Matthew 1, Luke 1

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INTRODUCTION

Hello fellow teachers and students of the scriptures, this is Ben Wilcox and welcome to Teaching with Power. This week we get to begin our study of the life of Christ. And the way the manual approaches this is as a harmony of the four gospels. Sometimes, teachers choose to go through the gospels one by one, covering the life of the Savior four different times according to the four different perspectives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The other option is to combine the four narratives into one and focus on the life of the Savior in a more chronological fashion from the beginning of his life to the end—weaving the different accounts together and covering each event or parable or story only once, rather than multiple times. Personally, I prefer to do it in this latter way and I’m glad the Come, Follow Me manual has designed it such. It’s not that one way is right or wrong or better than the other, it’s just a different approach. My suggestion then is that you also study it in this order as well, following the suggested readings each week. This also allows you to compare and contrast the different perspectives that each gospel writer gives at the same time and appreciate the unique approach and purpose each has. So this week, we’ll be studying the prelude to the life of Christ. In fact, we might say that the entire Old Testament serves as a prelude to Christ’s life but this week we’ll look particularly at the individuals and events that led up to the birth of Christ and prepared the way for his life and ministry. If you’re ready then, grab your scriptures and your marking pencils, it’s time to dig deep.

HEARTS TURNED TO THE FATHERS

ICEBREAKER

As an icebreaker, I want you to think about your family history. Family history is very important in this Church and is one of the hallmarks of our faith. You may know that the Church has gathered and curates the largest collection of family records in the world and has thousands of family history centers all around the globe and arguably, the most important online genealogy resource available: familysearch.org.

So a question to begin our study. Can you share a story from your family history that has inspired or blessed you? That story could be as immediate as something that happened to your parents or grandparents, or as distant as an ancestor who has been deceased for centuries. I personally was very privileged to have parents who were anxiously engaged in family history work, and I was blessed to grow up hearing stories of my ancestors.

I find strength and inspiration in the story of great, great grandfather Jensen who chose to be baptized into the church against the wishes of his family—who forced him to choose between family and faith. And I’m grateful that he chose his faith, traveled to the United States from Denmark and, in part, gave me my religion and my nation.

I find strength and inspiration in the story of another great, great grandfather who walked across the plains from Nauvoo to Salt Lake as a nine-year-old boy.

I find strength and inspiration in hearing the story of my great, great, great, grandmother, Ann Macey Clegg who joined the Church in England and sacrificed everything, including her life, to get her children to the Salt Lake Valley so that they could be raised in an environment of faith. That was her one desire in life. She became sick and only lived for a few weeks after their arrival in the valley, but her words as her children lifted her head from the wagon as they descended Emigration Canyon still ring deeply in my soul. “I am satisfied”, she said.

And there are many, many others that have had a profound impact .

Now we know why family history is so key to us. We believe that we hold a sacred responsibility to do temple work for our ancestors and create, what Joseph Smith called, a welding link between us and them. And he taught us that they cannot be saved without us, but ALSO, that we cannot be saved without them. We need them just as much as they need us. And he knew that we would find strength and inspiration in learning about our ancestors. We learn from their examples—either good or bad and I believe that the more we disconnect from our family’s past, the more we place the future of our posterity into jeopardy.

TRANSITION

Now with that in mind, I want you to open your scriptures to Matthew chapter 1, and just scan those first few columns and tell me what you see. It’s genealogy, right. That’s how the New Testament begins. With Jesus’s genealogy. Now this list created by Matthew is not necessarily Jesus’s complete family history. Luke ALSO gives us a genealogy for Jesus in Luke chapter 3 and it’s different, a bit more complete. And I’m not going to go into all the intricacies and scholarly details of this genealogy and the parallelism of the three sets of 14 generations. Suffice it to say that Matthew’s major purpose in presenting us with this family history was to show the Jews one, just how Jewish Jesus was, tracing his line all the way back to the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with numerous famous names and heroes of the Jewish faith in between. And two, that Jesus descended from the royal line of David, qualifying him to be the Messiah and the King of Kings. See, Matthew’s major audience was the Jews and as you read his gospel, we see him consistently give evidence of how Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy—that he WAS the promised Messiah spoken of by all the holy prophets that came before. Family history was very important to the Jews, and you often had to present written proof of your family line for certain positions in the faith. We see an example of this in Ezra 2:62, where the descendants of Barzillai are not allowed to be priests because their family history didn’t justify it. So Jesus would have been well aware of his family tree here and would have been raised hearing these stories of faith and inspiration. The question then is, what do we think he learned from them? How did they influence and prepare him? Just like our ancestors can bless and inspire us, Jesus’s ancestors would do the same for him.

SEARCH

I want you to scan Matthew 1:1-17 and mark the names of the people you recognize. And if you do that, these are the individuals that you may come up with. The most well-known of the bunch.

David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Booz (or Boaz), Rachab or Rahab, Ruth, Solomon. I’m going to mark Ezekias here because that’s Hezekiah, who you might remember studying last year, and let’s include Josias (or Josiah), and Zorobabel, or Zerubbabel, all of which are people we learned about in our study of the Old Testament.

Now as you look at those names, it might be kind of fun to ponder on what kinds of lessons or qualities Jesus may have learned or inherited from these ancestors of his. Why are those particular names included? And to drive this point home, you could do this matching activity handout. Your student’s task is to match the individual from Jesus’s genealogy with the quality that they best exemplified. And then with each, contemplate how Jesus demonstrated those same qualities. What might he have learned from the examples of these people? And I wouldn’t say that this is a really easy activity. It’s challenging. This can serve as a good review and test of how well you paid attention to the Old Testament last year.

1. David—The match is C. The courage to face giant challenges. Jesus would have immense challenges to face in his life. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Romans, the unbelief of the people around him, not to mention, sin, death, and the very adversary himself. Yet, he never backed down or showed fear in the face of these opponents. Like David with his sling, Jesus would rise to the occasion and conquer all that defied the will of the God of Israel.

2. Abraham—The match is E. Patient faith in God’s promises. Just as Abraham remained faithful in God’s promise of a son even when all hope seemed lost, Jesus never expressed doubt or hesitation in his Father’s will or assurances.

3. Isaac—The match is B. A willingness to be sacrificed. In the Book of Mormon, Jacob taught that the sacrifice of Isaac was in similitude to God’s sacrifice of his beloved son. Therefore, that sacrifice would have to have been a willing one. When Isaac finally understood the purpose of their journey to Mt. Moriah, he willingly allowed his father to place him on the altar in accordance with God’s will. Jesus too, would show that same willingness. The only difference being, there would be no ram in the thicket to save him. He understood that beforehand, and still walked with determination towards Gethsemane and Golgotha.

4. Jacob—The match is F. Working hard for those you love. Jacob labored 14 years for Rachel, and then spent the rest of his life sacrificing and working to support and raise his family in righteousness. Is there any doubt that Jesus did the same to support and work for his family? Indeed, the entire family of man?

5. Rahab—The match is H. Even someone with a less than virtuous past can change. Rahab, if you recall was the prostitute of Jericho, who hid the Israelite spies, and the only one of the city who recognized God’s hand among the Children of Israel and repented, and joined them, and eventually married an Israelite prince. She is a sterling example of the principle of how people can change. It doesn’t matter what your past is, just the trajectory of your future. That’s a lesson Jesus would teach over and over again in his ministry. He didn’t care what a person’s past was. He always expressed faith and hope in people’s ability to change. The woman taken in adultery, Mary in the house of Simon, he told the parable of the prodigal son, and spent much of his time with the publicans and “sinners” of his day. Perhaps the story of his ancestor Rahab echoed in his mind as he went out among the people.

6. Boaz—The match is I. Kindness and charity. Boaz recognized the plight of Naomi and Ruth in Bethlehem and made sure that his servants left extra food for them with no ulterior motive in mind other than to be selflessly kind and charitable. Jesus was selflessly kind and charitable—to the poor, the sick, the handicapped, children, women, the suffering, and all of us as he performed the greatest act of charity of all eternity—the atonement.

7. Ruth—The match is K. Loyalty and virtue. Ruth left behind her people and her country for the sake of her mother-in-law Naomi. She thought about the needs of others before herself. Is there any doubt that Jesus Christ spent his life doing the same.

8. Solomon—The match is G. A love of wisdom. When given the opportunity to ask of God anything he desired, Solomon chose wisdom as the gift he most wanted. Jesus too loved wisdom and we will spend the entire first half of this year listening to and hopefully applying that wisdom.

9. Hezekiah—The match is J. Faith in God’s ability to deliver from evil. Hezekiah believed in the prophecies of Isaiah that as long as he and his people were faithful to God, that He would fight their battles for them. Even the mighty Assyrian army was no match for the power of God. And they were delivered. The only city in the entire ancient world not to fall to their military might. Jesus too would always rely on his father’s power to deliver him, from temptation, from the evil desires of his fellow men, and from sin and death.

10. Josiah—The match is A. A love for the scriptures. Josiah was the king who sought to turn the hearts of his people back to Jehovah through the power of the scriptures that were rediscovered in the ruins of the temple under his rule. His dedication to the word of God would leave a powerful impression on the Israelites of his day and long afterward. It’s very apparent as you read the gospels just how much Jesus loved the scriptures and had a mastery of them. He quoted them frequently, referred to them often, and taught his disciples to rely on them seek guidance from them.

11. Zerubbabel—The match is D. A love for the temple. Zerubbabel was the post exile leader who (with the help of others, such as Haggai), encouraged and led his people to value and rebuild the house of God after the return of the Jews. Jesus also loved the temple—even at twelve years old, he just couldn’t seem to pull himself away from it, even when his family had already left. He frequently spent time there teaching, and even cleansed the temple of the merchants and moneychangers that he felt were making a mockery of that holy place.

So we can see that Jesus really was a culmination of all these great examples and personalities of the past. His character embodied and embraced all of them. By what he did and what he said, Jesus often symbolically wrapped himself in the mantle of previous prophets, priests, and kings. I also think it’s fascinating that Matthew includes the names of a number of women in Jesus’s genealogy. You have Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba (indirectly mentioned), and Ruth in there. That was not typical of Jewish culture where the order of genealogy was typically traced from father to son. But Matthew’s point is clear, the coming Messiah was not only the result of righteous men in his past, but righteous women as well.

Another interesting thing to note is that not all the names on this list are praiseworthy. Even Jesus’s family tree had a few “bad branches.” Notably, you’ve got Rehoboam in there whose pride and youthful ego are what cause the Israelite nation to split in two. Manasses, or Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings of Judah who brought idols into the temple, endorsed child sacrifice, and executed many prophets. And then, even though they also had redeeming qualities, Solomon, David, and Judah all commit serious sins in their lives. But did Jesus allow the bad examples from his ancestry define or discourage him? No. He didn’t. But the lives of those ancestors still hold value. Example is example, and we can still benefit from them. Nobody comes from a perfect family. I know that I have Virginia slave owners in my ancestry for example. Your parents or grandparents can’t get you into heaven by virtue of their acts, but they can’t keep you from it either. And whether our ancestors were virtuous or villains, we can still benefit from their life stories. We can learn from bad examples just like we can learn from good examples.

TRUTH

So let’s summarize some of the truths that Jesus’s genealogy can teach us.

Just like Jesus, we can find strength and inspiration in the great women and men of our family history.

Just like Jesus, we are linked to a rich past and heritage.

Just like Jesus, we don’t have to allow the negative examples of our ancestors to define or discourage us, but we can learn from them.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

What could I do to engage more fully with my family history?

Do I need to do it? Can I trace my ancestry back at least four or five generations? Do I know things about my predecessors? Do I look for inspiration or lessons from their lives and do I seek to communicate them to my children if I have them? Have I done their temple work? Is family history a priority in my life and do I make time for it. All valid things to consider.

CONCLUSION

So I know it’s tempting when you first begin the New Testament to want to just skip over those first 17 verses as just a big list of names. But there are some powerful, relevant lessons to be found in them if we’re willing to dig deep. Our lives, like Christ’s are rooted in history. And not just world history, political history, or military history, but family history. They were people, like you and I, with dreams, weaknesses, loves, challenges, and stories that should not be forgotten. We all come from somewhere, and as Malachi prophesied in the last verse of the Old Testament, the hearts of the children are meant to turn to their fathers. I pray that our hearts will turn to ours.

REAL MEN, REAL WOMEN

ICEBREAKER

Continuing with this theme of inheriting qualities and learning from our forebearers, let’s focus now on those individuals more immediate to Jesus’s birth. Those that more closely preceded him. What can we learn from them? As an icebreaker to this portion of the lesson I like to do the following brainstorming session. I ask my students to think about what constitutes manhood or womanhood in the eyes of the world. From a worldly context, what are some of the measures of manhood or womanhood that might cause someone to say, “now there’s a real man, or a real woman.” And keep in mind that there are a number of different manifestations of “manhood” and “womanhood” in society. Give them anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to think about this and to share their ideas. I’ve done this before many times with my students and here are some of the answers I’ve heard over the years.

For a real man, they’ve said that manhood is often measured by:

How much money they have in their bank account

How many people they have control over at their job

If they can slam dunk a basketball or hit a home run or score a touchdown

How high their truck is lifted

How many women they’ve been with

How bulging their biceps and chiseled their abs are

How smart and successful they are

How tough they are in a fight

How much alcohol they can handle

How many tattoos and piercings they can cover their bodies with

How many curse words they can use in a single sentence

How loud their bass can blast while they drive down the road

How effectively they can intimidate, bully, or demean those around them

These are just some of the world’s standards of manliness

And for women?

How attractive they are

How nice and expensive their clothing and jewelry can be

How smart and successful they are

How many men they have been with

Their popularity

How rich they are, or how nice their homes and cars are

Their independence and individualism

How many followers or likes they have on social media

How ideal their bodies look

How talented they are in whatever area

And on and on and on. Now as you look at these lists, not everything on them is a matter of right and wrong. There’s nothing wrong with men or women being strong, successful, attractive, or popular. Although there are things on those lists that do clearly cross the line. But that’s not really the point of this activity. What it’s meant to illustrate is that the measures and definition of womanhood and manhood in the eyes of the world is very different from what it means to be a “real” man or a “real” woman in the eyes of God—in an eternal perspective. The things that God values in his children stand in stark contrast to the things the world does.

TRANSITION

So when it came time for God to choose the men and women that he would raise up around his Beloved Son—those who were to prepare the way for Him (yes, even Jesus didn’t do it alone), it’s instructive and helpful to see what kinds of people He chose. And he didn’t go with the powerful, rich, popular, or physically strong of the day. He chose two young people, two old people and a wild man in the wilderness to prepare the way. They stand as true role models that exemplify the kinds of attributes and characteristics that really DO matter. They are going to give us a very different kind of list than the ones we just created. So let’s take a look at some REAL men, and some REAL women: Joseph, Mary, Zacharias, Elisabeth, and John the Baptist.

SEARCH

To discover these godly traits, we’re going to fill in the boxes of the following thinking map with all the characteristics that we can find. We could also use a colored pencil to mark the verses, phrases, and words in our scriptures that suggest these qualities. Now this is a big activity and could take a lot of time. If you have the time, great, go through all of them. But if not, you may decide to assign different groups or students to different individuals and then invite them to share their findings with others in their group or with the class as a whole. Or, if you can only do a few, I would focus on Joseph and Mary, and then invite my students to look for the others in their personal study. But here are the specific scripture references I would direct them to.

Joseph: Matthew 1:18-25

Mary: Luke 1:26-57

Zacharias: Luke 1:5-25, 57-80

Elisabeth: Luke 1:5-7, 24-25, 39-45, 57-63

John the Baptist: Luke 1:15-17, 74-76, 80

And for each of the characteristics that we find, we should consider two things. One, how Jesus reflected those qualities in his life, and two, what they teach us about real manhood and real womanhood. You’ll notice on the chart that some of the verses are listed more than once. That just means that I felt there was more than just one unique quality in that particular verse. And you and your students don’t need to feel tied down to the list that I came up with. You may discover more or different things than I did. If you do, great, add more to the list. This is by no means comprehensive.

JOSEPH

We’ll start with Joseph. Now I know that Joseph was not Jesus’s literal father, but he was the man chosen by God to raise and nurture his beloved son. That fact alone speaks volumes about his character. I mean, if you had to choose an adoptive father to raise one of your children, what kind of person do you think you would pick? He must have been an incredible man and, in my opinion, he’s one of the great unsung heroes of the New Testament. Unfortunately, we just don’t know as much about him as we do Mary and the others, and he doesn’t get a lot of attention in the gospels. In fact, nowhere in any of the gospels does Joseph say a single word. We hear numerous verses from each of the others, but not Joseph. Now I’m guessing here, but I get the sense that he was probably a quiet, gentle, and unassuming man. And those qualities are certainly reflected in his adoptive son, Jesus Christ. And sadly, I think it's also safe to surmise that by the time Jesus begins his mortal ministry, Joseph has died because he’s not mentioned anywhere in the gospels after the story of Jesus in the temple as a twelve-year-old boy. So Joseph is remarkable in his unremarkability. Let’s see what we can learn about him just by reading Matthew 1:18-25.

From verse 19, we learn that he was a just or a righteous man. Now how is that for a measure of manhood. “just” is the word used in Doctrine and Covenants 76 for the kinds of people that inherit the Celestial Kingdom. Both Habakkuk and Paul taught that the “just” live by their faith. Jesus too would be a just man. The most righteous of all men. He had a great role model of that quality in Joseph though. Real men and real women seek to be just. That’s their priority. That’s more important to them than worldly success, power, or recognition.

Also from verse 19 we learn something very key about Joseph’s character by what he does when placed in a very embarrassing and painful circumstance. When he finds out that Mary is pregnant, what does he decide to do about it? The scriptures tell us that he didn’t want to make her a “public example” and that he was “minded to put her away privily”. Which means, to divorce her. And I don’t think there’s anything ignoble about that. He was not going to marry a woman who he finds is going to bear someone else’s child. Now think about that situation for a second and let’s put ourselves in Joseph’s shoes. Men, how would you feel or react if you found out that your fiancée was pregnant, and you know it’s not you? Would you be too worried about her reputation? Would you be very mindful of not making her a public example? I don’t think I would. Joseph was a better than I am. I imagine that I would be very, very hurt, embarrassed, and angry. I’m not sure I’d be all that concerned with her status and social image. But Joseph, even in that humiliating situation, thinks about her first, and decides, let’s do this as quietly and privately as possible so that Mary doesn’t have to face the scrutiny and public shame that was sure to come. Joseph was sensitive to women. Did Jesus reflect that same quality? Absolutely. You see many examples of that quality in Jesus. We see it with the way he treated his mother at the marriage of Cana and even while he hung on the cross. We see it with how he interacts with the woman at the well, the woman taken in adultery, the woman with the issue of blood, the Mary who washes his feet with her tears, and many, many others. He always showed a tenderness and sensitivity to the women around him. I think he must have learned that from Joseph. Real men respect, honor, and value womanhood. They don’t objectify, dominate, or manipulate them. They’re sensitive to their needs and esteem them as themselves.

From verse 24 we learn something else about Joseph. He was obedient. After he’s visited by the angel, he’s got a choice to make. Is he going to take on this responsibility of raising the son of God? That’s no small charge. And it’s not even his own son. But we learn that immediately after he woke up, he “did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife.” It takes a special kind of man to do that. Jesus too, was always obedient to the will of his father. He must have learned that from Joseph. Real men and real women are obedient to God’s will. They’re not afraid to recognize and respect God’s loving authority.

And there may be many other qualities from the life of the Savior that we could safely assume he learned from Joseph. That’s why I added that final box in that column. What other things might Jesus have picked up from Joseph? Joseph was a carpenter and would have taught Jesus his trade. Perhaps Jesus learned how to be a hard worker from his earthly father. Jesus was well versed in the scriptures and in the practices of his faith. Joseph would have been the one to teach his son the Jewish traditions, how to worship in the synagogue, and how to follow the tenets of the law of Moses. He was a devout man in his faith. We see him present the infant Jesus for dedication at Jerusalem and he brings his family to the capitol for Passover every year. We also know he was courageous in that he defied the command of Herod and fled to Egypt with Mary and Jesus. He was a provider, protector, and presider over his little family. This is real manhood.

Another thing to consider. Perhaps Jesus learned meekness and humility from Joseph. As I said earlier, we don’t know a whole lot about him. It’s Mary that really gets the attention in that parentage, but we never get any indication from the gospel writers that he’s worried about that. I know this is conjecture but just something tells me that Joseph probably prefers it that way. He’s not worried about getting the glory or the credit or the notoriety. Jesus certainly reflected that quality in his life as he never seemed to deliberately draw attention to himself, and frequently gives the credit and the glory of his miracles and teachings to God. I’m sure that Joseph had a lot to do with the kind of man Jesus would become.

MARY

How about Mary now? What did Jesus learn from his mother? We have a little more to work with here as the scriptures dedicate a lot more attention to her words and role in Jesus’ birth and upbringing. And though we don’t worship her or pray to her in the same way that many other Christian faiths do, she certainly deserves our respect and admiration, and we should feel free to revere and admire her all we want. No doubt, she too had a profound effect on the character and personality of her son. Read Luke 1:26-56 carefully and let’s list all the things that these verses suggest about her.

Here are some of the things that I see:

:27/34 Mary was chaste, pure, virtuous. She says, “I know not a man.” At that point in her life, Mary was taking the proper and moral path to marriage. She was espoused to Joseph but had remained morally clean throughout her life. Jesus too would exemplify purity and virtue throughout his life. He had an incredible model of that attribute in his mother.

:28/30 Now verse 28 holds an excellent description of how God saw Mary. Gabriel tells her that she is highly favored, and verse 30 reiterates that thought with “thou hast found favor with God” . Then he says, “The Lord is with thee and blessed art thou among women.” I believe there’s a great relevant lesson to be learned here. What is that made her highly favored, blessed, and worthy of the Lord’s presence in her life? There are many different images of the highly favored woman of the world. The one blessed with physical beauty, or great talent, or the one with personality, intelligence, and popularity? Are those the qualities God was looking for? Mary may have very well been blessed with some of these things. Mary was highly favored because the Lord was with her, and she had an important mission to fulfill—a divine role in God’s plan. She had lived her life to that point in such a way that she had demonstrated that she was deserving and capable of fulfilling that role. When a woman lives in such a way that the Lord’s Spirit and influence are with her, and she can be called to further the Lord’s work, then she is truly highly favored and blessed among the women of this earth. I believe and have seen many of the women of this church meet those same qualifications. They are highly favored among women on this earth. They too have been sent to the earth and to the latter-day Church of Christ for such a time as this with great purposes to fulfill. They too are to have the Holy Ghost come upon them, and to raise and nurture Christ, or the nature and character of Christ in their own lives—and to allow that influence to spread and bless those around them.

In verse :38 we find Mary’s response to the announcement of the angel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word.” And there we have one of the greatest expressions of meekness, respect, and obedience in the scriptures. That is what it means to have “a broken heart and a contrite spirit”. I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, I’ll do what you want me to do, I’ll be what you want me to be. And in Mary’s case, this is no small undertaking. How must it have felt for her to realize that she would be the mother of the Messiah, the most important person to ever live. Obedience and submissiveness is another great quality of the real man or the real woman. Have we responded to our divine mission with those same words and attitude? Yes, the Lord is asking a lot from us too. To maintain our faith and righteousness in a world that mocks and belittles those principles. To serve and sacrifice our time, talents, and means to the building up of God’s kingdom on earth. To stand firm against the onslaught of temptation and worldliness that surrounds us. And what do we say. Behold the handmaids (and handfellows) of the Lord, be it unto us according to thy word.

:46 And then jump to verses 46-55 for what we call Mary’s Song. And from these verses we get the sense that Mary is not just accepting this call, but glorying in it, and standing in grateful awe of it. It’s not just an “OK, I guess if I have to, I’ll do it.” She says these beautiful words. “My soul doth magnify the Lord”. When you magnify something, you fill your vision with that one thing as it becomes your focus, and all the periphery is eliminated. That’s what Mary’s soul is doing with Christ. She was willing to make that divine calling and purpose the focus of her life. She was not going to be distracted by worldly pursuits and concerns and she would do all that she could to not just fill the task of raising the Messiah but would go above and beyond the expectations and magnify that role with all she had and was. Did Jesus learn something from that? You see that same attitude all throughout his life. He came to do the will of the Father, no matter what, and he expressed that time and time again. Perhaps the Savior’s equivalent phrase to “be it unto me according to thy will” was uttered in Gethsemane when he says, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done”. I think He may have learned that from his mother. The souls of real men and real women magnify God in their lives. They fill their vision and their focus with him and his gospel.

:47 Mary not only magnified the Lord but rejoiced in him. “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour”. Even though she had a very difficult charge to undertake, she still rejoiced in it and her contribution to God’s work. This was not going to be an easy calling. In the next chapter, Simeon is going to tell her that “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35). Still, I picture Mary as a very happy and pleasant person to be with, and so was Christ. He too rejoiced in the gospel. Jesus loved to be with people. He was always out amongst them, having meals, teaching, praying, and helping them. Spreading joy and happiness to the world around him. I picture him smiling, and laughing, and enjoying life. Real men and women are happy—and not just happy in general, but happy in God. They find joy in the gospel and the plan.

:48 What does this phrase teach us about Mary: “he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden”? Humility. It would be very easy for Mary to become prideful and self-important with such a responsibility. I’m going to be the mother of the Savior of the world. I’m kind of big deal. But no, she gives all the glory and praise to God. And you can see that all throughout the next seven verses. From 49-55, look at how all those verses begin. For HE that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is HIS name. And HIS mercy is on them that fear him. HE hath shewed strength. And that pattern just continues. HE, HE, HE, HE. It’s not about her at all. Jesus would do the same thing throughout his life. He always gave glory to the Father. One example of this. When the rich young ruler called him “Good master”, Jesus corrects him and says, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” Jesus always sought to glorify the father. Where did he learn that? Perhaps because He saw his mother do the same thing all throughout her life. And us? Real men and real women give God the glory. In a world where self-promotion and recognition and climbing social and career ladders is not only acceptable but celebrated, the true disciple does not seek to put themselves in the spotlight, but their God, who has given them all and made them what they are.

And then, one more thing I see in verse 56 about Mary. There’s something I think that suggests. And you have to pair it with verse 36 to get the message? How long does Mary stay with Elizabeth? Three months. And what month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy did Mary come in? The sixth month. Well, let’s do math. 6+3 = 9. Nine months. Hmm, does that number and pregnancy have any connection? Yeah. So why do you think Mary came and stayed with her during that time? I imagine she came to help out and serve her cousin during one of the hardest and most uncomfortable times of her pregnancy—the last three months. What does that reveal about Mary’s character? She was charitable, considerate, and service-oriented. She thought of others before herself and sought to help them through difficult times. Even though she herself was also pregnant. I mean, the FIRST months of pregnancy can also be quite difficult. But she’s there to lend strength and support to a beloved family member. Did Jesus exemplify this same attitude? Of course, he spent his ministry serving others and helping alleviate pain and sorrow. He must have seen his mother doing the same kind of thing throughout her life. Real women and men look outward. They are “kind and seeketh not their own”. They actively look for opportunities to serve their fellow man.

There’ll be more things that we learn from Mary in future lessons, but she stands as one of the greatest exemplars of real womanhood anywhere in the scriptures. She was a chosen and precious vessel of our Heavenly Father. Hopefully we too can seek to mirror those same qualities.

THE OTHER HOLY FAMILY

Now the holy family gets much of the attention nowadays. But we sometimes forget that there was another holy family at the beginning of the gospels that is worthy of our attention. Continuing with the theme of real men, and real women, let’s take a look at Zacharias, Elisabeth, and John the Baptist.

There are many ways in which Zacharias and Elisabeth are similar to Joseph and Mary, but there are also some key differences. Where Mary and Joseph are young, Elisabeth and Zacharias are old. Verse 7 tells us that they were “well stricken in years”. Where Mary and Joseph are relatively unknown, Elisabeth and Zacharias would have been more in the public eye. Zacharias was a high priest and one of those chosen to enter the holy of holies. I think that says something about who God chooses to accomplish his work. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, God can use you. It doesn’t matter if you are popular or unknown, God can use you to do his work. There’s no one size fits all. So those of you out there of a certain more advanced age, don’t think that your usefulness and service in God’s kingdom are a thing of the past. I mean, just look at President Nelson. God needs all of his disciples anxiously engaged in the work. The youth may indeed be the future of the Church, but the mature, older members are its backbone and absolutely vital to moving the kingdom forward.

ZACHARIAS

But what do we learn specifically from Zacharias.

Luke 1:6 teaches us that, like Joseph, Zacharias was righteous before God.

Luke 1:6 And that he “walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”. He too was obedient.

Luke 1:8 We see him faithfully fulfilling his calling as a priest. He executed his office before God. He was a dutiful priesthood holder.

Luke 1:13 He has been praying for this blessing to have a child. He was prayerful.

Luke 1:14 tells us that he would have joy and gladness in the birth of his son.

All of these things are qualities of real men and women. Although, Zacharias isn’t perfect in his faith either. He must have expressed or felt enough doubt in the promise of the angel that God saw it necessary to strike him dumb or speechless for a while. “Because thou believest not my words”. I’m not quite sure what to make of all that. He obviously had a lot of faith since verse 13 indicated that he was still praying for this blessing. Perhaps there was some other purpose in that consequence as well. Even so, it’s nice to know that even a man like Zacharias experienced doubts and uncertainties in his faith. It reminds me of the man who will come later in the New Testament that will say, “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief”. Perhaps this blessing was just too good to be true. Zacharias was human, and also held misgivings and faced challenges to his faith. But God still used him! He suffered a little bit of chastisement, but the promise still comes true, and Zacharias will still be called on to raise the man who Jesus will call “greater than a prophet.” In that sense, I’m glad that that’s in there. It gives me hope that God can still use me, even though I face doubts and have questions. That fact doesn’t exclude us from being real men or real women.

Now if we jump to verse 64, we see Zacharias praising God, and in verse 67 he’s filled with the Holy Ghost. So much so, that we hear him prophesy and speak in the name of the Spirit. We studied Mary’s song earlier, and we could designate verses 68-79 as Zacharias’ song, and it too is a beautiful and eloquent expression of God’s power and mercy being manifest in the lives of these two boys that are about to be born. The words and actions we see here in Zacharias indicate the faithfulness and devoutness of this marvelous man. John the Baptist, no doubt, learned a lot of these same qualities from his father, and he too will be righteous, obedient, prayerful, happy, and willing to fulfill his mission in God’s divine plan.

ELISABETH

Now Elisabeth shares a lot of these same qualities as her husband. She too is included in those things we found in verse 6. She too was . . .

Luke 1:6 Righteous before God and Walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless

Luke 1:13 I would include her in that “thy” in verse 13. I’m positive that she too would have been a part of those faithful prayers and requests.

And that there is such a powerful lesson for all of us—an excellent quality for men and women of faith to exemplify. Real men and women continue to live righteously even when their greatest desires and blessings are denied. It’s one thing to be righteous when everything is going right. It’s quite another to do so when your prayers aren’t answered even after years of pleading. Elisabeth and Zacharias didn’t allow their trials to blind them to the love of God. Even though she was denied the joy of having children for so long, she continued to have faith in a God that didn’t see fit to remove what she refers to as “her reproach among men”. Barrenness, back then, was often seen to be a sign of God’s disapproval and unfortunately carried a bit of public shame with it. But still, Elisabeth continued to live a blameless and obedient life regardless. That requires a special kind of faith. Real men and women have that kind of faith. They don’t allow their trials to overcome their faith in God.

I love the little interchange between Mary and Elisabeth when she comes to visit her. When Mary greets her, she feels the baby John “leap” or kick within her womb. And she’s filled with the Holy Ghost. Therefore, real women, just like real men, are also filled with the Holy Ghost. And under that influence, she utters the following words:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

These words were said in the humility of an older woman strengthening and comforting a young girl. Imagine how this must have relieved and reassured Mary to hear this confirming witness from a beloved friend and family member. Real women rejoice in the blessings and gifts of others. They aren’t consumed by petty jealousies and competition. I love that scene of these two great women strengthening and helping each other in their newfound and difficult callings. They rejoiced in each other and sought to support the other. This is true womanhood.

In verse 58 we see her rejoice in the birth of her son. Again another example of a happy disciple. And then I love that little exchange between Elisabeth and those priests that come to circumcise the child. They are going to name him Zacharias, but she’s not going to have it. She has the courage to stand up to them, respectfully of course. But she stands her ground. His name is going to be John. And they argue with her a bit—there’s nobody in your family of that name. But she’s adamant. A real woman is strong enough to assert herself righteously in such situations. When it comes to the will of God, she won’t bow down to the pressures of her peers.

And then Zacharias steps in and confirms the desires of his wife. Both Zacharias and Elisabeth stand as great examples of faith and obedience to God.

JOHN THE BAPTIST

Luke chapter 1 also gives us some details as to the kind of man that John the Baptist is going to be. He too stands as a shining example of real manhood.

Luke 1:15 tells us that he will “be great in the sight of” who? In the sight of the world? No the sight of the Lord. Real men and women know that that is what true greatness is all about. He wouldn’t drink wine or strong drink which means he would be a man of self-control and discipline. And we learn that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Luke 1:16 tells us that he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord and verse 17 shows how he will prepare the way for the Lord to come and turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. And Luke reiterates that again in verse 76.

That’s what real men and women do. They prepare the way for Christ to enter into the lives of others. Once again, it’s not about them. They’re not self-centered or self-promoting but seek to bless the lives of those around them.

And then one final detail about John from verse 80. We learn that he waxed strong in the spirit. In a world that celebrates and idolizes physical strength in men, John the Baptist shows us what real strength is all about. He waxed STRONG in the spirit. Real men are strong in the spirit. That’s the strength that matters most. We’ll be talking more about the character and mission of John the Baptist in the future so stay tuned.

TRUTH

Now if we take all of these things together and examine the chart we just created, we can get a comprehensive and good sense of what it means to be a real man or a real woman. And perhaps we could sum up the truth of all of this in one simple statement. God measures manhood and womanhood differently from the world.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

What measure of manhood or womanhood that we’ve discussed here today has inspired you most?

What could you do to cultivate that quality more in your own life?

CONCLUSION

Well, throughout this whole lesson we’ve seen how God raised up people around Christ to prepare the way for him to accomplish his divine mission. He had a purpose, and so do we! God has also raised up people around us as well to help us to accomplish our divine role as well. Will we rise to it, is the question. Joseph did, Mary did, Zacharias, Elisabeth and John the Baptist did. These were real men and real women. And Jesus would be influenced and blessed by each. And because of the kind of people they were, what did they get to experience? They received great responsibilities and blessings. They got to raise Jesus and John the Baptist. Wow! I believe that as WE cultivate these same qualities, that “He that is mighty” will do unto us “great things” as well. Righteousness will not go unrewarded. God will highly favor us, and we too will be called blessed amongst women and men. And may we ever keep in mind the words of the angel Gabriel when we wonder if we can accomplish those great responsibilities and tasks placed before us, “With God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37)