When missionaries go out into the world, no matter the location that the missionary has been called; he will be giving that same message. I find it beautiful that this is the pattern after which our Father in Heaven works; even now; giving us the same message that He himself gave in the New Testament; Book of Mormon; and Doctrine and Covenants; that He gave His His people in ancient times. He truly is the same yesterday, today and forever ( 1 Nephi 10:18 ).
For those whom think that the Sermon at the temple is not as much value because it was given first in the New Testament; they are clearly missing the beautiful big picture that we have in these extremely similar sermons; The pure pattern that He always followed; was also given to His other sheep. I would be less likely to believe the message that Jesus Christ came to visit the America's if the message that He left his " other sheep " was different? Since we all are His children; and the gospel is based on the same doctrine and principles, no matter our location.
I am also thankful to know that no matter where I physically am; that I could walk into Christ's church and receive the same message as all of my other brothers and sisters in Christ.
As you read over these important details they will enhance your testimony of just how perfectly our Lord helped Joseph Smith to translate the plates.
John W. Welch:
"There are many similarities between the two texts, and in large sections no differences occur. These similarities are consistent with Jesus' open acknowledgement that he taught the Nephites "the things which I taught before I ascended to my Father" (3 Nephi 15:1). The Sermon at the Temple is, therefore, not only appropriately similar, but also meaningfully different from the Sermon on the Mount. The more I know of those differences, the more I am impressed that achieving this subtle balance was not something that just casually happened."
The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount: The
Differences
I have presented in the preceding chapters an interpretation
that, in my opinion, casts the Sermon at the Temple as a complex, subtle,
original, systematic, coherent, and purposefully orchestrated text. Not all
people, however, have seen this text so positively. In fact, most novice
readers of the Book of Mormon peruse 3 Nephi 12—14 rather casually,
perhaps viewing it as a block of foreign materials unrelated to the surrounding
text and bluntly spliced into the narrative of 3 Nephi. The similarities
between the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at the Temple have led many to
view the Sermon at the Temple more as a liability than an asset to the Book of
Mormon.
Ever since the publication of the Book of Mormon, one of the
standard criticisms raised by those seeking to discredit the book has been the
assertion that it plagiarizes the King James Version of the Bible, and the
chief instance of alleged plagiarism is the Sermon on the Mount in 3 Nephi
12—14. Mark Twain quipped that the Book of Mormon contains passages
"smouched from the New Testament and no credit given."1 Reverend
M. T. Lamb, who characterized the Book of Mormon as "verbose, blundering,
stupid,"2 viewed
3 Nephi 11—18 as a mere duplication of the Sermon on the Mount "word
for word" and saw "no excuse for this lack of originality and
constant repetition of the Bible," for "we have all such passages
already in the [Bible], and God never does unnecessary things."3 "Careful
examination proves it to be an unprincipled plagiarist."4
These criticisms, however, have been drawn prematurely. Until
all the possibilities have been considered, passing judgment with such finality
is hasty. Indeed, if the foregoing covenantal interpretation of the Sermon has
merit to it, Jesus could have selected no more appropriate text than the Sermon
on the Mount for use at the temple in Bountiful. I am aware of no more valuable
contribution to our understanding of the Sermon on the Mount than the insights
of the Sermon at the Temple. Instead of being a liability or an embarrassment
to the historicity of the Book of Mormon, the text and context of the Sermon on
the Mount in the Book of Mormon turn out, in my opinion, to be among its
greatest strengths. Through the Sermon at the Temple, some of the things that
have baffled New Testament scholars about the Sermon on the Mount become very
plain and precious.
The case of critics like Mark Twain and Reverend Lamb gains most
of its appeal by emphasizing the similarities and discounting the differences
between Matthew 5—7 and 3 Nephi 12—14. Under closer textual scrutiny,
however, these differences turn out to be very significant. Accordingly, in
this chapter I will closely examine differences between the Sermon at the Temple
and the Sermon on the Mount. While one can readily see that there are
substantial similarities between 3 Nephi 12—14 and Matthew 5—7, the
results presented below offer reasons to reject the claim that the Sermon at
the Temple is simply a naïve, unprincipled plagiarism of the Sermon on the
Mount.
While the differences between these two text have been long
cited by such writers as B. H. Roberts and Sidney B. Sperry to support the
claim that the Sermon at the Temple is not a mindless copy of the Sermon on the
Mount,5 and
while some commentators have sensed that the Sermon at the Temple is superior
to the Sermon on the Mount in "sense and clearness,"6 they
have not thoroughly articulated the actual extent or nature of the differences.
The following examination undertakes such an analysis. It examines every
variance (for a complete comparison of the texts, see the appendix) and it
concludes that there are enough important differences between the Sermon on the
Mount and the Sermon at the Temple that the relationship between these texts
cannot be attributed to a superficial, thoughtless, blind, or careless
plagiarism. On the contrary, the differences are systematic, consistent,
methodical, and in several cases quite deft.
For purposes of discussion and testing, the following analyses
will assume two things: first, that Jesus began in Bountiful with a speech that
he had probably delivered several times in Palestine, as, for example, when he
sent his disciples into the mission field (see JST, Matthew 7:1—2, 9, 11)7 and
again sometime before his ascension (see 3 Nephi 15:1); and second, that
he modified that text for delivery to a Nephite audience in Bountiful after his
resurrection. Each instance in which the Sermon at the Temple is different from
the Sermon on the Mount, therefore, will be examined against this assumed
context to determine whether logical reasons can be found for the differences.
The more rational and subtly sensible these differences are, the more respect
one should reasonably have for the Sermon at the Temple and at the same time
the less appropriate it becomes to speak disparagingly of the Sermon at the
Temple as a plagiarism of the Sermon on the Mount.
Differences That Reflect A Post-resurrection Setting
Jesus appeared to the Nephites at the temple at Bountiful after
his resurrection. Since some of the things he had said before his death were
superseded by his atonement and resurrection, they needed to be modified when
explained to the Nephites to fit into a post-resurrection setting. For example,
at the time of the Sermon on the Mount, the fulfillment of the law still lay in
the future (see Matthew 5:18). But by the time of the Sermon at the Temple, the
law of Moses had already been fulfilled, as Jesus had proclaimed out of the
darkness at the time of his death (see 3 Nephi 9:17).
Thus, when Jesus spoke in Palestine he said, "One jot or
one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled"
(Matthew 5:18; italics added), but in Bountiful, he affirmed that one jot or
tittle "hath not passed away from the law, but . . . it hath all been
fulfilled" (3 Nephi 12:18; italics added). Likewise, in summarizing
the series of antitheticals in 3 Nephi 12:21—45, Jesus similarly drew them
together in the Sermon at the Temple with the following conclusion: "Those
things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all
fulfilled. Old things are done away, and all things
have become new" (3 Nephi 12:46—47; italics added). In light of the
glorified state of the resurrected Jesus at the time of the Sermon at the
Temple, he could accurately say, "I would that ye should be perfect
even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (3 Nephi
12:48; italics added). Furthermore, there was no need in Bountiful for Jesus to
instruct the people to pray, "Thy kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10), a
phrase missing from the Lord's Prayer in the Sermon at the Temple (see
3 Nephi 13:9—13), for God's kingdom had already come both in heaven through
Christ's victory over death and on earth that day in their midst.
These differences convey significant theological information.
First, the Sermon at the Temple clarifies that all things under the law of
Moses had been entirely fulfilled in Jesus' mortal life, death, atonement, and
resurrection. The Sermon on the Mount, on the other hand, never addressed this
important question of when the law would be fulfilled,
but it left this key issue open, simply saying that nothing would pass from the
law "till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). The issue of when that
fulfillment became effective, as is well documented in the New Testament,
deeply and tragically divided a number of the early Christian communities, (see
Acts 15; Galatians 5).8 Second,
the Sermon at the Temple speaks from a frame of reference in which Jesus had
become glorified with God. Jesus had already ascended to the Father, and thus
he could well command his listeners in Bountiful to be perfect as he or as God
is perfect (see 3 Nephi 12:48).
A Nephite Setting
When Jesus addressed the Nephites at Bountiful, he spoke in
terms they would understand. The change in setting from Palestine to Bountiful
accounts for several differences between the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon
at the Temple. Instead of "farthing" (Matthew 5:26), Jesus mentions a
"senine" (3 Nephi 12:26), a Nephite unit of exchange. Although
this change might appear to be a superficial change or an artifice, there is
subtle substance to it. Jesus undoubtedly had several meaningful reasons for
mentioning the senine when he spoke to the Nephites.
First, it was not just one of many Nephite measures but was
their basic measure of gold (see Alma 11:5—19). Through it one converted values
of precious metals into the measurement "of every kind of grain"
(Alma 11:7). Moreover, it was the smallest Nephite measure of gold (see Alma
11:8—10). Thus, when Jesus told the Nephites that they might be held in prison,
unable to pay "even one senine" (3 Nephi 12:26), he was
referring to a relatively small amount, equal to one measure of grain.
Furthermore, it was not just the smallness that Jesus had in mind, for
otherwise he could have spoken of a "leah" (Alma 11:17), their
smallest measure of silver. The senine, however, was especially important
because it was the amount paid to each Nephite judge for a day's service at law
(see Alma 11:3). Evidently, the losing party in a law suit was liable to pay
the judges one senine each, a burden that would give potential litigants all
the more reason to "agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in
the way with him" (3 Nephi 12:25). One should note that the Greek
phrase en tē hodō, "in the way," in Matthew 5:25,
idiomatically refers to the commencement of a law suit.9
Also, there is no mention of Jerusalem. Of course, no Nephite
would be inclined to swear "by Jerusalem, . . . the city of the great
King" (Matthew 5:35), since the Nephite view of Jerusalem was rather grim.
But more than that, omitting this phrase may be closer to what Jesus originally
said in Palestine as well. While Jerusalem was known anciently as "the
city of the great king" (Psalm 48:2—tou basileos tou megalou in the
Septuagint), there is numismatic that the precise phrase "great king"
(basileos megalou) was a special political title
in the Roman world that was not used in Palestine until after Jesus' death.
This title was given to the client-king Herod Agrippa I as a result of a treaty
(orkia) granting to him several territories in and around Galilee in
A.D. 39 and 41, which he commemorated with coins in his name bearing this
distinctive, honorific title.10 Based
on this information, it has been suggested that Jesus' saying about oaths (orkoi) may have
originally contained no reference to "Jerusalem the city of the great
King," since Herod Agrippa may not have been politically entitled to that
title until after Jesus' ministry. While there is no way to be sure about this
suggestion, especially since such words were also available to Jesus in Psalm
48:2, the absence of the phrase "the city of the great king" in the
Sermon at the Temple would prove consistent with this obscure numismatic
information.
There is no mention of rain in 3 Nephi 12:45, whereas
Matthew 5:45 says that the Lord makes the sun rise and also the rain fall on
the just and the unjust. It is unknown why the Sermon at the Temple does not
mention rain in this verse. Perhaps this difference reflects less concern in
Nephite lands over regular rainfall or different religious or cultural attitudes
in Mesoamerica toward rainfall.
Finally, the Nephites had had no experience with the hypocrites
of Matthew 6:2, who cast their alms with the sounding of (or into) trumpets,
and thus Jesus did not speak to the Nephites of what such hypocrites
"do," but what they "will do" (3 Nephi 13:2). For the
Nephites, such behavior was hypothetical or figurative, not familiar.
An Audience Dependent upon Written Law
The Nephites relied heavily on the written law. Their ancestors
treasured the Plates of Brass, also relying heavily upon those written records
for specifications regarding the law of Moses and how they should keep it.
Being cut off from most sources of oral or customary law, the Nephites saw the
law primarily as a written body (see 1 Nephi 4:15—16) and viewed any
change in the written law with deep suspicion (see Mosiah 29:22—23). The Jews
in Jerusalem in Jesus' day, on the other hand, had an extensive body of oral
law to accompany the written Torah, and the oral law was very important in the
pre-Talmudic period of Jewish legal history.
Accordingly, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says repeatedly to
the Jews "Ye have heard that it was said . .
." (Matthew 5:21, 27; see 33, 38, 43; italics added). To the Nephites,
however, such a statement would not have carried as much weight as a reference
to the written law. Thus, in the Sermon at the Temple Jesus consistently cites
the written law, saying, "Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of
old time, and it is also written before you" (3 Nephi 12:21),
"it is written by them of old time" (3 Nephi 12:27), "again
it is written" (3 Nephi 12:33), "behold, it is written"
(3 Nephi 12:38), "and behold it is written also" (3 Nephi
12:43).
An Explicit Covenant-Making Setting
As has been explained extensively thus far, the Sermon at the
Temple was delivered in a covenant-making context. Several significant
differences between the two Sermons reveal and reflect this important
dimension. In the Sermon at the Temple, the injunctions and instructions were
given by Jesus as "commandments" (3 Nephi 12:20), and the people
received them by entering into a covenant with God that they would always
remember and keep those commandments that Jesus gave to them that day (see
3 Nephi 18:7, 10). Just as the children of Israel entered into a covenant
to obey the law of Moses as it was delivered to them at Sinai, the Nephites at
Bountiful received their new dispensation of law, superseding the old, as the
Sermon at the Temple openly explains. Consistent with this setting, the Sermon
at the Temple contains unique phrases that belong to the sphere of
covenant-making.
First, Jesus' words in the Sermon at the Temple were given to
the Nephites as commandments. No such designation appears in the Sermon on the
Mount, and thus biblical scholars inconclusively debate whether Jesus'
teachings in the Sermon on the Mount were intended as celestial ideals, as
ethical or religious principles, or as social commentary. The Sermon at the
Temple, however, leaves no doubt that the words Jesus spoke at Bountiful were
intended to create binding obligations. Jesus issued laws of the gospel, which
all those who entered into the covenant that day were to obey. The people were
required to come unto Jesus and be saved by obedience to the
"commandments, which I have commanded you at this time" (3 Nephi
12:20).
Second, those who will be received into the kingdom of heaven
are those who come unto Christ (see 3 Nephi 12:3, 20). The phrase
"who come unto me" appears five times in the Sermon at the Temple
(3 Nephi 12:3, 19, 20, and 23 twice), but it never occurs in the Sermon on
the Mount. Coming unto Christ, according to the Sermon at the Temple, requires
repentance and baptism (see, e.g., 3 Nephi 18:25, 32; 21:6; 30:2), and
thus it is in essence a covenantal concept. Only those who "come unto
[Christ] with full purpose of heart" through his prescribed ordinances
will be received (3 Nephi 12:24; cf. 3 Nephi 14:21; 15:1). The
presence of the phrase "come unto Christ" is consistent with the
covenantal context of the Sermon at the Temple, and this connection is
strengthened by the likelihood that the Hebrew phrase "come before the
Lord" probably has cultic meanings of standing before Jesus' presence in
the temple at Jerusalem.11 Stephen
D. Ricks suggests that the phrase "come unto me" in the Sermon at the
Temple may be conceptually equivalent to the Old Testament expression
"stand in the presence of the Lord," which is thought to be temple
terminology. Along the same lines, John I. Durham presents evidence that
the shalom described the complete blessedness that is "the gift
of God, and can be received only in his Presence." and "the concept
of the Presence of God was certainly of vital importance to the Old Testament
cult."
Emphasis on the Desires of the Heart
Although the Sermon on the Mount already demands of its
adherents an extraordinarily pure heart (see, e.g., Matthew 5:8, 28; 6:21), the
Sermon at the Temple adds two more references to the heart. The first is
expressly connected with the covenant-making process, requiring any person
desiring to come to Christ to do so "with full purpose of heart"
(3 Nephi 12:23—24; cf. 2 Nephi 31:13; Jacob 6:5; 3 Nephi 10:6;
Acts 11:23). This instruction replaces the saying in the Sermon on the Mount
about bringing one's gift to the temple altar (see Matthew 5:23—24).
The second such addition sharpens the instruction regarding
adultery by issuing the following commandment: "Behold I give unto you a
commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart"
(3 Nephi 12:29; cf. Psalm 37:15). Likewise, the Sermon at the Temple
prohibits any anger in the heart at all (see 3 Nephi 12:22), not allowing
even justifiable anger, which is allowed in the traditional Matthean text (see
Matthew 5:22).
Undoubtedly, these statements about the heart would have been
intensely poignant in the minds of the Nephites, since the only thing they knew
about the new law at the time the Sermon at the Temple began was the fact that
the old ritual law had been replaced by a new law of sacrifice requiring
exclusively the sacrifice of "a broken heart and a contrite spirit"
(3 Nephi 9:20). The added emphasis on the heart is therefore especially
instructive to those Nephite listeners, given their pressing need to understand
this new law of sacrifice.
A More Immediate Relation to God
In several passages in the Sermon at the Temple, subtle changes
bring the divine influence more explicitly to the surface. When one is
"filled" in the Sermon at the Temple, the beatitude is not left
unspecified, as in the Sermon on the Mount , but it reads "filled with the
Holy Ghost" (3 Nephi 12:6; see also JST). One suffers, not just
"for righteousness' sake," but "for [Jesus'] name's sake"
(3 Nephi 12:10; and JST). The murderer is in danger, not just of "the
judgment," but of the judgment "of God" (3 Nephi 12:21—22;
and JST). And when one comes to Christ after first being reconciled to his
brother, Christ himself is the one who "will receive [him]" (3 Nephi
12:24). Such expressions give the Sermon at the Temple (and the JST) a somewhat
more intimate, personal connection with the divine than what is conveyed in the
Sermon on the Mount. This character is consistent with the Sermon at the Temple
being delivered by Jesus in his divine and glorified state.
Absence of Unseemly Penalties
In two places, penalties mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount
are conspicuously absent in the Sermon at the Temple. First, the Sermon on the
Mount teaches that anyone who "shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19), but the Sermon at the Temple mentions
no such punishment or criticism. Second, where the Sermon on the Mount says,
"If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, . . . and if thy right hand
offend thee, cut it off" (Matthew 5:29—30), the Sermon at the Temple
simply gives the commandment "that ye suffer none of these things to enter
into your heart" (3 Nephi 12:29).
Interestingly, the Sermon on the Mount has been subjected to
considerable criticism by commentators on account of these two passages. On one
hand, some have argued that the drastic punishment of one who breaks even the
least commandment seems grossly disproportionate to the crime and,
uncharacteristically, too legalistic for Jesus to have said. On the other hand,
the suggestion of bodily mutilation seems wholly inconsistent with the
extraordinary Jewish respect for the human body—an attitude that Jesus
undoubtedly shared—and seems at odds with the other statement in the Sermon on
the Mount that one should cast the beam from one's eye (but not cast away the
eye ). None of these problems arises, however, in the Sermon at the Temple.
Indeed, the absence of these problematic passages here can even be used to support
the idea that these two passages were not originally parts of the Sermon on the
Mount, as some commentators have suspected.
Of course, penalties are not entirely absent from the Sermon at
the Temple. The strict injunction to "give not that which is holy unto the
dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under
their feet, and turn again and rend you" is present in both the Sermon at
the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:6; 3 Nephi 14:6). While
this passage has presented great problems to interpreters of the Sermon on the
Mount who wonder why Jesus would in one breath say "love your
enemies" (Matthew 5:44) and a few verses later call other human beings
"swine" and "dogs,"12 this
situation can be explained quite naturally, as discussed above, in connection
with a requirement of secrecy in a covenant-making context.
Holy and sacred things are not to be shared or broadcast
indiscriminately, and this is on severe penalties, as are typically mentioned
in connection with oath-swearing and covenant-making in the ancient world.
Thus, scholars may be correct in suggesting that the specific penalties
mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount were not originally there (for the Sermon
at the Temple presents those texts differently), but those commentators would
go too far by concluding that penalties had no role in the personal teachings
of Jesus at all.
A Church Organizational Setting
The Sermon on the Mount gives no clues about how its followers
were organized ecclesiastically, or about their institutional positions or
relationships. The Sermon on the Mount, for all that one knows about it from
the Gospel of Matthew, could stand independently as a code of private conduct,
quite apart from any religious society or organization. Nothing said expressly
in or about the Sermon on the Mount tells us how early Christian communities
used the Sermon on the Mount or how its parts related to the various officers
and functionaries in that movement. Yet scholars such as Hans Dieter Betz have
concluded that the Sermon must have occupied a prominent place in the religious
and liturgical life of the early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.13
Betz's proposition in general is more than confirmed in the
Sermon at the Temple by the fact that it was delivered in connection with the
establishment of a group of disciples who would lead the new church of Christ
(see 3 Nephi 11:18—22; 18:36—37; 26:17—21). Several differences between
the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at the Temple ( often also with the JST)
make this organizational setting explicit:
(1) At Bountiful, Jesus ordained and called priesthood leaders.
Third Nephi 12 begins with two ecclesiastical beatitudes not found in the
Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words
of these twelve whom I have chosen; . . . again, more blessed are they who
shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me,
and that ye know that I am" (3 Nephi 12:1—2).
(2) All believers were instructed to enter into a covenant of
baptism, thereby becoming members of Christ's church (3 Nephi 18:5). As a
result, to them it was given to be the salt of the earth: "I give unto you
to be the salt of the earth" (3 Nephi 12:13; italics
added), a transferral and casual connection unstated in the Sermon on the
Mount's simple declaration, "Ye are the salt
of the earth" (Matthew 5:13).
(3) Likewise, the two commissions, "I give unto you to be
the light of this people" and "Let your light so shine before this
people" (3 Nephi 12:14, 16), seem to refer most clearly to
relationships over and among or exemplary roles of the believing covenant
people (see 3 Nephi 12:2; 13:25; 15:12), who later in the Sermon clearly
are called "the people of my church" (3 Nephi 18:5; cf.
3 Nephi 20:22; 27:24, 27). With similar language the Lord had also given
covenant Israel its calling and mission: "I will also give thee for a
light to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 49:6).
(4) Furthermore, the fact that the words in 3 Nephi
13:25—34 were addressed solely to "the twelve whom he had chosen"
(3 Nephi 13:25) and the idea that the offended brother in 3 Nephi
12:22—24 had the power to judge ("whosoever is angry with his brother
shall be in danger of his judgment") are two
other places in the Sermon at the Temple where that text distinctively
presupposes or discloses ecclesiatical or organizational elements.
A Greater Universality
Consistent with Jesus' open invitations to all mankind in the
first parts of the text (see 3 Nephi 11:23; 12:2), the word
"al"l is introduced into the Sermon at the Temple five times in the
beatitudes (3 Nephi 12:4, 6, 8, 9, 10). While this may seem a small
addition, its repetition creates a crescendo of emphasis on the universality of
the gospel and on the absolute desire of Jesus for all people to receive its
blessings. In the Sermon at the Temple, "all" those present went
forth and touched the Savior (3 Nephi 11:15—16), "all" bowed
(3 Nephi 17:9—10), "all" came forth with their sick to be healed
(3 Nephi 17:9), "all" saw, heard, and witnessed (3 Nephi
17:25; 18:24). The Sermon at the Temple is consistently emphatic that
"all" participated, not just a small group of disciples (as in the
Sermon on the Mount) who were separated from the multitudes (see Matthew 5:1).
The Absence of Anti-Pharisaical Elements
It has been argued that the Sermon on the Mount, in its present
form in the Bible, has passed through the hands of an anti-Pharisaical
community of early Christians who were struggling to separate themselves from,
and who were having strained relations with, their mother Jewish faith and the
established synagogues in Jerusalem.14 Indeed,
anti-Pharisaism can be seen as one of the main tendencies of Matthew, and hence
its manifestations in the Sermon have been advanced as evidence of Matthean
composition of the Sermon on the Mount.
Interestingly, the place in which scholars think they see of
these anti-Pharisaical evidences in the Sermon on the Mount are not found in
the Sermon at the Temple. Thus, the saying "except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees" (Matthew
5:20) is not present in 3 Nephi. A very different and important statement
in 3 Nephi 12:19—20 about obedience and sacrifice appears instead.
Likewise, the unflattering comparison between good men the world over and the
publicans, both of whom love their friends (see Matthew 5:46—47), is wholly
absent in 3 Nephi 12. Warnings against hypocrisy are present in both the
Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 6:2, 5, 16; 7:5;
3 Nephi 13:2, 5, 16; 14:5), but these admonitions in the Sermon at the
Temple are not aimed specifically at the Pharisees.
The Absence of Possible Anti-Gentile Elements
Likewise, it has been similarly argued that the Sermon on the
Mount, as it stands in the Gospel of Matthew, has been redacted slightly by a
Jewish Christian who held an anti-Gentile bias.15 The
evidence for this view comes from three passages. Whatever weight one may
accord to such evidence in critical studies of the New Testament, in each of
the three cases, the perceived anti-Gentile elements are unproblematic for or
absent from the Sermon at the Temple, as one would expect in a discourse
delivered to a group of people who knew no Gentiles.
Accordingly, the references to publicans in Matthew 5:46—47 are
absent in 3 Nephi 12, and the words "for after all these things do
the Gentiles seek" (Matthew 6:32) do not appear in 3 Nephi 13:32. The
problem of vain repetitions put up to God by the "heathens" (ethnikoi, Matthew 6:7),
which is mentioned in the Sermon at the Temple, need not be a later
anti-Gentile intrusion into the Sermon on the Mount. In any event, the problem
of vain, repetitive apostate prayers was well-known to the Nephites from Alma's
shocking encounter with the practices of the Zoramites (see Alma 31:12—23).
The Absence of Alleged Anti-Pauline Elements
It has also been suggested that certain portions of the Sermon
on the Mount are anti-Pauline.16 Again,
because of differences between the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on
the Mount , either the purported anti-Pauline materials are lacking in the
Sermon at the Temple or it is highly doubtful that the supposed anti-Pauline
elements are in fact anti-Pauline.
The most likely deprecation of Paul in the Sermon on the Mount
is the passage that condemns anyone who teaches people to ignore even the least
of the commandments in the law of Moses—he will be called "the least in
the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). Paul is the obvious figure in early
Christianity who taught and promoted the idea that Christians need not observe
the law of Moses, and his ideas met with considerable hostility among both Jews
and certain Christians. Since Paul was known as "the least" of the
apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9), it seems quite plausible that early Christians
would have seen in Matthew 5:19 a direct criticism of Paul's position, if not
of Paul himself, for it is easier to believe this appellation was added to the
Sermon on the Mount after Paul had called himself
"the least" than to think he would have called himself by that,
knowing it was part of the pro-law tradition. If the text of the Sermon on the
Mount solidified around the 50s when Paul's debate was raging, it is possible that
Matthew 5:19 was altered somewhat in light of that controversy (the crucial
phrase is also absent in the JST, Matthew 5:21 ). If that was the case, one
would not expect to find Jesus at Bountiful using anti-Pauline words twenty
years earlier in the Sermon at the Temple. In fact, no anti-Pauline elements
can be suggested in the contrasting text of 3 Nephi 12:17—19.
Some commentators have seen other passages in the Sermon on the
Mount are anti-Pauline, but in those cases the evidence seems even weaker. The
concern about destroying or fulfilling the law is too general to be identified
exclusively with Paul. Concern over destroying the law, or the role of the law
of Moses in the messianic age or in the world to come, was a general Jewish
problem, not just an issue raised by Paul's views of salvation.17 Questions
posed to Jesus about tithing, ritual purity, healing on the Sabbath, and many
other such things show that people in early Christianity were concerned with
this precise issue from the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Concerns about how
and when the law of Moses would be fulfilled was equally a Nephite issue from
the time of Lehi and Nephi until the coming of Jesus at Bountiful (see, e.g.,
2 Nephi 25:24—27; 3 Nephi 1:24; 15:2).
It is, therefore, fitting that Jesus explained his relationship
to the old law, both in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at the Temple.
Similarly, warnings against false prophets (see Matthew 7:15) need not refer
covertly to Paul, but probably reflect long-standing Israelite concerns and
rules (see Deuteronomy 18:20—22). Futhermore, the mere presence in the Sermon
of the criticism against those who call "Lord, Lord" (kurie, kurie, Matthew
7:21) does not appear to be evidence that this condemnation was included as a
polemic against Paul in a theological anti-kurios statement,
as some have suggested,18 for
the same phrase appears in Luke 6:46, and Luke can scarcely be accused of being
an anti-Pauline collaborator. To the same effect, regarding the assertion that
advising people to build their house upon the rock (see Matthew 7:24) supported
Peter (the rock) as opposed to Paul, see Luke 6:47—49.
While the Sermon on the Mount in its present form may have
passed through the hands of an early Christian anti-Gentile, anti-Paul
community, most traces of such influences are scant. The absence from the
Sermon at the Temple of the chief bits of evidence of an anti-Pauline hand in
the Sermon on the Mount supports the view that the Sermon at the Temple
preserves a text based on a version that predates any such influences on the
text.
Other Differences
A number of other differences between the Sermon on the Mount
and the Sermon at the Temple are worth mentioning in passing. There seems to be
a slightly greater emphasis in the Sermon at the Temple on eschatological
judgment at the last day. Futurity is stronger in the Sermon at the Temple than
in the Sermon on the Mount: for example, "ye shallhave great
joy" (3 Nephi 12:12; italics added); or "the salt shall be
thenceforth good for nothing" (3 Nephi 12:13; italics added).
The Sermon at the Temple seems slightly more personal, since
"who" has been substituted for "which" on several occasions
(see, e.g., 3 Nephi 12:6, 10, 45, 48; 13:1, 4, 6, 9), but it is unknown
whether this first appeared on the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon or
as a correction to the printer's manuscript. While these changes are minor,
they add to the overall intimacy of Jesus' words in the Sermon at the Temple.
His audience at Bountiful is not a faceless crowd. Unlike the Sermon on the
Mount, 3 Nephi even names some of the people who were there to receive him
and his words (see 3 Nephi 19:4).
The Sermon at the Temple achieves greater clarity by explicitly
stating certain things that the Sermon on the Mount simply assumes: for
example, "it" (3 Nephi 12:13); "nay" (3 Nephi 12:15);
"wherein ye will take up your cross" (3 Nephi
12:30; italics added); "I say that I would that ye should do alms
unto the poor" (3 Nephi 13:1; italics added); "even so will he clothe
you, if ye are not of little faith" (3 Nephi 13:30; italics added). These
changes strengthen the imperative force of Jesus' statements, especially those
that change negative, self-evident statements into positive commands or
promises.
Finally, several reasons may be suggested why Jesus dropped the
petition "Give us this day our daily [epiousion] bread"
(Matthew 6:11) in the Sermon at the Temple. Perhaps the petition did not fit
the circumstances because Jesus knew he would spend the entire day with these
people and would not take time for lunch. Perhaps it was omitted because Jesus
wanted to supply a unique sacramental bread at the end of the day (see
3 Nephi 18:1). Perhaps it was dropped because Jesus is the bread of life,
and the people had already received their true sustenance that day in the
appearance of Jesus.
Unfortunately, the meaning of the word epiousion (daily?
continual? sufficient? essential? for the future?) is obscure,19 but
one of the earliest interpretations of it (supported by the early fragmentary
Gospel of the Hebrews) was eschatological: "maḥar [the
Hebrew that Jerome assumed stood behind the Greek epiousion] meant not
only the next day but also the great Tomorrow, the final consummation.
Accordingly, Jerome is saying, the 'bread for tomorrow' was not meant as
earthly bread but as the bread of life" in an eschatological sense.20 If
the several scholars are correct who refer this petition "to the coming Kingdom
and its feast"21 ,
Jesus might have considered this petition unsuitable in the context of the
Sermon at the Temple, since the kingdom had in one sense already come. His
appearance at that time in Bountiful was a realized eschatological event.
Assuming that this is the meaning of epiousion, this deletion
would fall into the same category as the other differences, mentioned above,
that reflect the post-resurrection setting of the Sermon at the Temple.
In sum, one can readily compare the texts of the Sermon on the
Mount and the Sermon at the Temple. There are many differences between the two
texts. Although, to the casual observer, most of them seem insignificant or
meddlesome, a closer examination shows that most of these variations are quite
meaningful and subtle. The differences are consistent with the introduction of
the Sermon into Nephite culture, with its covenant-making context, and with
dating the text to a time before when the suspected factional alterations or
additions were made to the Sermon on the Mount. All this, in my opinion, speaks
highly for the Sermon at the Temple as an appropriate, well thought out, and
pertinent text, and it supplies considerable evidence that the Sermon at the
Temple was not simply plagiarized superficially from the Sermon on the Mount.
Of course there are many similarities between the two texts, and
in large sections no differences occur. These similarities are consistent with
Jesus' open acknowledgement that he taught the Nephites "the things which
I taught before I ascended to my Father" (3 Nephi 15:1). The Sermon
at the Temple is, therefore, not only appropriately similar, but also
meaningfully different from the Sermon on the Mount. The more I know of those
differences, the more I am impressed that achieving this subtle balance was not
something that just casually happened.
3. Ibid., 187—88 (italics in original). In response to
a similar expression, B. H. Roberts countered, "I am led to believe that
you have been so absorbed, perhaps, in tracing out the sameness in the
expressions that you have failed to note the differences to which I allude, for
you make the claim of strict identity between the Book of Mormon and King
James' translation too strong." B. H. Roberts, "Bible Quotations in
the Book of Mormon; and Reasonableness of Nephi's Prophecies," Improvement Era 7 (1904):
181.
5. Roberts, "Bible Quotations in the Book of
Mormon," 184; Sidney B. Sperry, Problems of the Book of Mormon (Salt
Lake City: Bookcraft, 1967), 104—6. James E. Talmage, Jesus the
Christ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976), 725, 729, sees a
greater emphasis in the Sermon at the Temple than in the Sermon on the Mount on
the adoration of Jesus, but otherwise considers the two sermons to be virtually
identical, both containing "the same splendid array of ennobling
precepts" and "the same wealth of effective comparison," p. 727.
7. I will not discuss in detail the differences
between the Sermon at the Temple, Sermon on the Mount, and the Joseph Smith
Translation. These three texts are set in parallel columns in the appendix. For
a discussion, see Robert A. Cloward, "The Sermon on the Mount in the JST
and the Book of Mormon," in The Joseph Smith Translation: The
Restoration of Plain and Precious Things, ed. M. Nyman and R. Millet
(Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, 1985), 163—200. The fact that the
Sermon at the Temple and the Joseph Smith Translation are not identical to each
other shows, from one Latter-day Saint point of view, that Jesus delivered the
Sermon several times, and thus one should not necessarily expect to find a
single "correct" version of the text.
9. For example, Frank Zimmermann, The Aramaic
Origin of the Four Gospels (New York: KTAV, 1979), 47. Strecker, Sermon on the
Mount, 69, points out that the expression soon took on a broader
meaning, however, than merely "the way to the courthouse."
10. The coins of Herod Agrippa I (37—44 A.D.) bearing
the inscription ORKIA BASILEOS MEGALOU AGRIPA are catalogued in Ya'akov
Meshorer, Ancient Jewish Coinage (Jerusalem: Amphora, 1982),
2:45, 47, 56, 246; seealso Ernst W. Klimowsky, On Ancient
Palestinian and Other Coins, Their Symbolism and Metrology, Numismatic
Studies and Researches VII (Tel Aviv: Israel Numismatic Society, 1974), 105—6.
For this information, I am indebted to Dennis C. Duling of Canisius College for
his paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in
November 1988.
11. John I. Durham, "Shalom and the Presence of
God," in Proclamation and Presence, ed. John I. Durham and J. R.
Porter (Richmond, Va.: John Knox, 1970), 292, 290; see Baruch A. Levine, In the Presence
of the Lord (Leiden: Brill, 1974).
12. Albright and Mann say this applies to alien and
heathen people. William F. Albright and Christopher S. Mann, Matthew (Garden
City, New York: Doubleday, 1971), 84. Lachs links the Samaritans with the dogs
and the Romans with the swine: "Who are the dogs and the swine in this
passage? It is well-known that they are both used as derogatory terms for the
Gentiles." Samuel T. Lachs, A Rabbinic Commentary on the New
Testament (New York: KTAV, 1987), 139.
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