3 Nephi 20
3 Nephi 20:1
1 And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.
Comments
The disciples had been praying to Jesus. Three times Jesus left them to pray himself, and then returned. The disciples continued to pray. At this point, Jesus has work to do, and must begin teaching the lessons of the day. He tells them to cease praying. However, lest his intent be misunderstood, he told them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.
There are times when we are in the formal attitude of prayer, as were the disciples. It can be an intense experience, and even with a private effect, there are times when it is appropriate in public. Nonetheless, just as Jesus had work to do, so do we. There are times when we cannot be in the formal attitude of prayer. Nevertheless, the things we think about, the way we treat others, the attitudes that we express, can all witness to an internal prayer that we can carry with us always.
Sacrament Is Administered Again
3 Nephi 20:2–7
2 And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet.
3 And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat.
4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.
5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.
6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;
7 But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.
Comments
The previous day had also seen what appears to have been a miraculous feeding that was associated with the sacrament. On this day, also, the Savior reinforces the sacrament, but it is presented more clearly on this day. It is interesting that on both days the sacrament is a portion of a communal meal. That was the pattern in early Christianity. The separation of the sacrament as an ordinance from the communal meal occurred later in Christianity.
3 Nephi 20:8–9
8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.
9 Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.
Comments
Jesus institutes the symbolic associations of the bread and wine. They represent his mortal mission, that which occurred when he was literally flesh and blood. The eating simply evoked internalizing the symbols. Both symbols pointed to what the Nephites had long looked for: the mortal atoning mission of the Messiah. Through the remembrance of these symbols, or emblems, the people were to remember that atoning mission.
Christ Prophesies of the Last Days
3 Nephi 20:10–14
10 And it came to pass that when they had all given glory unto Jesus, he said unto them: Behold now I finish the commandment which the Father hath commanded me concerning this people, who are a remnant of the house of Israel.
11 Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—
12 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel.
13 And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.
14 And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance.
Comments
Turning to the work of the day, Jesus returns to a theme from the previous day, which was the gathering of the house of Israel. This is done both for remembrance and for its importance, but also because there were new people in the congregation who had not directly heard the information on the previous day.
Jesus commends the words of Isaiah to them. While Nephi3 doesn’t include long copied chapters like Nephi1 did, the reason for remembering Isaiah was similar. Isaiah was the prophet of a scattering, and therefore Jesus desired, and spoke of, the gathering of that which had been scattered.
Verse 13 notes that there are many who were “scattered abroad upon the face of the earth.” Verse 14 places the Nephites as one of them. The fact that they came from Jerusalem and were given this land places them as part of the prophecies.
3 Nephi 20:15–17
15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—
16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
Comments
Verses 16 and 17 quote Micah 5:8 and 9.
The gathering is yet in the future; the time had not yet come that the Gentiles would scatter this people. However, there will still be a continuation of the blessings upon the house of Jacob. The Gentiles might, at some point, scatter Yahweh’s people (and it was prophesied that that would happen to this people), nevertheless there will come a time of reversal, where the house of Israel will be dominant. Israel will be able to defend herself against her enemies.
3 Nephi 20:18–22
18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.
19 For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it.
20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.
Comments
Verses 18 and 19 are references to Micah 4:12 and 13.
After Israel becomes more powerful, the gathering will occur. These are God’s people. To be gathered as sheaves into the floor represents gathering something of value. The result of the gathering will be a strengthening of the house of Israel, and God will be the King, dispensing justice through his “sword of . . . justice.”
Verse 21 says that “I will establish my people, O house of Israel.” The house of Israel already exists, so the establishment cannot be a beginning, but perhaps the creation of a firmer foundation of the house of Israel. With the gathered Israel together, God can become the king to rule on earth during the millennium.
After discussing the establishment of the whole of the house of Israel, Jesus turns to the subject of this land and this people. They, too, will be established in the land. Those of the New World house of Israel will be the leadership of the gathered house of Israel for those in the New World. “The powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of [them].” When they are established as the New World governing body for the house of Israel, Jesus will be with them. Having the resurrected Savior be the one to say this, the people understand that the same Savior will be in their midst at that future time.
3 Nephi 20:23–26
23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
24 Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.
25 And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—
Comments
Verse 23 references Deuteronomy 18:15: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” Luke, the writer of the book of Acts in the New Testament, referenced this scripture in Acts 3:22 and 7:37. Nephi1 referenced that verse in 1 Nephi 22:20.
It happens with some frequency that during the translation process, Joseph Smith would quote an Old Testament scripture, but the version of that scripture as it appears in the New Testament. That is the case here, and we can tell that, as a translator, it was Acts 3:22 that he had in mind. Notice the similarity between verses 24–26 of 3 Nephi 20, and Acts 3:24–26: “Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”
The use of these more familiar verses to provide the text that was intended is one of the methods that Joseph used to translate the Book of Mormon. The intent of Jesus’s words was to declare himself the fulfillment of prophecy, something that those who had been with him the day before had learned but is being repeated for those who arrived more recently. The use of passages familiar to the readers of the Book of Mormon that translated the intent of the Nephite words occurs several times, and simply indicates that the purpose of the translation was to speak to the modern audience rather than the ancient one.
3 Nephi 20:27–29
27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.
28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.
29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.
Comments
When Jesus declared that he was the one who was promised to come as the atoning Messiah, the Nephites would have immediately understood that Yahweh stood before them. Having established who he was, he turns to the covenants that he has made, declaring that they will be fulfilled. As God, he has the power to fulfill them.
Each of these verses references the Father. The Nephites have known their God by that title (such as 1 Nephi 22:9: “The making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham . . . ”). Jesus has declared himself to be Yahweh come to earth, and therefore the one who made the covenants. Therefore, he can promise to complete them.
3 Nephi 20:30–35
30 And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them;
31 And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
32 Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye.
33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.
34 Then shall they break forth into joy—Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.
Comments
There will come a time when the people of the earth have had the opportunity to know the fulness of the gospel, that they will believe in, and have faith in, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus reiterates the prayer lesson that the people should “pray unto the Father in my name.”
To support this future event, Jesus turns to Isaiah, whose words he had commended to the people (see verse 11 in this chapter), although he modifies them to be even more appropriate to the occasion.
Isaiah 52:8 is quoted in verse 32, except verse 32 leaves out “when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” Jesus’s purpose is to declare himself, not Zion, therefore he leaves out that phrase. Instead of the mention of Zion, we get verse 33 which refers to the gathering, which was likely Isaiah’s intent in the phrase not quoted.
Isaiah 52:9 is quoted in verse 34, with no significant change.
Isaiah 52:10 is quoted in verse 35. The verse in Isaiah reads: “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” The additions are the tighter declaration of the Father (a Nephite title for Yahweh), and then the final statement: “the Father and I are one.” In the context of Jesus’s declaration of who he is, this verse becomes a scriptural defense of the identity of the being who is speaking to those gathered in Bountiful.
3 Nephi 20:36–38
36 And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
37 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
38 For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Comments
Jesus again quotes Isaiah. These verses are found in Isaiah 52:1–3. Where the purpose of the previous quotation from Isaiah (verses 30–35 of this chapter) was to declare Jesus, these verses are directed at the people. Jesus has laid out the promise of the gathering and declared his power to fulfill it.
These verses are telling the congregation that they have a responsibility. They must “awake, and put on [their] strength.” Jesus has declared that he is Yahweh with whom they have covenanted, and renewed his commitment to that covenant. Now, the people have a responsibility to fulfill their part of the covenant. In the context of the previous day’s sermon, this is a covenant renewal, where the commitment to the old covenant is transferred and renewed in the covenant accompanying the predicted atoning Messiah.
3 Nephi 20:39
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.
Comments
This transitional phrase among quotations (Jesus will return to quoting in the next verses) continues the theme of identification. One of the purposes of this entire episode is the declaration that Jesus is the very Yahweh whom the Nephites had been taught would come to earth, and who would come to them.
3 Nephi 20:40–45
40 And then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
41 And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
42 For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Comments
Verses 40–45 reference Isaiah 52:7, 11–15. These verses return to the identification of Jesus as Yahweh and declare that he has the power to bring to pass the fulfillment of covenants. He will be the one who will be their king. It is possible that these verses were given to reference the Nephite record of Abinadi before King Noah, whose priests had asked for an explanation of verse 40. Assuming that the Nephites present were versed in their own religious history, they should have made the connection, and therefore remembered Abinadi’s explanation that pointed to Yahweh, the coming atoning Messiah. See Mosiah 15:13–20.
3 Nephi 20:46
46 Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance.
Comments
Having established again that Jesus was the very Messiah for whom they had waited, he quoted Isaiah in the previous verses to indicate that the awaited Messiah would lead them, and particularly that he would publish peace as well as publish salvation. His conclusion to this section is that he declares that there will come a time when Jerusalem would “be inhabited again with my people.” That is, Christ was setting in motion events that would gather Israel. The predictions were that they would be gathered in both the Old World and the New. In this case, the emphasis is on the return to Jerusalem.
There is no break at this point in the 1830 edition.
