Jesus Expounds All the Scriptures in One
Book of Mormon Notes - Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 3 Nephi 23
Jesus continued to teach the Nephites who were gathered in Bountiful. He gave them a commandment to search the scriptures, and in particular to search diligently the words of Isaiah:
And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to asearch these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of bIsaiah. (3 Nephi 23:1)
How many of us have actually done this? I believe that it is safe to say that very few members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have searched the words of Isaiah with any kind of diligence. But it’s also possible to err in the opposite direction by isolating the words of Isaiah from their context and the broader and deeper purposes of the Gospel and the Plan of Salvation.
After He healed the man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years (at the Pools of Bethesda), and after He commanded the man whom he had healed to sin no more (at the Temple), Jesus Christ taught the Jews in Jerusalem concerning His Divine Sonship and the work of His Father. Among the things that he taught the Jews was to search the scriptures:
aSearch the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which btestify of me. (John 5:39)
A different translation of this same verse is helpful to consider:
Berean Standard Bible
You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me. (John 5:39)
In other words, many of the Jews were very good at pouring over the scriptures, presuming that by the scriptures they possessed eternal life, but they failed to recognize He to whom all scripture points, and He of whom all scripture testifies. Isaiah and all of the prophets testified of Jesus Christ and pointed the way to Him. But many of the Jews searched the scriptures diligently without understanding them. There may have been some among the Jews who could recite the entire Book of Isaiah by memory, but when Jesus Christ healed and blessed an afflicted man on the Sabbath day, they rejected and persecuted both the Master Healer and the man who was healed.
The Nephites at or near the Temple in Bountiful, on the other hand, listened to and were directly taught by Jesus Christ whom they both recognized and worshiped. They understood that all scripture, including the words of Isaiah, pointed to and testified of Jesus Christ with whom they communed for several days. Thus when Jesus commanded them to search the scriptures, and to search Isaiah, they knew how to search and what to search for.
Nephi’s brother Jacob and his people understood the meaning and purpose of searching the scriptures:
Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of aprophecy; and having all these bwitnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can ccommand in the dname of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. (Jacob 4:6)
Similarly, the Sons of Mosiah understood the meaning and purpose of searching the scriptures:
Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel afirst appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had bsearched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and afasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with bpower and authority of God. (Alma 17:2-3)
Notice that the sons of Mosiah had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth as men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently. The and is important. They weren’t like the Jews who worshipped the scriptures to the exclusion of Jesus Christ of whom the scriptures testify.
The application of a similar principle was demonstrated by Jacob’s people after Jacob contended with and rebuked Sherem the antichrist:
And it came to pass that peace and the alove of God was restored again among the people; and they bsearched the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man. (Jacob 7:23)
In other words, the people repented, turned to Jesus Christ, and had peace and the love of God restored again among them, and as an outgrowth of their repentance, they began to search the scriptures. Searching the scriptures as an outgrowth of repentance was also a result of the preaching of Alma and Amulek:
And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the ascriptures. (Alma 14:1)
I mention these things because of trends that I’ve noticed among certain members of the Church who have begun to double down on their faith and scripture study in response to the increasing commotion, confusion, and calamities in the world. There is nothing inherently wrong in doubling down on faith and scripture study, and it’s an understandable response considering just how crazy things are in the world nowadays. In some ways, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is encouraging the same increased focus on Gospel study in the home through the Come Follow Me curriculum. But notice how crucial the focus on Jesus Christ and repentance is to understanding the scriptures, including the words of Isaiah.
The trend that I’ve noticed in certain circles of Church members is that sometimes intense focus on, and study and recitation of the scriptures becomes detached from faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance. When doubling down on faith and scripture study is not accompanied by real faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance, sound understanding, and a strong knowledge of the truth, then we make the error of the Jews who poured over the scriptures because they presumed to possess eternal life by them instead of by Jesus Christ of whom the scriptures testify.
I mention these things in connection with the study of Isaiah in particular because as much as it is regrettable that very few members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have, according the Lord’s commandment, searched the words of Isaiah with any kind of diligence, it seems to me that other zealous members err in the opposite direction, idolizing Isaiah and elevating the Lord’s commandment to search the words of Isaiah above all other commandments, including the first and second great commandments.
By all means, we must search the words of Isaiah diligently because they are great. The Lord Himself gave the commandment to do so. It’s no coincidence that Isaiah is quoted more than any other prophet or that Jesus Christ Himself taught from the words of Isaiah. His words are great. But if we begin to use the words of Isaiah or any other passages of scripture to brow-beat and condemn anyone who happens to hold a different opinion about one thing or another, then that may be an indication that we’ve lost sight of the true purpose and meaning of the scriptures.
Nephi, Jacob, Abinadi, and the Lord Himself recited Isaiah so that their respective audiences might have greater hope and joy. This can sometimes seem paradoxical when so many of the prophesies in Isaiah contain descriptions of apocalyptic destruction and death. But even the most sobering passages of Isaiah and of other scriptures contain a merciful warning to help us to repent and to prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming.
If anything that I have written in my Book of Mormon notes has erred in the direction of brow-beating or condemnation, such was not at all my intention. Like the great expositors of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, my purpose is also to instill hope in Christ and to persuade all men, myself included, to come unto Christ and be saved. I believe that Nephi’s soul delighted in the words of Isaiah because the words of Isaiah testify of Christ and the hope that we have because of Him. Nephi’s soul delighted in the things of the Lord and in proving to his people the coming of Christ. He gloried in plainness, he gloried in truth, and he gloried in His Jesus, the same Jesus who commanded the Nephites, and us, to search the words of Isaiah diligently.
The Lord taught the Nephites that Isaiah spake concerning the House of Israel, but also concerning the Gentiles. He also taught them one of the reasons why the words of Isaiah are so great:
And all things that he spake have been and ashall be, even according to the words which he spake. (3 Nephi 23:3)
Isaiah had a special gift of prophesy, a gift of expression and poetry, and gift for speaking and writing the truth.
The Lord taught the Nephites to write His words. He taught them that the words of the Nephite prophets would one day go forth unto the Gentiles, and that whoever will hearken unto His words, repent, and be baptized shall be saved. The Lord even desired to give the Nephites more scriptures, scriptures that they hadn’t yet received. He invited Nephi, the record keeper, to present the records to Him, and to add the testimony and prophesies of Samuel the Lamanite concerning the many saints who had arisen from the dead and appeared to and ministered to many.
Finally, Jesus exemplified the proper, wholistic approach to the study and teaching of scripture:
And now it came to pass that when Jesus had aexpounded all the scriptures in one, which they had written, he commanded them that they should bteach the things which he had expounded unto them. (3 Nephi 23:14)
This method of teaching may remind us of how the Lord taught His disciples on the road to Emmaus:
And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem aabout threescore furlongs.
And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
And it came to pass, that, while they acommuned together and reasoned, bJesus himself drew near, and went with them.
But their eyes were aholden that they should not know him.
And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
And the one of them, whose name was aCleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
Then he said unto them, O afools, and slow of bheart to cbelieve all that the prophets have spoken:
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at aMoses and all the bprophets, he cexpounded unto them in all the dscriptures the things concerning himself.
And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
And they said one to another, Did not our aheart bburn within us, while he ctalked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? (Luke 24:13-32)
Only Jesus Christ can expound all the scriptures in one, and expound in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself in a way that makes our hearts burn within us, and in a way that helps us to know Him. Jesus is the best interpreter, expounder, and teacher of scripture because all scripture points to and testifies of Him. These are some things to keep in mind as we more diligently search the scriptures, including the great words of Isaiah.