“We Have Come to Worship Him,” Luke 2; Matthew 2 – Come Follow Me 2023 Podcast 3
Scot
Welcome back to the Meridian Magazine podcast. This is Scot and Maurine Proctor. We’re excited to be with you again this week. Have you read Luke 2 and Matthew 2? We certainly don’t want this to replace your reading. We had some interesting comments from listeners this week. One was from Susan who said that she was using this for her home school for her children and it was really great help to their family. We also heard from another reader, Allie, who was a recent widow, and she said she’d been really struggling with studying the scriptures on her own and this was a nice aid for her. That made us really happy.
Maurine
We know Luke 2 and Matthew 2 really well because we talk about them so much at Christmas. But we hope today we can find some hidden gems there. So the world that Jesus was born into was a desperate one—in the barren land, in the absence of revelation, in an oppressive country that dominated Israel. Oh, how they needed the Messiah, but what they were looking for was a conquering king who could oppress their enemies and set them free. And he would come a little baby in a manger to set them free from another kind of bondage.
Scot
We know the story. There was not room for them in the inn. But let’s look at it more carefully. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:
“One impression which has persisted with me recently is that this is a story—in profound paradox with our own times—that this is a story of intense poverty. I wonder if Luke did not have some special meaning when he wrote not ‘there was no room in the inn’ but specifically that ‘there was no room for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:7) We cannot be certain, but it is my guess that money could talk in those days as well as in our own. I think if Joseph and Mary had been people of influence or means, they would have found lodging even at that busy time of year.
“I have wondered if the Inspired Version also was suggesting they did not know the “right people” in saying, ‘There was none to give room for them in the inns’ (JST, Luke 2:7).” (Jeffrey R. Holland “Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come from a Store.” Dec. 1977)
It was, as it always has been, a question of heart. We love these JST changes, and we’ll discuss more about the JST later towards the end of the podcast.
Maurine
We read this story and we think, oh, I wouldn’t want to have been one of those innkeepers. Someone once wrote a fictional account of how that innkeeper must have felt when he found out who they were. And he said something like, was I to take in stragglers up and down the coast of Judea just in case they might come? How was I to know? How was I to recognize them, this too bedraggled and tired pair?
“So she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.” That’s, of course, Luke 2:7. Isn’t it ironic that here the Savior, the Creator of all the universe, the much-anticipated Messiah, the Jehovah who had been the God of the Old Testament, and, of course, had created the world, could not find a place in it. He would say later in Luke 9:58,
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Luke 9:58).
And he repeats that again in Matthew 8:20. You would think that the Creator of the world could have arranged it so that when He was born there would be silken sheets, many attendants, the finest of physicians. But, of course, He had the perfect arrangement for there to be no room for Him was the first of many statements that He made with His life and with His teachings that He understood perfectly our condition here in mortality.
Scot
You remember when we were raising our family, Maurine, we used to take the kids, especially at Christmastime, to the detox center and we’d do a little Christmas program. And there we certainly saw the conditions of homelessness. Everyone there was homeless, and they were downtrodden and depressed and so forlorn.
Maurine
And when we mentioned that Christ Himself knew what it was to be homeless and that he had mentioned it in scripture, it made so many eyes well up with tears. We saw one young man with tears rolling down his face saying that it meant everything to him to know that Christ understood what it would have been to be homeless. The Lord came to know our every emotion and trial. How can we complain to him of our wounds—He who had a sword pierced his side? So often we romanticize his birth. We think of this beautiful pastoral setting with animals. But let us not romanticize that. As much as they tried to make the straw clean, this would be a place of heavy odor, of animals, and not of cleanliness, not of attending physicians.
Scot
How can we complain to him of loneliness—He who trod the winepress alone? Yes, he said,
“I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me.” (Isaiah 63:3)
That’s Isaiah 63:13.
Scot
How can we complain to him of betrayal—He who has betrayed? How can we complain to him of betrayal—He who was betrayed by a kiss by one of his closest associates?
Maurine
Can we complain to Him of weariness or friendlessness? Can we complain to Him that sometimes our life’s efforts seem unrewarded? He came to know it all. And so, when we kneel at the very limits of our extremities, as we are all too often, we know that He’s been there before us and we have this complete friend who knows what it is. I remember, Scot, when our daughter passed away, when we knelt down to pray for comfort we knew that He absolutely knew how we felt because He had walked these dusty roads of mortality and had taken upon Himself all of our feelings in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Scot
And on the cross. It reminds me of His name that He was given by prophecy in Isaiah, the name Emanuel, which means God with us. And we feel that.
Maurine
Is there anything more personal or sweet than that? It’s why He matters so much to us.
Scot
It brings us to Alma 7:10-12.
“And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.”
And listen carefully to this:
“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:10-12)
Oh, this means so much to us personally.
Maurine
It’s so interesting that the angels would come to the shepherds to give their wonderful, glorious message. Were there no really important people to come to in Jerusalem? Oh, there were. Jerusalem was a very class-conscious, elite kind of society.
Scot
Well we tend to think of shepherds in that beautiful pastoral way, this bucolic setting. But, in reality, they were low on the totem pole in estimation, working all hours and sometimes in brutal weather, burnt in the sun. They were not the important people.
Maurine
Doesn’t it tell you how the Lord regards His children? He does not see as we see. And in verse eight we read:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8)
Now, if this is in the spring of the year, it would be a time of new lambing, and, of course, they would have to be out at night to protect those lambs from any predators. It’s also interesting that some have suggested that the shepherds of Bethlehem were particularly watching those sheep that would be sacrificed in the temple. They were the sheep for sacrifice. How very symbolic that these would be the very shepherds that the angels would come to.
Scot
So in Luke 2:9, it says,
“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:9-11).
And of course you remember the shepherds were told that they would find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. Now this is the sign that they were given, and so we think the sign is he’ll be wrapped in swaddling clothes. That’s not the sign. The sign is that he’ll be lying in a manger. What is a manger? A manger is a stone feeding trough. And that we don’t get in our, kind of, European view of things. And so their sign when they came would be that they would find him in that stone feeding trough.
Maurine
A feeding trough for animals.
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14)
This was a glorious choir. And the question that we ask our participants who come with us every year to Israel as we stand at Shepherds Fields and talk about this was, do you think this was an audition choir? Or, who here thinks they sang in that choir? And everybody gradually just raises their hands and says, I think it was me. I think I sang in that choir. How could we keep from singing? This was the best news that had happened in all of eternity: that the Savior would condescend to come be Emmanuel, God with us, and perform this mighty Atonement. I think about Job 38:4,7;
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
“When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4,7)
That was us. We were shouting for joy. We were part of those morning stars singing together.
Scot
We get back to Luke 2:15-16.
“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:15-16)
I love that term: “they came with haste.” Wouldn’t you?
Maurine
Of course you would. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be at that scene. On Christmas Eve I would always think, could I just be there and be at that manger scene? Of course they would run with haste. But we have that same opportunity today to come with haste to serve the Lord and feel Him in our lives
Scot
And watch the pattern here, starting in verse 17.
“And when they [the shepherds] had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child” (Luke 2:17).
They became missionaries. They’re taking those glad tidings as far and as fast as they can. Verse 18:
“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:18-20).
What a beautiful scene. I love that.
Maurine
I love that as well. So Elder Holland recently gave a talk where he quoted the famous Scottish cleric George McDonald. And this is what the quote said:
“Is every Christian expected to bear witness? […] A man content to bear no witness to the truth is not of the kingdom of heaven. One who believes must bear witness. One who sees the truth, must live witnessing to it. Is our life, then, a witnessing to the truth? Do we carry ourselves in [the] bank, on [the] farm, in [the] house or shop, in [the] study or chamber or workshop, as the Lord would, or as the Lord would not?
“Are we careful to be true? … When contempt is cast on the truth, do we smile? Wronged in our presence, do we make no sign that we hold by it? I do not say we are called upon to dispute, and defend with logic and argument, but we are called upon to show that we are on the other side. …
“The soul that loves the truth and tries to be true, will know when to speak and when to be silent; but the true man [or woman] will never look as if he [or she] did not care. We are not bound to say all we think, but we are bound not even to look [like] what we do not think.” (https://meridianmag.wpengine.com/elder-holland-gives-apostolic-charge-to-be-disciple-scholars/)
I love that.
Scot
Back to Luke 2:21.
“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21)
So according to Jewish law, Mary had to wait seven days because she is ceremonially unclean; but on the eighth day she brings the son to be circumcised. And then she had to wait 33 more days, which would make 40 days in total. Those 40 days after childbirth where the ritual purification and the redemption of the firstborn son, according to the Torah.
Maurine
And isn’t it so interesting that Joseph and Mary are absolutely living the Law of Moses? They are doing precisely what they are instructed to do because this law of clean and unclean and what someone is supposed to do when they first give birth is spelled out in Leviticus. So they are living absolutely as good Jewish people would live in that time.
Scot
Doesn’t that tell us so much about them?
Maurine
It tells us so much also about the way Jesus then would be reared. It is interesting to know that clean and unclean was a very important idea in that time. We can see again that this is a story of poverty. At the purification offering, which the parents made after the child’s birth, a turtledove was substituted for the required lamb—a substitution the Lord had allowed in the Law of Moses to ease the burden of the truly impoverished. And, so, Joseph and Mary bring a turtledove instead of a lamb that day.
Scot
When that little family was there in the temple at 40 days, there were some sweet moments. One of them was this amazing Simeon, who has been waiting, and he had this experience with the Lord that he knew that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s salvation come, meaning till he saw the coming of the Messiah. It’s interesting that Simeon—the name Simeon—means hearing tidings, or hearing glad tidings. Isn’t that perfect for his name?
Maurine
It’s so perfect.
Scot
And so in verse 29 of Luke 2 it says:
“Lord…”—and this is as he’s taking this child in his arms and holding him. He’s clearly been given the spirit of prophecy to know who this baby is. And he holds him in his arms and he said,
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
“For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
“Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
“A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)
I love that. And Simeon is just filled with the spirit and filled with joy.
Maurine
And then he directs something to Mary and says,
“Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:35)
That poignant message to Mary has made me wonder how much Mary knew of Christ’s life and suffering and agony that was to come. If Simeon knew it, did Mary? I don’t know. I don’t know if the cross hung over her understanding of this new child, but I do know there’s a wonderful Christmas song that has captured that idea, called Mary’s Lullaby. She’s singing to the little baby, and she says:
All mine in your loveliness, Baby, all mine;
All mine in your holiness, Baby Divine.
Sing on, herald angels, in chorus sublime;
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.
Away, spectered future of sorrow and plight.
Away to the years that must follow tonight.
The pangs of Gethsemane, let them be dim;
The red drops on Calvary, not, Lord, for him!
Oh, let me enfold thee, my baby, tonight;
While legions are singing in joyous delight.
A new star has risen to hail thee divine,
For you are a king, but tonight you are mine.
“Mary’s Lullaby (Tonight You Are Mine)”
What a heavy and beautiful responsibility Mary had, and Joseph, too, who would teach him Torah and so many important things. It’s so interesting to me that those people who recognize who Jesus was—the shepherds, the kings (who we’ll talk about in a minute), others—were all people who had pulled themselves away from the din and rattle and chaos of society. Maybe it sets for us an example of what we have to do to be able to find the Lord, find those times where we pull away and in the quiet of our souls reach out to Him.
One more person at the temple, of course, was Anna. And she was very aged, and she is called a prophetess, which is so interesting. But she, too, had been waiting for the coming of the Lord with great joy. It brings up the idea about what is a prophetess? Several women are actually called prophetesses in the scriptures: Deborah, and Huldah, and Miriam the sister of Moses, and, of course, the wife of Isaiah. So we don’t exactly know what that means—a prophetess. But, we do read in Revelation 19:10 that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And we know that Anna had that testimony of Jesus that day at the temple.
Scot
Well, isn’t that our goal with this home-centered study that we’re doing? That we all have the spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Christ, that we’re all coming to Him. This whole study of Come, Follow Me is really an invitation to come and be like Him, to be with Him, to try to follow His teachings, to be more like the Savior.
Maurine
And then, maybe, in turn, to witness of Him to others. That’s a joyful responsibility. I love it.
“Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2:1)
This, of course, is now Matthew 2. And what did they ask? They asked,
“Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him:” (Matthew 2:2)
So, who were these kings?
Scot
Yeah. Makes you wonder who they were. There’s all kinds of speculation about these wise men. We think because of tradition there were just three.
Maurine
And we also think that because they gave three gifts, but no one said there were only three. No matter how many times we sing We Three Kings of Orient Are.
Scot
The one thing we do know about them: they came from the east. They clearly had been looking for the sign. They were men who studied the prophecies. They clearly were faithful. They were believers, so much so that they would make a very long journey to find this newly-born Messiah. So, what is some of the speculation that we see from the apocryphal reports?
Maurine
Of course, my favorite is that when the people of Israel were carried off to Babylon, that some of them stayed behind and then only a remnant returned to rebuild the temple and come to Jerusalem. So I’ve often wondered, are these three some who remained in Babylon? Are they Jews of the diaspora from another place, but they have the holy scripture with them?
Scot
It does kind of seem like they were part of the diaspora either way; but they were possibly remnants from that group that had stayed in Babylon or in that area. But clearly, they have come to find the Messiah.
Maurine
It is interesting, too, that royal courts in that ancient Middle East time period often had wise men who could interpret dreams or who could read the stars. Pharaoh, as we know, had a dream that troubled him, and he turned to his wise men before he then finally got the answer from Joseph. We see the same thing with Daniel with King Nebuchadnezzar—he’s looking for someone who can interpret his dreams. He has wise men in the court. So there is another possibility. I think the best answer is that we just simply don’t know. And all the many things we spin around them, including giving them names and saying that there were three, is only speculation.
Scot
I do like, though, this common saying that you see in some of the Christmas shops that says, wisemen still seek Him.
Maurine
I do like that too. And we know they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Some have speculated that each of those three gifts have a symbolic meaning as well. Gold would be a recognition that this is the king. And frankincense, of course, would be about his priestly duties because frankincense was part of the incense that was burned in the temple representing Israel’s prayers ascending to heaven just as the smoke ascends from the coals of the fire when incense is put upon it. And finally, myrrh was an anointing oil that was used in burial. So each part of this could represent a part of His life.
Scot
So let’s talk a little bit about Herod. He always plays into this story, and all of us who do the nativity in our homes around Christmastime, or reenact it, someone always wants to play the part of Herod.
Maurine
Because they can sit there with a big scowl on their face. We think of Herod as being very wicked, but most of us know only the smallest part of that. We think that because he tried to trick the wise men into coming back to him and telling him the location of this baby that was born, and when they didn’t, he made an edict that through all the lands of Bethlehem and thereabouts: all the children under the age of two would be slaughtered by his soldiers. We can hardly comprehend something that is so wicked as that. But it’s interesting that Josephus, who is the great Jewish historian, doesn’t even mention that. The reason he doesn’t is because Herod was so entirely wicked in many other ways. We call him Herod the Great, but he wasn’t great. He was Herod the great builder. Certainly he built that temple that was standing in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. Certainly he had built many fortresses and a glorious city on the coast called Caesarea Maritima. He was also crazed and so jealous that he would do anything to keep his power. Let me just give you a couple of mentions of that. One of the reasons that Israel was in bondage to Rome was because of Herod. There had been arguing and factions in Judea, and Herod took advantage of it. He had Rome’s ear. And so he went to Rome and he got Marc Anthony (the famous Marc Anthony) to dispatch 36,000 troops to besiege Jerusalem in Herod’s name. That’s how he became king. And when he was king, he celebrated his victory by liquidating 45 members of the 71 member Sanhedrin. That was his first move.
Scot
What a guy.
Maurine
What a guy. And then, it seems like the only person he really loved in the world was his wife, Mariamne, and he had her killed because he was suspicious of her connections. He had his brother-in-law Jonathan, who was the high priest, drowned before him in one of his palaces in Jericho. He even had his sons killed. He had two sons named Alexander and Aristobulus, and he killed both of them because he found them suspicious and thought they might be trying to overtake him. And then he had a third son killed, called Antipater. Caesar Augustus said, I’d rather be Herod’s pig than his son. In other words, it wasn’t safe to be his son. This is Herod, the king of the Jews, when the rightful king of the Jews, and in fact the Son of God, was born. What a complete and total contrast between the way things happen in the world and the way the Lord would have things done.
Scot
In the King James Version, Joseph is told in a dream that he should take Mary and the baby and flee to Egypt. But in the Joseph Smith Translation, we learn that this was a vision. So the angel came to him and said, take your wife and the child and flee to Egypt. Partially, this was not only because of being safe from the dangers of King Herod, it was really to fulfill prophecy—the prophecy of Hosea which said, “Out of Egypt, have I called my son” (Hosea 11:1)—because the Lord would fulfill all prophecies. Not one jot or tittle would not be fulfilled. Everything would be fulfilled.
So, let’s talk just a little bit about Jesus’ childhood. We know very little about it, but we do know a few things. He was obviously raised as a devout Jew. His family was very faithful. They’re going to the temple every year because it says, as was the custom (Luke 1:27), so we know that this happened every year. They’re living the law. Jesus, as a little child in Nazareth would have not had his haircut until he was three years old. And so these long little curls would have come and he would have just been a normal Jewish child. And then at age three, they cut the hair for the first time; and it’s kind of like the first time a tree begins to give fruit, and that’s when they start learning their letters as well. And so then he would be taught the letters and also be taught the law. They would have had a mezuzah on their doorway which held a scripture. And the scripture that it held was from Deuteronomy, which said, Thou shalt love the Lord, my God with all my heart and with all my mind, with all thy strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). And so this would have passed through his mind every day coming and going from their home. By age 12, He could read the Law; He could read the Torah. Age 30, He could be a teacher; He could be a rabbi. Now there is a verse that’s interesting from the Joseph Smith Translation, and that’s Joseph Smith Translation Matthew 3:24-26. It gives us a little more insight into his childhood that we don’t know any other place.
“And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.
“And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.
“And after many years, the hour of his ministry drew nigh.” (Matthew 3:24-26)
That tells us a lot. It’s amazing that He didn’t need any teacher. And yet, I’m sure that He was put through the standard Jewish approach to the yeshiva and all the things to learn that He had to. But He didn’t have to have that because He had His Heavenly Father.
Maurine
I love that addition from the JST.
Scot
Well, let’s talk just a little bit about the Joseph Smith Translation. Most people don’t know very much about this part of Joseph Smith’s calling. He worked on the Bible for 37 months with his scribes giving a new translation or restoring some of the plain and precious things that had been lost. He would effect changes in, or add to, 3,410 verses. Now, to give you a sense of that, Matthew has 1,044 verses. So he did 3,410 ten verses. That is a major, wonderful addition to those parts of the Bible that were missing some of those plain and precious parts.
We really don’t know much from the scriptures about Jesus’ youth and His childhood. We do know at the end of chapter two of Luke, which we’ve been studying this week, that he grew in stature and in wisdom and in favor with God and man. That’s about all we know. But in the Joseph Smith Translation, we learn in Matthew 3:24-26 this insight:
“And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.
“And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.
“And after many years, the hour of his ministry drew nigh.” (Matthew 3:24-26)
That gives us a lot of insight into Jesus’ childhood. He didn’t need anyone to teach Him. He was clearly living the law and He was waiting for His ministry. I mean, that really tells us a lot.
Maurine
I love these additional insights to the Joseph Smith Translation. Tell us a little bit about it.
Scot
The Joseph Smith Translation was a great part of the prophet’s calling. He called it an important branch of his calling, and he worked on that for 37 months with his scribes. So if you look at the cascade of revelations that were coming in Ohio, many of them are connected to this time when he was intensely studying the scriptures and bringing about this new translation. Now, how big or extensive was this translation? He effected changes or gave us new verses: 3,410 verses. Now, to give a sense of that in scale, Matthew, the entire 28 chapters of Matthew is 1,044 verses. So he gave us a lot of additional information. These are many of the plain and precious things that had been lost over the centuries from the original writings of the prophets. So that is very exciting. And so pay attention as you’re studying at home. Look at those footnotes in your scriptures and find those references. We have between 700 and 800 of them footnoted in our scriptures, and those that are too long to be put in as footnotes are in the back in the Joseph Smith Translation Appendix. So don’t miss any of those. They give you great insights into understanding the scriptures. So that gives us additional wonderful material to use in our studies of the New Testament this year.
Maurine
One of my favorite incidents has to do with Jesus’ childhood. We remember the story. His family went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, and that’s what Jews all over the known world at that time did at Passover. They went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover at the temple. So his family was doing that and they would have been traveling in a big caravan. And so as the caravan is returning, they would not have always been aware exactly where Jesus was, and so they were three days without him. I don’t know whether that was a day out, and a day back, and a day searching, or how that went. But they were without him for a long time because I’m sure they thought he was playing with others in the caravan or talking with others. At any rate, you can imagine how heartsick they were to go back to Jerusalem looking for their missing son who was not only tender to them, but so important to all of us. Where do they find him? Well, they found him in the temple. What we have in Luke is that they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors, and he was hearing them, and he was asking them questions. But remember, he had no need to learn from others. And so the JST, the Joseph Smith Translation, gives us another insight here and it says, which is JST Luke 2:46,
“And it came to pass, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, and they were hearing him, and asking him questions.” (Luke 2:46, JST)
What a wonderful additional insight to his childhood. I think studying the scriptures like this gives us a chance to hear Him, and our prayers gives us a chance to ask Him questions. Surely we can be as wise, or wiser, than those who were in the temple at Passover time when he was 12. What a wonderful opportunity this is.
Scot
Next week’s lesson is John chapter one, and the title is We Have Found the Messiah. So read that and be ready and we’ll come to you next week again. Thanks for listening.
Maurine
We’ve had fun talking about the scriptures today.
Scot
Thanks again to Paul Cardall for the beautiful music.
The post “We Have Come to Worship Him,” Luke 2; Matthew 2 – Come Follow Me 2023 Podcast 3 first appeared on Meridian Magazine.
Meridian Magazine