Christ's Knowledge

Through the process of the atoning sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and perhaps also while on the cross, Christ gained all of the knowledge necessary to spiritually heal us and teach us what we must do to be sealed up to eternal life. Isaiah explained, “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11). Alma explained that Christ would take on himself our infirmities and sins in order to gain the knowledge necessary to deliver us: 

12) And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13) Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me. (Alma 7:12-13)

 

In a revelation to Joseph Smith, Christ explained that he “knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted.” (D&C 62:1). Peter taught that “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:9). From this small sample of scriptures, we see that the knowledge that Christ gained through his suffering includes:

§  The knowledge of how to succor and deliver us in our infirmities
§  The knowledge of how to deliver us from our temptations
§  The knowledge of how to justify us

But what does it mean to be justified? The words ‘justify’ and ‘righteous’ in Isaiah 53:11 quoted above both come from the same Hebrew root word ‘zedek’, which is typically translated as ‘righteous’ or ‘righteousness’. According to ancient Hebrew scholar Jeff Benner, the word ‘zedek’ means “one who remains on the path. The path is the course through life which God has outlined for us in his word.” (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_righteous.html). I would define “The Path” as the series of ordinances that you need to receive, covenants with God that you need to make, laws and commandments that you need to keep and trials that need to successfully fulfill until you are brought into the presence of God, speak with him face to face, and receive the promise of eternal life. LDS scholar LeGrand Baker has this to say about ‘zedek’:

Zedek was a path that did not bend, a principle of action that was in strict conformity with the laws of rectitude, priesthood propriety, and truth… Both words, zedek and Zadok, are related to the Israelite temple. Their translations, “righteous” and “righteousness,” have to do with High Priestly authority, rectitude, and propriety. The words assert that one has and will continue to do the right things, with the right authority, in the right place, at the right time, using the right words, and dressed the right way, and be personally clean and worthy. One may be described as a “follower of righteousness” if one followed the correct procedures in performing or receiving priesthood and ancient temple ordinances and covenants. One might “obtain righteousness” in consequence of the rectitude of another’s actions. And, most importantly, one might be a further “follower of righteousness” by living according to one’s ordinances and covenants, and then claiming the blessings promised therein… “Righteousness” might simply be defined as “temple and priesthood correctness.” (Who Shall Ascend into The Hill of The Lord (2009), p. 281-283).

Now when we read that “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many” (Isaiah 53:11), we can understand that ‘to justify’ means to put someone back on the path of temple and priesthood correctness towards the presence of God and eternal life.

Because of Christ’s righteousness, he is able to make us righteous. He is righteous because he lived according to his ordinances and covenants, never deviating, and then claimed the blessings promised therein. He is able to justify us or make us righteous and return us to “the paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:3) because he bore our iniquities (see Isaiah 53:11). The prophet Lehi understood that Christ’s own righteousness gave him power to justify, make righteous, or redeem others when he said to his son Jacob, “I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh” (2 Nephi 2:3-4).

In the ancient Near East, the verb ‘to know’ (and its noun form, ‘knowledge’) was sometimes used as a technical legal, treaty, and covenant term. According to LDS scholars Stephen Ricks and RoseAnn Benson, “In covenant language, to know indicates God's knowledge, primarily in reference to people, with care for those whom he knows; knowledge of God, that is, an understanding of where one stands in relation to God; and ignorance of God, meaning failure to practice the filial relationship in which they [humankind] stand with God. … To know … conveyed terms of the treaty relationship as well as its obligations. Old Testament covenants use the verb to know in the very same senses, with the added dimension of intimacy.” (http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1399&index=6). When we talk about Christ’s saving knowledge, we are talking not only about his intimate knowledge of our sins, temptations, infirmities, weakness, as well as our strengths, but we are also talking about a covenant.

Now we can understand the statement “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many” in a more meaningful way. We can read that statement in this way – by his knowledge, covenant to save and intimate understanding of their weaknesses shall my servant who never deviated until he fulfilled his path of temple and priesthood correctness help others who lose their way to return to their path of temple and priesthood correctness so that they may gain eternal life.