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Persistent, Yet Humble FaithScripture - Mark 7:24-30
In today’s Scripture, Jesus and his disciples are in Tyre.
Tyre is Gentile territory, which is This woman came to Jesus as soon as she heard that he was in that house. She had heard about Jesus’ miracle-working power and how he cast out demons. She did not want to waste time, and was desperate for anyone who could help her. She was compelled to flee to Jesus as the only hope for her daughter. She was just like the woman who was filling out an application for a new job, and was puzzled by the blank after “Person to notify in case of accident or emergency.” Finally she wrote, “Anybody in sight.” The woman in today’s Scripture probably felt the same way. As she fell at Jesus’ feet, she begged Jesus to cast the demon out of her little daughter. She had a need, and she believed Jesus had the answer. What was Jesus’ response to this desperate woman’s request? His answer was cold: the children at the table are fed before the pets; it would not be right to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs. At first it was an almost shocking saying because Jesus’ response seemed so upsetting. Jesus snapped at her and suggested that she was no better than a dog. This wasn’t the behavior we expected from Jesus. Dogs were not the well-loved pets or guardians that they are today; more commonly a dog was a symbol of dishonor. And, dog was a term the Jews commonly applied to Gentiles because the Jews considered these pagan people no more likely than dogs to receive God’s blessing. Thus, to this Greek woman, the term dog was an insult. How are we to explain Jesus’ use of it here? Jesus was not degrading the woman by using this term; he was reflecting the Jewish attitude so as to contrast it with his own. Perhaps the key is to consider that Jesus’ words were intended less for the woman’s ears than for His disciples or even all the Jewish people listening. For Jewish people, focusing on the forms of religion, and above all, being a Jew was known to be a chosen nation. Instead of God being God of the Universe, He became God of Jews to them, so they despised non-Jews. Because of this attitude, they couldn’t recognize Jesus Christ, nor experience the power of faith. Ironically, many Jews would lose God’s spiritual healing because they rejected Jesus, while many Gentiles, whom the Jews rejected, would find salvation because they recognized Jesus. Jesus’ words could be taken to mean that his ministry was to the Jews first, the children of Israel, and that he would not take away from them to perform miracles for a Gentile. Jesus was simply telling the woman that the Jews were to have the first opportunity to accept him as the Messiah because God wanted them to present the message of salvation to the rest of the world. However, Jesus gave her the hope she needed. When Jesus said that the children must be fed first, He implied that after them, others would be fed. After all, where there is a first, there is a second. Would this woman see that by faith and hold onto the hope Jesus had offered her? Yes, she would. Because she found the hope, she did not try arguing when she heard insulting words from Jesus. The woman said, “Yes Lord, I know the children are fed first, but can’t I even get the scraps the children throw away?” She recognized that the food had to go the children first. But she also recognized that even the children toss a few crumbs to their favorite pet under the table.
A college student takes a biology class. He had some reservations as he heard the course was tough and the teacher a bit different. But, it seemed like the only choice so he signed up. After one week and one chapter the professor had a test for the class. He passed it out and it was sheets of paper divide into squares and in each square was a carefully drawn picture of some bird legs. Not bodies, not head, just different birds legs. The test simply asked them to identify the birds from the pictures of their legs. Well, he was absolutely stunned. He didn’t have a clue. The student sat and stared at the test and got madder and madder. Finally, reaching the boiling point, he stomped up to the front of the classroom and threw the test on the teacher’s desk and exclaimed, “this is the worst test I have ever seen and this is the dumbest course I have ever taken.” The teacher looked up at him and said, “Young man, you just flunked the test.” Then the teacher picked up the paper, saw that the student hadn’t even put his name on the paper, and said, “by the way, young man, what’s your name?” At this student bent over, pulled up his pants, revealed his legs and said, “You identify me.” This student’s answer was wise. And, the Gentile woman’s answer was wise, for she explained to Jesus, by extending his parable, that the children who love the pets often drop pieces of food to them. She accepted with good humor that she had no right at this stage to claim God’s grace but simply threw herself on his mercy, turning Jesus’ parable back in his direction. When Jesus had given His explanation, the woman was anything
but offended. She quickly pointed out that such dogs ate with the children.
“Why couldn’t I have some of those leftovers that the Jews didn’t eat?” She
did not ask for the entire meal, just for a few crumbs or one crumb in
particular one miracle of healing for her daughter. Using Jesus’ choice of
imagery, she pointed out that she was willing to be considered an interruption
as long as she could receive God’s healing for her daughter. She humbly
swallowed her pride and opened her heart to receive Jesus’ grace at whatever
the price, as her primary concern is her daughter’s well being.
Whatever places Jesus would assign to her, that would be her place, and she would accept Jesus’ estimation of her situation. Jesus loved her attitude. Jesus was delighted by the persistent but humble faith of this woman. He granted her request because of her humility and persistence. He may have wanted to test her faith. Her faith was tested and her faith was real, and her prayer was answered. Such faith was rewarded. There was a young man who wanted to be a missionary. After he had applied to the mission committee several times, he got a letter that informed him of the date for a test, he was to be there by 5:00 AM. In the early morning on that day the young man went the place named, but nobody was there. He waited, waited and waited until late afternoon. Finally, he could take a test around 7:00PM, but when he read the question he almost felt despair. The question tested his knowledge of John 3:16. After the test he asked the committee why they did what they did. And they gave an answer so kindly; you have been tested the whole day today. When we asked you to come so early we wanted to see if you were a diligent person. When we made you wait so long we wanted to know how patient a person you are. Lastly, when we gave you a test on John 3:16 we thought the most important thing for missionary is to understand the central meaning of the Bible, John 3:16. And we think you are qualified. Jesus’ words had been meant to test her, and she had passed the test. She rushed to Jesus as she fast as she could, she was as patient as she could be, and she showed the strongest faith she had. She understood Christ’s lordship and that, as a Gentile, she had no right to request mercy from Jesus. She also willingly accepted his conditions. On that basis, she showed her persistent and humble faith and Jesus willingly healed the woman’s daughter. With his words, the demon left the little girl. Jesus responded to her faith and answered her request. The Gentile woman’s request had been made in faith that Jesus could perform the healing and his grace is not only for Israel but also for all nations and races. It is a miracle of grace that Gentiles share in all the promises of God made to Israel. It is true that God’s message was, in the words of Paul “first to the Jew and then to the Gentile.” However, the example of the Gentile woman tells us that Jesus’ message and grace was eventually to all people! Today’s Scripture tells us that something else is more
important than pride, tradition, This woman can teach us a great deal about how to approach God. There is one, definite way. We must approach Him in faith. We must be persistent, yet humble. What is your approach to God? What is the response of your heart today? Do you lean upon tradition for your faith or do you have a true relationship with Jesus Christ that comes from a heart full of faith? |
Audio
Link: Persistent, Yet Humble Faith
repulsive to many of the religious Jews. There, something unusual happened! A
local Greek woman who had a sick daughter approached to Jesus. The Bible
actually says that her daughter was possessed by a demon. Being both a
Gentile and a woman, it was a double-strike against her. The Gentiles were
referred to as dogs by the pious and self-righteous Jews. Women were
considered to be unclean in Jesus’ world, nearly subhuman compared to men.
Even worse, in many cases, diseases were considered as curses from God. This
woman was the worst of the worst and was thought to be low even by the other
Gentiles. She was a Gentile, woman, and had a demon-possessed daughter!
She
came and made her case, humbly but effectively. She responded with wit
and persistence to Jesus’ ironic parody of Jewish exclusivism. She not only
accepted Jesus’ estimation of her; she used His estimation as a ground for her
petition. She turned her difficulty into opportunity. She refused to be
defeated by an apparent closed door. She saw it as a door of opportunity to
walk through. Her answer was clever and she had a “one-of-a-kind” wisdom.
or race when it comes to a relationship with God - it is the response of your
heart that qualifies your relationship to God. The human differences we
create for ourselves are unimportant and irrelevant where God’s love is
concerned. For Jesus, God’s love and grace knew no bounds. Even this
non-Jewish woman of Greek origin, who had a heart full of faith, was deserving
of God’s love and grace. Even today we are celebrating this unknown Gentile
woman’s faith.