In Remembrance

“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?”: Psalm 22 and the Mission of Christ

Shon D. Hopkin

BYU Studies Quarterly 52, no. 4 (2013)

Psalm 22 is a prophecy of the events of Christ’s suffering and Crucifixion in detail, including his statement spoken from the cross. Words in this psalm show that Christ fulfilled his mission of redeeming humankind with his worthiness and authority from the Father intact.

And Peter Went Out and Wept Bitterly

Gordon B. Hinckley

New Era 12, no. 3 (Apr. 1982)

President Hinckley likens Peter’s denial of the Savior and his subsequent repentance to our own loss of faith and need to return to the truth.

At the Place of Suffering (Luke 22:39–46)

S. Kent Brown

The Testimony of Luke, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Jun. 2019)

Luke’s narrative describes how Jesus bleeds from every pore, spilling his blood for all people. An angel comes, giving him divine assistance.

Chart 13-12: The Sermon on the Mount and the Epistle of James

John W. Welch, John F. Hall

Charting the New Testament (2002)

Compares phrases from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7 with those found in the Epistle of James, demonstrating James’s knowledge and reverence for Jesus’s words.

Dating the Death of Jesus Christ

Jeffrey R. Chadwick

BYU Studies Quarterly 54, no. 4 (2015)

While we can’t be certain, evidence suggests that Jesus was crucified on a Thursday in the spring of AD 30, on the eve of Passover, the fourteen-day Jewish month Nisan, which in that year fell on April 6 in the old Julian calendar.

Four Perspectives on the Trial and Resurrection of Jesus

John W. Welch

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Apr. 2014)

Each Gospel presents its perspective on the essential role Jesus filled through his Atonement.

Jesus’ Suffering Visible in the Verb Tense

S. Kent Brown

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

The verb tense in the Gospels indicates that Jesus goes forward, falls, and prays, over and over again. His actions are evidence of his agony and humility.

Maundy Thursday

Eric D. Huntsman

Latter-day Saint Seasonal Materials (Mar. 2024)

This day tells of the Last Supper, the sacrament instituted, the washing of the disciples' feet, and, most of all, the prayer and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Peter, My Brother

Spencer W. Kimball

BYU Speeches (Jul. 1971)

Peter denied knowing Jesus, but Jesus forgave him. We also can forgive Peter and admire his strengths. The transcript can be found here: https://rsc.byu.edu/ministry-peter-chief-apostle/appendix-peter-my-brother

The Atonement and the Resurrection

D. Todd Christofferson

Religious Educator 7, no. 1 (2006)

Elder Christofferson imagines being with the Savior through his sacrifice and resurrection. From a talk at BYU Easter Conference, March 26, 2005.

The Last Supper and the Timing of Passover

Eric D. Huntsman

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

While the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal, the Gospel of John maintains that the Last Supper was the night before the Passover meal. Efforts have been made to resolve this discrepancy, appealing to the possible use of different calendars by the various Jewish groups that existed in the first century AD. In the end, however, suspending judgment on which is "correct" and looking separately at symbolic and theological intents of the different gospels seems like the best approach.

The Legal Cause of Action against Jesus in John 18:29–30

John W. Welch

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Apr. 2017)

The accusation in John 18:29–30 holds a key for understanding the legal cause of action and strategy of the chief priests in the proceedings against Jesus.

The Passion (Final Week of Jesus’s Life)

Eric D. Huntsman, Julie M. Smith

Mormon Matters (podcast) (Mar. 2015)

A close look at the events of this week, as well as interesting textual issues about the Gospels. See also the Mormon Matters podcast series on Easter.

The Sacrament: Building upon Christ’s Rock

Monte S. Nyman

The Book of Mormon and the Message of the Four Gospels (2001)

The sacrament (partaking of bread and wine in remembrance of Christ) is practiced by many Christian churches. The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi) adds much to our understanding of the sacrament.

The Trial and Death of Jesus

John W. Welch

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

Why was Jesus killed? Who was responsible? Looking at the legal circumstances, it is clear that Jesus was in full control from beginning to end.

The Use of Gethsemane by Church Leaders, 1859–2018

John Hilton III, Joshua P. Barringer

BYU Studies Quarterly 58, no. 4 (2019)

This study identifies what Church leaders have taught about Gethsemane by analyzing their talks.

Wednesday

Eric D. Huntsman

Latter-day Saint Seasonal Materials (Mar. 2024)

The Gospel of Mark allows three events on Wednesday: the plot of the Jewish leadership against Jesus, the story of an unnamed woman in Bethany anointing Jesus's head, and Judas's decision to betray Jesus.

Anointing in Bethany in Mark 14:3–9

Julie M. Smith

The Gospel according to Mark, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

The main theme of Mark 14 concerns Jesus’s identity. Significantly, each foray into that identity is literally surrounded by the idea of betraying Jesus.

At the Place of Suffering (Luke 22:39–46)

S. Kent Brown

The Testimony of Luke, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Jun. 2019)

Luke’s narrative describes how Jesus bleeds from every pore, spilling his blood for all people. An angel comes, giving him divine assistance.

Chart 13-12: The Sermon on the Mount and the Epistle of James

John W. Welch, John F. Hall

Charting the New Testament (2002)

Compares phrases from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7 with those found in the Epistle of James, demonstrating James’s knowledge and reverence for Jesus’s words.

Chart 8-1: Jesus Affirms His Divinity with the Greek Words “I AM”

John W. Welch, John F. Hall

Charting the New Testament (2002)

This chart lists passages in the New Testament where Jesus affirms his divinity using the Greek words ego eimi as seen in John 6:35, where he declares “I am the bread of life."

Dating the Death of Jesus Christ

Jeffrey R. Chadwick

BYU Studies Quarterly 54, no. 4 (2015)

While we can’t be certain, evidence suggests that Jesus was crucified on a Thursday in the spring of AD 30, on the eve of Passover, the fourteen-day Jewish month Nisan, which in that year fell on April 6 in the old Julian calendar.

Jesus Is Anointed (Mark 14:1–11)

Julie M. Smith

The Gospel according to Mark, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Apr. 2019)

The anointing story is the narrative bridge between Jesus's life and death; it is both the last story relating events from the daily life and the first part of the story of his death. It is the hinge between the accounts of his life and his death; its location in the text mirrors its theological function since the anointing story explores the link between Jesus's life and death.

Maundy Thursday

Eric D. Huntsman

Latter-day Saint Seasonal Materials (Mar. 2024)

This day tells of the Last Supper, the sacrament instituted, the washing of the disciples' feet, and, most of all, the prayer and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Narrative Atonement Theology in the Gospel of Mark

Julie M. Smith

BYU Studies Quarterly 54, no. 1 (2015)

Mark’s Gospel teaches about the Atonement of Christ not through discourses on theology but through narrative. This article focuses on three events that happen immediately after Jesus dies: the rending of the temple veil, the centurion’s statement, and the women watching and ministering. Mark uses each story to explain the meaning of Jesus’s atoning death.

The Anointing at Bethany according to John

Eric D. Huntsman

Latter-day Saint Seasonal Materials (Mar. 2024)

Are the stories about a woman anointing Jesus with oil in the Gospels all the same event? Eric Huntsman reasons that they are not, as these anointings serve different purposes.

The Last Supper and the Timing of Passover

Eric D. Huntsman

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

While the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal, the Gospel of John maintains that the Last Supper was the night before the Passover meal. Efforts have been made to resolve this discrepancy, appealing to the possible use of different calendars by the various Jewish groups that existed in the first century AD. In the end, however, suspending judgment on which is "correct" and looking separately at symbolic and theological intents of the different gospels seems like the best approach.

The Legal Cause of Action against Jesus in John 18:29–30

John W. Welch

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Apr. 2017)

The accusation in John 18:29–30 holds a key for understanding the legal cause of action and strategy of the chief priests in the proceedings against Jesus.

The Passion (Final Week of Jesus’s Life)

Eric D. Huntsman, Julie M. Smith

Mormon Matters (podcast) (Mar. 2015)

A close look at the events of this week, as well as interesting textual issues about the Gospels. See also the Mormon Matters podcast series on Easter.

The Sacrament: Building upon Christ’s Rock

Monte S. Nyman

The Book of Mormon and the Message of the Four Gospels (2001)

The sacrament (partaking of bread and wine in remembrance of Christ) is practiced by many Christian churches. The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi) adds much to our understanding of the sacrament.

The Trial and Death of Jesus

John W. Welch

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

Why was Jesus killed? Who was responsible? Looking at the legal circumstances, it is clear that Jesus was in full control from beginning to end.

The Use of Gethsemane by Church Leaders, 1859–2018

John Hilton III, Joshua P. Barringer

BYU Studies Quarterly 58, no. 4 (2019)

This study identifies what Church leaders have taught about Gethsemane by analyzing their talks.

Wednesday

Eric D. Huntsman

Latter-day Saint Seasonal Materials (Mar. 2024)

The Gospel of Mark allows three events on Wednesday: the plot of the Jewish leadership against Jesus, the story of an unnamed woman in Bethany anointing Jesus's head, and Judas's decision to betray Jesus.

Come Follow Me—John 1

Lynne Hilton Wilson

Come Follow Me Commentary: The New Testament (2019)

Wilson provides a verse-by-verse study of John 1, focusing on symbols such as life, light, baptism, and fulfillment of prophecy.

Farewell Discourses and the High Priestly Prayer

Eric D. Huntsman

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

The Gospel of John enriches our understanding of the events and teaching of Jesus's last night with passages that include Jesus's last discourses and his beautiful Intercessory prayer (John 13:31–17:26)

God Incarnate: The Word Made Flesh

Jennifer C. Lane, Keith H. Lane

Thou Art the Christ, the Son of the Living God: The Person and Work of Jesus in the New Testament, Sidney B. Sperry Symposium 48 (2018)

Lane and Lane explore John’s witness of Jesus as God, particularly through the identification of Christ as the Creator.

Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces: Making Room for Struggle as Well as Faith

Eric D. Huntsman

BYU Speeches (Aug. 2018)

In this devotional, Eric Huntsman discusses dealing with challenges and struggles, drawing from John 6:60–69 where Jesus's followers struggled with his teachings.

John’s Account of the Last Supper: The Lamb of God: Unique Aspects of the Passion Narrative in John

Eric D. Huntsman

God So Loved the World: The Final Days of the Savior's Life, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Mar. 2016)

John’s account of the Last Supper contains unique elements recorded nowhere else.

Peter, My Brother

Spencer W. Kimball

BYU Speeches (Jul. 1971)

Peter denied knowing Jesus, but Jesus forgave him. We also can forgive Peter and admire his strengths. The transcript can be found here: https://rsc.byu.edu/ministry-peter-chief-apostle/appendix-peter-my-brother

The Passion (Final Week of Jesus’s Life)

Eric D. Huntsman, Julie M. Smith

Mormon Matters (podcast) (Mar. 2015)

A close look at the events of this week, as well as interesting textual issues about the Gospels. See also the Mormon Matters podcast series on Easter.

Luke’s Different Genealogy

Eric D. Huntsman

Good Tidings of Great Joy: An Advent Celebration of the Savior's Birth, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Dec. 2013)

Huntsman compares the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, highlighting the structural and thematic differences between the two. He notes how Luke’s genealogy, ascending from Jesus to Adam, reflects a broader focus on the inclusion of Gentiles in Christ, contrasting with Matthew’s emphasis on Jesus' Davidic lineage.