the first commission to the twelve.
when jesus called the twelve apostles and sent them out to preach his word, he gave them these instructions, "go not in the way of the gentiles, and into any city of the samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel. and as ye go preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." evidently, then, the apostles were not to trouble to deliver the glad message of the gospel to any who were not purely of the house of israel. they were to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;" but none of these good works were they to do amongst the gentiles, nor in the land of the samaritans. it seemed almost that jesus did not want those not of israel to enjoy the privileges and blessings of his great redemption.
the leaven of the gospel.
but such an intention was only apparent; it was not real. all men, of whatever race or color, are the children of god; and the great atoning sacrifice was made for the gentiles as well as for the jews. said jesus once in a parable, "the kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." the whole world is to be leavened with the gospel of jesus christ; indeed, the savior's last charge to his apostles was that they should go into all the world, and preach the word of god. only when the gospel has been heard by every nation, tongue, and people, will the end come.
{292} the kingdom to the gentiles.
the apostles were slow, however, to understand this truth, though jesus taught it to them plainly. it was right, of course, that they should minister first to the children of israel. israel constituted the chosen people. from them, and through them, had come to the world the knowledge of the one great god—the god of abraham, of isaac, and of jacob. from them, too, had come now the messiah, by whom was to be wrought the salvation of the world. what the apostles did not appreciate, however, was that the jews would prove themselves unworthy of their savior. yet, jesus taught this, too; and in teaching this truth, he declared further that the gospel would be given to others. to the woman of samaria, jesus declared, "woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at jerusalem, worship the father. ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the jews. but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship him." no longer, after the ministry of jesus, should jerusalem be the center of divine worship. the world over, men should learn to worship god in spirit and in truth. not only so; but jesus asserted also that because of the unbelief of the jews, the privileges of his church should be taken away from them and given to others. "did ye never read in the scriptures," jesus asked of the jews, "the stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? {293} therefore say i unto you, the kingdom of god shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." and, indeed, such a transfer of privilege and responsibility was almost necessary to fulfill the ancient prophecy, "behold my servant, whom i have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: i will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the gentiles. . . . and in his name shall the gentiles trust."
the case of cornelius.
when the apostles were left to themselves, however, they continued still to minister only to the jews. it required a special revelation from heaven, to arouse them to the fact that the gospel was for the gentiles also. there lived in caesarea a roman centurion named cornelius. cornelius was a devout and god-fearing man, though a gentile, and prayed much that he might learn what to do to gain eternal life. one day an angel appeared to him, and instructed him to send messengers to joppa for one simon, surnamed peter, who should tell cornelius what to do. cornelius sent two of his men immediately to seek out peter. meanwhile, peter, at joppa, "went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. and there came a voice to him. rise, peter, kill and eat. but peter said, not so, lord; for i have {294} never eaten anything that is common or unclean. and the voice spake unto him again the second time, what god hath cleansed, that call not thou common." this vision appeared to peter three times; and while he was pondering on the meaning of it the messengers of cornelius arrived. peter hurried to caesarea to minister to cornelius; and when he saw that god had blessed cornelius, peter understood the meaning of the vision. "of a truth," said he, "i perceive that god is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."
the preaching of barnabas and paul.
thenceforth, the apostles preached to the gentiles as well as to the jews. paul and barnabas told the truth fearlessly to the jews themselves. "it was necessary that the word of god should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the gentiles. for so hath the lord commanded us, saying, i have set thee to be a light of the gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. and when the gentiles heard this they were glad, and glorified the word of the lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life were saved."
"other sheep."
thus was the word of god carried to the gentiles. but jesus did not himself minister to them during his earth-life. while yet ministering to those who followed him in the holy land, however, jesus uttered a strange declaration. he said, "i am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. as the father knoweth {295} me, even so know i the father: and i lay down my life for the sheep. and other sheep i have, which are not of this fold: them also i must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
a puzzling question.
from the time that jesus made this statement until the restoration of the gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times, it has never been fully understood by men. that jesus is the good shepherd is clear enough. he has earned the undisputed right to that title by the devoted sacrifice he made for his sheep. but what did he mean by "other sheep" not of the fold of palestine, who must also hear his voice, that there might be one fold, as there was one shepherd? where else did jesus personally minister besides the holy land and paradise? these questions have puzzled many; and because of failure to find any other adequate answer, the "other sheep" have been usually interpreted to mean, the gentiles. but how the gospel came to the gentiles has been pointed out. they could not have been the "other sheep," who were to hear the voice of jesus. who, then, were the "other sheep."
forty days.
you will remember that after his resurrection jesus appeared at ten different times to his disciples in palestine. it seems, however, that between the resurrection and the ascension there elapsed a period of about forty days. what did jesus do during those forty days? of course, we cannot hope to be able ever to account for all those days, nor would it help us much perhaps to do so. {296} but it was during that interesting but shrouded period of forty days that jesus visited the other sheep.
in the land of the nephites.
far over the waters, in another and then unknown land, lived the nephites. they had been taught to look forward to the coming of the lord. when he was born a babe in bethlehem, the star of promise shone brilliantly in the land of the nephites. for three days there was light, and no darkness at all. again, after thirty-three years, the land of the nephites became shrouded in darkness when the lord was crucified. the earth was shaken and torn asunder. cities were sunk into the sea, and places that had been sea were made dry land. mountains were levelled and valleys were upheaved. and countless numbers of the wicked were destroyed. when the terrible convulsions and the darkness had passed, there was a multitude of the people of nephi assembled near the temple in the land bountiful. suddenly, a voice spoke to them out of heaven. it was the voice of god declaring, "behold my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased, in whom i have glorified my name: hear ye him." the people cast their eyes upward; and lo! they saw a man clothed in a white robe descending out of heaven.
the appearance of jesus to the nephites.
it was jesus. he came and stood in the midst of his people, the nephites; and he showed them the prints in his hands and in his feet, and the wound in his side. then he proceeded to teach them as he had taught his disciples in palestine, and to choose twelve apostles, and to organize his church, so that the people might enjoy the privileges of the priesthood and of a {297} holy worship. jesus appeared to these people more than once; and on one occasion, he said, "ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of joseph. and behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the father hath given it unto you. and not at any time hath the father given me commandment that i should tell it unto your brethren at jerusalem; neither at any time hath the father given me commandment, that i should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of israel, whom the father hath led away out of the land. this much did the father command me, that i should tell unto them. that other sheep i have, which are not of this fold; them also i must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. and now because of stiffneckedness and unbelief, they understood not my word: therefore i was commanded to say no more of the father concerning this thing unto them. but, verily, i say unto you, that the father hath commanded me, and i tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity, that they know not of you. and verily, i say unto you again, that the other tribes hath the father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity, that they know not of them. and verily, i say unto you, that ye are they of whom i said, other sheep i have which are not of this fold; them also i must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
in the unselfish ministry of jesus christ there is no one forgotten. all the children of israel are ministered {298} to; the dead hear the voice of jesus; and the gentiles have the gospel preached to them. the jewish scriptures are united with the nephite scriptures in the personal ministry of jesus to his "other sheep."
a promise to us.
"i am in your midst," said jesus to the prophet joseph smith, "and i am the good shepherd, and the stone of israel. he that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall, and the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me, and know that i am, watch, therefore, that ye may be ready."
the references
matt. 10:5-7. acts 10:1-48.
matt. 13:23. acts 13:44-49.
john 4:21-23. john 10:14-16.
matt. 21:41-44. 3 nephi 15:12-21.
matt. 12:14-21. doc. and cov. 50:44-46.
the questions
1. what was the nature of the first commission to the twelve apostles?
2. what is the meaning of the parable of the leaven?
3. what did jesus teach concerning the kingdom of god and the gentiles?
4. what do we learn from the case of cornelius?
5. what did jesus say about "other sheep"?
6. what did the nephites know about the coming of jesus?
8. what promise has jesus made to us?
7. what did jesus tell the nephites?
