New and Cool and Secret Stuff in the Scriptures

Dear Readers,

I think I found something new and cool and secret in the Scriptures that I’ve never heard anyone talk about before.

Compare Matthew 26:36-46 with 3 Nephi 19:15-36. There are some interesting correlations between the two passages. You can use the fully searchable electronic texts of the Scriptures for free here: http://scriptures.lds.org/

A little bit of context: In Matthew 26, Jesus Christ has just had the Last Supper with his Twelve Apostles, but now he’s down to eleven Apostles because Judas Iscariot went out to betray Jesus. Jesus and his Apostles are in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus is about to bleed from every pore for the sins of the world. Jesus is about to start the Atonement.

In 3 Nephi 19, Jesus is resurrected and visiting the Nephites in ancient America. He has already wrought the Atonement, both in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. Jesus is busy administering the sacrament, teaching the Nephites, and establishing his church there.

I’ll paraphrase the parts of Matthew 26:36-46 I want to highlight.

38: Jesus tells Peter, James and John to stay in a certain place in the Garden of Gethsemane.

39: Jesus leaves and prays by himself the first time.

40-41: Jesus goes back to his disciples and finds them sleeping. He wakes them up and tells them to “watch and pray.”

42: Jesus leaves and prays by himself the second time.

43: Jesus goes back to his disciples and finds them sleeping again. I infer that this time he lets them keep sleeping.

44: Jesus leaves and prays by himself the third time.

45: Jesus goes back to his disciples, who are still asleep.

Now I’ll paraphrase the parts of 3 Nephi 19:15-36 I want to highlight.

15-18: Jesus tells his disciples to pray.

19-23: Jesus leaves and prays by himself the first time.

24-26: Jesus comes back to his disciples and finds them still awake and praying.

27-29: Jesus leaves and prays by himself the second time.

30: Jesus comes back to his disciples again and finds them still awake and praying.

31: Jesus leaves and prays by himself the third time.

35-36: Jesus comes back to his disciples again and finds them still awake and praying. (3 Nephi 19: 35-36 don’t specifically say that the disciples were praying when Jesus returned the third time, but I infer they were still praying from 3 Nephi 20:1.)

Notice the similarities? I think the similarities are too similar for it all just to be a coincidence. The authors of the Scriptures put those details in there for a reason.

But what does it mean? I don’t know. But I have a few thoughts on the matter.

The similarities between Matthew 26:36-46 and 3 Nephi 19:15-36 remind me of the hymn Jesus Once of Humble Birth by Parley P. Pratt: ( text taken from http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Curriculum/music.htm/hymns.htm/sacrament.htm/196%20jesus%20once%20of%20humble%20birth.htm#JD_Hymns.196 )

1. Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth.
Once he suffered grief and pain;
Now he comes on earth to reign.
Now he comes on earth to reign.

2. Once a meek and lowly Lamb,
Now the Lord, the great I Am.
Once upon the cross he bowed;
Now his chariot is the cloud.
Now his chariot is the cloud.

3. Once he groaned in blood and tears;
Now in glory he appears.
Once rejected by his own,
Now their King he shall be known.
Now their King he shall be known.

4. Once forsaken, left alone,
Now exalted to a throne.
Once all things he meekly bore,
But he now will bear no more.
But he now will bear no more.

That hymn is about how when Jesus was a mortal on the Earth, he was obscure and he was bullied and beaten and mocked, but on every visit to Earth after his resurrection, Christ comes in his full glory. He won’t suffer himself to be pushed around anymore. During his mortal ministry, Christ’s disciples slept, but after he was resurrected, his disciples were more faithful.

So Matthew 26:36-46 and 3 Nephi 19:15-36 could be a story about the progress of Christ and the progress of Christ’s believers. I don’t know what else to make of it.

I’ve found a few other neat similarities in the scriptures that could be neat coincidences, or they could be meaningful. (Oh, and I don’t mean to sound like I’m the first one to find these neat things- I bet people have found and talked about them before- I just haven’t come across it.)

I found in Genesis 41, Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and says that there will be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, so during the seven years of plenty, the Egyptians are supposed to store up seven years’ worth of food. Then in 3 Nephi 4:4, the righteous Nephites build up a seven year food storage, too. What’s up with that?

OK, I really gotta go do homework.

Sincerely,
Telemoonfa