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A Gentile Has Faith Mark 7:24-30 (A Sermon)

If you have been reading and studying the Gospel of Mark along the way, you have seen that Mark groups stories together to make a point. Knowing that helps us to understand the point of some of the stories. And the main point here is that Jesus brings grace and salvation not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles.

Mark 7 opens with Jesus having a confrontation with the Pharisees and Scribes over the fact that his disciples ate without washing their hands. 

This is not a matter of hygiene, as when your mom made you wash up before dinner. It is a matter of ceremonial purity. If you did not do the ritual washings, you were ceremonially impure, or defiled. In verse 3, Mark explained to his Gentile readers that this requirement came from the “tradition of the elders”, meaning the rules the Jews had added to the law. They had many of these required washings. 

In response to this allegation, Jesus taught his disciples that external things did not make you unclean. Things you touched, or ate, or drank, did not defile you. What defiled you was what came from your heart, your evil thoughts, actions and attitudes. In verse 19, Mark observed that Jesus was declaring all foods clean. This idea of what defiles and what is clean is important to the following stories. 

The disciples, though, had a hard time understanding this. Knowing this, Jesus knew the disciples needed further teaching. 

After this encounter, Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. That is north of Galilee in what is now Lebanon. There is all kind of speculation about why he went there, but it appears he went there specifically to encounter this Gentile woman and, through the encounter, to teach the disciples the full meaning of his lesson on what is not unclean.

The disciples need to this lesson to understand Jesus’ mission and what their mission will become after he is gone.

This is a Gentile area. The Pharisees believed contact with Gentiles made you unclean, or defiled, requiring ceremonial washing before you could participate in religious activities. This continues the theme of 7:1-23 regarding what does or does not make you ceremonially unclean.

This was also a pagan area. Most people in the region worshipped Canaanite gods, including Baal. This is the area Jezebel was from many years before. She married Ahab, the king of Israel. She led the king and the nation to worship Baal. (1 Kings 16) 

The disciples must have been puzzled. Surely the Messiah would not come here and be defiled. Mark does not present the disciples as very understanding. 

The disciples also did not connect this trip to the same trip made by Elijah many years before. God had previously sent the prophet Elijah to Zarephath in this very region. (1 Kings 17:8) There he raised a widow’s son from the dead and miraculously provided bread for them. He was a Jew who provided for Gentiles at the command of God.

Jesus had also referred to this story when he first went and spoke in the synagogue in his home town. He said there were many widows in Israel, but God only sent Elijah to the widow in Zarephath, and many lepers in Israel, but God only sent Elisha to Naaman the Syrian. (Luke 4:16-27) Again, these were Jewish prophets sent to minister to Gentiles.

Still, the disciples did not understand that God intended to offer grace to the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

When Jesus arrived there, a woman with a problem immediately found him. (25) This woman was a Gentile. She probably spoke Greek, which was the common language in the Roman empire. 

She was also born in this area (“a Syrophoenician by birth”). “Syro” refers to the fact that the Roman province was called Syria, and “Phoenician”, because the natives of the area were descended from the Phoenicians. 

So, Jesus was in an unclean area and dealing with an unclean Gentile woman. 

The woman’s problem was a daughter possessed by an unclean spirit. She did not bring her daughter to Jesus. She might not have been able to. She left her daughter at home. 

But she came to Jesus in faith, believing he could he could cast out the demon. (26) Matthew’s account records her calling Jesus “Lord” and “Son of David”. She has more understanding of the mission of Jesus than the Pharisees and the disciples. 

And she came in humility, falling on her face before Jesus. (25) She was lying in the dirt in front of him. It was a recognition of his exalted status and her inferior status. Contrast this with Peter, who, in chapter 8, will take Jesus aside and rebuke him for saying he would be killed. 

Yet, even in her humility, she was persistent in her faith: she kept asking him to cast out the demon. (26) It was a dramatic scene with the woman running to Jesus, falling on the ground in front of him, and continually begging him to help her. 

Jesus’ response seems harsh at first glance. He said to let the children be fed first because it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs. (27) He spoke metaphorically. The children are the Jews, the bread is God’s provision in grace, and the little dogs are the Gentiles. 

Some Jews of that time, such as Pharisees, referred to Gentiles as dogs, lesser beings that Jews. But Jesus’ response sounds a little less harsh in the original Greek, as the word used for dogs here is not the word for feral dogs that roam the streets, but small dogs kept as pets (part of the household).  The New King James Version captures that by using the term “little dogs”. 

Notice that Jesus does not say “don’t ever feed the little dogs”, but “feed the children first”. 

The principle Jesus mentions here is that it was God’s plan to send the gospel to the Jews first, then to the rest of the world. 

Paul stated that principle this way:

“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”. (Romans 1:16) Paul also practiced this principle, going to the synagogue first to preach the gospel in every city he visited. 

The Jews were the people to whom God chose to reveal his plan of redemption.  Jesus told the woman at the well that salvation was from the Jews. (John 4:22) The promise of a savior was that he was to be the descendant of Abraham, who was the father of the Jews, and of David, the most revered king of the Jews. 

In Romans 2:9-10, Paul also says judgment for rejecting Jesus will come first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. So, the blessing is first offered to the Jews, and they also have the first responsibility to receive Christ. 

Although God’s plan was to give the gospel to the Jews first, his plan was for the gospel to go to all people, not just the Jews. God’s promise to Abraham was that his descendant would be a blessing to all nations. The Old Testament said the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles. 

So, Jesus did not turn away Gentiles who came to him in faith, as this woman did. 

In response to Jesus’ statement, she claimed a right to the “crumbs”. 

She seems to understand the metaphor, or parable, better than the disciples have been understanding parables. She does not attempt to usurp God’s plan or her secondary place in it. So, she asks Jesus, believing he has enough grace to give her, just as the master of the house would have enough to feed the pets.

In response to her persistent faith, Jesus cast the demon from her daughter. Matthew 15:27 makes this clear, recording Jesus as saying “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire”. 

Ironically, this Gentile woman is the first person to understand a parable of Jesus. She understood and accepted his word. She asked for grace according to his word. 

Martin Luther put it beautifully: She took Christ at his own words. He then treated her not as a dog but as a child of Israel”. 

The theological significance of this encounter is that the gospel may be first offered to the Jew, but it is offered to the Gentile on the same basis. The mission of Jesus included both Jews and Gentiles. 

The Gentile does not have to become a Jew first, or satisfy any other criteria of righteousness. The Gentile must simply have faith in Christ. And that is very good news for us, for we are Gentiles. 

So, we have seen the mission of Jesus. But this story also shows us something about the character of Jesus. Jesus has compassion on broken people and acts toward them in grace. 

This woman and her daughter were broken and suffering. The daughter was debilitated by a demon. The mother’s whole life was taken over by fear and sorrow because of her daughter’s suffering.

Jesus had compassion for their suffering. He did not blame them for their situation, saying its your own fault for worshipping idols. He did not send her away because he was busy doing other things. Rather, when she came to him in faith, he acted out of grace and compassion; he helped her out of her brokenness. He did not say she had to do something to deserve his attention. He did not say she was too messed up to be helped. He had compassion and gave grace.

Some of you here today feel broken. You are suffering. You may be suffering because of outside forces, but you may also suffer as a result of mistakes you made or sins you committed. Because of that, you may feel that you do not deserve help from Jesus or that he has given up on you.

But that is not the picture of Jesus in the Bible. He has compassion and he gives grace. He just wants you to come to him in faith. So, come to him today. Come in faith and in repentance and ask God to heal you and save you. 

DISCIPLES & DEMONS: MARK 9:9-29

 

Suffering Before Glory

9:9-13

After the Transfiguration, Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone about it until after his resurrection. They obeyed, though they did not understand what he meant about rising from the dead. (9) Their lack of understanding is probably the reason he did not want them to tell anyone about his transfiguration. 

Since the Pharisees had believed and taught resurrection from the dead at the end of the age, it is puzzling why the disciples cannot understand it at all. It is likely their spiritual blindness, refusing to let go of their preconception of the Messiah as conqueror, not suffering servant, that is the cause of their lack of understanding.. Peter’s rebuke of Jesus proved this point. 

Seeing Elijah with Jesus did bring to their minds the teaching that Elijah would come before the Messiah. So, they asked Jesus why the scribes taught that. (11) 

They may have been thinking, since Malachi recorded the LORD saying he would send Elijah before the great and awesome (or terrible) day of the Lord, would that not mean there was no need for suffering by the Lord?  (Malachi 4:4-6) 

Jesus said it was true that Elijah would come and restore things. (12) He also said Elijah had already come. (13) He referred to John the Baptist, who had come as a prophet like Elijah. He brought restoration by calling people to repentance to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. 

However, John also led the way into suffering. Jesus said: “they did to him whatever they pleased”. (13) Herod put him in prison and then executed him.

So, Jesus asked how is it written that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? (12) Jesus referred them back to the scriptures, which were authoritative over traditions and speculations. Isaiah wrote that the anointed one would be despised and rejected, knowing sorrow and grief. (Isaiah 53:3) He would be wounded. He would be whipped. He would be oppressed. (53:7) He would be killed. (53:9) 

Jesus wanted them to understand that his path was suffering and death before victory. If they treated “Elijah” badly, how much more would they treat the Anointed One badly? 

Jesus & The Unclean Spirit 

9:14-15

Jesus came down from the mountain to encounter turmoil. The scribes were arguing with the disciples. A crowd was gathering. And a father was desperate for someone to save his son from a demon. 

These are the usual groups for Jesus’ encounters. There is a person who desperately needs the ministry of Jesus. There is a crowd of people interested in what Jesus will do. And there are representatives from the religious establishment, usually Pharisees, including Scribes, as here.

The person in need of ministry is a boy possessed by a demon that torments and even tries to kill him. He has been brought by his father, who is desperate to see the boy freed from the demon. 

He brought the boy to Jesus, but Jesus was on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, who were with Jesus. So, the remaining disciples tried to cast out the demon and failed. (18) He asked Jesus to have compassion on the boy.  

Jesus expressed his exasperation, calling the Jews a faithless generation. It seems he included everyone present in that category. They lack faith in God. This is especially noteworthy for the disciples, whom Jesus had previously given the power to cast out demons. 

But, it also included the man who brought his son. He said “if you can do anything”. (32) Jesus challenged his unbelief. He said “all things are possible for one who believes”. The problem was not Jesus’ ability or power; it was the lack of faith of the man and the disciples.  The man confessed having some belief and asked Jesus to help him with his unbelief. (24) 

After this confession of faith, Jesus cast out the demon.

The immediate effect of the exorcism seemed to be bad. The boy “seemed like a corpse” and the crowd said he was dead. But Jesus lifted him up and “he arose”. (27) 

The disciples had just questioned what rising from the dead meant. Did they see the connection? 

The story ends with Jesus taking the disciples into a house. He was seeking some privacy so he could teach them privately and without distraction. He likely perceives what is on their minds. 

So, why could the disciples not cast out the demon? They asked Jesus that question. 

Jesus said it required prayer. He had already expressed exasperation at their lack of faith. Prayer is making requests of God in faith. God has the power, but we must exercise faith to ask. Hebrews 11:6 says: “And without faith it is impossible to please him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” 

The disciples had demonstrated a lack of faith. When they are not with Jesus, or even when he is with them but asleep, they fall apart. When he asked them to do something outside their own power, they do not think to ask Jesus for it. When he teaches, they fail to understand. 

God is adequate for all problems. We are not. That is supposed to drive us to prayer, believing in God’s power. Like the disciples, we often fail at that. Even a small amount of faith is honored by God. And we can ask him to increase our faith. 

God has compassion on those who are hurting or broken. We should imitate him in that, even when those people caused their problems. We do not “shoot our wounded”, we lift them up. 

THE TRANSFIGURATION: MARK 9:1-8

 

Some Will See The Kingdom

9:1

This verse causes much discussion and disagreement both as to its placement and its meaning. Some believe the verse should be the last verse in chapter 8. That is because they think the subject matter of 9:1 is the same as 8:38. 

Others believe it is properly placed as the first verse in chapter 9. It begins with Jesus saying a truth to them, which can Mark is indicating a new story.  Mark then tells the story of the transfiguration. 

So, what did Jesus mean when he said some of those there would not die until they saw the coming in the kingdom of God in power? There are several views.

First, some say it refers to the transfiguration, where Jesus’ glory is revealed. The weakness to that theory is that it would seem odd to give such a dramatic prophesy about something that will happen in six days. (2) Also, it is unclear how the revealing of his glory is the coming of the kingdom in power. 

Second, some believe it refers to the second coming of Christ. Since that did not happen within the lifetime of the disciples, it is used to claim Jesus made a mistake. I do not believe Jesus made mistakes. 

Also, Jesus saying when he would return would also conflict with Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24:36: ““But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

Third, some believe, and I agree, that it refers to Jesus’ resurrection. It would not happen immediately, but it would happen within the lifetime of most of Jesus’ followers. Romans 1:4 says Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead. 

Philippians 2:9 tells us that God the Father exalted Jesus above everyone so that every knee will bow to him. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us Jesus must reign until all his enemies are defeated, then he will hand the kingdom to the Father. 

Transfiguration

9:2-8

 Six days after Peter’s confession, Jesus took his insiders, Peter, James, and John, up on a high mountain. Mark does not usually give us specific time markers. This one might be to point us to the similarity of the Transfiguration to Moses’ encounter with God in Exodus 24. 

The traditional site for the high mountain is Mount Tabor. However, Mount Hermon is closer to where Jesus was (Caesarea Philippi) and higher. 

Moses went up onto a mountain to wait for God. He waited six days while the cloud of the glory of God covered the top of the mountain. Then, on the seventh day, the glory of the Lord appeared to Moses like a devouring fire. Moses entered the cloud.

Here, on the seventh day, Jesus was transfigured before the three apostles. His glory shown forth so that even his clothes became radiantly, intensely, white. It was whiter than anything the apostles had seen, unnaturally white and bright. Matthew 17:2 adds that Jesus’ face shone like the sun. Moses’ face also shined after being in God’s presence.

Then Elijah and Moses appeared, taking to Jesus. (4) (Wouldn’t you have liked to hear that conversation?) Moses and Elijah only appear together in one Old Testament passage. Malachi 4:4-6 says:

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Moses and Elijah prepared Israel for the coming of Jesus, the final prophet. Some commentators think Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets of the old covenant. 

Hebrews 8:6, 13 tells us that the new covenant is much more excellent than the old and that the new covenant makes the old covenant obsolete.  Thus, Moses and Elijah disappear and only Jesus remains.   

At this point, Peter began to babble. He was terrified. (6) He started talking about building three tabernacles so they could stay there. Sometimes, it is better not to speak.

He was interrupted by a cloud overshadowing them on the mountain and a voice speaking from the cloud. This is the same way God spoke to Moses in Exodus 24:15-18. 

God told the apostles: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him”. Thus the Father affirmed Jesus as his son and his love for his son. Then he instructed the apostles to listen to Jesus. The implication is “Jesus is my son and speaks for me”.

Hebrews 1:1 says “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoke to us by his Son…”

This was a particularly needed instruction for them, as shown by Peter’s refusal to accept Jesus’ teaching about his death and resurrection. The apostles also need to hear Jesus about the nature of discipleship, the taking up of the cross that he had just taught them. 

This command from God echoes that of Deuteronomy 18:18-19:

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” 

 Peter later came to understand. He wrote in 2 Peter 1:16-18 that he was an eyewitness to Jesus’ majesty and heard the Father speak from heaven, while they were on the mountain, the words recorded in Mark. 

Likewise, John wrote “we have seen his glory”. (John 1:14) 

The command to listen to Jesus is vital to us today also. We must read his words and obey them if we are to be disciples.