Book of Mormon Commentary - 3 Nephi 15

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
             CHAPTER 15

Jesus announces that the law of Moses is fulfilled in him—The Nephites are the other sheep of whom he spake in Jerusalem—
Because of iniguity the Lord's people in Jerusalem do not know of the scattered sheep of Israel. [A.D. 34]

Jesus proclaims that the Law of Moses, its ordinances, its sacrifices, its performances, holy convocations and days of rembrance are all fulfilled in him and are now ended—All those who were about the temple, all they who the Lord had brought unto this land as the House of Joseph are the other sheep whom the Lord spake of to the Jews in Jerusalem—Because of the iniquity of the Jews in Jerusalem they were not given to know of the land and people of Joseph nor the rest of scattered Israel. [34 A.D.]
1 AND now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them: Behold, ye have heard the things which I ataught before I ascended to my Father; therefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and bdoeth them, him will I craise up at the last day.

 1a IE in Galilee and Judea
   b James 1:22 (22-24)
   c John 6:39; 1 Ne. 13:37; Mosiah 23:22;
      Alma 26:7; D&C 5:35
2 And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he perceived that there were some among them who marveled, and wondered what he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the saying that aold things had passed away, and that all things had become new.
3 And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become anew.
4 Behold, I say unto you that the alaw is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.

 2a 3 Ne. 12:47 (46-47)
 3a Heb. 8:13; Ether 13:9
 4a Mosiah 13:27-31; 3 Ne. 9:17-20
5 Behold, aI am he that gave the lawa, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israelb; therefore, the law in me is fulfilledc, for I have come to bfulfil the lawd; therefore it hath an ende.
6 Behold, I do anot destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled.
7 And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come.

 5a I AM he that gave the law This is a clear statement by Jesus Christ that he was the God of the Old Testament, that he was the same as JEHOVAH. JEHOVAH who is Jesus Christ, did purposefully give the law that it would point to him in all of its respects. To that extent that the more traditional portions of the Jewish performances seem to veer away from pointing to him, in those things it must be considered that the Jews have altered and corrupted the law. All things of the law did point to Christ. And it was so plainly taught by Moses at its conception thought seeming lost per what the Jews have compiled to preserve as the record of the Jews.
 5b I AM he who covenanted with my people Israel Israel is the name which JEHOVAH gave unto Jacob. It did not originate with Jacob, but it was given him to honor the fact that the covenant was preserved through him. The covenant in fact dates back through all the fathers even until Adam and beyond even unto the preexistence and the covenant made by God the Father to all of his children. The meaning of 'Israel' is 'one who prevails with God'. And that 'with' also implies the 'God will prevail' as well in his purpose with man, which purpose is to 'bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39). Thus when the Lord speaks of the covenant with Israel, he speaks of that covenant in which doth prevail the bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. And this is way all who have lived, passed, present and future, One needs but understand the it was through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim that the covenant blessings from before the foundation of the world were but funneled and preserved to come down to all of mankind in their fulfillment through time and in the latter days (D&C 27:10).
 5c the law in me is fulfilled That law of performances and ordinances which was established by way of Moses unto Israel from God, from JEHOVAH, was fulfilled in HIM, as Jesus Christ.
 5d I have come to fulfil the law That was the central mission of Jesus Christ's life, to fulfil the atonement, to fulfil all that the Law of Moses did point to in Christ. Christ has done his work and his part in providing for the salvation of man. The infinite, divine and eternal sacrifice for the fall, the sins, the aflictions of man has been performed by Jesus Christ. The Law of Sacrifice is fulfilled, the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God.
 5e it hath an end It seems most appropriate that the phrase be ended thus, "It hath an end in Me." It all pointed to the atonement of Jesus Christ, and when that atoning sacrafice was performed all that pointed to its coming had an end, in that what it pointed to had come. And there was no longer a need or a propriety in it to further point to such a future event, for the event which it point to had come to pass, it was done, it was finished in Jesus Christ, his atonement. 		 5a 1 Cor. 10:4 (1-4); 3 Ne. 11:14;
       TG Jesus Christ — Jehovah
   b Alma 34:13; TG Jesus Christ, Mission of
 6a 3 Ne. 20:11-12; 3 Ne. 23:3 (1-3)
8 For behold, the acovenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilleda; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me.
9 Behold, I am the alaw, and the blight. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall clive; for unto him that dendureth to the end will I give eternal life.

 8a the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled That covenant was from before the foundation of the world, first given in the preexistence between God and man. That funneling through Abarham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim would continue in, through and even beyond the mortal ministry of the Christ until the end and final judgment of God of man. It would include the restoration and the blessing of all the seed of Abraham, Noah, Enoch and Adam through the promised linage of the Fathers, which linage continued in Ephraim down unto the last days when all the nations of the earth, when all who ever did live upon this earth, passed, present and future, did come under its coverage unto the salvation, the immortality and eternal life of man. The path, the way was established in and through Christ, and from thence it becometh mankind that they need walk that path with all of its saving ordinances unto salvation to God. And in that latter work is it and will it be 'all fulfilled'.  8a 3 Ne. 5:25 (24-26); 3 Ne. 16:5;
     TG Covenants
 9a 2 Ne. 26:1;
   b TG Jesus Christ, Light of the World
   c Lev. 18:5; John 11:25; D&C 84:44
   d Matt. 10:22-33; Mark 13:13; 2 Ne. 31:20;
     Alma 32:13-15; 3 Ne. 27:6-17
10 Behold, I have given unto you the acommandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly btestified of me.

 10a 3 Ne. 12:20
     b Mosiah 13:33
11 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he asaid unto those twelve whom he had chosen:
12 Ye are my adisciples; and ye are a blight unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of cJosepha.
13 And behold, this is the aland of your inheritancea; and the Father hath given it unto you.

All Were of Joseph 
When Jesus visited the 'Nephites' at the temple of Bountiful, he did not exclude any from his ministry. All came forth and did feel of his wounds. All did partake of the sacrament. All who were aflicted did come forth and were healed. Bountiful had long been a defensive city of the Nephites. It would have housed a mixture of all who did comprise the people of Nephi. This would have included any who were descended from Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Nephi, Jacob, Joseph, the two sons of Ishmael, Zoram and particularly all who had descended from Mulek son of king Zedekiah. From the time that David chose Judah over Israel, though Israel had the greater claim, 'MORE Right' in David, the Jews have claimed David as one of their own and touted his descendancy from Boaz the Jew (2 Samuel 19:41-43). It was not just that Israel had 10 tribes and Judah had 2, but it was 'ALSO' that they had 'MORE RIGHT' of descendancy in David than did Judah according to the Law of God. Boaz IS NOT David's true ancestry according to the Law of Moses, the Law of God. Boaz was but a performing surrogate parent raising up seed to the dead house of Mahlon and Elimelech. Boaz was not even the nearest of kin, But he must be considered as being a 'cousin kinsman' by a maternal link as was Elisabeth a Levite and Mary of the house of David. Boaz so state that purpose and intent (Ruth 4:5 & 10). And because Boaz was willing to give up all he spent to re-aquire the inheritances of the house of Elimelch, and the nearest of kin, 'Peloni Almoni' was not, it was Boaz who did marry Ruth. Upon the birth of Ruth's firstborn son, Obed, all the inheritances of the house of Elimelech would go to Obed, all the rights and blessings; and Obed would be deemed according to the Law of God as of the seed and house of Mahlon, that is of Elimelech (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Thus was Obed raise in the house of Naomi as a son of Naomi as so stated by the whole of the community (Ruth 4:14-17). It must be considered that the original record of the account of Ruth as thought written by Samuel was after verse 17 edited and annotated by the hand of the later compiling Jews who in verses 18-22 do add to the ancestry of Obed the descent of Boaz rather than the true lawful, legal and according to the Law of God, that Obed was of the house of Mahlon and Elimelech. It would have been most informative if the Jewish compilers would have adhered to the 'letter of God's Law' in this matter and would have provided the ancestry of Elimelch rather than Boaz. It must be considered that Elimelech, whose name meant 'God is King', was of that covenant linage of the house of Ephraim as were Nun and Joshua. And it is by the descent that Jesus had right, not only to be the king of Israel, but that he also had that right by descent to the covenant and priesthood in order to fulfill all righteousness in the order of things. 		 12a this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph The people of the Book of Mormon were all of the house of Joseph. Lehi was descended from Manasseh and Ishmael was descended from Ephraim. Zoram was married to a daughter of Ishmael and may himself have been a descendant of Joseph, we do not know. This accounts for all of the people of the Book of Mormon of the time from 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. but one significant group. That group outnumbered the Nephites when they ventured upon them under the leadership of Mosiah the first king of the joint people of Zarahemla, yet they were all counted as Nephites (See Mosiah 25:2 & 13, Alma 46:23, 3 Nephi 10:17, Ether 13:7, D&C 113:6) and they were all of the House of Joseph. Those 'discovered' people of Zarahemla were the descendants from Mulek the son of King Zedekiah of the royal house of King David. Now, had the Lord chosen to ignore those of the house of David as 'Jews' upon the ocassion of his visitation to the 'Nephites' at the temple in Bountiful that he only included those who were descendants of Joseph? Or is there a greater lesson here to be considered? What was the legal and rightful ancestry of the house of David? Was it of the surrogate parentage of Boaz the Jew who married Ruth and raise up seed to the dead house of Mahlon and Elimelech? Or is the true, legal and rightful ancestry of the house of David and therefore also the Lord Jesus Christ of the house of Mahlon and Elimelech, those Ephrathites meaning as it did concerning Nun and his son Joshua, that they were all of the promised line of the House of Ephraim—the promised son of the 'firstborn' of Israel, the true ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ? (See: Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Jospeh) All had been brought to the land of Joseph for a purpose in the Lord. The dualistic seed of Joseph in Manasseh and Ephraim in Lehi's party was but one party which was brought into the land by the hand of the Lord. And the Lord brought them here to 'preserve' them and not to destory them. Thus the conclusion is that those of Mulek of the House of David were also present and had not been shunned or destoryed but that they were included by Jesus Christ himself as being a part of the House of Joseph. That is the seed of the House of David is of the House of Joseph, even the chosen seed of the promise, that of the covenant blessings of the fathers which were preseved and did remain in and through Joseph and his son of the promise Ephriam (D&C 27:10).
 13a this is the land of your inheritance No group comes to this promised land but by the hand of God. This land is the promised land of Joseph. Mahonri Moriancumr forsaw it as he viewed the 'vision of all'. Ether and Moroni spoke of it as such as they had access to that 'vision of all' and so proclaimed it as the land of Joseph of Egypt (Ether 13:2-13). The Lord brought the families of Lehi and Ishmael here, both being descendants of Jospeh. And the Lord brought Mulek of the house of David here also for that same reason. (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph) 		 11a 3 Ne. 13:25; Moro. 2:1
 12a TG Church Organization
     b TG Example; TG Leadership
     c TG Israel,Joseph, People of
 13a 1 Ne. 18:23; 3 Ne. 16:16
14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should atell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.
15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the aother tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.

 14a 3 Ne. 5:20
 15a 2 Ne. 21:12; 3 Ne. 16:1-4;
       TG Israel, Ten Lost Tribes of
16 This much did the Father acommand me, that I should tell unto them:
17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one ashepherd.
18 And now, because of astiffneckedness and bunbelief they cunderstood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the dFather concerning this thing unto them.

 16a John 15:15; John 16:12
 17a TG Shepherd
 18a TG Stiffneckedness
     b TG Doubt; TG Unbelief, Unbelievers
     c D&C 10:59
     d John 12:50
19 But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were aseparated from among them because of their iniquitya; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.
20 And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that they know not of them.
21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: aOther sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one bshepherd.

 19a ye were separatd from among them because of their iniquity From among them has reference to the Jews, the tribe of Judah. And the reason that all the other tribes have been separated from the Jews is that no other nation was so iniquiteous to have crucified the Christ. They are they who did kill the prophets, reject the Christ and corrupted the law and the word of God to erase by their own hand the fact that they did murder the Messiah.  19a 1 Kings 8:53; John 17:6-22
 21a John 10:16 (14-16)
     b TG Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd

Unto the Lost Sheep 
The Lord stated that he was sent unto the Lost Sheep of Israel. That he was born in Bethlehem, the city of David in the land of Jerusalem and grew up in Nazareth in the land of Palestine was a matter of the Law. But he sought not out the Jews, but rather proceeded to perform his ministry unto the Lost Sheep of Israel. As a subject of the Law of Moses and in order to fulfil the fulness of that Law, the Savior attended to every required religious observance of the Jews and thus his frequent visits to the temple and Jerusalem at the times of the Jewish observations of the Law of Moses.
22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the aGentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be bconverted through their preaching.
23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the aGentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the bHoly Ghost.
24 But behold, ye have both heard amy voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath bgiven me.

 22a TG Gentiles
     b Acts 10:45 (34-48)
 23a Matt. 15:24
     b 1 Ne. 10:11; TG Holy Ghost, Mission of
 24a Alma 5:38; 3 Ne. 16:3 (1-5); 3 Ne. 18:31
     b John 6:37; D&C 27:14
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