FOR SUCH A REPLY
Mark 7:24-30
Key Verse 7:29
Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
Introduction
Last two weeks, we learned that traditions do not make us clean. Only when we repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord, God makes us clean by the power of Jesus’ blood. Today’s passage teaches us the humble faith of a Gentile woman. May God bless us to repent of our proud hearts and have the humble faith like this Gentile woman so that God may heal many sin-sick daughters through us.
1. Read verses 24-26. Where did Jesus go? (24a) Why did he keep his presence
secret? (24b) Yet, who came to him? (25) What did she beg Jesus to do? (26)
What can we learn from her?
1-1, Read verses 24-26.
Jesus 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. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
1-2, Where did Jesus go? (24a)
Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.
After defending his disciples from the religious leaders, Jesus withdrew into Gentile territory, the surrounding area of Tyre which lay between Galilee and the seacoast.
There Jesus wanted to take a breath and refresh himself from the Pharisees’ harsh pressure.
Jesus and his disciples must have enjoyed walking along the beach.
1-3, Why did he keep his presence secret? (24b)
He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.
Now Jesus and his disciples entered a Gentile’s house for some rest hoping that nobody knew it.
1-4, Yet, who came to him? (25)
25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.
The gospel of Jesus had already spread to the Gentiles. As soon as a woman heard about him, she came to Jesus and knelt before him.
She was a woman whose little daughter could have been the apple of the eye. This little daughter must have been the source of happiness for her.
But one day the daughter was possessed by the impure spirit. She became strange. The mother felt as if the world was crumbling.
The mother wanted to do something for her but felt totally helpless. Then she heard that Jesus had come to her town.
Perhaps the woman had heard that Jesus had healed many people, in particular, the daughter of Jairus the synagogue ruler.
She found hope in Jesus and came to Jesus by faith. She believed that Jesus could heal her daughter with the compassion and power of God.
1-5, What did she beg Jesus to do? (26)
1-6, What can we learn from her?
26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
She was a Greek woman. At that time Greeks were proud of their cultural and intellectual heritage. Even though Rome conquered the world, they imitated many of Greek cultures.
Naturally Greeks were proud of their philosophy and wisdom. Here, the mother who came to Jesus was one of the proud Greek women.
But she curbed her human pride to save her suffering daughter. By humble faith she came to Jesus and begged him to drive the evil spirit out of her daughter. Her coming to Jesus was her great faith in conjunction with humility.
At the moment, she was anxiously waiting on Jesus’ mercy and the immediate recovery of her daughter by the help of Jesus.
2. Read verses 27-28. What did Jesus say to the woman and why so harshly? (27)
Whom are “children” and “dogs” referring to? What was the woman reply? (28)
What can we learn from her perception of Jesus and herself?
2-1, Read verses 27-28.
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 the dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
2-2, What did Jesus say to the woman and why so harshly? (27)
2-3, Whom are “children” and “dogs” referring to?
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 the dogs.”
So far in the Mark’s gospel, Jesus never spoke harshly to anyone who had come to him. Jesus’ reply sounded as if the Jews were God’s children and she was a Gentile dog. Humanly speaking, it was an unbearable insult to a proud woman.
Women are emotional and very sensitive. They never expect any insult from men. But the reason why Jesus say such a harsh word to her was to plant faith in her.
Outwardly she came to Jesus humbly. But Jesus wanted to test her inner attitude whether she had a proper attitude before God or not.
2-4, What was the woman reply? (28)
2-5, What can we learn from her perception of Jesus and herself?
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Jesus tested her whether she was truly humble or not. But she was not discouraged or angry because she had faith in Jesus.
She humbly acknowledged that she was nothing but a Gentile dog that did not deserve Jesus’ mercy.
At the same time, she acknowledged that Jesus is the Lord of her life as well as of her daughter’s life. She exalted Jesus as her Lord.
After that, she pleaded once again with persistence, saying, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
She was saying to Jesus, “Crumbs please! Lord! I do not deserve the main dish of your mercy, but may I have the crumbs please! Just crumbs please!”
We wonder where she could get such wisdom. If she was proud, she could have been angry, slamming the door as she went.
But she was not proud. When she was humble, God gave her his wisdom, persistence and strength to overcome all kinds of impossibilities. Her humble faith moved Jesus’ heart.
Her humility may remind us of Jesus’ humility. Even though Jesus is the Son of God, he left his heavenly glory and honor and came to this world of sin.
He deserved to be served by all; instead, he became the servant of all. Through his humble faith, he raised his disciples as shepherds.
Finally, he gave his own life for us on the cross in order to bear all our shame and guilt, to set us from the power of sin and death and to give us the kingdom of God as our eternal inheritance.
Praise Jesus! May God help us to grow in our faith until we become as humble as Jesus. May God help us to have humble faith like our Lord, Jesus Christ in this proud and arrogant generation.
3. Read verses 29-30. On what basis did Jesus bless her? (29) What kind of faith
should we have to please Him? What did the woman discover? (30)
3-1, Read verses 29-30.
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
3-2, On what basis did Jesus bless her? (29)
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
3-3, What kind of faith should we have to please Him?
Jesus accepted her faith and her wise & humble answer. This woman obtained Jesus’ blessing through her prayer and humble faith.
We do not know her name because the Bible does not mention about it. But she became a pioneer of faith for all Gentile people.
Her faith revealed to us that even though Jesus has a clear order and direction for his gospel ministry according to the will of God, He blessed humble faith.
Women can come to Jesus by faith. In the final analysis, there is no human barrier, but anyone with faith can obtain Jesus’ blessing.
3-4, What did the woman discover? (30)
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus drove the demon out of her daughter. The daughter did not do anything to obtain Jesus’ blessing. But through her mother’s faith and humble prayer, the daughter was completely healed.
This teaches us the tremendous power of intercessory prayer. True beauty returned to the little daughter once again. She was lovelier than ever before.
She accepted from her heart that she was an undeserving Gentile dog. Her humility was not pretense but it was genuine and real.
When we come to Jesus we must be humble. Jesus will likely test our humility in some way. If we are not really humble before Jesus, we may blow up at Jesus. This is not the way to obtain Jesus’ blessing. Jesus blesses humble people.
1 Peter 5:5 says, “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”
Jesus said in Matthew 23:12, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Let’s learn the humble faith of this Greek woman.
We must beg Jesus’ mercy on them. May the Lord teach each of us the humble faith of the woman in this passage. May God bless us to raise many more women of humble faith through our humble one to one & disciple making ministry.
Conclusion
Today we learned about humble faith like the gentile woman. People want to be used by God greatly. But we cannot do the work of God with our passion and pride. First of all, we must learn how to depend on God absolutely with humble faith. When we serve God with humble faith, we can learn what is impossible with men is possible with God. When we serve God with humble faith, we can experience God’s abundant blessing in our lives and ministry and be a source of blessing to many people around us. When we serve God with humble faith, we can bear God’s blessing to the end of our lives. We must remember that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. May God raise many humble prayer mothers of God who pray for young women in our generation.
One word: humble prayer!
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