The Come, Follow Me 2023 lessons are drawn from the New Testament. The Sunday School curriculum complements the Book of Mormon as a witness of Jesus Christ, and the title is taken from the Savior’s invitation in Matthew and Luke: “Come, follow me.” This article contains scriptural insights from Latter-day Saints and notable secular scholars, along with the Come, Follow Me 2023 schedule.
The stories of women in the New Testament are well known. At least that’s the way it seems. We know about Mary, the mother of Jesus—and Mary Magdalene. We’re also familiar with the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery. But in reality, we know very little about these biblical women. In this interview, BYU’s Camille Fronk Olson discusses her career and then explains what we do and don’t know about female New Testament figures.
The Gospel of John is unique in the New Testament. For example, the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke largely tell the same stories. John, on the other hand, introduces readers to unique events from the Savior’s life—and seems to do so with a theological purpose. In this interview, Eric Huntsman explains that themes of “encounter and discipleship” in the Gospel of John have real-life application for Christians today.
Latter-day Saints and mainstream Christians differ in how they understand the natures of God and of Jesus Christ. For instance, the Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon doesn’t always align with the Savior in the Bible. But those differences might not be as extreme as is often assumed. In this interview, BYU’s Jason Combs discusses efforts by early Christians to understand the nature of Jesus Christ as both human and divine.
The account of Mary Magdalene in the Bible is only the beginning of her story, according to fictional accounts like The Davinci Code. But legend has a way of overshadowing history. In the case of Mary Magdalene, asking only if she was married to Jesus overlooks her contributions. In this interview, biographer Bruce Chilton tells the story of Jesus’ most pivotal female follower.
Herod the Great is perhaps best known for the massacre of the innocents portrayed in the Gospel of Matthew. Interestingly, many scholars believe that Herod claimed to be a messiah, and Ehud Netzer’s discovery of King Herod’s tomb at Herodium led to additional evidence. In this interview, biblical archaeologist and Masada expert Jodi Magness expounds on her related article in the Journal of Ancient Judaism.
Selecting the books of the New Testament canon was an ongoing process that wasn’t complete until hundreds of years after the time of Christ. In this interview, biblical scholar Thomas A. Wayment explains how the New Testament came to have the texts that are in it today.
