Matthew 9-10; Mark 5; Luke 9

Below are the quotes that were used in the video.

We can imagine what Jairus is thinking as his daughter is dying and sense his urgency as he asks Christ to heal his daughter. On the way, Christ encounters a certain woman with an issue of blood. Jesus' tender moment of compassion happened while he was on the way to do something very important to Jairus. Life is what happens to you as you are "on the way." This week we are reminded to take advantage of today's opportunities as well as to be as wise as serpents.

Regarding the devil and his influence over us, the Prophet Joseph taught: “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the Celestial Kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The Devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine showing that he would prefer a swine's body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God the Devil takes power.” (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-5-january-1841-as-reported-by-william-clayton/4)
Symbolism in Casting out Devils into Swine

Swine are unclean and symbols of greed and gluttony.
Water is symbolic of both cleansing and also of chaos.
The sea is a common symbol for chaos and death. (“The sea is mentioned in Mark 5:13).
Jesus calmed the sea (Mark 4:36-41)
Jesus has power over the sea (chaos and death).
Jesus has power over dangerous demons.
The destruction of the swine by their demonic captors was a type for the demons' desire to destroy the soul of the very man they had previously possessed—indeed, their desire to destroy the souls of all men.

Who is Jesus eating with?

Publicans and sinners (Matt 9:10-13; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:29-32).
Pharisees (Luke 7:36-50).
Martha’s house (and Mary) (Luke 10:38-42).
Pharisee (Luke 11:37-44).
The home of “one of the chief Pharisees (Luke 14:1-24).
Zacchaeus, “chief among the publicans” (Luke 19:1-10).
Last Supper with disciples (Luke 22).
Disciples in Emmaus (Luke 24:30-43).
With apostles in Jerusalem (Luke 24:36-48).
With apostles on shore of Sea of Galilee. (John 21).

Dinner Lessons

Jesus is in their homes.
He wants to be seen eating with everyone.
Christ is not brought down by association with sinners, but sinners are elevated being with Him.
Jesus used dinners as opportunities to teach.
Compassion is given for society’s rejects and outcasts.
Food is often served first, then Christ taught.
The Last Supper was their “meal” with Christ.
The sacrament can be our “meal” with Christ.
One day we hope to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19).

Andrew Skinner – Snakes in the Old Testament:

In Egypt, snakes represented any number of gods of the earth and underworld. Certain life-giving powers were attributed to them. This may have had something to do with the fact that snakes shed their skins and exposed a “new body” by doing so. A serpent biting its tail was a common emblem in Egypt representing eternity and was symbol of survival after death.
Pharaoh wore the image of a snake on the front of his headdress to symbolize his deity and sovereignty.
Before the Israelites were delivered, the Lord commanded Moses to throw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his court to demonstrate that Jehovah was the one true god. When Pharaoh’s magicians turned their staffs into serpents, the serpent of Jehovah swallowed up the other two snakes.
Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans worshiped a god of medicine in the form of a serpent because it was thought to either give life or take it by giving “instant judgment” and deciding whether or not to strike. It was also a model of immortality.
Israelites may have been familiar with images of fiery serpents due their exposure to Egyptian mythology. The symbol of the serpent Moses used would therefore show that the serpent truly represented God’s power over life and death and He is “the reality behind the symbol.”
The serpent later became an idol and object of worship for the Israelites. Hezekiah, a righteous king of Judah, “removed the high places and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it” (2 Kings 18:4).
In Revelation 12 and 20, the apostle John refers to Satan as “the serpent,” “that old serpent,” and the “great dragon” who ultimately would be overthrown by Christ.
Book of Mormon prophets understood the symbolism of the serpent and its saving and life-giving power. The story of Moses and the brass serpent is referenced in 1 Nephi 17:40–41, 2 Nephi 25:20, Helaman 8:13–15, and Alma 33:18–22.
Skinner points out that with the exception of a dove, “as the preeminent counterfeiter and deceiver, Satan could and does usurp other signs and symbols properly applied to God in order to try to legitimize his false identity as a god. This is why Satan chose to appropriate and utilize the sign of the serpent as the best means of deceiving Eve as well as her posterity. … Satan came to Eve clothed, as it were, in the garb of the Messiah, using the signs, symbols, and even the language of the Messiah, promising things that only the Messiah could rightfully promise.” (https://www.ldsliving.com/why-a-brass-serpent-9-surprising-facts-about-snakes-in-old-testament-times/s/10664)

Teaching Thoughts:

Jairus daughter and the woman with the issue of blood. Life is what happens to you as you are “on the way…” Take advantage of today’s opportunities.
Being wise like serpents.
Sometimes we are given crosses so that we can learn to pray.
If Christ came to dinner, what would He teach you?