“Great Faith”
Mark 7:24-30
Have you ever wondered what grips the attention of the Lord? What is it that He is excited about? Our text today reveals the answer to that question: God is excited about faith. Faith always gets our Lord’s attention. If you want to get through to God- faith is the way to do it.
The Bible has much to say about faith. Faith is described in numerous ways; as weak faith, strong faith, bold faith, abiding faith, unfeigned faith and many other kinds. But only two individuals are des-cribed by Jesus in the Gospels as having “great faith” and perhaps surprisingly both of these individuals are Gentiles. One is the Canaanite woman described in our text today and the other is the Roman Centurion found in the eighth chapter of Matthew.
The question for us to consider today is what does Jesus mean when he says that this woman’s faith is “great”? Is it great because it is stronger, more mature or more sincere than others? NO! It is great because of the obstacles that she overcame to display it. As we will see “great” faith is often tested and hammered out on the anvil of difficulty.
“From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. (25) For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. (26) The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. (27) But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (28) And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."
(29) Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."(30) And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.” (Mark 7:24-30)
Notice with me this morning four distinctive of “great” faith that we find in today’s text.
First, The Foundation of Great Faith (7:25-26)
The text tells that Jesus not went outside of the region of Galilee but that he went to distinctly Gentile area. After a time of intense ministry with the multi-tudes and the conflict with the religious leadership, Jesus and his disciples seek a place where they might rest for a while away from the demands of the ministry. But even there Jesus could not escape notice.
•The Woman Acted Out of Desperation vv.25-26
“For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. (26) The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.”
The source of her desperation is her “young daughter” - this is a tender term meaning “my darling little girl.” She says that her daughter had an “unclean spirit” - “unclean” here means unclean in a moral sense. This mother knew that her daughter was demon possessed. Somehow she knew what the problem was.
It is possible this is a result of dabbling with the occult (perhaps because of the mother’s involvement in pagan religion) and she became a victim of demonic possession. The Apostle reminds the Corinthian believers (1 Cor. 10:19-20) that idol worship is not harmless, that idol worship is demon inspired. Regard-less of how it occurred the child was demon-possessed and was probably acting out in violence and anger. Think about it, how would you feel if she were your daughter? What would you have been willing to do to see her healed?
Parenting is always an interesting proposition. If you notice young couples, they all have lots of theories about child rearing before they have children. After they have children most of them no longer have any theories. Someone has said that parenting is one of those jobs that by the time you learn how to do it half way well; you are out of a job!
This woman as a resident of Tyre and Sidon like most of the people was probably was a worshipper of Asharte. That may seem fine as long as everything was going well. But when the time came that trouble came to her home, when she appealed to the goddess for help, nothing happened. She was looking for something her dead religion had been powerless to give her. You see the gods of this world, whether it is materialism, or New Age philosophy, or whatever it may be, may seem fine as long until you need a REAL God. Let me assure you when that time comes they will not be enough.
Just this last Sunday Brit Hume on Fox News (Fox News , January 3) offered advice to golfer Tiger Woods who is going through a personal moral dilemma. He advised that the Buddhism that Tiger professes will not offer him what he needs. He offered this advice to Tiger Woods, “I don’ t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian Faith… turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.” As Brit Hume so astutely pointed out, and as the woman in our text concluded, there is only one source of help that is adequate in times of deep trouble.
Almost everyone in this place today are facing problems. You may be facing devastating family problems. You may be looking at financial difficulty. You may have a serious health issue to contend with. Some of you are looking at your aging parents and realizing they will not be around forever. And in the midst of these problems you need someone to help you. The same person that was the answer this woman’s problem is available today and in the same way, by faith.
•The Woman Acted On Her Faith
This woman somewhere had heard what Jesus had done for others and came to believe that what he had done for others he could do for her. Listen carefully to me now! We need to understand - “Faith in itself is worthless, to make sense and have power it must be placed in a trustworthy person!” You probably remember the song which says, “I believe for every drop of rain that falls, A flower grows; I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, A candle glows
…. I believe above a storm the smallest prayer
Can still be heard, I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word.” In spite of the fact that the song has been recorded by such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and LeAnn Rimes, it is still just sentimental nonsense. It is not based on anything. The fact that “someone in the great somewhere hears” your prayers is hardly reassuring.
But the woman in our story believed that Jesus was her only hope - and that he could and would heal her daughter. She came in faith and Jesus knew it. Her coming was a sign of her turn from her previous life, a sign of a repentant heart. She fell at his feet (literally she prostrated herself) and she begged Jesus to heal her daughter. The tense here means she did not beg just once, but that she kept on begging. She refused to be denied.
Having the Foundation of Great Faith we see...
Secondly, The Cultivation of Great Faith (7:27)
“But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
The response of Jesus may at first seem strange and insensitive to us as we read this passage. Typically we find Jesus responding promptly to desperate cries. But here her faith is being tested, not that Jesus might know but in order that this woman might know the power of her faith. She in fact has a series of discour-aging events that will test her resolve.
•First, she is discouraged by the Lord’s silence.
Matthew in his parallel account (15:21-28) indicates that initially her pleas are met only with silence. The hardest response to accept is no response at all. Why was Jesus silent? The reason has to do with his mission. In verse twenty-six we are told that she was “a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth.” The term “Greek” is some-times used as a synonym for “non-Jew” or Gentile. But it may also indicate that she was Hellenized by the Greek culture and spoke the Greek language. But Mark also identify that racially she was a Syro-Phoenician and Matthew in his account says that she is a “Canaanite,” a descendent of the original inhabitants of the Promised Land. Perhaps interesting in our day, she would be called a Palestinian.
But at any rate she was a pagan, despised by the religious establishment and considered unclean, a dog and a female at that. Yet she approached Jesus, the Jew-ish Messiah, and in Matthew’s account she said, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! (Matt.15:22). She laid claims to a purely Jewish promise. Because she was a Gentile, and she had no claim on Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, He refused to respond. Matthew tells us that, “But He answered her not a word.” (Matt. 15:23). He wouldn’t even answer her; that does not sound like the Jesus we know.
But the silence of Jesus tested this woman’s faith. In our day of instant gratification it is hard for us to handle when we don’t get what we want, when we want it, even from God. When we cry out to God and all we hear is silence - it test the genuineness of our faith.
•Secondly, she is discouraged by the annoyance of
the Disciples (Matt. 15:23b). Matthew reveals that the disciple’s were annoyed by this woman’s insistence as she continued crying after them. They came to Jesus and said, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." (Matt. 15:23b). She continued to plead and she was not only persistent but she was noisy. As she continued to plead, the disciples became more and more upset with the woman and more and more puzzled about the Lord’s lack of response. They said to the Lord, “You need to send her away!” Implied here is, “Lord if you do not give her what she asks we will never get rid of her!” But it was not pity or compassion that lead the disciples to make this request of Jesus it was annoyance. Perhaps Peter’s face wore an angry frown, quick tempered John probably got angry and the rest of the disciples thought that she was brash and embarrassing, but all of them wanted her to go away.
•Third, she is discouraged by the Lord’s Words. In
verse twenty-seven, Jesus says, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." His former silence now seemed compounded by his words. The word “dogs,” (kuon) usually used to describe Gentiles, referred to the ownerless scavengers that roamed the streets and fought over the garbage. The word that Jesus used here is a diminutive form, (kunaria) meaning “little dogs” or “puppies” and speaking of household pets. He pictured a familiar household scene. Although the parents never took the food prepared for the children and gave it to the dogs. The image here is of a much loved pet sitting under the Dining Room table while the family eats a meal. It sits there hoping and expecting that someone is going to slip it a morsel of food. They were not children, and do not sit down for dinner at the Dining Room Table , but neither do they go hungry. Yet anyone in their right mind, would prefer crumbs from the King’s table over a feast from the Devil’s table.
If this woman’s faith had been weak then she might have interpreted the Lord’s silence as His inability to help her. If her faith had been weak she might have let the disciple’s annoyance turn her away. If she had been filled with pride rather than faith she might have been resentful of the words of Jesus and been offended and turn away. But instead we find her great faith revealed.
The Cultivation of Great Faith demands…
Third, The Demonstration of Great Faith (7:28)
“And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."
We do not know that this woman’s understood all that it meant that Jesus Christ was Lord of all. But she did understand enough to see how desperate her situ-ation was, and to see that Jesus was the one and only one person who could give her the kind of divine mercy she needed.
Her response displayed a great humility. She admits she is not worthy nor did she deserve his help. Matthew in his account tells us that her cry was for “mercy” (15:22). It is unfortunate that we cannot hear the tone of his voice or see the sparkle in his eye or the hint of a smile on his lips, because I believe they were there. The Lord’ s words gave her a glimmer of hope. With the word “first,” He was suggesting there is be a “second.” God always intended that the Gospel message have a universal impact. The woman focused on that glimmer of hope and saw her chance. She responded, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."
She does not argue against the fact that God may have a certain purpose for a certain group (as he did with the Jews). She readily admitted that she and her people were outsiders - “dogs” and therefore had no claim to a child’s portion. She did not ask that the children be deprived of any part of their rightful portion, but indicated that she confidence that that God’s heart was big enough to include even the most humble of his creatures.
While she had no “right” to a miracle healing – these were intended as a signs and witness to God’s chosen people – her faith enabled her to be in a place that a crumb fell into her life. Her reward was two-fold, she was commended for her faith and she received a cure for her child.
The Demonstration of Great Faith brought…
Fourth, The Reward of Great Faith (7:29-30)
“Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."(30) And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.”
•Jesus Responded To Her “Great” Faith.
Matthew tells us how much this woman’s respon-se pleased the Lord! He said "O woman, great is your faith!” (Matt. 15:28). As I stated at the beginning the Gospel’s only recorded two individuals who are referred to by Jesus as having “great” faith, and one them is this woman.
The faith that Jesus saw in her was revealed not only in what she said, but also that she went home as He had commanded without further discussion or questions. She demanded no proof, but rather took Jesus at His word.
•Jesus Responded To Her “Great” Faith. - Her Daughter was Healed
Upon arrival at home, she discovered that her daughter had been healed. She had been healed because there had been recognition of need. She had been healed because there had been persistence in asking. This persistence did not change God’s heart, it proved her sincerity. She had been healed because there was an acceptance of Jesus as the answer to her prob-lems. She had been healed because there was an attitude of humility and surrender.
Conclusion
This woman had “great faith” because she endured the test sent to her from Heaven. She did not collapse, quit, give up or faint because of the hardships. She pressed on until the Lord granted her request. Are you passing through a humbling trial? Maybe you have lost a job, failed in a business venture, or are going through a trial. Like this woman, humble yourself before the Lord. If Heaven seems silent, or if your prayers appear to be unanswered, maybe it is a test. There is always a possibility of a “yes” where He has not answered “No”.
Whatever your need this morning, I want to encourage you to come to Jesus. Do you need to be saved? Come to Him! Do have special needs in your family? Come to Him! Do you need direction? Come to Him! Whatever your need! Come to Him!
“Great Faith”
Mark 7:24-30
Have you ever wondered what grips the attention of the Lord? God is excited about faith. There are only two individuals described in the Gospels as having, “great faith” the Canaanite woman in our text today and the Roman Centurion (Matt. 8)
First, The _______________________ of Great Faith (7:25-26)
•The Woman Acted Out of ______________________ vv. 25-26
•The Woman Acted On Her _______________
Secondly, The __________________________ of Great Faith (7:27)
•She is Discouraged by the Lord’s ______________________. (Matt 15:21-28)
•She is Discouraged by the __________________ of the Disciples (Matt. 15:23b).
•She is Discouraged by the Lord’s ___________________.
Third, The ______________________________ of Great Faith. (7:28)
Fourth, The _____________________ of Great Faith (7:29-30)
•Jesus __________________ To Her Great Faith. (Matt 15:28)
•Jesus __________________ Her Great Faith. Her Daughter was Healed
