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[00:00:00] INSIGHTS INTRODUCTION

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Hey everybody. Welcome back. This is week 22 of Creative Come Follow for the New Testament. And this week we are just covering a few chapters, just three this week, but that's cuz we're covering some pretty big topics. We're still rolling in our passion narrative. We've gone one step further. If you printed out that chart of the last week of the Savior's life, we're going one step further to talk about the Last Supper and especially the institution of the Sacrament ordinance.

All that's gonna happen this week. We're also gonna get just a taste of. The Garden of Kissame piece, most of that will happen next week. We'll, we'll, we'll dive into that in a lot more depth, but I actually kind of like that. We get just a taste of it this week. I think it's one of those topics that's really hard to cover all at once, so being able to take it a little bit at a time, I think.

Enriches our study. In fact, one of my favorite things I read this week, it was from, I found it on the B Y U website as I was searching for different scholarly articles [00:01:00] on these areas and it talked about the advantage of seeing this passion week from four different vantage points cuz it's gonna vary.

This week we're gonna Matthew and Mark and then also John and their perspectives on timing, their perspectives on. How things happened and when things happened and who they happened with. They vary just slightly, and it's tempting to try and mash those all into one narrative. But the illustration he used in his article, this is all in the notes, but.

He talked about, it's almost as if from each of these gospels we have a separate mosaic. It's not a complete piece. It's all these little stones that give us an overall view of this last week of the Savior's life. And wouldn't it be a shame if we took all of those and smashed them up and tried to make some new image out of all the stone?

To, and so we should just sort of take them in pieces, and that's kind of how the K follow Manuel has laid things out. It does recommend studying things in harmony and getting good perspective, but I think we want to take things one gospel at a time and see how the [00:02:00] different authors tried to teach us about who he is and what he tried to teach in this last week.

For me, I think the big message of this last. At least this week's study, especially that time in the last suppers, I feel like he's trying to teach them about unity, and I think that's gonna come at a really pivotal time because he's also gonna teach them about betrayal and how one of the apostles will betray him.

Judas will choose this week to turn against the savior and will carry out that plot, and you can see the savior trying to. Bring his apostles to a unified place, and I just felt like it had so many echoes in what we heard in conference from President Nelson, like his direction to bridge gaps and bring people together and to love one another in a more holy way.

I think that's his message, and a lot of it comes because there will be a big betrayal, and not just a betrayal of the savior, but a betrayal of all the apostles when one of their own turns away from them. So you're gonna [00:03:00] see him. Teach that message for me. One of the most powerful ways he teaches us about the power of unity is by showing his unity with the father.

So we're just gonna get a taste of the suffering in Disse, but that is a profound teaching on unity and on how when we are unified with the our father in heaven. We can then extend love to everybody else. And so you'll get that. You'll get the new commandment to love one another. All that comes this week and there's so much more.

So I promise this is a week you don't wanna miss. Grab your scriptures, grab your notes. It's time to get started.

[00:03:41] MATTHEW 26

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Matthew 26 begins sort of where we left off last week, so we're still in the feast of the Passover, but we're getting a little closer. This is probably Thursday before the Savior's crucifixion occurs, and he's. He's trying to help them see the patterns, right? Where all the households in Jerusalem and all those pilgrims who have come in are going to have this [00:04:00] supper where there a lamb that is without blemish, is killed without breaking any bones, and that people consume it in order to remember.

The gift of being passed over back in the plagues of Egypt. When that visual imagery is happening, that's when the crucifixion of the savior happens. So you can see him trying to pull on those threads and help people understand the connections, and he does that in verse two. You know that after two days it's the feast of the Passover and the son of man is betrayed to be crucified again.

I think he's planting a lot of seeds, especially among his apostles, so that they are not. Blindsided by the hard that is coming. And then you see why he's concerned because the subtlety and the secret combinations of the Jewish leaders are reaching a fever pitch. So you can see that in four, that they're consulting in back corners.

What I love is what you see in five says, but they said not on the feast day, unless there be an uproar among the people. Is that word uproar that I just love. It just was inspiring to me. I was like, maybe that's what we need. You [00:05:00] know, when we all, when there are enough of us in this world who believe in the Savior and take his name upon us and defend his name, there will be an uproar when somebody comes against him, when somebody disparages the name of the savior, when somebody turns against his prophets, there will be an uproar and then they will be scared to do it publicly.

I just think there's. Power in that uproar and it made me want to rally, you know, like bring enough of us together and make people scared to turn against the Savior Earth's teachings. I just think there's power in. In this group mentality that is faith filled and they're just beginning in their testimonies.

These, they're not all faithful disciples of the savior, but there are enough who hope that there would, there. The Pharisees describes, they're all worried, so they have to go back and plot a different strategy. Then you see the story of Mary, or at least who I assume is Mary. So it's important to understand that the.

Kinda like we talked about with the mosaic, this is one of those points where you're gonna get a little bit [00:06:00] different story. So last week where we studied Mary in the house of, you know, her house with Martha and she an annoys the savior with oil. And then Judi's questions, whether it, you know, they should have done it cause it was so costly.

You see a really similar story, but kind of a different setting this time. It's in this house of Simon, the leper. You see just the anointing of the head. You see things are a little different. This is where you get the taste of the alabaster box. It's mentioned here, but the same basic happening occurs.

You see. This woman get judged for her offering to the savior. And what's really beautiful is the savior's defense of her. So it says in 10, when Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble you? The woman for? She brought a good work on me. I think by default that means we can understand that she is troubled when she feels judged and when she feels people condemning her.

What she thought was a good deed. She, she's hurting, she's retreating a little bit and he is defending, remember he always brings dignity. So he brings her dignity. She's wrought a good work. Then he says, for you have the poor always [00:07:00] with you, but me, you have not always for in that she has poured dis ointment on my body.

She did it for my burial. And then he talks about how there need, they need to never forget her, that there needs, this needs to be done in memorial of her. What I loved about that piece is what she seems to understand that the apostles are still struggling to understand is that he is choosing to go, he is choosing to let himself be sacrificed, to be crucified, like he mentioned, a verse two, and to be killed for them.

And she seems to understand that and honor his choice, and that's really hard to do. When you love someone, as much as she probably loves the savior, all of these people love the savior and all of them want him to stay, but she is choosing to honor his. Greater work. And I can tell you from personal experience that's hard.

But I really liked comparing her story to what we're gonna see from Peter. So when Peter has, you know, the Roman soldiers come into the garden of Yosemite and he immediately grabs the sword and chops off the ear of one [00:08:00] of the soldiers, you can understand his desire. Like he wants to stop what is coming and what Mary or this other woman seems to understand is it's not my choice to stop it.

The reason I love that is I've had lots of experience there. I'm sure you guys have too, uh, with people who you love. Um, I know with Jason when his diagnosis was really hard and when we were really scared about the future, I wanted to be positive. I wanted to be face build. I wanted to talk only in hopeful tones.

And oftentimes Jason and I would struggle a little bit because he wanted to be real and look at the statistics realistically and say, Maria, we need to get. Prepared. We need to be ready. You know, even to things like where we had to have a hard talks, you know, we had to talk about where he wanted to be buried.

We had to talk about what he wanted his funeral to be like. And I didn't wanna have those conversations. But it, it got to a point when I realized that kind of like Mary, in fact, I didn't make this connection until I was studying this week. There are times when you have to [00:09:00] honor those you love and the directions they choose to go, the way they want to, things to play out, and that it shows love and compassion to.

Listen and to allow things to go forward. I just, I wish I could talk longer about it, but I'm sure you've all had personal experiences that will, the spirit will teach you in different ways. But I loved her gift because her gift is, she loves him. She wants him to stay. I. But she's willing to listen and to honor what he has to do.

And that's a little bit different than Peter Peter's not quite there yet. And I'm not trying to compare them saying one's good and one's bad. I think all of us have a Mary in us and a peter in us, and the people that we love, we bounce between those feelings. And I love that you get to see both reactions and, and see how the savior reacts to both of them.

He, he honors her. In fact, he asks that everyone else honor her and make a memorial of her for this brave decision to. Let him, let him be what he has to be. I just, I loved [00:10:00] that piece of her story. You'll see it more a little bit later. Then this moment seems to be a tipping port point for Judas. I don't know if it's because of the, the ointment wasn't sold.

I don't know if it's because Mary has made a statement here that says he for sure is gonna die. He's going to be a, he's going to be crucified. I need to prepare him for burial. In my mind, and I read a whole bunch of different opinions on this, but one of the most compelling. It was from a couple different scholars who said it's very possible that what Judas was hoping for was that he would be the other kind of Messiah.

In fact, maybe Judas thought that if he put the savior in a position where the Romans were coming after him, that the savior would stand up and. Fight back, you know, that he would become that conquering messiah that everyone hoped he would be, that he was trying to kind of push things along. And when he saw this woman's offering and the savior saying, she's done a good work, this is gonna happen, Judas turns and he tries to take things into his own hands.

And just like any of us who try to take the gospel into our own hands and manipulate it, it [00:11:00] never goes well. It, his heart is turned away from the savior and towards the adversary at that point. And so he goes, To the Jewish leaders and he makes bargain. It's really interesting to me that Judas goes to them.

It's not like they were seeking the weak, one of the apostles, and slowly kind of pulled him out. Judas seeks them out, and they make a bargain for 30 pieces of silver, which is the price of a slave. I mean, it's not a huge amount of money considering what we just saw in the Spike Nerd. So it's this, I don't know.

I don't know Jesus's motives and nobody knows for sure, but I just think it's heartbreaking to see. His choice because. Nobody is surprised. In fact, that's what you see if you go a little bit further in the verses. So when he is talking to his apostles, he says his time is at hand. This is around verse 18, and then they're getting ready for the Passover.

So they find this place, the savior directs them, kind of the same way he told them to find the donkey in the city that he could ride in on. He says, You're gonna go into the city and you'll find a room, you'll find a man who has a room ready for us for the Passover, and this is that upper room where they're gonna have the [00:12:00] last supper.

And when they go in there, he, they have the supper. And as they're having this Passover meal, he announces that one of them will betray him. That's in 21. And then in 22 you get the reactions. And they were exceedingly sorrowful and began every one of them to say, Lord, is it I? None of them assume it's Judas.

None of them point fingers, none of them. I think they're all looking around the room stupified that this could ever happen, and I love that each of them turn inward. I think it tells you something about their brotherhood, that they are so close and they trust each other so much that the first person they think of.

Is themselves, you know, like it could be me the same way all of us. You know, if, if he came in the room and said one of you is gonna learn, lose your testimony at some point, I think all of us to some degree would say, is it me? You know, cuz we all have questions that we're wrestling wi with. We all struggle in certain ways.

And so it's natural to have weak points and I love that the apostles. Teach that. I, I think [00:13:00] it's actually one of the ways the Savior teaches unity is by showing, all of you have these feelings where you're not completely certain and that's okay. Lift each other up, build each other up, and so you can see that play out.

He, he, he directs them. In fact, he talks aside to what it seems like specifically to Judas, to tell him that he knows that he is the one who will betray him. Cuz that's what happens in 25. They share this meal. Judas dips his bread in the same. Bowl that the savior is dipping his bread in, which is this sign of friendship and loyalty.

And then asks master, is it I? And he said unto him, thou has said, or in other words, as you said, that it'll come to pass. And most of the scholars I read think that this is sort of a side conversation because there's no. Outcry. You know, if Peter knew that Judas was gonna betray the savior, I think his sword would've come out at this point too.

But it doesn't seem like any of the other apostles know what's happening. And so that tells you something about how much they trust Judas and how betrayed they will feel personally when [00:14:00] Judas turns against the master. There is a, there is hard all around this conversation and then in this moment of.

Understanding about who will betray between the Savior and Judas, then the sacrament is offered. So this is when he's replacing what they've always done with tradition to do this Passover meal and saying, I have a new covenant, I have a New Testament for you, and this is when they partake of the. You know, bread and the water or the wine to represent his body and his blood.

So you see him kind of trying to explain that to him that this is something new and it's something that will carry on until he comes again. You know, rumor in the doctrine covenants when we were studying about that great last sacrament meeting to the last, but that great millennial sacrament meeting where all the.

You know, prophets of old and all these righteous people will come and all the righteous of the world will gather for this big sacra meeting. That's what he's talking about. He's saying, you're gonna do this ordinance, you're gonna set aside, the Passover is now filled, it's done. Now you're gonna do this new covenant in [00:15:00] remembrance of me.

In fact, it's only in the J s t in Matthew that you see that it is in remembrance of, I particularly love this cause I just think he's, Joseph Smith is trying to help us understand. That it's not literal. We're not literally taking his body and his blood into us, but we are remembering what he offered us.

So if you go on the footnotes, you can see a little bit more of that. Then there is a Him song. I think it's another way to teach unity is he says, when there is struggle and when you are all aching. Cause remember we've learned that they're weeping, they're worried, they're nervous. He has them all sing a hymn together, and then from there they go to the Mount of Olives.

Mount of olives is where the garden of Yosemite is. But not all of the 11 remaining apostles will go with him. Uh, some will be asked to stay it seems like by the gate. They all meet together first and he warns about how they will all be offended and scattered. So that's what you see in 31. Then say, it's Jesus unto them all.

Ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written. I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered [00:16:00] abroad. All the things that are gonna happen in the next 24 hours are going to. Cause an uproar in the hearts of the apostles, they will struggle. Um, you'll see it specifically with Peter.

In fact, one of the things I love about Peter is that his experience of denial is in so many of the gospels because I think he's not ashamed of that. I mean, I think he would, I. I think he's trying to show that this is what discipleship looks like. You're gonna struggle at times and you need to repent fast.

You know, that's what you see in Peter. But it sounds like from the Savior's words, that all of them will, and that they'll scatter. They won't be this unified group. Remember in the last supper, what he tried to teach them was unity. Lean on each other, come together. When you look at the words of the sacrament, especially if you go in.

I think it's First Corinthians. It's in the notes. It talks about how the sacrament is designed to be this communion. It's a way for everyone to share one loaf of bread and be one body in Christ. It's supposed to unify them. Then you sing a hyn and it's supposed to unify them and he's saying before these 24 hours are [00:17:00] over, you're gonna, you're gonna fall apart, but there will be a coming together again.

So if you look in 32, but after I am risen again, I will go before you end Galilee. You know, we we're gonna see him on the Sea of Galilee. When the apostles are out there just rowing and catching no fish, we're gonna see him, you know, let them touch his hands and feet in that private setting. He's gonna come back and he's trying to plant these seeds of hope in them.

And so then he talks about the offense, and I love Peter's response. So 33, Peter answered and said unto him, though, all men shall be offended because of the, yet I will never be offended. And Jesus said unto him, barely. I said unto you, this night before the cock crow, thou shall deny me thrice. And Peter said unto him, though I should die with the yet I will not deny the likewise.

Also said, all the disciples, all of them. Peter especially think this isn't possible. They think their testimonies are so rock solid that they cannot be shaken and you have to love their hope. I don't think this is cockiness. I [00:18:00] don't think this is them being brazen. I think this is how they literally feel about their savior.

They can't imagine anything different, and I think his warning to them is, You don't understand what's coming and you probably don't understand the power of the adversary. It's the same thing I think he's trying to tell us when he warns us about speaking hatefully or consuming certain media content.

There's a lot of us who think, yeah, but it doesn't affect me the same way it affects everyone else. You know? It's really easy to get into that mindset of like, yeah, I'm pretty sure that commandment is sent for someone else, cuz I feel really solid in my testimony. And I think what he's trying to say here is like, you don't know who you're up against.

I know who you're up against. Trust me. What I think is missed here is by Peter taking this stance of, that will never happen to me, Lord. He misses a chance to say, what should I do? He misses a chance to ask the Lord when those doubts come, when those fears come, what should I do? You're saying it will absolutely happen.

You are a perfect [00:19:00] being who could never lie. What should I do? And I feel like that's what how we should approach those things as well. If I feel confident in my consumption of things that the prophet is telling me are not good for me, I'm missing a chance to say. Okay, but what should I do? You know, when the adversary comes, when that thick darkness that Joseph Smith experienced comes my way, what do I do?

And that's what I think the savior is probably hoping to teach them, but in their. Confidence. They miss a chance to ask that question. So it motivated me to think about that a little differently for myself. Um, when you go a little bit further, you see that he leaves some at the gate and he takes what will become his first presidency with him.

So the two brothers, the sons of Thunder and Peter, come with him into the garden and then he goes a little bit farther off, and this is where you see those. Prayers, we're gonna study this next week as well, so don't feel like you have to get it all this week, but this is when you see the savior plead with the father to let this cup pass because this is harder than he thought it was gonna be.[00:20:00]

So if you go in the verses, you can see it that he is exceeding sorrowful and 38, and he asks these three apostles to watch Terry and watch with him. And if you go on the footnotes, not in this book, but in the next one, watch means stay awake, stay alert, pray for me. So going 39, and he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed saying, oh my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as that will, it's that, um, Duo of prayers that I think is such a powerful example to us, that it is expected and good to pray for relief when you are struggling and when you are weighed down with great sorrow or pain or disappointment, you should pray for relief. In fact, even on the notes, there's a great talk from, I think it's Elder Scott speaking about Elder Maxwell, but he talked about how Elder Maxwell was sort of stoically.

Going through his illness. I, it was cancer, I believe, and his wife came to him [00:21:00] and said, basically even the savior prayed if this cup passed from me, let it pass and then submit your will to the father. And so he took his wife's advice and things got better and he went on another like seven years. So I remember I, but I love that it's that pairing that is so powerful.

Pray for relief, pray for help. Pray for lift, and then say, Not my will, but behind be done because you're gonna see the savior say that three different times. It's a little different in each of the gospels. So I'll point out some key differences. But in the middle of those three prayers, he goes back to see who's waiting with him.

So he goes back to see if his apostles. Are still awake, and sadly they are not. So he says in 40, and he come with unto his disciples and fights them asleep and sayeth unto Peter, what could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you enter out into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I love this. This reminder is specific to Peter because Peter's the one that just made that bold declaration that his spirit is so strong [00:22:00] that his flesh won't have any issues. You know, he, he would not deny the savior and he's. I think the savior is trying to teach him how you know this is how you endure.

You pray, you stay awake and you pray. But my heart just goes out to these apostles cuz it's so hard. I've had this with Jason sickness at times where I wanted so badly to be able to stay up right by his bedside and sit next to him and be awake in case a nurse came in or a doctor came in and I'd find myself drifting off to sleep despite really wanting to be awake.

And I just think. That's where they are. You know, they've, they've experienced such an emotional rollercoaster that they're just exhausted. I also think their eyes are heavy on purpose because this is a time when the savior's gonna have to endure things alone. He's gonna hope for certain comforts, he's going to pray for certain relief, and he's gonna have to endure.

Alone. You know, we know that from the Book of Mormon that he's gonna, even from Isaiah, he's gonna trod to this wine [00:23:00] press alone. And so a piece of that I think is seen in, in the Apostles that no matter what their hopes are, they physically can't be there for him the way he, he hopes they could be. And doesn't it just make him seem more real?

You know, I just felt like it was. Understandable. I, I, I felt compassion for his heart when I was reading about it. I think it's also really important to recognize that this is a choice. There's a great talk from Kevin Warden, I've referenced it before in our Easter, um, weeks, but it was from his, an Easter conference where he talked about the power of this choice, that part of the reason perhaps that the savior was so utterly alone is because, God the father needed him to choose this.

At any point in time, he could have retreated, he could have left. He had to choose to do it. And what I love about Elder Worth's talk is he didn't just say that it's because of duty to God, although I think there's a piece of it there. It's not [00:24:00] just love of God. He adds the addition of. Love of us, like his whole reason for staying in these hard moments where he is utterly alone is because he loves us and he chooses this outcome because he loves us.

And I just loved studying the agency component of the Savior's sacrifice. I think he. It adds so much weight to, to his gift, to know that he could have opted for an easier road and he didn't because it would've frustrated the entire plan of salvation. And he loves God and he loves us, and so he stays. So you can see that as you study cuz by the time he comes to them the third time and they're sleep, he lets them rest.

And then he says basically, it's time to get up. The son of man is betrayed. And so he talks about how the hour is at hand in 45. And then there's this interesting scene that comes forward where you see. All of these multitude of people, Roman soldiers, Judas and others with swords and with staves, which are like long poles [00:25:00] coming to take the savior.

And I just thought it was really interesting to see the reaction. So this is when you're gonna see Peter pull out his sword, right? This is a very good loving, instinctual reaction to try and fight back. This is why I think you can't see Peter in this week. Boy, how did he deny the savior? He has testimony must have been weak, like he's willing to die and take on a whole Roman army.

He's not weak. I just love that He in this moment pulls out a sword and what the Savior responds to him is incredibly powerful to me, it's in 53 think is thou that I cannot now pray to my father and he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels. That's like 72,000 angels. That's a huge number.

But I think what is really powerful about that statement is, The last prayer he asked of his father did not get answered. In fact, he asked it three times in succeeding. Urgency, let this cup pass from me. If there's a way that I cannot drink it, please let that happen. And increasing urgency and increasing silence.[00:26:00]

And so that in 53 he can say about his father. If I asked for Allegion of angels, he would send it to me. That's rock solid faith, right? That shows you how well he knows his father because he knows that if those blessings that he hoped for during the hardest moments of the atonement could not be given, then it must have been God's will and God's will must be better.

And so now, even though he didn't get his prayers answered the way he may have hoped, he can still speak with faith cuz he knows God's will will always prevail. I just thought I'd never read that verse before this week where I've paid attention to it that way and I was like, ah, that's the kind of faith I want.

I want faith that even if my prayers aren't answered the way I hope over and over and over again with succeeding, you know, increasing urgency, that I will still be able to stand the next day and say. I believe in fact, I know if I needed help, he would send it to me. I just think it's one of the most powerful examples of the Savior in all of scripture.

After the savior is pulled away in [00:27:00] 56, all the disciples forsake him and flee again. I don't think they've lost their testimonies entirely. I just think there is commotion, and so they lose that unity He's been trying to give them and they. Separate and Peter follows, like, I don't know, there's a great talk from President Kimble.

It's in the notes, but I don't know if Peter was directed to stay close so that he could be a witness of what occurred in the different trials, or if he just feels tethered to the savior. You know, I just, you almost see him like, He can't separate cuz he loves him that intensely. And so he almost to me feels like he's tethered.

So where the savior goes, Peter goes, but he stays sort of back in the background. And that's gonna give him the opportunity to deny, cuz several people in the background will recognize him or think they know who he is and ask him about it. But I love what comes first. So when you see the trial occur, this sham of a trial, they're seeking for false witnesses, anyone who will come against the savior.

[00:28:00] And what they find is nobody comes forward. No one compelling enough to fit the law of Moses. Rules about condemning someone to death. And so they're struggling. In fact, the only person that comes forward, there are two people who say that he made that big statement about being able to rebuild the temple.

You guys, that was over two years ago. Like that's the closest they could get to anyone saying something. That was back after the temptations of Jesus. Remember like when the sa, when Satan was trying to tempt him, and he comes and talks about the temple being torn down and rebuilt, like that's as close as they could get.

And so they bring him forward and basically ask him directly who he is. And this is what tips the scales. So he doesn't speak at first in 62, and the high priest arose and said unto him, answers found nothing. What is it in which these witness against me and 63. But Jesus held his peace. I actually love visualizing, holding peace.

I think this is poise. This is what the savior is so good at that he chooses. [00:29:00] He always chooses his reaction and he always chooses to hold his peace. He has every reason not to feel at peace at this point, and he's gotta be utterly exhausted. In fact, sometimes I think that the reason Judas had to betray him with a kiss and like is because he probably looked.

Exhausted and bruised and like, I can't imagine what the savior looked like after going through Yosemite. And so maybe that's why in the dark of night, Judas had to identify which one was the savior, because he probably looked a bit different at this point in time. Um, but he holds his piece. I, I love it based on what the President Nelson has taught us about choosing to be without contention, choosing to be compassionate in the face of heat and anger.

I think you can hold peace in almost in your hands, hold it, and that you get to decide how you feel in circumstances that all those different stimuli around you can't, can't impact you if you are solidly planted [00:30:00] the way the savior is. So he holds his peace. And then when they ask him directly if he is the son of God, that's what the question says, I adur the or meaning like you have to swear under oath by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

And Jesus says unto them, thou has said, thou has said, nevertheless, I say unto, unto you here after he shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. Son, man is just a shortened version of Man of Holiness. So he's saying, I am the literal son of God. The Father Elohim.

That's who I am, as Thou has said, that is correct. That's who I am. He is not backing down and he is not hiding from who he is. He knows his divine nature. He knows his eternal destiny. And he will teach and he will testify. And that tips the scales cuz now they can accuse him of blasphemy. Lots of different people will claim to be the Messiah to the Jews.

Because they saw him as a conqueror, right? As someone who would come and defeat their enemies. So lots of people before Jesus and after Jesus will claim to be a Messiah, he claims to be the [00:31:00] Messiah, the Son of God. And that's what allows the Jews to accuse him of blasphemy and sentence him to death. So that's what you see in 66.

And then, I don't know why this hit me so hard, you guys, but I, in 67 and 68, I just ached. I know the Savior's gonna experience a lot of. Shame and a lot of, you know, attacks from people in the next 24 hours, but this one hit me harder. It says, then they did spit in his face and buffeted him and others smoked him with the palms of their hands saying, prophesy unto us, thou Christ.

Who is he that smoked the you can learn in the next, in Mark, they'll talk about how they blindfolded him and people would hit him and then say, oh, if you're a prophet, tell us who hit you. You know, like it is this. It's different for me when I see that in the mob violence on the street as he's carrying his cross and on the cross.

Is there something about this, this quiet setting where these are, these are members who are like the elite, who are supposed to love the law and treasure the [00:32:00] law and are. You know, they have that mantle of responsibility on their shoulders and they're the ones that spit on him. I expect it almost from Roman soldiers.

I didn't see it coming with these guys and maybe it's cuz I've just been in the Book of Mormon so much lately, but you know, when Alma and Amec are and Am and Iha, and this basically happens to them. There are all the judges who come and one at a time, they beat them and they mock them and they spit on them.

But by the end of Alma, an emec story like prison walls, tumble fire comes and protects everyone. Like there is no tumbling of walls in Jesus' story. He just holds his ground. He holds his peace despite all of this, and I just find it remarkable. I think it's his stoicism and. And determination to show and evidence his love to all fellow men no matter what is just staggering to me.

The next little part you're gonna see Peter. So Peter's denial [00:33:00] happens. Several people in a row ask him, they recognize his accents from being from Galilee, and they wonder if he's the one. And he denies. And I don't know Peter's motives. I, I don't know why this happens. Doesn't seem like anyone knows for sure.

President Kimball speaks pretty highly of him saying it's possible that Peter was asked to do this by the savior in order to carry on the church. And I can see that as a possibility. I can also just see it as a. A moment of weakness and exhaustion. Peter's the only one we know that was married. Right?

Cuz his mother-in-law is healed. So we know he's at least married. So it's possible he was trying to protect his family in some way or I don't know. I don't know what his motives are. But what I love about Peter is he doesn't wallow. He weeps. I think there's a difference. So if you look in 75, and Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shall deny me thrice.

And he went out and wept bitterly. This is Contrition, right? This is Godly sorrow, and he will. Pivot from this point. He doesn't stay here. He [00:34:00] recognizes how he, he's not as strong as he thought he was, and therefore needs help. The same way when you listen to President Nelson talk about daily repentance and how he is still repenting daily, they never.

Over overestimate their own strength. They say, I am, you know, I'm in a fallen world and I'm a fallen man and I need help. And that's, I feel like what Peter does and his weeping is just sweet. I think it's tears of repentance. President Kimble, in that same talk, I link it to you in the notes if you wanna go read the full talk, but he says it's probably not just the tears of sorrow and repentance, it's probably also tears of recognizing that all the things the savior said, were actually now gonna come to pass.

This is the part where I think Peter starts to understand, no, this is really happening and no sword that I pull out of my side will, you know, like to take down the Roman soldiers. There's nothing Peter can do to stop this from happening. It will happen, which means the mantle of responsibility is going to sit squarely on Peter's shoulders and.

He is, I am sure, overwhelmed and afraid [00:35:00] and mourning the loss of someone he loves so desperately that would cause some bitter tears. And I think all of those are experienced in Peter's last few words.

[00:35:18] MARK 14

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Mark 14 is pretty similar to Matthew, just in a more condensed version. So I thought we'd, I'll just hit a few high points and Mark and give us a little more time for John. But in the market account, you see the same situation. A woman who comes and an annoys the savior for burial and you see the savior honor her offering.

Couple things that are different in the market account. I really love. That he talks about the box being broken alabaster. You may have seen it on the shelves behind me, but it's this thin kind of translucent, very delicate stone and so to it breaks really easy. And so for her to like break open this jar, I feel like is her way of saying like, I'm all in, like I want every last drop to be given.

And. Her offering is as all in as the [00:36:00] widows mite was last week where she gave all that she could. In fact, that's what the savior responds with. So he says, let her alone when they judge her and question whether it was a smart decision in eight. He says she had done what she could. She has come af, afford to anoint my body to the very end.

I think that's what he is asking each of us. In fact, elder Holland has a talk all about this, but he basically says, do what you can. We're not asked to exhaust ourselves. We're not asked to run faster, that we have strength. We're asked to do what we can, and it doesn't matter if it looks like the widows might or like Mary's jar of Spikenard, it is.

All you can do and give it. In fact, one of my favorite examples from this year, uh, Kate Lee was telling me about one of the time out for women's cities that she was speaking at, there was a woman who came with this mini manicure, pedicure box and basically offered the speakers who'd been traveling all weekend and hadn't slept much to give them pedicures if they wanted while they were waiting for their turn.

And she said there was just this sweetness in it of like, I just wanted to do what I can't, you know, like, I'm good at this. I can do this for you. Can I give this back to you? And I didn't. That's what this is, right? It's [00:37:00] this. I'm gonna do whatever the Lord has blessed me with, whatever talents I have, whatever time I have, I'm gonna contribute it and let it be consecrated unto God.

And then just see what he does with what you offer. In the rest of Mark, you're gonna see a similar play out. You see Judas get angry at this decision and he turns fact. I think it's really important as you study Judas to see how often the apostles mentioned that he chose it, that he seeks out the scribes and the Pharisees and the leaders in order to make this bargain because nobody is predestined.

To be evil. I think if Judas hadn't betrayed the savior, the leaders would've found some other way to get him right. They may have even grabbed him off the street and asked him if he believed he was the son of God. Judas didn't need to be a betrayer, he just chose it. And the Savior who has sight that we can't understand can see it beforehand, but that doesn't mean it had to happen that way.

So you'll see that a little bit when you go into Mark. You also see the sacrament happen. I just think every time I studied the [00:38:00] sacrament in the different books, I liked the reminder that they're shifting from an outward ordinance or an outward ceremony that Passover that is, that you and all your kids will see, and all of your neighbors will see as you paint the doorposts with the blood of a lamb like.

It's very outward, and the sacrament is very inward, but it's still communal. It's still, we all do it together. In fact, I can't partake of the sacrament without help. I need deacons. I need priests. I need teachers. I need a bishop to watch everything. Like I need a lot of people in order to partake of the sacrament and enjoy its blessing.

So I think you feel that shift from external discipleship to something deeper, something more internal, and you see it a little bit better, I think in Mark. I also loved, there was a talk from Elder Pearson where he focused in on that word willing, that you are willing to remember that you're willing to take his name upon you.

And that I thought was eye-opening when it comes to. This week's study because what is most remarkable to me about what the [00:39:00] Savior offers is that he was willing, you know, just like we talked about before, about agency being a piece of his offering of the atonement, he is willing to sacrifice for us, so we should be willing.

To put whatever is asked on the altar and give that to him. And that's something I thought I could focus on better as I'm partaking of the sacrament. Where am I willing, what lack I yet, what can I do better? You know, I think there's a, that willingness piece had some weight. So go on the notes and you can read his talk.

It's also in the actual prayers that the savior says while he's in Kissame, that there was. A slight difference that I think is worth your focus. So if you go on the mark account, you can see that he's in Yosemite and on 35 and he went forward a little and fell on the ground and prayed if it were possible that the hour might pass from him.

And then second question is slightly different in the mark count and he said, Abba, father, elder Holland says that means like daddy, um, an intimacy. All [00:40:00] things are possible unto the take away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but that will. It's that pairing that I thought was so poignant.

He's saying essentially if it be that will, the first one is if it's possible, and then the second one is, in fact, I know it's possible. All things are possible to you take away this cup from me. It is an understanding of that God can remove this and is choosing not to. That I think adds so much heart to this offering.

It's the same thing I felt like we saw with Mary and Martha and Lazarus. When Lazarus died and Mary and Martha knew that the savior could have healed him from a distance. Remember when we talked about that? Like they knew that he didn't even have to be in the same city and Lazarus could be healed. And they also knew that he chose not to because he comes to their town days later after he's been dead for four days and they're still faithful.

They still rush to him and hold him. And you know, there is a. [00:41:00] There is a depth of discipleship that I just think we have to aspire to that this devotion that the savior says, I know all things are possible to the E Father, please remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I built, but what that will, it's that same type of phrase we heard in the Old Testament with Shara MEK in a bed.

Go where they say, but if not, you know, we know our God can save us from these fires, but if not, they, We got it from a Ben Andi. You get it from all these mighty prophets and we get it powerfully in Mark 14.

[00:41:40] JOHN 13

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When we jump into John, his account is gonna sound a little bit different. Cause remember it's not one of the synoptic gospels. His book was written later and it's written more to those who are already members of Christ's church and. You know those who are struggling under adversity and apostacy. So he is trying to reinvigorate faith and add in things that just can't be left out of the narrative.

So this is when you see [00:42:00] things in John that you don't see in other places, like the washing of the apostle's feet. There are some key differences, though. John's timing is a little bit different. He's gonna spend a lot of time on the Last Supper more than the other Gospels for sure, but he also times it different.

He makes it seem like it comes a little bit earlier in the Passover week than other gospels did. And interestingly, he doesn't even mention the last or the sacrament ordinance happening. I, I, it's just interesting to see how the different, this is why we need all the mosaics, right? So to understand it more fully.

But he talks about love. John's big message overall, you know, he is the one that the savior loved. You'll see that phrase over and over again. The disciple whom the apostle or the, the disciple or the apostle whom Jesus loved. He often talks about, Not just that the savior loved him, how the savior loved, all loved them, and that's what you see in verse one says Now, before the feast of Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come and that he should depart out of this world unto the Father having loved his own, which were in the world and he loved them until the end, this is John's big statement of.

All of us [00:43:00] struggled, all of us worried. All of us feared and made mistakes, and he loved us no matter what. Like it's just this big, bold spotlight of, let me remind you the character of the God we worship. And then he talked about how all things are in his hands. So if you go on three in two, you learn about Judas coming and the betrayal that will happen.

And then three, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he was come from God and went to God. He rises from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and greeted himself. It almost seems like at this point, God, the Father has said to Jesus, you choose how the rest of this plays out.

I don't know exactly. If that's what the, the intent of that verse was, but it sounds like that to me and the way Jesus chooses to carry out. Evidencing his love is to show true leadership, especially among this very intimate group of brethren. So he kneels down and he washes their feet. And I, you know, just this last weekend our grandson was here and he got food [00:44:00] all over his hair and, and I watched Jason wipe him down with wet wipes and it took like eight wet wipes to get him clean again.

And I was just thinking of that as I was studying this. Like, I don't know how dirty that towel that was around his waist became how. What it must have felt like as the apostles to watch the dirt go from our feet and accumulate onto him. I just think there's a, a beautiful type in it for the atonement itself, that we let our sins be taken up by him and be, we become clean in the process, which is I think, why Peter can't push against this ordinance happening.

So the savior tries to wash Peter's feet and Peter Recoils, you know, like the same way any of us would like, no, you're not touching my feet. And then the savior says, no, I need to, like, this has to happen. In fact, he says that if you don't, you can't be a part of me. There can't be an inheritance if you don't the same way.

For every one of us, we must use the atonement of Jesus Christ. None of us can earn our way into the kingdom of heaven with our good [00:45:00] deeds or discipleship. There is a, a factor that has to be, that comes directly from the Savior. In fact, I think the very big majority comes from the Savior's offering, and a little fraction is what we can do.

And I think that's what he is trying to say to Peter is, there's no other way I, you need me to take on this dirt that you've been carrying? Give it to me. There's, there's a type in all of that. And so then of course Peter's response is wash. All of me, like, if that's how this is gonna be in order for me to be a part of you, wash my head, wash my hands.

And the savior is kind of like, I just, the way Elder Holland describes Peter, he calls him irrepressible Peter. That's how I see Peter. He's just, you know, like he wants to be all in. And oftentimes the savior's like, you've got the greatest heart. Let me. Let me channel it. You know, I, I dunno if you guys love that movie, Rudy, like that old football movie.

That's how I picture Peter. Like, he's just got this huge heart. He just doesn't always know exactly how to use it. And I just love him for it. And I think the savior loves him for it. And so he talks to him about [00:46:00] why he's done what he's done. So in 12 know Ye what I have done unto you. You call me master and Lord, and you say, and you say, well, for so I am.

And then in 14 and 15, if I then your Lord and master have washed your feet, you also ought to watch Wash one another's feet, where I have given you an example that you should do as I have done unto you, barely. I say unto you, the sermon is not greater than his Lord. Neither is he that has sent greater than he that sent him.

If you know these things, happy are you, if you do them, he is an example to them of what leadership looks like. The weight of the church is going to be on their shoulders. Their shoulders will be bolstered by heaven's help, but they're going to carry immense weight and they're gonna need each other, and he needs them to serve and care for each other.

I also think it's really instructive to understand that it seems like Judas is here. Judas is getting his feet washed by the savior. Judas is gonna be one who turns away from all of them, and this is a pivotal moment for them to understand that they need to be. [00:47:00] Kind, merciful patient, you know, like he's trying to teach them.

You've gotta look to me as your example for how to deal with all these hard things that are coming and he wants them to just take care of each other. There's some great commentaries from some prophets and apostles about this ordinance of the washing of feet and this unity that comes in this ordinance.

I just, we don't have time to go into it now, but you can learn more if you go in the gospel library. But I love the injunction of happy are ye if you do them. I think he knows. The P T S D that's gonna come from them watching him suffer in the next 24 hours, how hard it's gonna be on them mentally and physically and emotionally.

And so he's saying this is where you find happiness amongst all the hard and how abandoned you're gonna feel. I want you to know that to find happiness you serve. You serve those around you. The savior's about to head into Yosemite. This is what he chooses to do. You know, he knows what heart is coming and he chooses to take this time to serve and to care for those around him.

He's [00:48:00] trying to teach them a pattern. It's the exact same pattern our prophet's trying to teach us today that when we look around and we see contention and commotion and a world that looks like it's at its brink, we should serve. We should give, we should show compassion and forgiveness even for those who.

Turn against us. Like that's, that's the message of the gospel. And so he invites them to go on and then he has this interaction with Judas. So kind of off to the side it seems like Judas. And he talk, and Heen essentially says to Judas, What you're gonna do, do it quickly. So you can see that at the end of 27.

Then Jesus said unto Tim that thou doist do it quickly. What's interesting is what you see in 28 now, no man at the table knew for what intent he spoke unto him. They think he's sending Judas on some errand cuz Judas immediately gets up and he leaves and they think Judas is going off on some errand for the savior.

They have no idea. What's about to happen, and I think that, like we said before, I think it's a testament to how much they love each other, how much they even love Judas and trust him that no [00:49:00] one understands what's coming. They're all gonna be a bit blindsided by this betrayal, which is why I think he's gonna teach them about how to love each other a little more deeply.

Next. Savior's last big plea for unity comes in these last seven verses of Mar of John 13. This is when he invites them to understand who he is. So he talks about now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him, and if God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself and shall straightway glorify him.

I know that sounds like a lot of. The same word, but I think he's trying to help them understand ascension. There's a lot of scholars who see this as a temple narrative that what happened at the Last Supper At The Last Supper is a way to teach these apostles how to become as he is. And there's a bit of, there's temple imagery throughout us.

You can go and study a little bit more, but. I love the simplicity of what he actually says in the verses little children. This is in verse 33. Yet a little while I am with you and you shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whether I go, you cannot come. So now I say unto you a new commandment. I give unto you [00:50:00] that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

The key to turn the door to becoming as he is. Is to love one another. What's interesting to me is this isn't a new commandment per se, you know, he basically said in the last lesson that we should love God wholeheartedly, fully, and that we should love our, our fellow men. We should love our neighbors as ourselves.

And it wasn't until I was reading. I can't remember the conference talk, it's in the notes. But he mentioned how this is almost like a higher level of that second commandment cuz it's one thing to love your neighbor as yourself, love in the way that you would wanna be loved. It's a whole nother level to love in the way the savior chooses to love.

And this is where this came to mind for me. So I'm not a terribly great ministering sister because I tend to love people in the way that I would wanna be loved. You know? Like I'll send a text here and there. I might check on them at church cuz that's kinda how I wanna be loved in this sort of like, I don't need a whole bunch of time.

I don't need a, it's terrible. You know, like I'm just, I tend to love people the way [00:51:00] I will want. We love, so I tend to drop off to Coke at someone's house, or I tend to bring them brownies, but I'm not as good at loving the way the savior would love them. You know, like he goes, he would go into their living room, he would find out their troubles.

He would walk with them. He would pray for their kids. He would, he would love in a better, bigger way. I don't mean bigger. Always time consuming. I just mean in a richer, fuller way. So when he says love one another, as I have loved you, I think that's what he's asking us. Stop loving your fellow men the way you would wanna be loved and love people the way they deserve.

Love them the way I would love them, which I think is really. Important given what these apostles are gonna go through with the betrayal, they'll feel with Judas, they're going to be angry. I mean, how would you not be? They're gonna be hurt and offended. They've all shared these common experiences and Judas is going to betray all of them in this betrayal and it, it's gonna be so hard.

Yeah. At this point, Judas is out of the room. He's gone off [00:52:00] to. Do this work and to, to bring the the legal authorities in to Jesus. But at this point in time, in John's narrative, he takes this moment to teach the rest of the apostles about loving one another. Even people like Judas, I mean, look at how the savior treats everyone around him, even the Romans who will.

You know Jer at him and crucify him. He will plead to the father for forgiveness for them. He will pray for those who despitefully use him. He will constantly reach out. That's what he needs these apostles to do, and he needs them to understand that this is the key to being like him. In fact, that's what he says in thir 36.

Simon Peter said unto him, Lord wither go is thou. Jesus answered him saying, wither. I go, thou can't not follow me now, but thou shall follow me afterwards. It is this invitation to ascend, become like I am. You can't, you're not ready yet. You're not finished yet. There's work for you to do. You [00:53:00] can get to where I am, and the key to doing it is to love one another.

And then in 37, Peter said, and Tim, Lord, why can't I not follow the now I will lay down my life for my sake. When I read that verse, I was thinking of my kids love Hamilton, and we hear that soundtrack a lot at our house, but there's this song between George Washington and Hamilton, where Hamilton basically offers to die.

He really wants to be a leader of a military battalion, and Washington keeps using him as a secretary instead. And basically what Washington said, Washington says to him is like, living is harder. It's easy to die for a cause. Living for a cause is harder. And I think that's what the Lord is asking Peter to do as well.

He's saying, I need you. I need you beyond today. I don't want you to die for me in the garden. I don't want you to pull your sword. I need you to live well beyond so that you can lead this church. And I think he's, it's the same thing. He's asking all of us, we're invited to live for him. We're invited to remember him by partaking of that sacrament each week.

And then we're invited to. Be as to love as he is, to [00:54:00] forgive, to show compassion, to be kind to to reach across divides and to love others as he did, because just the same way President Nelson taught us. That's how people know that we are disciples of Christ. By seeing how we love others. They'll see echoes of the savior in our actions and in our choices, and then they'll want to come closer.

That's our role at at to, that's why this way the prophet asked us to be peacemakers so that people will see discipleship in us and come closer to him in the process. It's just a beautiful, you can find it in the notes that to, to read these last few verses and then read. President Nelson's message was just this beautiful harmony, so I hope you don't miss it.

[00:54:44] CREATIVE PREVIEW

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I told you you were gonna love this week of study. All right, time to get into the creative side of week 22, you guys. I wanted some way to tie some of these beautiful doctrines into memorable experiences you could have as a family or as a class. And I think we've got three good ones in store. So let me [00:55:00] walk you through the basics first, and then for those of you in the full course, I'll take you in a lot more depth and give you the notes and the principle so you know.

How to get started, but here's the overview. First off, since this week includes Memorial Day, at least for those of us who are in the United States, I know some of you are in other countries, so hopefully there is a similar holiday or you could just take this day to honor your dead. But my hope is that we can tie in some of the things you are already doing on Memorial Day to speak about the sacrament since sacrament is something we do in remembrance.

So I decided to create a printable for you that is a. Bouquet of flowers that you could go and offer to someone. If you can't get to their grave, then I thought you could just color the flowers and then record a memory. So I'll walk you through how to do that in the family search app. But this little printable is designed to be a way to give a bouquet of flowers without actually buying any, because as you open it, it expands into this cute little bouquet.

So I'll show you all about that one and teach you a little bit about the sacrament. The second one I'm hoping to teach you about. The pathway of Peter, I really love this week that [00:56:00] we see him. Try so hard to follow the savior and repeatedly sort of make, well, you could maybe call mistakes. You know, he has, he denies Peter.

He jumps when the, the savior wants to wash his feet and he says, no. And like you can just see Peter trying so hard and making mistakes and moving forward. And one of my, the favorite quotes I read was from Elder Fuse this week, and he talked about how. In this process of continually trying and repenting and becoming stronger, Peter becomes this force, and it reminded me of what my kids tend to make out of tinfoil.

So I'm gonna teach you how. Basically you just need a big sheet of tinfoil and then a hammer, and you're gonna take a ball of tinfoil that looks like this and get it down to something compact and like unbreakable that looks like this. And I'll teach you how. The third one is a game that you can play together.

It's tricky to come up with an object lesson that helps you understand betrayal, but I really wanted some way to talk about what the apostles went through and what the savior went through and his guidance to them about loving one [00:57:00] another, especially after experiencing this very hard betrayal. So I'm creating a game that your kids will experience betrayal firsthand.

I have to credit Hannah for this one. My oldest daughter, she found a game similar to this online and. Sent it to me and was like, mom, you need to, you need to see this. And it's, it's a perfect, it's a perfect choice for this kind of teaching. Basically it's a drying game where there will, you'll all be drawing something and then there will be an imposter among you and you have to try and figure out who that imposter is.

And in the process of playing that game a few times you'll be able to talk through what it feels like to be betrayed and how the savior gave instruction to deal with those emotions in the scripture. So I think you're gonna love it. So for that one, you just need a big sheet of paper, probably a few sheets of paper, the printable that has the game cards on it, and then everybody who's playing needs a pen or a marker and.

And you'll be good to go once you have those supplies on hand. I think you're ready to get started.

[00:57:54] WRAP UP

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I'm so glad you were here, you guys, thanks for joining me for week 22. I hope you really enjoy it. And just remember, [00:58:00] this is just, we're laying foundations for what we're gonna study next week, so be sure to come back for week 23 and we'll build even more.

If you need extra help with week 22, you are welcome to join me on Instagram 10:00 AM on Mondays Mountain Time. That's when I'll pop on and share some insights that I didn't get to have time for in these videos. And then also, Walk you through the creative in a little more detail. So if that will help you, or if you have questions, join me for the live.

Otherwise you can find me on the discussion boards within the course, or you can reach out to me privately if you need to on direct message, and I'll do my best to answer those quickly. But I really think you're gonna enjoy this week. It's not hard to study. But it's rich. You know, it's like a really good piece of chocolate cake.

It's rich and you gotta go slow, but you should be able to enjoy every fight. I think this is that kind of week. So I hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions, reach out to me. Otherwise I'll just plan to see you on Monday. Thanks everybody.