Current Lesson No. Twenty-Five
An Ordinance in Preparation for Easter
The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible (JST) tells of the events that took place on Jesus’ last Sabbath on earth – The Christian world widely celebrates the Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, and rightfully so because the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the most important events in time and eternity. However, the events that took place on Jesus’ last Sabbath in mortality are also important, but they are little appreciated. The JST greatly expands our understanding of the significance of these events. (See JST Matthew 26:5-10; JST Mark 14:4-8; JST John 12:7) Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles wrote the four volume series The Mortal Messiah where he quotes extensively from the JST, including his discussion of special Sabbath.
“Jesus chose to spend a quiet Sabbath, his last on earth, in his beloved Bethany. There in the home of Simon the leper, enjoying sociality with Mary and Martha and Lazarus and those of his intimate circle, he will receive the holy anointing preparatory to his kingly burial….But before recounting the circumstances surrounding the sacred ordinance…we must note the intimate and felicitous friendships that prevailed between Jesus and the beloved sisters and their brother Lazarus. We have reason to believe this relationship was like none other enjoyed by him who came to do all things well and gain all the experiences of mortality” (The Mortal Messiah 3;333-337, emphasis added)
Jesus’ anointing has deep religious significance – “As to our Lord’s last Sabbath on earth, we assume he preached in the local synagogue or counseled in quiet seclusion with the Twelve and other intimates. When the hour came for the festive Sabbath meal they held it in his honor….Martha served – indeed, she seems to have been in charge of the serving and arrangements; Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus; the Twelve and others of the disciples partook of the feast. Emotions ran high this memorable evening….And in the souls of none did the fires of love, devotion, and worship, burn more brightly than in the soul of the beloved Mary who now sought some means of expressing her love and worship of the Master before he went to his death. She took from her treasures an alabaster box containing ‘a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly,’ and poured in on his head, and anointed his feet, and wiped them with her hair….To understand this solemn scene one must both know and feel the religious significance of Mary’s act” (Ibid, emphasis added).
Mary anoints Jesus and Judas complains – “There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head” (Matthew 26:7). “Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief” (John 12:4-6). It is amazing that Judas betrayed Jesus for a paltry “thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 27:3). Thirty pieces of silver is only one-third of three hundred pence which was the value of this spikenard.
In token of my burial – Jesus rebuked Judas saying: “Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. Let her alone; for she hath preserved this ointment until now, that she might anoint me in token of my burial. She hath done what she could, and this which she has done unto me, shall be had in remembrance in generations to come, wheresoever my gospel shall be preached; for verily she has come beforehand to anoint my body to the burying. And in this thing that she hath done, she shall be blessed; for verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, this thing that this woman hath done, shall also be told for a memorial of her” (The Mortal Messiah, quoting the JST, emphasis added). Elder McConkie concludes with this final emphasis: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!”
In the ordinances of the priesthood the power of Godliness is manifest (D&C 84:20) – Modern apostles and prophet are emphasizing the importance of ordinances. President Russell M. Nelson said: “The ordinances unlock the power of God in our lives” (April 2021 General Conference, closing session). Missionaries invite people to attend a sacrament meeting so they can participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. People are invited to receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmations so they can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We prepare our children to receive the ordinances of the temple which culminates in the ordinance of celestial marriage. We are beginning to appreciate that “the plan of ordinances” Joseph Smith spoke of is an essential part of the whole plan of salvation. (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 167)
“Messiah is an Aramaic word meaning the anointed” (LDS Bible Dictionary, Messiah, p. 731). I believe the Father anointed his Son as the Messiah, and through this priesthood ordinance He gave His Son power to atone for our sins. The Book of Mormon confirms this: “And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins” on “the condition of repentance which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls” (Helaman 5:11). It is clear from the Biblical record that the anointing Jesus received on the last Sabbath of His life had been planned for long in advance. I believe that Jesus was anointed in an ordinance, in token of and in preparation for His voluntary death and burial. His death and burial was necessary so that He could come forth on the first Easter. The atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible for everyone who ever lived to be resurrected, and for those who believe in Him to receive the greatest gift of all, that of eternal life.