When they arrive, they find that Jesus has already prepared for them a breakfast of fish and bread, reminiscent of the earlier great miracle of provision known as the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:31‒34; parallels Matt 14:13‒21; Luke 9:12‒18; also John 6:1‒14), which traditionally occurred not far from this very site. Similarly, just as the ministry had begun in this Gospel at a wedding feast, the story comes to an end in this episode meal symbolizing both the sacrament and the future messianic banquet.[6]

A detail, seemingly mentioned in passing about the charcoal fire on which Jesus had cooked the fish and bread for his friends (John 21:9), connects the scene closely with the episode of Peter’s earlier denial, where he had warmed himself in John 18:18 by “a charcoal fire” (Greek, anthrakian; KJV, “fire of coals”).[7] Consequently, when Jesus inquires three times whether Peter loves him, Peter’s threefold affirmation of love helps compensate for the three times that he denied either knowing Jesus or being one of his disciples. While some commentators have attempted to explain the different Greek words that Jesus and Peter used for love in this passage, the evangelist often uses these terms interchangeably in this Gospel.[8] Instead, Jesus teaches Peter—and through him, us—that the way to show love for the Master is tending to the needs of his sheep, just as King Benjamin taught “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). [1/4 page image: 10.3 James Tissot, Feed My Lambs] To the extent that Peter and Thomas in this episode represent all followers of Jesus, though we fail, we can be redeemed, proceeding as faithful but fallible disciples to renew our devotion to the Risen Lord by ministering to others.[9]

Raphael (1483-1520), Christ's Charge to Peter. Wikimedia Commons.

After Jesus prophesies Peter’s future martyrdom (John 21:18‒19), Peter turns and sees “the disciple whom Jesus loved following” (John 21:20, authors’ translation; emphasis added), asking, “What about him?” Because the verb used (Greek, akolouthounta) frequently also implies discipleship, this passage may be more than just Peter asking about the future of the historical figure of John. In addition, it can represent one person asking about the discipleship and mission of another. While Latter-day Saints understand Jesus’s enigmatic response, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You just follow me” (John 21:22‒23), as an allusion to the apostle John’s post-translation mission (see Doctrine and Covenants 7), seeing the Beloved Disciple here as a type provides important applications for us today. While select figures through history, like Peter, have been willing to die for their testimonies of Jesus, most of us are called to live for him. Further, just as Jesus directed Peter to not concern himself about the particular mission of John the Beloved, so we should not seek to judge the discipleship of others. Rather, the Risen Lord calls upon us, “You just follow me!” Likewise, just as the last two verses of the Gospel, which seem to have been added by a later editor, affirm that the witness of the Beloved Disciple is true (John 21:25‒26), we, too, can come to know that our testimonies are true. Like him, we can be embraced by the love of Jesus, stand at the foot of the cross, run with hope to the empty tomb, and endeavor to follow him throughout our lives.[10]

Texts: Matthew 28:16–20; Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:6‒12

Whereas Matthew (and presumably Mark before its ending was lost) concludes his account on a mountain in Galilee, Luke ends with Jesus in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. The scene of Jesus’s ascension is then recapitulated at the beginning of Acts.

Matthew

28¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Luke

24⁵⁰And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Acts

1⁶When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? ⁷And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. ⁸But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ⁹And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ¹¹Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

¹²Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

Final Injunctions and Ascension

Interpretation and Application

John Singleton Copley, Jesus Ascending into Heaven. Wikimedia Commons.

While Matthew’s final recorded appearance of the Risen Lord to the Eleven occurs in Galilee (Matt 28:16‒20), Luke’s is set in Jerusalem and depicts his ascension (Luke 24:50‒52). While it is uncertain how the original version of Mark ended, the surviving, reconstructed ending continues through the ascension (Mark 16:15‒20) as Luke’s does. In both Matthew and Acts, Jesus gives final instructions to the Eleven, and in both, his final appearances and these last injunctions take place on mountains, which, as symbolic meeting points of heaven and earth, provide temple-like settings.

Going back to Galilee, where the mortal ministry of Jesus had begun in earnest, could represent a fresh beginning for the disciples, who had been called there.[11] Matthew mentions a specific mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet the Eleven (Matt 28:16). Because another possible rendering of “a mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them” could be “the mountain where Jesus had given them commands,” France has suggested that this might refer to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus had delivered the sermon of Matthew 5–7.[12] Ogden and Skinner, two Latter-day Saint commentators, suggest Mount Arbel, a high point overlooking the Sea of Galilee that has sweeping views of the entire region where Jesus had taught.[13] While both of these are possible, perhaps a stronger possibility might be the Mount of Transfiguration, whether the traditional Mount Tabor or the more likely Mount Hermon. The leading disciples Peter, James, and John had already had a “foretaste of Jesus’s glory” there, seeing Jesus as he would appear at the Second Coming.[14] That experience, together with the teaching of Joseph Smith that this was the place where the three disciples received priesthood keys, including the sealing power, and the suggestion of President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876‒1972), tenth President of the Church, that this was where they received their endowments, had already marked that mount as a sacred site equivalent of a temple.[15] This provides the temple as a model for Latter-day Saints today as a place where they can truly encounter the Living Lord and receive sacred instructions.

At the moment the Lord appears to the original apostles on the mountain, “they worshipped him, but some hesitated” (Matt 28:17, authors’ translation; emphasis added). The verb, which the KJV and most modern translations have almost uniformly rendered as “doubt,” (Greek, edistasan) literally means to be uncertain or of two minds;[16] because uncertainty does not necessarily connote disbelief, we have chosen instead to render it as “hesitate.” Perhaps it could also be translated as “confused,” not because they still doubted the reality of the resurrection, but because they were uncertain as to what this meant for them or what they were to do next.[17] Jesus provides the answer to this, delivering what is usually called “the apostolic commission,” which called upon them to make disciples of people from all nations by baptizing them and teaching them to keep all of his commandments (Matt 28:19‒20a). He then makes the final promise, “I am with you for all time until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20b, authors’ translation; emphasis added). “For all time” (Greek, pasas tas hēmeras; KJV, “alway”) literally means “every day,” which creates a powerful image of the Risen Lord being with us in a real way every day of our lives. Indeed, because Matthew and John do not end with ascension, as Luke does, they present us with the image of Jesus Christ still with his people.[18]

In contrast, Luke ends his account in Jerusalem (Luke 24:50‒53). Following his earlier appearance to the Eleven and some other gathered disciples in Jerusalem, he leads them almost to Bethany, which was just on the other side of the Mount of Olives. After blessing them, Jesus is taken into heaven, while his disciples, after worshipping him, return to Jerusalem with joy. Although both Peter and the cleansed Samaritan leper had previously fallen before Jesus to honor him (Luke 5:8; 17:16), this is the first time that Luke’s Gospel has used the technical word for worship (Greek, proskyneō) for Jesus, suggesting a clear acknowledgment of his divinity with his resurrection.[19] Luke then concludes with a picture of the disciples constantly in the temple, praising God, echoing the service of the priest Zacharias, the predictions of Simeon, and the testimony of the prophetess Anna (Luke 1:5‒23; 2:25‒38). By beginning and ending in the temple with stories that frame the entire story of Jesus, Luke’s Gospel thus establishes it as the place where a knowledge of Jesus’s divine conception, miraculous birth, serving ministry, saving suffering and death, and resurrection can be found and where his presence can be experienced. Jesus may no longer be regularly, physically present with his people, but in his house we can indeed be with him.

Some commentators see the end of Luke as representing an earlier, temporary withdrawal, with the forty-day ministry intervening before the first chapter of Acts depicts his final ascension from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:2‒12).[20] Others see the Lucan ending as an abbreviated account of the ascension, compressing the events of the first Easter day with Jesus’s final departure, the same scene then being repeated but somewhat expanded in Acts to form a bridge between the stories of Jesus in Luke and the ministry of the apostles in Acts.[21] Regardless, Acts makes it clear that Jesus appeared multiple times, “appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking to them about matters concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3, authors’ translation). It further provides the final directions that Jesus gave his followers before his departure. After waiting for a special endowment of the spirit to aid them in their ministry, they were to “be witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8‒9, authors’ translation). The ascension is then directly connected with Jesus’s glorious Second Coming when two men in white clothing, mirroring the angels at the empty tomb,[22] promise, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way that you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). As we celebrate Easter each year, rejoicing in the resurrection, we also prepare ourselves to celebrate again the triumph of Palm Sunday, anticipating the day when we will welcome the return of our King.

Texts: 1 Corinthians 15:1–8; Revelation 1:10‒18

Paul’s list of resurrection witnesses in the opening verses of the fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians constitutes an example of kerygmatic preaching (Greek, kērygma for “proclamation”).[23] In such preaching, an apostolic witness shares the fundamental testimony of Jesus, his ministry, and especially his saving suffering, death, and resurrection. The appearance of the glorified Risen Lord to John in the first chapter of Revelation is part of a larger apocalyptic vision.

1 Corinthians

15¹Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; ²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ⁵And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ⁷After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ⁸And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Revelation

1¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

¹²And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; ¹³And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. ¹⁴His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; ¹⁵And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. ¹⁶And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. ¹⁷And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me,

"Fear not;

I am the first and the last:

¹⁸ I am he that liveth,

and was dead;

and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;

and have the keys of hell and of death."

The Apostolic Proclamation and an Apocalyptic Vision

Interpretation and Application

J. Kirk Richards, Every Knee Shall Bow. Used by permission.

While Jesus was no longer regularly upon the earth after his ascension, he continued to reveal himself to his apostles, most notably to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1‒9; see also 22:1‒11; 26:12‒18) and in a series of apocalyptic visions to John, one of the most striking of which was of the glorified Jesus Christ in the first chapter of the book of Revelation. Paul’s message to the Corinthians is an example of the type of apostolic proclamation known from the speeches of Peter preserved in Acts and also found in many of the letters in the New Testament that constituted the “good news” or gospel (Greek, euangelion): namely, that God anointed his son Jesus, who went about doing good, died on the cross, rose on the third day, and then appeared to witnesses (see Acts 10:36‒43).[24] Here, however, Paul’s proclamation of Jesus’s resurrection includes perhaps the fullest list of witnesses in the scriptures.

He begins mentioning Simon Peter, using Cephas, the Aramaic form of his nickname Petros, thereby confirming the individual appearance to the chief apostle at some point after he visited the empty tomb (Luke 24:34). This was followed by the Twelve, a fundamental part of whose ministry includes being special witnesses of his resurrection and name in all the world (Acts 1:22; see also Doctrine and Covenants 107:23). While Paul does not mention the Easter morning appearances to Mary of Magdala and the other women, he does note another important occasion when over five hundred saw the Risen Lord. While this could mean five hundred men in what we would view as a special priesthood assembly,[25] because the Greek the term used could easily be gender-inclusive, we can easily imagine these first women witnesses and other female disciples being present. After an appearance to his half brother James, he was seen “by all the apostles” (Greek, tois apostolois pasin). Because the Twelve have already been mentioned, this seems to be a more general use of the term, and we have rendered this as “by all the apostolic messengers,” referring to all who are sent out as official representatives,[26] such as the powerful husband-wife missionary team of Andronicus and Junia who were well known to Paul (Rom 16:7).

Paul concludes his list of resurrection witnesses with himself, perhaps referring to his first encounter with the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1‒8; cf. 22:5‒11; 26:12‒18). This experience was a new birth for Paul, the start of a new life as he changed from being a persecutor of the Church to one of its most zealous proponents, which may have led him to speak of himself as being a witness of the resurrection “as one born at the wrong time” (1 Cor 15:8). Although the expression “born at the wrong time” (Greek, tōi ektrōmati; KJV, “born out of due time”) has sometimes been understood to refer to a mistimed, early, or otherwise abnormal birth,[27] perhaps the context suggests that his spiritual rebirth was “after term,” because unlike other apostles, he had not known Jesus earlier during his mortal ministry and had then first seen the Risen Lord considerably after the resurrection. This and other visions of Christ (see Acts 18:9‒10; 22:17‒21; 23:11; 2 Cor 12:1‒4) allowed Paul to confidently ask some of his opponents, “Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (1 Cor 9:1).

Conversely, the apostle John who had been one of the Lord’s closest disciples during his mortal ministry, was probably the disciple who ran with Peter to the empty tomb, and subsequently saw the Lord on several occasions between Easter evening and the ascension. Still, perhaps his most powerful witness came decades later, on the island of Patmos with a vision that now opens our book of Revelation. The book takes its name from the opening verse, which describes itself as the revelation or “unveiling” (Greek, apokalypsis) of Jesus Christ (Rev 1:1).[28] That is certainly the case for what John saw when Christ revealed or uncovered himself in full glory. Dressed in white as a heavenly high priest and standing amid candlesticks reminiscent of the golden menorah, or candelabra, of the temple,[29] this image is connected both with the image of Jesus offering himself as a sacrifice in John’s account of the crucifixion and with the discussion in the book of Hebrews of the Great High Priest who enters into the holy of holies to sit down in the presence of God (Heb 2:17; 4:14–15; 9:11–16). John’s vision is not just another witness that Jesus rose from the dead; it is also a testimony that he has been exalted as the powerful Son of Man figure that Daniel saw coming with power and glory (Dan 7:13‒14). Added to John’s vivid descriptions of his white hair, thunderous voice, and brilliant countenance is the Risen Lord’s own testimony of his resurrection: “I am the one who lives / even though I was dead / and look, I am alive forever and ever.” Through his atoning sacrifice and glorious resurrection, he gained the keys of death and hell, which the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob had described an “awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit” (2 Nephi 9:10; cf. 9:19, 26).

Texts: Joseph Smith—History 1:16‒17; Doctrine and Covenants 76:22–24; Doctrine and Covenants 110:2–5

Although Joseph Smith had several powerful visions and other witnesses of Jesus Christ, his First Vision in a grove of trees in Palmyra, the vision now published as Doctrine and Covenants 76, and the revelation of the glorified Jesus Christ to him and Oliver Cowdery, in many ways similar to the apocalyptic vision of John the Revelator, may be the most powerful witnesses of the Risen Lord.

Joseph Smith—History 1

¹⁶I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. ¹⁷It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Doctrine and Covenants

76²²And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! ²³For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—²⁴That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

110²We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. ³His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: ⁴I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. ⁵Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.

The Risen Lord and the Restoration

Interpretation and Application

Anthony Sweat, The First Visions. Used by permission.

For us as Latter-day Saints, the testimonies of the Risen Lord do not end with the additional witnesses that followed in the decades after the resurrection. Rather, this New Testament postlude has become an ongoing symphony of declarations, first with the appearances of Jesus Christ in the New World (see 3 Nephi 11‒28), then with the powerful Restoration experiences of Joseph Smith, and continuing through the witness of current apostles and prophets. In the canonical 1838 account of the First Vision, the declaration of the Father, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” echoed earlier divine declarations at the baptism (Matt 3:17; see also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22)[30] and the Transfiguration (Mark 9:7; parallels Matt 17:5; Luke 9:35), demonstrating that Jesus was the Only Begotten by the strongest witness possible: God himself. Joseph’s personal 1832 account emphasized the forgiveness of the future prophet’s sins, underscoring the power of Christ’s atonement, and the appearance of the Risen Lord in physical form in all accounts confirm the New Testament accounts of the resurrection.[31]

Other revealed confirmations to Joseph Smith followed; included prominently among them was the 1832 experience simply known as “The Vision” because of the powerful views of God, Christ, heavenly kingdoms, and eternity seen by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon.[32] On that occasion they together declared, “This is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:22‒23; emphasis added). Similarly, shortly after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw the Lord standing on the temple’s pulpits, unveiled in power and glory, in guise similar to what John had seen in his inaugural vision in Revelation. With a divine voice, once again like rushing waters, the Risen Lord not only testified of his death and resurrection but also declared the saving power of his atoning sacrifice: “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:4‒5; emphasis added). The day was April 3, 1836, and it was Easter.

Since Joseph Smith, his prophetic and apostolic successors have continued to bear powerful witnesses of the events that we study each year at Easter time. In 2000, fifteen of them closed their testimony of the Living Christ by solemnly declaring, “We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”[33]

Anthony Sweat, Man of Heaven. Used by permission.

Marking the Atonement of Jesus Christ Every Day

Conclusion

Paul famously declared, “I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2), a declaration that has helped Christianity through the ages focus on his saving death. Of course, other Christians also rejoice in the message of the resurrection, yet for Latter-day Saints the testimony that he lives should have special meaning. As President Hinckley declared, “Our message is a declaration of the Living Christ. . . . To which may be added the witness of millions who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, have borne and now bear solemn testimony of His living reality.”[34] The fullness of the restored gospel continues to shape our understanding of his saving work, yet having a testimony of “the atonement” and “the resurrection” is not enough. President Nelson has taught, “There is no amorphous entity called ‘the Atonement’ upon which we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or power. Jesus Christ is the source. Sacred terms such as Atonement and Resurrection describe what the Savior did. . . . The Savior’s atoning sacrifice—the central act of all human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly connect it to Him.”[35] Feasting upon the New Testament accounts of Jesus’s last week is a powerful, and necessary, way to make this connection because it truly personalizes the saving work of Jesus Christ. If we do this, whenever we speak of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will immediately equate it with the salvific suffering, death, and resurrection of God’s Only Begotten Son.

President Nelson has called upon us “to study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the standard works.”[36] This certainly includes everything he did and said in his last week. As we use the scriptures to walk with the Lord through his final days, we will know ever more surely the sublime truth that God so loved the world that he sent his Son—as a gift at his birth, as a sacrifice at his death, and as a source of hope at his resurrection.[37] Indeed, as we accept this loving gift from the Father, we also recognize the love of the Son, who taught, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). We hope that immersing ourselves in the scriptural accounts of Jesus’s life and supplementing them with music, art, testimony, and carefully selected traditions will make our celebration of Holy Week and Easter more intentional, but that alone is not enough. By doing this at holidays, we will deepen our love of scripture and the Lord himself, causing our devotion to the Crucified and Risen Lord to burn brightly every day of the year. §

Notes

[1] “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, April 2000, 2–3.

[2] Huntsman, Becoming the Beloved Disciple, 117‒18.

[3] Brown, Gospel according to John, 82n45; Huntsman, Becoming the Beloved Disciple, 23‒25. The passing notices that he was “from Cana in Galilee” connects him with the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, the wedding at Cana representing the presence of the bridegroom, Jehovah made flesh, when he “manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him” (John 2:11).

[4] Murphy-O’Connor, Holy Land, 314‒19.

[5] Huntsman, Miracles of Jesus, 37‒39, with 148n57 for the possible significance of the number 153. See also the detailed discussion of Richard Bauckham, “The 153 Fish and the Unity of the Fourth Gospel,” Neotestamentica 36, nos. 1–2 (2002): 77‒88.

[6] Keener, Gospel of John, 1230‒31.

[7] Michaels, Gospel of John, 1035.

[8] Jesus uses agapaō in his first two questions and phileō in his third; Peter uses phileō in all three of his responses. While agapaō can refer to a higher love than the more friend-based meaning of phileō in some authors, such as Paul, this is not the case in John, who uses them interchangeably for variety (see Bauer, “agapaō” and “phileō,” BDAG, 5–6, 1056–57; G. Schneider, “agapaō” and W. Feneberg, “phileō,” EDNT 1.8, 11–12; 3.425–26). For instance, phileō is used for the love of the Father for the Son (John 5:20) and for the Father for Jesus’s disciples (16:27); conversely, agapaō is used for the love of people for darkness (3:19) and of “the Jews” for human approbation (12:43). See further Brown, Gospel according to John, 1102–3; Keener, Gospel of John, 1235‒36.

[9] Huntsman, Becoming the Beloved Disciple, 119‒20.

[10] Huntsman, Becoming the Beloved Disciple, 129‒30.

[11] Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 1090, 1261. R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 1107, notes, “Jesus the Galilean has triumphed against all odds, and back in his home territory (and that of his disciples) where his mission was originally launched, the good news of the kingdom of heaven is sent out in a proclamation which will continue until the ‘end of the age.’”

[12] Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 1261–62 and n52.

[13] D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, Verse by Verse: The Four Gospels (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010, 708–9.

[14] Huntsman, Miracles of Jesus, 32–35.

[15] Huntsman, Miracles of Jesus, 35–36; History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] [addenda],” p. 11 [addenda], The Joseph Smith Papers; Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954‒56), 2:165.

[16] Bauer, “distazō,” BDAG, 252; France, Gospel of Matthew, 111 and n17.

[17] Ogden and Skinner, Four Gospels, 709, suggest “that some hesitated; they were still piecing together the wonderful mystery of the resurrected Lord.”

[18] Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 1271‒72; Huntsman, God So Loved the World, 119.

[19] Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 910; Brown, Testimony of Luke, 1141.

[20] Brown, Testimony of Luke, 1142, in particular notes that in addition to following immediately the account of Jesus’s appearance in the upper room in Jerusalem, the ascension in Luke 24:51 occurs in the presence of “the eleven . . . and them that were with them (24:33),” whereas the ascension in Acts 1:9 takes place in the presence of “the [eleven] apostles (1:2),” who are then listed in Acts 1:13.

[21] Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 910; Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke, The Anchor Bible 28A (New York: Doubleday, 1985), 1587–88.

[22] F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988), 38.

[23] Huntsman, “The Petrine Kērygma and the Gospel according to Mark,” 177‒82.

[24] Huntsman, “Petrine Kērygma and the Gospel according to Mark,” 180‒81.

[25] McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:865–72.

[26] Thiselton, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1208.

[27] While the usual Greek sense would refer to a premature birth, Peter von der Osten-Sachen, “ektrōma,” EDNT 1.423, argues for the sense of “miscarriage” or “stillbirth,” suggesting that after Paul’s earlier career as a persecutor that Paul’s transformation was an act of radical grace that literally recalled him from having been the result of a monstrous birth. Another possibility is that his short stature or unpleasant appearance might have led opponents to call him “an abortion.” See the survey of suggestions by Thiselton, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1208–10.

[28] G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 183, in particular emphasizes the implications if Iēsou Christou is taken as an objective genitive, in which case the phrase would have meant “unveiling Jesus Christ” as opposed to a revelation belonging to or originating from Jesus Christ.

[29] Beale, Book of Revelation, 205–8; Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes, The Revelation of John the Apostle, BYU New Testament Commentary (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2016), 108–9.

[30] Interestingly, Mark, followed by Luke, records that the heavenly voice addressed Jesus in the second person, while the Matthean version has God make a third person announcement about Jesus, presumably to either John the Baptist or all present. Given God’s ability to answer countless prayers at the same time, there is no reason that both versions could not be correct: that the Father gave a personal testimony to his Son even as he witnessed his sonship to one or more of those present.

[31] For a discussion of the different accounts, see Steven C. Harper, Joseph Smith’s First Vision (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 31–67.

[32] McConkie and Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, 513‒14.

[33] “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

[34] Hinckley, “Symbol of Our Faith,” 3, 6.

[35] Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign, May 2017, 40, final emphasis added.

[36] Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” 39.

[37] Huntsman, God So Loved the World, 121.