Dwell in the Word Mark 7:24-30

Consider these questions as we dwell in Mark 7:24-30:

1. How does Jesus initially respond to the Gentile woman's request for help? What does his response reveal about the cultural context and the prevailing attitudes towards Gentiles during that time?

2. What is significant about the woman's response to Jesus' initial statement? How does her reply demonstrate her deep faith and understanding of God's grace?

3. How does this encounter exemplify the inclusive nature of God's grace? What does it teach us about the boundless love and power of Jesus, and how should this inspire our own approach to sharing the gospel with others?

Transcript:

Well, this is quite a story that we arrive at here in Mark Chapter 7, starting with verse 24, because we see a conversation between Jesus and a Gentile woman. Now, we saw some of this idea of Jesus doing the outreach or being willing to go to the Gentiles earlier on in Mark. But here what we have is a pretty clear dialogue between Jesus and a Gentile woman. So, we see that this woman, this Gentile woman, her daughter had a demon. And so she comes to Jesus asking for help. Again, part of the idea that we're seeing here is that the fame of Jesus is spreading. His ability to do miracles and to cast out demons is that knowledge is going out even to Gentile people. That's something that we need to see here. So this woman comes to Jesus, and she's asking for help. Well, Jesus has come to the Jewish people. And so look at how he answers, Let the children be fed first for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. Now, this is pretty harsh to our modern sensibilities. Did she just call her and her daughter, or did Jesus just call her and her daughter and all the Gentiles dogs?

Yes, he did, because that was the common way that they were referred to. Gentiles were the outsiders. They were less than, they were dirty, they were unclean. And so Jesus is just using the modern language of the time to express how people were seeing things. And what he is saying is, Hey, I came to serve God and to serve the Jewish people. Shouldn't the Jewish people be served? Why should I help you, a Gentile? But then we see this amazing faith that this woman has. She says, Yes, Lord. But yet even the dogs on the table eat the children's crumbs. What she's saying is, There is more than enough grace. There is more than enough love coming from you, Jesus. God is more than just to this one group of people. There is enough that can overflow to us as Gentiles. And that was exactly what Jesus wanted to hear because that's what he came to do. That's how you and I have faith. We're outsiders. We're Gentiles. Yet God has brought us in by grace because his grace abounds, his grace overflows. And again, we have an image here of salvation and being invited to the table.

And yet, there's so much at the table that it overflows. The grace of bounds, the love overflows even to those on the edges. And we're going to see this in the life, in the ministry of Jesus, in the ministry of the apostles in the New Testament. This is what Jesus does. He has come to give grace to all people, not just the Hebrews. And so Jesus tells her that she can go away, that her daughter has been healed. How amazing would that be to hear? And it shows us once again, the power of who Jesus is. He doesn't even need to be present. He not only knows that he can heal this girl. He knows who she is. She didn't give him an address of where they're at. He knows. He is the sovereign Lord of creation. And so we see here again, the power and the Majesty of Jesus, and this idea that Jesus is divine here in this passage too. And we see that here, when we see in verse 30, that she went home and what did she do? She found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. How amazing is this story?

It shows us the love of God, the love of Jesus, of bounding to people who are even on the outside, the people who are on the fringes. And so, for us, it's important that we remember, as we think about this passage today, that we were the outsiders, that we were the ones who were beneath the table, just hoping for some scraps in our sin and unbelief. We had none of it. We were starving. But God's grace abounded to us, and he not only gave us the scraps, he brought us into the family. He brought us to the table. He brought us to the feast. And so because that's what we have experienced in Christ, may we share the gospel. May we proclaim this good news so that others like us can hear and they can be brought into God's family. So, let's today think about how we can share that good news that others may hear and believe and be brought into the family of God.