Jesus Appears to Disciples in Galilee

Matthew 28:16. Of all the recorded appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples in Palestine, this one is paramount; and yet of it the present Bible preserves only a most fragmentary account. This was an appearance by appointment, by pre-arrangement, to which probably a great multitude of disciples was invited. It is likely the occasion of which, as Paul wrote later, "he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." (1 Corinthians 15:6.) If so, the seventies and leading brethren of the Church would have been present, as also perhaps the faithful women who are inheritors of like rewards with obedient priesthood holders.

Matthew 28:16; We do not know when Jesus specified the location of the meeting, but on the night of his betrayal and arrest, he gave this promise: "After I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee." (Matthew 26:32.) Then the angels at the tomb, as part of their announcement to the women that "he is risen," commanded them to tell his disciples: "He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him." (Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7.) And then to confirm again their previously made appointment, and in so doing to reemphasize its importance, the risen Jesus himself said to the women, as they held him by the feet, and worshipped him: "Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." (Matthew 28:9-10.)

Matthew 28:16; We may suppose that great preparation preceded this meeting; that it dealt with many things, perhaps being similar to his resurrected ministry to multitudes of Nephites; and that from it, by the months of many witnesses, the sure testimony of his divine Sonship went forth to the world.

Matthew 28:17; 17. Some doubted] Not the apostles; they as a group, including Thomas had come to know of the actual corporeity of his body. But others present, though they recognized him as the risen Lord, had yet (meaning, no doubt, only when he first appeared) to learn that he had a literal and tangible body which ate food and could be handled and felt. These who at first doubted the literal nature of the resurrection would, like Thomas, have soon believed and acclaimed, each speaking from the depths of a grateful soul: "My Lord and my God." (John 20:28.)

Matthew 28:18. Christ was God before the world was. There was no limit to the power he then exercised. He was the Lord Omnipotent. (Mosiah 3:5.) He was "like unto God." (Abraham 3:24.) As a spirit being he exercised the power of his Father in the creation of all things. "Worlds without number have I created; . . . and by the Son I created them, which is my Only Begotten." (Moses 1:33.)

Matthew 28:18; But as with all the spirit children of the Eternal Father, he came to earth to be "added upon" (Abraham 3:26), to be tried and tested under worldly circumstances, and to receive an eternal body of flesh and bones. As he passed through mortality he served as the great Prototype and Exemplar for all men, showing how men can keep the commandments, go from grace to grace, and eventually ascend the throne of eternal power. Though he, as a God, exercised the fulness of his Father's creative powers in pre-existence, yet with his attained body of flesh and bones his status now becomes as that of his Father; and so he here announces that he has received, in this added sense, all power in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:18; John explained how Christ was God in pre-existence, exercising the fulness of his Father's creative powers; how he then came to earth to undergo a mortal probation, in which he gained experience and went from grace to grace; and how, after the resurrection, he received, as a consequence, all power in heaven and on earth. These are his words: "I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was; Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us. And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first. And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son. And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father; And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him." (D&C 93:7-17.)

Matthew 28:19; Teach all nations; Mark 16:15] This command was given to the apostles then standing in the presence of the Lord, not to other people in other places, not to men who should live in other ages. The apostles held the keys of the kingdom. It was part of their commission to evangelize the world, and that they did the work appointed to them, none can deny. If any other people in any other place or age are to perform a similar work, they must have the same priesthood, the same keys, and the same commission. Without revelation no man or set of men can take unto themselves the honor of building up God's kingdom.

Matthew 28:19; In the true Church, the Church where revelation is found, the same authorizations had of old have been given anew in these words: "Go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature. And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even God's high priests; ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends; Therefore, as I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost." (D&C 84:62-64.)

Matthew 28:19; In the meridian dispensation, by express decree, the apostles were first restricted in their teachings and ministrations to the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:5-6.) But now the commission is expanded to include all nations; they are now to go into all the world; the gospel, in due course and according to the prescribed priorities, is to be offered to every creature. That the apostles did not comprehend fully the magnitude of the new commission is seen from the fact that the Lord later had to give Peter an express command to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 10.)

Mark 16:16; Both belief and baptism are essential to salvation; one without the other does not suffice. It is not enough to confess the Lord Jesus with the lips and stop there; nor does it suffice to be baptized, unless also there is resident in one's heart that sure knowledge that Jesus is Lord of all.

Mark 16:16; The salvation here involved is an inheritance in the celestial kingdom. As Nephi taught, Christ "commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God." (2 Nephi 9:23.) To be damned is to be denied entrance to that glorious realm where God and Christ are. Baptism pertains to the celestial kingdom and to no other. Joseph Smith said: "A man may be saved, after the judgment, in the terrestrial kingdom, or in the telestial kingdom, but he can never see the celestial kingdom of God, without being born of water and the Spirit." (Teachings, p. 12.)

Mark 16:16; These same eternal truths have been known to and taught by the Lord's people in all ages. For instance, when Jesus ministered among the Nephites he said: "Whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned." (3 Nephi 11:33-34.) And with special reference to the condemnation of those who fail to believe and be baptized, the Lord has said by revelation to the elders of his Church in this day: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized in water in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father's kingdom where my Father and I am." (D&C 84:74.)

Matthew 28:19. All things pertaining to salvation in the kingdom of God are done in the name of Christ. Two ordinances, however—baptism, the gate to salvation in the celestial kingdom, and celestial marriage, the gate to exaltation in the highest heaven of that world—are performed, not in his name alone, but "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," thus signifying how everlastingly important each of these ordinances is in the eternal scheme of things.

Matthew 28:19; Observe all things] Is a man saved through belief and baptism alone? Does membership in the Church, without more, guarantee a celestial inheritance? To suppose such is to build on a shaky foundation. After baptism must come obedience and righteousness, the period of testing when the new born babe in Christ must learn to observe and do all things which the gospel requires, the period when he must "work out" his 'own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philipians 2:12.) Nephi taught what is involved in these words: "For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this straight and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate. . . . And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:17-20.)

Mark 16:17. These signs shall follow then, that believe] This is an eternal, immutable, everlasting decree: Signs shall follow them that believe. When men believe the same gospel taught by Jesus and his apostles, signs and miracles follow; when they depart from this original, pure, and perfect Christianity, to some other system of religion, the promised signs are no longer found. Thus the presence or absence of signs becomes a means of identifying the true gospel, the same gospel had of old.

Mark 16:17; Aware that signs are no longer shown forth in the religions of the world, this plain statement of Jesus is explained away by such reasoning as this: "The gift of miracles was given in order to assist the diffusion of the gospel at the very first. When Christianity was firmly planted, the gift of miracles was withdrawn." (Dummelow, p. 733.)

Mark 16:17; The Prophet Mormon, foreseeing this modern day of unbelief, was led by the Spirit to bear this testimony to the world: "Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain. For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made." (Moroni 7:35-38.)

Matthew 28:20. Lo, I am with you alway] Jesus here promises to be with the apostles always, which he thereafter was by the power of his Spirit. In principle this promise applies to all of the saints, and hence it is a promise to the Church, that the Lord's protective care will be over it. Implicit in the divine assurance here given is that the apostles, the saints, the Church itself, must be in harmony with Christ. If any of the apostles had chosen to follow Judas, they could have done so, and Jesus no longer would have been with them. Or, if the Church itself, as later was to be the case, should fall away from the truth, the promise of divine protection and guidance would be withdrawn. "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10.)

Matthew 28:20; When Jesus gave to the Nephite Twelve the command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, with the promise that signs would follow them that believed, he also gave this promise of continued divine protection. But he used different language, language that is in effect an interpreting analysis of what he had said to his similarly empowered representatives in Palestine: "And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth." (Mormon 9:25.)