He saved others; himself he could not save...

Easter 2013 video by yours truly:

 

 

Transcript:
“He saved others; himself he could not save…” (Matthew 27:42)
I cannot help but wonder if this phrase did not stick in the minds of those early disciples after Jesus died on the cross.
Some of his disciples had been with him for nearly his entire ministry, and believed almost as soon as they saw him.  Many went to their friends declaring that they had “found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write…” (John 1:45)
They were there when he boldly instructed multitudes, and quietly taught those that sought him by night.  These people were among those that were “…astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:28-29)
They had seen him feed thousands with a few loaves and fishes.  They had seen him make lame men walk, deaf men hear, and blind men see.  They had followed him when others accused him of blasphemy, tried to kill him, or simply asked him to leave them alone.
Some of them had experienced the terror of being caught in a storm at sea and appealed to him saying “carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38)  In amazement they had watched as he commanded the winds and the waves to be at peace, and saved them.
They had listened to his thunderous condemnation of the scribes and hypocrites, and seen him overthrow the tables of money changers in the temple.  They had heard him compassionately stop to help those who desperately sought healing, and to mercifully promise peace and forgiveness even to those who had made poor decisions in their pasts.
They heard him command Lazarus to come out of his tomb, and had watched in shock and awe when he that had died came out alive and whole.
After he had been betrayed by Judas, some of them had seen as Pontius Pilate washed his hands and let his enemies torture him.  It had been too late to do anything when they watched the soldiers drive nails into his hands and feet.  Even as he died, his enemies declared those hurtful words, “…he saved others; himself he could not save…”
For some of his disciples, there was nothing left to do but pay respects.  The man they had believed to be the redeemer of the world had been killed.
After he died, several of the women who had believed in him went to the tomb in which he had been sealed, only to find the stone had been rolled away.  To their surprise, they saw two men in shining raiment near the entrance.  The men asked them “why seek ye the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen…” (Luke 24:5-6)
They might as well have asked “did you actually believe what those men said?  Did you think he could not save himself?” 
Most of the women went to tell the apostles, but Mary Magdalene wept near the tomb, perhaps thinking that an enemy had taken his body to further disgrace him.  In her grief, she perceived a man that asked her why she was weeping.  Thinking that he was the gardener, she asked to know where the body of Jesus had been taken.  As he called her by name, she turned and realized the truth.  Standing before her was Jesus Christ himself, alive and well.
Over time, many disciples saw him and came to the same understanding as Mary did on that first Easter morning.  The words of the enemies of Christ might have seemed convincing… “he saved others; himself he could not save…”  But the truth was that he did save himself.  Even death was not sufficiently strong to stop the Son of God.
Though centuries have come and gone, the man that beat death itself is as alive today as he was then.  His power has not waned with the passing of time.  Though skeptics and enemies of Christ would have Christians despair, especially on Easter, we would do well to remember that the champion of right has not yet completed his plan.  Jesus Christ lives… and he is coming to save us all.

Credits:
Narration and recording on a mediocre microphone, done by me.
Artwork:
Various
Video Music:
Epic moving hearfelt beautiful dramatic trailer score by Audiomachine - Helios! 'Like' their official page on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/audiomachine Title: Apollo's Triumph Artist: Audiomachine Composer: Paul Dinletir (ASCAP) Album: Helios Genre: Epic Beautiful Intense Dramatic Orchestral Trailer Score Image: http://dinesiac.deviantart.com/galler... Website: http://www.audiomachine.com/ Buy Audiomachine's public music here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/audiomachine http://itunes.apple.com/de/artist/aud... http://www.amazon.de/s?ie=UTF8&se...

Satan Bound

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And case him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3)

There is a debate that exists among many Christians regarding what exactly the idea of Satan being bound means.  Latter Day Saints are not united in the interpretation of this either.  When speaking on the subject of the millennium, a member of my class commented that Satan would not literally be bound, but that this was figurative since the people that would live under the personal reign of Jesus Christ would not give place to Satan.  A citation of the following passage was added as evidence: "And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan haas no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth." (1 Nephi 22:26)

There are other passages that indicate this binding may be figurative rather than literal.  Personally however, I do not subscribe to the figurative binding for several reasons.

First, a literal binding is possible.  Satan is not just a concept, or an idea, he is a literal individual that is filled with hatred and malice toward men.  God did in reality cast him out of heaven.  God does have power to bind any individual since he is omnipotent.

Second, if it is people that are not giving into temptation, why not say that?  Why use the wording that places Satan as the direct object.  And if at the end of the thousand years people begin doing evil, why not say that they forsake God as was so frequently said of the children of Israel in the Old Testament?  Why say that Satan shall be loosed?  It makes the most sense that Satan is the direct object of binding and loosing when the binding and loosing is literal.

Finally, and particularly for LDS scriptorians, if modern revelation is the key to our understanding and the Book of Mormon tends to point to a figurative binding, why would the Doctrine and Covenants indicate a literal binding?  "For Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth." (D&C 43:31)  "And so on, until the seventh angel shall sound his trump; and he shall stand forth upon the land and upon the sea, and swear in the name of him who sitteth upon the throne, that there shall be time no longer; and Satan shall be bound, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years." (D&C 88:110)

I believe that people underestimate the power of Satan.  He has accumulated ages of experience, and he knows very well how to manipulate men.  There really is only one person that can best him every time, and that is Jesus Christ.  He is the one that redeems men that have enough faith in him from the grasp of the devil.  He is the one that saves us from Satan's power.  Because of him we pray to God for deliverance from evil.  He is not just saving us from a concept, a philosophy, or an idea... Christ saves us from a literal threat, from a real villain that plots against us with malice and disdain.  If we trust in him, he will save us all.