Matthew 15-17, Mark 7-9

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WHOM SAY YE THAT I AM? (Matthew 16:13-20)

ICEBREAKER

First, let’s cover the verses that I made my very first video about—Matthew 16:13-20. And for an icebreaker to these verses, I like to talk about some of the styles and fads of my teenage days. See I was a teenager during the late 80’s, early 90’s and my generation, as all generations do, had some trends that I look back on now and laugh a bit. Some of the things that I remember being a big deal, pegged pants, bright neon colors, braided belts, the girls had really big hair and high bangs. If you wanted to be cool, you had to have Girbaud brand jeans, which I never did because my parents were not going to spend 100$ on a pair of pants. Air Jordans were the new big shoe, or Reebok pumps were just as cool, although I look back and think, how silly. They were shoes that you actually pumped up and filled with air, like that was supposed to make you jump higher or something. And anyway I might just have some fun showing pictures of these style. And every generation has stuff like that. Just share some of those things from your youth, and, even better, if you have a picture of yourself in those styles, your class will have a blast laughing at those with you. Then, ask your students about some of the silly styles from their youth, or if you are teaching the youth, you can ask them what styles and trends they think they will be laughing about in the future.

TRANSITION

And the fact of the matter is that the styles and the fads of the world change, and they change quickly. What is popular and acceptable today is laughed at and ridiculed tomorrow. The world does not have much stability. Now sadly, the opinions and beliefs of the world follow much the same pattern. Opinions, beliefs, and ideas can also change very quickly. Case in point, the world is not the most trustworthy of sources of truth. If we get all of our opinions and beliefs from Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, or Internet news sources, we may very easily be led astray. For all of our talk about individuality, as humans we don’t like to stray too far from the comforting conformity of the pack. But I’m afraid that if we invest too much value in the herd mentality or majority rules beliefs, we can be deceived. This is true not only of styles and trends, but social attitudes, politics, behaviors, and even morality. Well long ago, Jesus had a small conversation with his apostles in Matthew 16 that illustrates this danger and gives us a better alternative to finding truth.

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So please turn with me to Matthew 16:13-17 and look for and mark the two questions that Jesus asked his apostles in these verses. What are they?

The first question is, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?”

To which his apostles respond with some of the popular opinions of the day. Well, some people believed that he was John the Baptist come back from the dead. Some thought he was Elias, others, Jeremiah. Still others, we know, believed that he was a deceiver, a heretic, or a devil.

But then Jesus asks the critical second question. What is it? “But whom say ye that I am”. To which we have Peter’s famous response:

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Now I’m going to stop right there and point out a critical truth that I believe Jesus is highlighting here. And I want to ask you: Why do you think Jesus asked the first question and not just the second? Is the first question even needed?

I believe it’s because Jesus was deliberately drawing a contrast between the thoughts and opinions of the world, and the real source of Peter’s thoughts and beliefs regarding Christ. That first question sets a crucial backdrop to the second question. What public opinion asserts must not be the critical factor in determining what we believe. Thank heaven that the apostles did not decide that what “men say” was more important than what they themselves had discovered about Christ. What matters most is what has been revealed to us by our Father in Heaven. Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ because it had been revealed to him through the Father and NOT flesh and blood. He received that knowledge through the power of personal revelation.

God, the Father himself should be our major source of truth. And so we would do well to ask ourselves, “What is the major source of my ideas, opinions, beliefs, values, attitudes, and standards? Is it the internet, social media, my peers, movies, television, professors? How much of what we think has been influenced by what men say? Or do our beliefs come from deep and honest introspection, prayer, Godly sources like scripture and prophets. The things that have been revealed to us through the Spirit.

Jesus’s continued response to Peter can also guide us. He says:

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Now I know that those verses can be interpreted in a number of different ways. But one way it can be interpreted is that the rock upon which Christ will build his church is the testimonies of faithful women and men who can stand on their own thoughts and beliefs, who refuse to be influenced by what men say, and are committed to seeking truth from the right source: personal revelation from the Father. It is against THAT kind of commitment that the gates of hell cannot prevail. It is that kind of commitment that can become so rock solid that no trial, question, doubt, pain, persecution, ridicule, or challenge can dislodge it.

TRUTH

The source of my ideas, beliefs, and opinions should not come from the world, but from the source of all truth, revelation from our Father in Heaven.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

To liken the scriptures here, and to really sink this truth deep in to your student’s hearts, try having this little dialogue with them. We’re going to use Jesus’s same line of questioning with some other relevant topics of our day. For example . . .

What do men say about the Sabbath Day? Right now. What are some of the popular opinions and thoughts on the Sabbath? And they may say, it’s a good day to just sit around and watch sports, to get some shopping done, run errands, or it’s a day like any other, a part of the weekend.

But what do you say? And then call on someone to share their thoughts. And they may say, It’s a holy day. It’s a day of rest. It’s a sacred day of worship.

And then you can look back at them with a big smile and say, Blessed art thou (and then say that student’s name that has answered) for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto you, but your Father which is in heaven.

And then do that same thing with any other number of topics. What do men say about Joseph Smith? Some say he was a fake, a conman, a deceiver. But what do you say? I say he was a prophet of God, an inspired seer called to restore Christ’s church in the latter days. Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not reveled it unto you but your Father which is in heaven.

What do men say about alcohol? Some say that it’s a good way to relax. That it makes you feel better. That it makes parties more interesting. But what do you say? I say it’s best to be avoided—that it causes way too many problems and accidents in our day. I say that the inspired Word of Wisdom helps us to choose what is best to put into our bodies. Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but your Father which is in Heaven.

And you can go on and on with that with as many topics as you like.

What does the world say about the Book of Mormon, living prophets and apostles, foul language, pornography, etc.

And no matter how many examples you use, be sure to end with the very question that Jesus himself posed to the apostles that day. Whom do men say that Jesus Christ is? Nowadays? Some say, he was a great moral teacher, he was an inspiring historical figure, he’s a fictional character, that he is outdated. But what do you say? And I believe, that if you’ve set this up right, this should draw heartfelt testimony from your students. Who do they believe Jesus Christ to be?

CONCLUSION

And I would love to answer that question myself. Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of the living God. He, along with his Father are THE sources of truth and light and wisdom and I believe that we can only find happiness and peace by seeking them. And I pray that we can immunize ourselves from the power and the influence of what men say. THAT must not be THE crucial factor in determining what we believe. We’ve got to decide if we are just going to repeat the fluctuating babble of our age and go with the flow of public opinion or are we going to establish ourselves on the ROCK of revelation from God. And I can promise you that if we do the latter, the gates of hell shall never prevail against us.

IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE (Matthew 17:1-9)

NOTE

Well shortly after this declaration and moment of commitment for Peter, He, along with James and John will be invited to experience something quite sacred and special on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration. We’ll study Matthew’s account of this event in chapter 17:1-9. Now a quick note on what I like to focus on in these verses. You could decide to take a very doctrinal approach to this story. In the verses we just studied, Jesus follows up his statement to Peter by saying:

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Well Jesus is going to fulfill that prophecy here in these verses. His “first presidency”, so to speak, is going to receive those keys. And you could talk about that here. And there are plenty of resources out there that you could use on that approach. The Come Follow Me manual, for one, has some great ideas on that. But I’d like to give you an alternative idea. There’s another approach that I've found to also be quite relevant and instructive for my students.

ICEBREAKER

So for an icebreaker to this idea, I like to play a quick round of charades with my students. I have my students divide into pairs, with one student facing the board, and the other facing the back of the room. The student that can see the board will see a picture of a scripture character. They will have to try and get their partner to name that person just by acting things out, no words. The first three partnerships to name the correct person, gets a small treat. And I have them switch places after each round. So the people I have them try to guess are Moses, Abraham, Elijah, Nephi, The Brother of Jared, and Jesus. Now once they’re done with that activity you can say . . .

TRANSITION

Each one of these individuals have something in common. They all had incredibly spiritual experiences on the tops of mountains. Moses spoke with God and received the 10 commandments from the top of Mt. Sinai. Abraham had that special experience with Isaac on the top of Mount Moriah, Elijah called down fire from heaven from the top of Mount Carmel, Nephi had an incredible vision of the tree of life and the future from the top of a high mountain, and the Brother of Jared saw the spirit body of Christ from the top of a mountain. And then Jesus, along with Peter, James and John experienced something very significant from the top of a mountain called the Mount of Transfiguration. Let’s go to Matthew 17:1-9 to examine that moment.

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And here, as a teacher, you could cover the doctrinal significance of the Transfiguration. But then I like to ask : In the first couple of verses of that chapter, we hear Peter conclude something about his experience on that mountaintop. What did he say?

In verse 4, Peter says, “It is good for us to be here.” I love that phrase. That’s what I would call a “power phrase”. We can key the rest of the lesson or that entire story on that short phrase.

Why would he say that? What was good about that situation and place? Find as many reasons as you can for why it was good for them to be there. And here I like to project an image of verses 1-9 on my whiteboard and invite my students to go through verses 1-9 to look for as many things as they can that they feel contributed to Peter’s conclusion. And if they do, they can come to the front and mark that word or phrase and explain why that was a good thing. Now if your students struggle to understand what I mean here, you could give them a few examples of your own to get the ball rolling. And there are no right or wrong answers here. But allow me to give you a few of the ones that I've found in my own study to give you an idea of what I mean here. In verse one we could mark the word Jesus and conclude it's good to be with Jesus. Then you have Peter, James, and John mentioned there also. Well, they're the first presidency so it's good to listen to or be with the first presidency. You could key off the word brother here. It's good to be with family. He bringeth them up. It’s good to follow the Savior. It's good to go up to be closer to God. Apart. It's good to separate yourself from the world—to be apart from it for a time. Verse two. His face did shine. It's good to witness and feel the glory of God. It’s good to be worthy to experience that. Do you see how this works here? The word “white”. It's good to be pure and innocent. Light. It's good to be in the light of Christ. In verse three. Moses and Elias appear. It's good to be in the company of prophets. In verse five, a voice came out of the cloud. It's good to hear the voice of God. Beloved Son. It's good to be in places filled with love. Hear ye him. It's good to listen to Christ. Jesus came and touched them. It's good to be touched by the Savior. Be not afraid. It's good to be comforted by the Savior. And on and on—there are more. Your classes are sure to find more of their own or bring their own insight and perspective to these same phrases.

Then after you've done that for a while, then I would say “Now I encourage you to always strive to spend time as much time as you can in places and with people where you can say, like Peter, “It is good for me to be here.”

TRUTH

I should strive to go only to those places and be under the influence of the powers and people that will allow me to say, “It is good for me to be here.”

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Have you ever had an, “It is good for me to be here,” experience?

And maybe you could share one of your own with them first. When is a time or a place where you felt it was good for you to be there? A Mount of Transfiguration kind of experience? Maybe in the temple? During an ordinance? Listening to a particular talk in church or conference or Sunday School? A time when you were studying the scriptures? In nature? FSY? A testimony meeting? Something you experienced with a friend or family member?

CONCLUSION

Whatever, wherever, and whenever these experiences have taken place, I hope that we will cherish them, and remember them, and testify of them frequently. These “It is good for me to be here” experiences can lend us strength and endurance through the remainder of our journey through life. I’m sure that Peter, James, and John never forgot that sacred event and it must have provided them with inspiration and motivation from that day forward. Our own “mountaintop moments” can do the same for us.

HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF (Mark 9:14-29)

ICEBREAKER

For our next story, we’ll go to Mark chapter 9. As an icebreaker, I like to do a little object lesson, but it does require a little bit of a purchase to make it work. What you are going to need is a package of clear gel beads, sometimes called Orbeez. Now you can buy these on Amazon for a fairly small price and I’ll provide a link in the video description if you’re interested. And what you’ll do is put these into a large clear vase full of water and allow them time to expand and grow. Now in the water, as long as there is enough water to cover them all, you can’t see them. It just looks like a large vase of water. But then I make a challenge to my students. I tell them that I am going to make a pretty outrageous claim here and they are going to have to decide whether I’m telling the truth, or if I’m lying. Is this an object lesson on belief or is it an object lesson on deception, it could be either. So I pull out the vase with the Orbeez in it and I tell them that this vase is actually full of something other than just water. I have actually hidden hundreds of objects inside the water in the vase. Do you believe me? And let’s take a poll. First, how many of you don’t believe me? You feel this is all just an illustration on deception and all those people who aren’t raising their hands are going to feel rather silly in a just a minute because it’s obvious that there’s nothing else in there but clear water. Now how many of you believe me? There is something in the water. And a slight variation on that question. How many of you believe me because you think you know how it’s possible or you’ve seen something like this before? And perhaps a few students will raise their hands. But how many of you believe me, but you’re not exactly sure how it’s possible. Now before you show them the Orbeez, highlight the different groups. Those that don’t believe that my statement is true, what would we call that? That is what we call “doubt.” Those individuals doubt that what I’m saying is true. And they have good reason, don’t they. It obviously appears untrue. You can’t SEE anything in there, can you? Those that have seen this illustration before have something different. They have knowledge. They know it because they’ve seen it. But the most fascinating group out there to me are those of you who believe me, but you just don't have any idea how it’s possible. You just trust that I'm telling you the truth, or you believe because there are other people in the room that say they know, but you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. What would we call that middle group? That's faith. Believing without seeing. And then you can invite one of those “faith” students to come up and ask them . . . “Would you like to have your faith confirmed?” Then invite them to reach into the vase and grab and see what happens. And when they do, a large group of Orbeez will come up in their hand. The water was full of hundreds of objects all along.

TRANSITION

Now how many of you have experienced that kind of situation but on a more meaningful level? Have you ever experienced times of doubt in your life? Have you ever had your faith challenged? Do the claims of the gospel ever appear to be too good to be true or hard to believe because you can’t see them? Do you believe the Church is true, or do you sometimes face times of doubt? There’s a certain phrase I’ve heard people use in their testimonies that I feel can often be troubling to other members. You might hear someone say, “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt” that such and such is true. Now that’s wonderful that they people can say that kind of thing with such conviction on some principle, but does that seem to suggest that this is what faith is all about? What if I can’t say that? What if I don’t feel that I can be intellectually honest by saying that? Do I really have a testimony? Because I’ll tell you something, my friends out there. Honestly, I’m pretty sure that I’ve experienced “shadows of doubt” in my life. And If you have ever faced doubt in any form or over any issue or topic in your life, or if you are currently experiencing doubts, then I believe this little story in Mark 9 can help!

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To cover this story, I would invite my class to open their scriptures to Mark 9:14-29. And I don’t do this kind of thing very often but on occasion I find that it can be quite powerful. I tell my students that I’ve invited a very special guest speaker to come in and share with them this story and some of the major truths it teaches. Our guest speaker’s name is Jeffrey R. Holland and he’s going to help us to understand this story on a much deeper level. And then I just simply show my students Elder Holland’s talk entitled, “Lord, I Believe” from the April 2013 General Conference. It’s a masterpiece of a talk and does a far better job of teaching the principles of this story than I ever could. And it’s only about 15 minutes, which I believe still gives you ample time to discuss it afterward. So we watch the talk together. But to help engage my students a little more with the talk, I give them the following handout and invite them to listen for the answers and to fill out the handout as we go. The handout then provides a framework for a class discussion following the video. So I invite you to watch Elder Holland’s talk first and then come back and join me here and I’ll walk you through the handout. I’ll provide a link to that talk above and in the video description below.

But here are the questions.

1. The man that approaches the Savior in the story admits that his initial belief in Jesus’s power is limited. But what did he have that was “good enough” for the Savior to help him? (Hint: Alma refers to it)

ANSWER: He had a desire to believe. He did have a measure of faith to begin with. If he had had absolutely no faith in Christ, he wouldn’t have brought his son to be healed by him in the first place. That “desire to believe” is a starting point of faith, and even that is “good enough” for the Savior’s help.

2. What pronoun did the man use to show that his whole family had been suffering because of this problem?

ANSWER: The man says, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on US, and help US.” The pronoun is “US”. This man isn’t just asking for himself, but for his struggling wife, his whole family, perhaps his entire community even. Help US, please! This reveals something about what they have been experiencing and dealing with as a family.

3. Jesus responds to this man’s request by teaching the principle: “If thou canst believe, all things are ____________ to him that believeth.” Mark this phrase in your scriptures in verse 23.

ANSWER: All things are possible to him that believeth. Now Jesus is going to teach this principle all throughout his ministry. It’s also found all over the scriptures. Jesus taught that even if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, that we would be able to move mountains. Now that statement is absolutely useless if we take Jesus literally. How many people in the history of the world have been in a situation where an actual mountain needed to be moved and that would be deemed as a necessary or a righteous desire? But if we take him figuratively, I imagine we could all identify “mountains” in our lives. For this man, his mountain was his son’s illness. For us, it could be a mountain of doubt, a trial, a question, an addiction, a calling, or any number of other metaphorical mountains. We do have the power to move those mountains with our faith and the help of the Savior.

4. The man responds by saying, with tears, “Lord, I believe, help thou mine _____________”. Mark this phrase in your scriptures in verse 24. Jesus then heals the man’s son.

ANSWER: Help thou mine unbelief. Oh, this man expresses so simply and beautifully a feeling that I’m sure we all have had in our lives. That paradoxical feeling of believing and not believing at the same time. There is that part of us that believes, that provides us with conviction and hope. Hope enough to make the request, to do something about it, to pray, to ask, to make sacrifices. But, if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that there is another part of ourselves that doubts, that struggles, or that wonders. I’m grateful that this man was willing to put into words that wrestle, that inner turmoil that every single disciple faces. Now Elder Holland is going to take that statement and teach us how to handle our own “Help thou mine unbelief” experiences.

5. In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times . . . Hold fast to what you already ______ and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.

ANSWER: Hold fast to what you already KNOW. That’s where this man started. He started by asserting his strength. He did have faith. He did know some things. He knew that Christ was a good man—that he came from God. He knew he had power to heal. He knew that Christ had helped others. He believed that there was a higher source of power out there that could help him. THAT is faith, and he held fast to that. I think we sometimes confuse faith with knowledge. Alma the younger was very emphatic about that. This is how he defined faith. He said, “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” (Alma 32:21) So faith recognizes, admits, and allows for uncertainty. If there wasn’t that acknowledgement, it wouldn’t be faith. It would be knowledge. And maybe, in our testimonies, if we didn’t feel we could be intellectually honest in using the phrase, “I know”, then for heavens sakes, use the words, “I believe that, I hope that, I have faith that.” Those phrases are every bit as meaningful and precious as the words, “I know that”. So hold fast to THAT part of your belief. As Elder Holland put it in another part of his talk, “hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited.”

Now these next three questions all kind of go together.

6. When problems come and questions arise, Elder Holland encourages us NOT to start or lead your quest for faith with what?

ANSWER: Don’t lead with unbelief. Don’t start your quest by saying how much you do not have. Recognize what you do have.

7. I am not asking you to pretend to faith that you do not have, I am asking you to be true to the faith you ____ have.

ANSWER: Be true to the faith you DO have.

8. What we know will always ____________ what we do not know.

ANSWER: What we know will always TRUMP what we do not know. Each of these questions is making the point that we should not forget all the experiences and truths and promptings that we’ve have had in the past just because we’ve encountered something we don’t understand or struggle with at the present time. It makes me just sick sometimes to hear about people who I know have had powerful spiritual experiences, answers to prayers, and strong promptings and evidences, who then leave all of that behind because they come across one thing that they can’t explain. They read some point or argument against the restored gospel from some stranger on the internet that they don’t know what to do with, and they abandon their faith as if all those other things never happened. Don’t start with what you don’t know, but with what you do! Now the point is not to dismiss those questions or doubts, or ignore them, or pretend they don’t exist. We grapple with them. We study them. We pray about them. We seek for additional knowledge from divinely appointed sources. But we start from a position of faith, what we DO know, not with unbelief.

9. THESE are all God has to work with.

ANSWER: Imperfect people. We’ve got to keep that in mind as we grapple with doubts and questions or when others struggle with them. And I’ll just quote Elder Holland directly here: “So be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men, and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work.”

10. In our questions of faith, when doubt or difficulty come, Elder Holland encourages us to not be afraid to what?

ANSWER: To ask for help. The man in the story did just that, and he got it, even with his measure of unbelief. So seek help! From both sides of the veil. Seek for help from your Heavenly Father in prayer. Seek for help in your scriptures. Seek for help through the words of the living prophets. Seek for help from faithful family members and friends. Seek for help from Bishops, and presidents, and counselors. There are so many places that we can go for help. Use them!

11. How did Elder Holland react when a young man expressed that he didn’t yet know if the church was true?

ANSWER: I love this. He says he hugged him until his eyes bulged out. And then he says, “I told him with all the fervor of my soul that belief is a precious word, an even more precious act, and he need never apologize for “only believing.” I told him that Christ Himself said, “Be not afraid, only believe,” a phrase which, by the way, carried young Gordon B. Hinckley into the mission field. I told this boy that belief was always the first step toward conviction and that the definitive articles of our collective faith forcefully reiterate the phrase “We believe.” And I told him how very proud I was of him for the honesty of his quest.”

I imagine we’re all going to go through that stage that young man was experiencing. Remember that we are all MEANT to undergo “trials of faith” in our lives. God intended our faith to be challenged in this life. So we should not be surprised when we are presented with things like this. And we shouldn’t feel like we are less of a disciple when we acknowledge that a measure of unbelief exists within our hearts.

TRUTH

So a brief recap of some of Elder Holland’s main points taught by this story:

· All things are possible to those that believe.

· In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.

· When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, but be true to the faith that you DO have.

· When doubt or difficulty come, do not be afraid to ask for help.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

What truth from Elder Holland’s talk has been the most helpful or meaningful to you and why?

Could you share a time when your faith was challenged and strengthened?

CONCLUSION

The Lord can not only help us in our unbelief, but he can help our unbelief. He can strengthen that conviction. He can water and cultivate that seed of desire to believe that we’ve planted within our hearts. But we must have the faith to go to Him and ask for that help. Perhaps even with tears. My beloved friends out there, I know that every one of you will struggle with unbelief at times in your lives. I pray that we will all remember this incredible man when those times come. And I testify that your mountains can be moved with even that small mustard seed of faith that you possess.

QUICK PRINCIPLES TRUE/FALSE

Now those are the three principles that I would most want to focus on this week if I were teaching. However, there are some other shorter stories in this week’s Come Follow Me chapters that I would also like to give you just a few brief insights on. So not the full treatment on these, but a few thoughts. And you could cover these as a teacher if you would like with the following TRUE/FALSE handout. Invite your students to go through each of the statements WITHOUT looking at the accompanying scripture references and guess which statements are true and which ones are false. Then, AFTER they’ve done that, invite them to go back and read the scripture references and decide whether they wish to change their answers or not. I have a feeling that they may be surprised at some of the answers. And as you correct the handout, you could ask your students which stories they most want to discuss a little deeper. So let’s go through the answer together and I’ll give you a short insight on each statement to help in those discussions.

TRUE/FALSE

1. Jesus would never call someone “Satan” who believed in him. (Matthew 16:21-23)

2. It’s good to be a loser! (Matthew 16:24-26)

3. Some “fish stories” are actually true. (Matthew 17:24-27)

4. James and John always showed great love and mercy to all, even Samaritans (Luke 9:51-56)

5. Jesus would never refer to someone who believed in him as a dog. (Mark 7:24-30)

6. Prayer alone is not enough to solve some problems. (Mark 9:27-29)

1. Jesus would never call someone “Satan” who believed in him. (Matthew 16:21-23)

The answer to this one is FALSE. He actually did do this. The story is in Matthew 16:21-23 which reads:

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Now, woah. That sounds pretty harsh there, doesn’t it. Peter may be a bit misguided there, but Satan? Why would Jesus call him that? That doesn’t sound very Christlike. Well, let me offer you a thought. I don’t believe that Jesus was really calling Peter Satan or that he felt Peter was a Satanic influence in his life. I feel this was probably a gentle rebuke. Remember the apostles really didn’t fully understand Christ’s mission until after the resurrection. They’re still struggling to grasp the nature of this unexpected Messiah. I think Christ here was trying to make a statement about the KIND of thing that Peter was doing here. Jesus knew what lay on the path of his Father’s will before him. Gethsemane and Golgotha lay on that path. And in that moment, what was Peter doing? He was standing in the way of that path, metaphorically speaking. He comes between Christ and his mission and says, “You don’t have to do this. Be it far from thee, Lord.” And so I don’t think Jesus is responding so much to Peter, as he is the suggestion. And so he says, “Get thee behind me. Don’t come between me and the things my Father has commanded me to do. When you do that Peter, you are acting as an adversary. You are desiring something that would please the devil, not the Father. So get behind me, and follow me, but don’t stand in front of me and my divine destination.”

I think we could learn from that as well. When others come to us and suggest that we don’t need to follow a certain commandment or fulfill a covenant or make a gospel sacrifice, as well intentioned as they may be, hopefully we too put them behind us. Now we don’t need to call them Satan, but in our minds we can envision that pathway of obedience in front of us, and commit to following it, no matter who suggests that we don’t need to. We must focus on our goal and our Father’s will. Like Christ, don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way.

2. It’s good to be a loser! (Matthew 16:24-26)

The answer is TRUE. According to Jesus, it’s good to be a loser. Read Matthew 16:24-26 which says:

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Ah, so the suggestion is that if we lose our “LIVES” for Christ’s sake, then we will actually find life. Life eternal. If we deny our natural man and subject our temporal desires and lusts and pleasures, and lose that kind of life, we will actually end up saving our souls. But if we lose our soul? Then it doesn’t matter how much we’ve gained in mortality. Even if we were to gain the whole world, but lose our soul in the process, we would be losing something far great. So be a loser, but the right kind of loser. Don’t lose your soul, but lose YOUR life for HIS sake. Focus on the things of God, and not the things of man. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, rather than treasures on earth. So go ahead! Be a loser, in order to win something far greater in the end.

3. Some “fish stories” are actually true. (Matthew 17:24-27)

The answer to this one is TRUE. I love this little interaction between Peter and Christ. Peter has one of the greatest “fish stories” of all time. Maybe only Jonah could give him a run for his money. And I know we usually use that expression to describe an exaggerated or completely made-up story. But this is a wild fish story that actually happened. No embellishment. Let’s read it because I feel it also teaches an essential characteristic of Christ’s nature. Matthew 17:24-27:

24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Now wouldn’t that be awesome! Man, I’d love to pay my taxes that way. How remarkable a thing it must have been for Peter to cast his line into the sea, pull out that fish wriggling and flopping, open its mouth and find money inside it. How delightful!

But I don’t think the money in the fish’s mouth is really the best part of the story, as much as I love that aspect of it. My favorite line actually comes from verse 27. Jesus says, “Lest we should offend them.” That was the reason why Jesus had Peter pay this tax in that way in the first place. Now the tax being referred to here is the temple tax. Jewish authorities would come around and collect money for the maintenance of the temple. And so Jesus makes a point to Peter. He basically asks, Who do kings collect taxes from? Strangers (their citizens) or their own children. And Peter says, well, they take taxes from strangers, not their own kids. And Jesus says, You’re right Peter, the children are free from the tax. So basically, Jesus argues that this was something that he didn’t really need to do. The temple was HIS house. He was the King. However, he says, “Lest we should offend them, I’ll pay it”. What a wonderful attitude. Jesus strove not to cause contention, not to offend. Even when it was inconvenient to him or against his rights. He chose not to offend rather than maintain his privileges. I’m afraid that there are many times in our lives when we choose the other way. When we demand our rights. When we say, “To heck with your desires and your priorities, I’m going to do what’s best for me regardless of who it offends. If you get offended that’s your problem.” That was not Jesus’s way. So, as long as it’s not an issue of right and wrong, perhaps we would do better in those kinds of situations to cast our hooks into the sea, rather than doing something that we know would offend another. A quick example of this. I remember teaching a lesson in church once and I frequently referred to the Doctrine and Covenants as the D&C. Well after the lesson, a member of my ward came up to me and said I should never refer to the Doctrine and Covenants as the D&C, but to always use the full term. Now in the moment I politely thanked him for his suggestion, but in my heart, I was a bit upset. And I thought, really? That’s what you got from the lesson. I’ll say D&C if I want to say D&C. You can’t tell me what to do. And, you know, I could have really run with that attitude. And in the next week’s lesson I could have continued to say D&C, and maybe even emphasize it while looking at him. But what would that have accomplished? I would have offended him. It would have caused contention. And so I decided to take a “Lest we should offend them” approach to that situation. I didn’t HAVE to follow his suggestion, but I decided to anyway, so as not to offend. I believe that that’s what our Savior would have us do, as difficult as it is. I’ll admit that that’s not “the American Way”, but it is “the Christian Way.” Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9)

4. James and John always showed great love and mercy to all, even Samaritans (Luke 9:51-56)

The answer to that statement is actually false. Now I know this next story isn’t a part of this week’s scripture block, but it goes so well with the previous story that I’d like to cover it here. James and John were human and at this point are still learning to become like Christ themselves. So read Luke 9:51-56 to see what I mean:

51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.

53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.

54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Hmmm, Sons of Thunder indeed. They want to call down fire from heaven and consume the city because they won’t let Jesus stay there. They’re like, “How dare they refuse the Messiah. They should be destroyed for this” But Jesus teaches an important lesson here. In the previous story we learned that Jesus tried very hard not to offend others. But what do we do when someone deliberately offends us? How quick are we to condemn others when we feel we’ve been insulted, our dignity challenged, or our rights compromised. When someone cuts us off on the freeway. When someone insults our beliefs. When someone criticizes the way we’ve done something. Do we become indignant? Do we give way to anger and retaliation? Are we ready to call down fire from heaven? Or do we do as Jesus does here? My favorite phrase from that story is that last line in verse 56 . . . “And they went to another village.” Jesus just let it go. He didn’t take offense. So “Don’t worry about it, James, and John. It’s ok. I’ll be fine. I’m not here to destroy, but to save. I’m not worried about my dignity or rights.” We would do well to follow Christ’s example in this too. Not only should we seek not to offend others, but we should be slow to be offended ourselves. In Paul’s definition of charity, he says that one of the key characteristics of that attribute is to “not be easily provoked”. Jesus was not easily provoked. Hopefully, we too as his disciples can “know what manner of spirit we are of”.

5. Jesus would never refer to someone who believed in him as a dog. (Mark 7:24-30)

The surprising answer to this one is False. Jesus did refer to someone as a dog. This is a tougher story to understand, especially considering what we just learned about Jesus from the previous two questions. But the woman also teaches us a great lesson regarding “taking offense”. Let’s read the story first. Mark 7:24-30:

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Wow! That sounds so harsh. Now I don’t think that Jesus, in verse 28, is really calling her a dog in a pejorative sense. He’s using a metaphor to say to her that his mission was specifically to come and teach the Jews, not the Gentiles. And the Greek word for “dogs” here may suggest pet dogs, little dogs, lap dogs which are precious members of many families. He’s not calling her a worthless dog. It’s a metaphor. Still, it would be very easy for her to get offended by this denial of her request. But this woman refused to be offended. She continues to plead and show her faith. What I believe is going on here is a trial of faith. I think he’s testing her. And when she responds with her own play on his metaphor, he turns to her, and I imagine with a smile on his face and great admiration, he says, “Go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter”. We are all probably going to face situations in our interactions with members of Christ’s Church where we will have the opportunity to take offense when it’s offered. But I pray we can learn from the Canaanite woman. Don’t take offense. A miracle came into her life because she was willing to react in this way.

6. Prayer alone is not enough to solve some problems. (Mark 9:27-29)

Now this truth comes from the story we covered earlier in this lesson. The “help thou mine unbelief” story. When we looked at that we didn’t mention that the man had taken his son first to the apostles to be healed and they couldn’t do it. That’s why the man eventually comes to Christ. The apostles had already tried and failed to heal the boy. No wonder he may have been struggling with some “unbelief” at this point. If Jesus’s closest associates couldn’t heal his son, perhaps Christ wouldn’t be able to either. But after the healing, the apostles come privately to Jesus and ask why they weren’t able to do it. I mean, they had faith, they had authority from Christ, they had a desire to help, but all of that wasn’t enough. Jesus then offers a thought-provoking answer. What does he say in Mark 9:29?

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

So that suggests something very interesting to me. There are certain problems that can only be solved when both practices are present. Both prayer AND fasting. In my experience, when we begin to face adversity or trials, we’re usually pretty good at going to the first practice in that pair. We pray. We’re really good at prayer. But how often do we add that second element to the mix? Probably not as often. And so I’d like to offer you an invitation. If there is anything you are facing right now that you feel you need God’s help with, I invite you to tackle it with this one, two approach. Couple your prayers with fasting and see what happens. I can’t guarantee that God will solve all of your problems if you do this, but I can say that you will be doing all that you can to show him that you truly desire that help or answer. Because some problems can only be resolved through prayer AND fasting.