Cast Out of the Synagogue
When
Jesus taught the Nephites He told this to the twelve disciples, “Ye shall meet
together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye
shall meet together… and shall not cast them out…. And ye see that I have commanded that none of
you should go away…; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh
this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation” (3 Nephi
18:22-25). I can think of three
scriptural stories where this counsel to not cast anyone out from their synagogues
was violated.
The most obvious example is that of the Zoramites. We read that “the poor class of people… were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel” (Alma 32:2). The Zoramites were filled with pride and would not let those who were poor come into their synagogues. They eventually “cast out of the land” all of the believers and joined with the Lamanites (Alma 35:6). They clearly were “led into temptation” as the Savior said, and dwindled in unbelief because of their great pride. A second example is that of the Jewish rulers’ treatment of the man born blind. He was healed by the Savior, but they couldn’t accept it and when the man defended his Healer, “they cast him out”, essentially excommunicating him. Jesus condemned them saying, “your sin remaineth” and they certainly fit Christ’s description to the Nephites of being “led into temptation” because of their great desire for power and control (John 9:34-41). The third example comes from the Savior’s own experience in the synagogue in Nazareth. After He read the famous verses from Isaiah and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” they were angry with Him so they “rose up, and thrust him out of the city,” trying to kill Him (Luke 4:29). So they cast out from their synagogue the very God they were claiming to worship therein. Surely they were likewise “led into temptation” as they tried to break one of the ten commandments (commit murder) and allowed themselves to throw out the Savior. Perhaps this counsel from the Savior to the Nephites in conjunction with these stories teaches us one way to recognize spiritual problems for ourselves. If we have any kind of desire to cast someone out from our churches (or simply wish they were not there) perhaps we too are being led into subtle temptation.
The most obvious example is that of the Zoramites. We read that “the poor class of people… were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel” (Alma 32:2). The Zoramites were filled with pride and would not let those who were poor come into their synagogues. They eventually “cast out of the land” all of the believers and joined with the Lamanites (Alma 35:6). They clearly were “led into temptation” as the Savior said, and dwindled in unbelief because of their great pride. A second example is that of the Jewish rulers’ treatment of the man born blind. He was healed by the Savior, but they couldn’t accept it and when the man defended his Healer, “they cast him out”, essentially excommunicating him. Jesus condemned them saying, “your sin remaineth” and they certainly fit Christ’s description to the Nephites of being “led into temptation” because of their great desire for power and control (John 9:34-41). The third example comes from the Savior’s own experience in the synagogue in Nazareth. After He read the famous verses from Isaiah and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” they were angry with Him so they “rose up, and thrust him out of the city,” trying to kill Him (Luke 4:29). So they cast out from their synagogue the very God they were claiming to worship therein. Surely they were likewise “led into temptation” as they tried to break one of the ten commandments (commit murder) and allowed themselves to throw out the Savior. Perhaps this counsel from the Savior to the Nephites in conjunction with these stories teaches us one way to recognize spiritual problems for ourselves. If we have any kind of desire to cast someone out from our churches (or simply wish they were not there) perhaps we too are being led into subtle temptation.
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments: