#31 A Little Doggy At The Table Series

#31 A Little Doggy at the Table

Series: Mark

Chuck Sligh

October 18, 2020

NOTE: PowerPoint or ProPresenter presentations are available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives

TEXT: Mark 7:24-30 – "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. "

INTRODUCTION

I like this thought posted by Mike Atkinson in his daily email humor list some time ago.

“If you can start the day without caffeine; if you can get going without pep pills; if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains; if you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles; if you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it; if you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time; if you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when through no fault of yours something goes wrong; if you can take criticism and blame without resentment; if you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him; if you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend; if you can face the world without lies and deceit; if you can conquer tension without medical help; if you can sleep without the aid of drugs; if you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, or politics; then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog.”

I like that because it helps explain our text today. One use of the word dog is as an offensive slam against someone. When someone says, “You’re a dirty dog” or uses the derogatory term for a female dog, they don’t not mean it as a compliment; they’re insulting you. But another use of the word dog is when we refer to it as man’s best friend, as described in what I just read—loyal, true, faithful, loving, playful—even if a pest sometimes.

Today’s text will make a little more sense if you realize that this distinction was true even in Jesus’ day. Today we’re going to look at the story of the Syrophoenician woman, so without further ado, let’s jump right in.

I. NOTICE THAT IN VERSE 24 WE SEE A NEEDED RESPITE. – “And from there he arose, and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house, and wanted no one to know it: but he could not be hidden.”

We’ve been noticing how Jesus was progressively broadening His influence. First, He ministered in the local province His hometown was in; then to larger Israel, ministering to Israel Himself as well as sending His apostles on a special ministry trip; and then He went to some largely Gentile areas of Israel.

Verse 24 tells us that he went to Tyre and Sidon, the first time He stepped foot outside the actual borders of Palestine. Though this area was populated by many Jews, historically it had been bitterly antagonistic to Israel, and was noted for its paganism in violent opposition to the one true God of Israel. Tyre had been the home of Jezebel, who in Elijah’s day almost overthrew the Northern Kingdom with her pagan prophets and practices.

Mark tells us that Jesus did not want anyone to know where He and His disciples were. He had apparently arranged to stay in a house where He and the disciples could get a brief rest from the constant needs of the crowds and from the opposition they were facing from the religious leaders and to have some time to teach His disciples in private. But Mark tells us that their time of rest and recuperation was short-lived because Jesus could not be hidden.