Jacob 1 - That We Might Persuade Them to Come Unto Christ I'm taking an online economics class right now, which prompted me to think of the definition of economics in the context of the scriptures. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. In the case of Nephi and his successor Jacob, the plates upon which they engraved their record was a scarce resource. They were costly to make and difficult to engrave, and instilling a tradition of passing them through generations was surely cumbersome. Recognizing the great importance of spiritual things and the challenge of maintaining records, Nephi instructed Jacob to prioritize religious instruction saying, " if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people" (Jacob 1:4). This priority was not only reflecte
I usually skip genealogies. Whenever a passage of scripture lists a long line of progenitors with difficult to pronounce names my eyes glaze over and I catch myself reading ahead to find where the actual "content" begins. In the case of the genealogy of Jesus, I can appreciate that it is important because he was prophesied to be a descendant of David, but have never been interested in the actual list of names until I learned that the genealogies recorded in Matthew and Luke are actually different. In his article Why Are Jesus' Genealogies on Matthew and Luke Different, Ben Spackman offered three possible reasons why this might be the case:
- One of the genealogies is actually Mary's
- One of genealogy is a royal or legal genealogy, and the other is a physical genealogy
- Joseph had two fathers (Heli and Jacob—one a natural father, and the other a legal father, either due to Joseph's adoption by Mary's father Heli, or because Joseph and Heli were brothers and one took the other's wife after one of them died per Old Testament law of levirate marriage.)
Each of these theories is plausible, and also leaves room for uncertainty. Some commentators ask a more fundamental question about the relevance of Joseph's genealogy at all if Jesus is the literal son of God and Mary. Whatever the specific explanation, it stands out to me that Matthew and Luke were writing with specific audiences in mind with the intent to persuade them that Jesus is the Christ and the prophesied Messiah. It could be that Jesus was both legally and physically a descendant of David and heir to the throne.
Fear Not to Take Unto Thee Mary Thy Wife
Matthew recounts the story of Jesus' birth from the perspective of Joseph, who is described as "a just man" (Matthew 1:19). Even though Joseph was kind and fair and "not willing to make [Mary] a publick example," before the angel appeared to Joseph, it was his plan to annul his engagement to Mary. While not recorded in the scriptures, surely Mary must have explained her interview with an angel and the divine parentage of the baby when she told Joseph she was pregnant. Yet without divine revelation and his own angelic visitation, Joseph was apparently afraid to take Mary as his wife, and his doubts were significant enough that he "was minded to put her away privily" (Matthew 1:19).
What was the source of Joseph's fear? Did Joseph disbelieve Mary's explanation of the source of her pregnancy? I can only speculate on this point, but I don't get the impression that Joseph disbelieved Mary, necessarily, but what else could he have thought and done without additional personal revelation? I would expect that he was unsure of his role, fearful of the social consequences, and reluctant to make the commensurate sacrifices that would come with marrying Mary and raising the child. We can infer with some confidence from the angel's injunctive to "fear not" that Joseph was simply afraid.
He may have wanted to believe Mary, or even known on some level that the child she carried was not the product of promiscuity and infidelity, but Joseph was still not prepared to move forward as her husband without a spiritual confirmation. Thinking of Joseph's predicament, I can see a number of parallels in the things in life that I am afraid of. I am afraid of making life, education, and career decisions, I am unsure of my ability as a father, and struggle to make the investment I would like in ministering to others and serving in the church. Intellectually, I usually know the answer to my questions. My intuition is rarely wrong, but is also rarely sufficient to propel action.
Joseph found relief from his fears, answers to his questions, and courage to move forward through personal revelation. His answer came "while he thought on these things," and "the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:20). I know that when I study issues out in my mind and sincerely seek the guidance of the Spirit, I have blessed to receive assurances and guidance from God. The Holy Ghost speaks God's will to our hearts and minds and makes possible a rich personal relationship with our Father in Heaven.
The last thing the angel did for Joseph was to give him a sense of vision for the importance of what he was doing, and the impact it would have on the world. Joseph received a promise that the child "shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). When we can see the end from the beginning, when he have some assurance of success, and when we can keep the ultimate purpose of what we are doing in mind we can find courage and motivation to act. Maybe it was because of the new understanding he gained of his son's destiny that "Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife" (Matthew 1:24).
Image Credit: The Dream Of St Joseph - Anton Raphael Mengs
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