The God of Mercy
Notes
Transcript
Bible Passage: Mark 7:24-30
Bible Passage: Mark 7:24-30
INTRO
INTRO
“Soma Church exists to love the body of Christ and equip them to do the work of ministry here, near and far, all for the glory of God.”
“Soma Church exists to love the body of Christ and equip them to do the work of ministry here, near and far, all for the glory of God.”
I wanna ask you a question this morning as we kick off our time together…
How do you approach reading the Bible?
Do you only look for something very specific every time you read?
Do you approach the text with the lens of being a 21st century man or woman?
Do you pick and choose things within the text that you like and don’t like?
Or every time you pick up God’s book, do you open your heart, mind and hands asking God to show you what His word means?
It is important for us to understand that the Bible is not intended to fit within our agenda but God’s.
He is the author and everything He has put in it is there for a purpose. That is why we must always approach the scripture seeking to understand Him and not putting Him in our boxes.
The story we are reading today is a great example of this.
If we were to read this with a 21st century, western, secular lens we would miss the gold that lies within the text.
And that Gold is that Jesus is The God of Mercy
BODY
BODY
Our story today in Mark has a parallel account in Matthew 15. Which I will reference a few times if you wanna turn over there as well.
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.
At this point in the ministry of Jesus, He is about 2/3’s of the way through with His ministry.
Very soon He will be crucified and leave His 12 apostles to spearhead the church’s beginning and rapid expansion across the known world.
Since this is the case, this is likely why Jesus has has desired to find a place where he can go that no one knows about.
He is not neglecting the masses but rather, preparing the few.
He is also deep into Gentile territory. Tyre and Sidon are neighboring regions right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
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Tyre is actually the birthplace of queen Jezebel and the worship of the false god baal.
These places are pagan, lost and full of debauchery.
But Jesus wants to show His disciples what ministry to the world will look like.
The end of verse 24 says that Jesus “Could not be hidden.”
His popularity had grown too large to not be noticed and it says earlier in Mark that there were people from the region of Tyre who were present for some of His miracles.
Maybe even the lady who comes up to Him in verse 25
But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
A woman Mark describes as a gentile Syrophoenician (Syria-Phoenicia) falls down at Jesus’ feet and begs Him to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon.
Matthew actually calls this woman a Canaanite
Matthew 15:22 “And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.””
If you are up at all on your OT history you will know that the canaanites are some of the jews greatest enemies. The canaanites are the people who inhabited the promised land before the Jews took it over.
So for a gentile woman, let alone a Canaanite to throw herself in front of a jewish rabbi and expect anything from Him was preposterous and insulting.
And if we were to take Jesus’ response at face value we would think that He definitely feels this way.
And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
You might read that and think “Wow, Jesus! This woman asks you for help and you call her a dog? I know you’re tired and wanted to be away but come on.”
But that is not exactly what is going on here.
Rev. Brandon Robertson
He has come to this conclusion because he wants the Bible to fit inside his liberal agenda and worldview.
When we do this we ultimately get to very dangerous places like saying that Jesus is capable of the sin of racism.
So what is Jesus actually saying and doing here?
Well, he starts by saying “Let the children be fed first”
Who are the children?
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Jesus was the Jewish messiah, sent to the Jewish people and through those people His salvation would be extended to the world.
This is what Paul means in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Jesus is trying to tell this woman, that it is not yet time for His ministry to touch the gentile people.
Hence, why He says “Let the children be fed first”
So that clears that up, but what about the dog comment?
Well, I am glad you asked!
There are two words that Jesus could have chosen to use here when He called this woman a dog.
The first is kyōn
This describes a dog that is wild, untamed and dirty
This was the word that you would expect Jesus to use as the jews use this word often to describe gentiles, especially a Canaanite.
The second is kynarion
This means little dog or pet.
An animal that a family would keep in their own home and care for.
So Jesus is saying, I am not gonna take the food that right now is intended for the people of Israel and give it to the pet.
He isn’t being demeaning but giving a parable, an illustration of how it is not yet time for Him to do what she is asking for.
But this woman is persistent and witty…
But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
She says, “Yes Lord, I understand that this isn’t the right time and that I am unworthy to obtain what you have and what you are giving to your people, but even house pets get to eat what falls from the abundance of the table. Could I just get some scraps?
This woman has realized two very important things…
Jesus is the savior she needs! She calls Him Lord and in Matthew 15, the Son of David.
And she knows that getting the scraps off of God’s table is better than a feast with Kings.
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Jesus is moved by the faith of the woman, says she has great faith and immediately heals her daughter.
We see that Jesus’ dog comment and resistance to the woman’s initial request for healing was not because He devalued her or wasn’t willing to give her the time of day.
It was a test… And she passed!
A test to see where it was her faith lied.
You see she had probably tried other means of healing being a canaanite woman in a pagan land and in a moment of desperation she finally realizes that Jesus is her last and only hope.
So in a desperate plea for mercy she begs the one true God to give her what no one else can.
And though Jesus makes clear that the time is not yet for the salvation of the gentiles, He moves on behalf of her faith.
CLOSING
CLOSING
This is the way that every sinner who is saved by Jesus must come to Him!
No demands, no negotiation, no plan B. Just desperation that comes from knowing apart from Him you have no hope.
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
How do you approach Jesus? With your own ideas, desires, demands, ultimatums and accolades?
Or do you fall at His feet and say “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner!”
The salvation of Jesus is free and has been extended to all people have you said yes?
If so, how can you learn about prayer through the persistence of this woman?
I fear that maybe we give up too quickly when we pray!
But what we all must walk away with is that we have access to a loving God is eager to give mercy to people who want it!
PRAY
