Sitting @ the feet of Jesus- We find mercy
Mark 7:24 – 30
A Christian couple from the south decides that they want to get a dog. As they are walking down the street in town, they notice that a sign in the pet shop is advertising "Christian Puppies." Their interest piqued, they go inside.
"How do you know they’re Christian puppies?"
"Watch," says the owner, as he takes one of the dogs and says, "Fetch the Bible." The dog runs over to the desk, and grabs the Bible in its mouth and returns. Putting the Bible on the floor, the owner says, "Find Psalm 23." The dog flips pages with its paw until he reaches the right page, and then stops. Amazed and delighted, the couple purchases the dog and head home.
That evening, they invite some friends over and show them the dog, having him run through his Psalm 23 routine. Impressed, one of the visitors asks "Does he also know ’regular’ commands?"
"Gee, we don’t know. We didn’t ask," replies the husband.
Turning to the dog, he says, "Sit." The dog sits. He says, "Lie down." The dog lies down. He says "Roll over." The dog rolls over.
He says "Heel." The dog runs over to him, jumps up on the sofa, puts one paw on the owner’s forehead and bows his head.
"Oh look!" the wife exclaims. "He’s PENTECOSTAL!"
Mark 7:24 – 30
24Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
28“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
On many occasions in the Scriptures the actions of Jesus make perfect sense – but our text doesn’t seem to fit into that category does it. The way Jesus acts in this passage seems to be so out of character, doesn’t it.. In fact this is the only occasion when Jesus acts with delayed compassion towards someone who has come begging before Him on hands and knees for help.
1. Seeking Shelter (v.24)
a. The humanity of Jesus.
i. Our text this evening points to the humanity of Jesus.
1. He is looking for a place of solitude and rest.
2. He is looking for a place to get away from the crowds that were drawn to Him everywhere He went.
ii. Where ever Jesus went there was the overwhelming presence of those who were in need.
1. Within the crowds were those who were hurting, sick, demon possessed, etc ….
2. Within the crowds were those who were spiritually hungry taking in every word that Jesus taught.
3. Within the crowds were the Pharisees, Sadducees, and others who cast doubts on Jesus and what He was doing.
a. They challenged His teachings, because it confronted their lifestyles.
i. It is funny how folks are fine with Jesus until His words and teachings address their lives or circumstances.
ii. When confronted with the truth of God’s word, we will either respond in obedience, or we will respond in rebellion.
iii. When our lives do not match up to what Jesus has taught us, it is time to turn away from the actions and attitudes inconsistent with His word, and get our lives in harmony with what Jesus is speaking to us.
b. They challenged His actions and the actions of His disciples because it confronted their traditions. (Mark 7:1 – 8)
1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. )
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”
6He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
i. We still have Pharisees in the church today, who are caught up with human traditions and have lost sight of God’s commands.
ii. Tradition is never spoken of very highly in Scripture, because far too often it is elevated to a place beyond its value.
1. We have to be careful that our traditions draw us closer to God, and do not become a distraction.
2. We have to be careful that we do not become so consumed by our traditions that we focus on them rather than the will of God.
c. They began seeking a means to have Him crucified because He did not fit the bill for who the Messiah would be.
i. Any wonder Jesus may have needed to break away from the crowds.
ii. As God in the flesh He needed times to rest, relax, and recover from the demands of ministering and confrontation.
1. Ministering and confrontation appears to be a strange mix.
2. As a Pastor I have come to realize it is what the life of a servant of God looks like.
3. Ministering to needs, confronting folks with the truth of God’s word, and being confronted by those who reject truth, reject God, or are caught up in their own traditions or ways of doing things and have a limited view of who God is and how God works.
b. Jesus could not keep His presence a secret.
i. The impact Jesus was having in His world was beyond imagine.
ii. As He came fulfilling the Father’s purpose for His life, folks began to see the work of God in their midst.
iii. How I long for the presence of God in this place that we might not be able to keep it a secret, that folks would be drawn to Him in and through the life and ministry of His church.
Jesus’ moments of solitude are interrupted; it is hard to get away, when the demands and needs of this world are always calling.
2. Seeking out Jesus (vv.25 – 26)
a. Wherever the presence of Christ is, will be a compelling force for those outside the realm of faith.
i. Why? Because we are born with a sense of God and need for Him in our lives, unfortunately folks seek to fill that void with other things.
1. False gods and religions.
2. Some elevate themselves to be gods
a. Seeking to be self sufficient.
b. Filling the void in their lives with things or activity.
ii. Throughout Scripture we see folks compelled to the presence of Christ because there is grace, mercy, love, and compassion that they will not experience anywhere else.
b. It is no different for this woman she has heard something about Jesus and is drawn to the possibilities for her life.
i. She is willing to come to Jesus, knowing the possibility of being rejected.
ii. She is a Gentile and knows the Jews attitudes and actions towards Gentiles.
1. Yet her need for a miracle in the life of her daughter motivates her to move beyond her fears.
2. Her need to experience what she has heard is available through Jesus exceeds her fear of rejection.
3. If Jesus can do all that she has heard, whatever it would take would be worth it.
Now consider with me Jesus’ response to this outsider, to this woman who has been so bold to enter into the presence of Christ and to seek His mercy.
3. Jesus’ response (v. 27)
27“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
Matthew’s account of this event will help us to answer the question concerning Jesus’ response to this woman. Matthew 15:21 – 28.
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” 23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” 27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
In both accounts we get the sense that Jesus’ response to her is both a matter of priority and timing.
a. In Mark Jesus says first let the children eat.
i. Matthew clarifies this statement, through the words of Christ as He says, I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
1. He was the promised Messiah the Jewish community of faith knew was coming.
2. The Jews were Jesus’ priority, for God had established His covenant with Jews.
ii. The God of the covenant would be faithful to the everlasting covenant that He had established.
1. Jesus had come to restore the lost sheep of Israel.
a. Both Jew and Gentiles were lost, yet Jesus had been sent to the children of promise.
b. The Jews were God’s children and they were to have precedence over the Gentiles at this time, God had not abandoned them or His promise.
b. Jesus had come to be the Messiah of all, however, during His earthly mission His time was consumed with reaching out to the Jews.
i. The time for Gentile mission would come however, that was not Christ’s focus now.
ii. Through the Great Commission we see Jesus sending His disciples to the ends of the earth to preach the Good News.
c. Jesus’ response to this woman allowed her to know that there was coming a time when provision would be made for the Gentile as well.
i. In the same manner that the household pet would receive scraps that were left over, so would the Gentiles receive a portion of God’s provision.
1. Both would experience the grace and goodness of God.
2. The Jews would receive priority because of God’s covenant with them.
ii. Jesus’ response to this woman establishes her place in God’s scheme of things.
As Jesus puts this woman in her place concerning His mission and God’s timing, she responds to Him in a manner that surprises us, after all Jesus has compared her to a household pet.
4. Gentile faith (v.28)
28“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
a. This is the only instance in Marks Gospel that anyone refers to Jesus as Lord, and it is done by a gentile who believes.
i. She calls Christ Lord acknowledging His authority.
ii. Acknowledging that she must submit to His will for her life.
b. Yet she does not give up on the need for Christ to work in the life of her child.
i. The dogs she says are able to eat the children’s crumbs.
ii. This statement affirms both Jesus’ mission to the Jews but asks the question can she not be the benefactor of their crumbs.
iii. If we were to read this in the original Greek we would see that what she asks for here is a crumb.
iv. A crumb of God’s mercy and grace would be sufficient to meet her need.
1. She would not ask for more!
2. Just a crumb of what is leftover.
c. Sometimes I think stories like these are a reminder to us of the mercy and grace of our Lord.
i. No matter who we are Jew or Gentile, none of us are worthy of God’s provision of grace.
1. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
2. We have all lived in rebellion to God.
ii. Yet, God has made provision for each of us.
1. Jew and Gentile alike.
2. God’s provision is able to meet our every need.
iii. He is faithful to honor His promises, in spite of who we are and what we have done.
The question remains how would Jesus respond to such humility and faith.
5. Faith that Merits Mercy (vv.29 &30)
29Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” 30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
The Hebrew word for mercy is “Checed” which means to get inside someone’s skin, to look at where they view life and feel what they are experiencing; to move in and act on behalf of the one whose hurting. That is exactly what Jesus did when He responds to the Syro-Phenician woman’s faith and humility.
a. A response that merits mercy.
i. The Syro-Phenecian woman had mustard seed faith / or table scrap faith whatever you want to call it she believed that Christ could meet her need and cast out the demon in her daughter.
1. She had the kind of faith that moves the heart of God.
2. Faith plays a pivotal role in receiving from the Lord what we have asked.
Faith is not believing that God can; it is knowing that He will.
Faith is deaf to doubt, dumb to discouragement, blind to impossibilities.
Walking by faith means being prepared to trust where we are not permitted to see.
Faith allows God to do for us and with us what we could never do alone.
ii. Not only does she demonstrate great faith, she also demonstrates humility.
Psalm 18:12
27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
1. She begged Jesus to heal her daughter.
a. Matthew’s account of this same story tells us she was persistent in her begging.
b. She deeply loved her daughter and was willing to do all that she could to see her delivered from the demon that possessed her.
2. She willingly acknowledges Jesus as Lord.
3. She sits at the feet of Jesus as she makes her petition to Him.
4. She does not deny the fact that her coming to Him is similar to a dog looking for scraps at the dinner table.
b. Jesus acts in mercy to the one who is afflicted because of the faith and humility of her mother.
i. One thing that stands out to me in this demon being cast out is the daughter is not in the presence of Jesus.
ii. Yet, when Jesus intercedes on the behalf of another even the demons obey Him.
iii. Distance and proximity matter little to God!
1. Which is good news as we pray for those who are not with us in person.
2. God’s arm is not short!
3. He is ever present at all times.
Remember we started this evening with a joke about a Christian dog, we well we end this evening seeing how God’s mercy was extended to one who was considered a dog seeking table scraps and how the mercy of God was extended to her. In closing this evening there are few things I would challenge us to consider:
• When was the last time you followed the Lord’s example and walked away from the mass of needs about you for some time of solitude?
• When was the last time you truly sought out Jesus? Boldly interceding for the needs of someone you love?
• Do you still come before Jesus in prayer in humility and faith? Or have you lost the sense of wonder of who He is in comparison to who you are?
• Did you come this evening, with a need that only God through His mercy and grace can meet?
I want you to know that these altars are open. Sometimes I think we believe these alters are only for sinners, that is not true these altars for all who will humble themselves before the Lord in faith and present their needs to Him, seeking His mercy asking that He might intercede in their life in some way.
