Mark 7:24-37

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Good morning rivertree. It’s a joy to be back with you again this morning. If you have your Bibles go ahead and open them up to mark chapter 7 and in a moment we will start in verse 24
A quick update on our poland team. They have had a great week! A group of them are heading back and will arrive home today while another group heads to be with Kevin and cathy bird in budapest
thanks for your prayers and support of this team. It’s been a truly increadible week for them.
Thanks/encore/overwhelming/well know what
A good friend of mine reminded me “God still sues average”
took the pressure off. So today I am hoping for average from me but extrodinary from God
I think something interesting about people in general is how we approach someone we view as more important then us or how we handle a sitituaiton wehere we are someplace or some envirenmont where we don’t feel as if we belong
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I’ve had a couple of those situations in my life. One was at cafe dumon while in serminary at NOTBS and sam worthington the actor from Avatar was there with a friend.
we couldn’t believe it so we decided the best way to not bother him but prove we saw him as to snap a picture where he was in the backgrouond.
it was pretty obvious and it ended with worthington stoping his conversation and dropping a few choice words our way which we maybe desreved.
the other sitition that i’ve been in was more recently. I had a friend call me and ask me if I wanted to go to a dinner in Birmingham put on by Tim Kellers ministry and we might even have a chance to meet Tim keller.
Now I know not everyone knows who he is. He is a author, a pasotr and someone who I really look up to. He pastors a church in New york that’s been super impactful
so for me I was kind of geeking out over the chance to meet him.
we drive down to birmingham get to this place which was one of the nicest places in birmingham we could have gone and get out of the car
I ask my friend if I should change and he says nah man just go as you are
which was pretty much like this
we walk in and quickly I realize that people are in suits and formal dresses and I am maybe jus ta litte under dressed for the occastion.
we realize we are among the rich and elite in birmingham as we enter the room. Food everywehre. The view was increadible and the people where nice. But we were just tyring to firgure out how we got in the room.
while waiting on tim keller to appear we sat at a table and becasue I can’t help myself at times I just start asking this lady across the table from me about herself.
she says they own a construction company in birmingham and have bene ther efor years.
Then she ask about me. i’m excited to tell her tha tI am a student pastor at a church and I am from huntsville
when I tell her I am from huntsville she has this concered look on her face and then she says oh we’ve heard nice things about huntsville. We’ve heard it’s growing
I’m thinking huh? Heard nice things? We are growing. COME on we put people on the moon huntsville is awesoem
but hey I didn’t fit
and then I noticed it there was tim keller. He was a lot taller then I expected. and I was like we have to meet him.
So my friend will and I approached him. I hadn’t thought of what I would say but I knew i had to say something. So I think I said this
Hey my name is steven I like your books....and he looked at me like ok....and then I said meet my friend will
and left
but here is the reality we’ve all had expierences like this. We’ve been in situations where we aren’t sure if we are welcomed where we aren’t sure if we are welcomed
maybe you’ve had a similar situiations where you were about to meet someone important, famous or just someone you looked up to and you are nervous, you stumble over your words or it’s just plain ackward.
it’s most likely becasue there is a wieghtyness to the meeting and the person you are about to meet.
it’s something we have in common and it’s something we have in common with the women found in mark 7 starting in verse 24
let’s read

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.7 And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 tNow the woman was a uGentile, va Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

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Right away this passage begins with a strange statment. Jesus eneterd a house and did not want anyone to know.
This doesn’t seem like the Jesus we are use to. But Mark is pointing this out just to remind us even Jesus modeled a need for rest
but as he enteres the house there is no way he could be hidden. His fame had spread even to this region
and it’s in this contezxt that a mom finds Jesus. We are told she had a daughter with an unclean spirit in her.
she had heard of Jesus and fell down at his feet.
Then Mark offers a few more details
she was a gentile,
from Syria
she was also a greek
and worshiped false Gods
in other words she didn’t belong according to the culutre of the day
She was the kind of person the religious leaders thought just being in her shadow they would be made unclean.
She’s the reason the relgious elite of Jesus’ day would spend so much time washing. They didn’t want even her very presence to ruin them
She has none of the religious, moral or even cltural creditails to approach a Jewish rabbi
Yet here she is.
Uninvited, maybe even unwelomed by some in the room. Yet she is at the feet of Jesus.
why?
becasue she is a parent and her child is sick. almost at the point of death.
If you are a parent you understand this. If your child is almost at the point of death you would do anything to save that childs life. It wouldn’t matter whether or not you belonged, or you were invited, it wouldn’t matter what creditials you had or didn’t ahve
you would do whatever it would take
and Mark says she begs Jesus to heal her daughter.
The tense of this word beg means she ddid not just beg once but she kept on begging
over and over
and knownig The heart of Jesus the way that we do his response is somewhat shocking and suprising.
Matthew has a parell account that gives us some insight to his response
In matthrew 15:23 we are told

23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, j“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.

Jesus remains silent. IT’s not what we expect her is a mother begin for her daugerts life and he says nothing.
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maybe you can relate to that their are moments you come to Jesus and you pray, and you pray and you pray begging for a miricale yet you feel like he is silent.
but this didn’t stop the mother from begging jesus to move
then the disciples are asking Jesus to send her away.
They are saying she is too much. IT’s almost like they are embarressed.
while it might not be who the religious leaders of the day wanted to welcome in, she may have made the disicples uncomfortable Jesus was unphased
if we are honest we might even be phased by someone like her
doesn’t beleive what we beleive
is from syria
has a daughter who is demoned possed
maybe we would beg jesus to send her away also
but he doesn’t he gives her an answer but it’s even more suprising then his silence
Actually, Jesus was not being indifferent. Earlier on the stormy Sea of Galilee, “When Jesus lay silent and asleep in the ship, He was more kind and His arm more near to help and more certain than the anxious cry of the doubting disciples suggests.”5
Jesus’ silence was the silence of love.
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By it he would elevate the woman’s awareness of her own faith, holding it up for the Church forever to see.

27 And he said to her, “Let the children be wfed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and xthrow it to the dogs.

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so if his slence wasn’t suprising enough this seems shocking
I remeber the first time I ever came across this text I was like “Did Jesus just say what I think he said?”
At face value this seems to be an insult
. But this is not an insult it’s deeper then that
Jesus statement is clarified by the old testemant that the people of Isreal where designated as the children of God.
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He is basically saying the time has not come for the blessings of Gods children to be extended to people outside of Isreal
It’s what Paul said in when he said the gospel was proclamied “to the jew first and (then) to the greek”
but in reality she doesn’t know this. She doesn’t understand the theolgical implications of what is happening.
what she knows is Jesus uses a metaphor or a parable to explain to her what’s happening.
but I love her heart
she felt no insult by what Jesus just said. Instead she turns it into an advantage.
look at what she says
How we approach God.....

28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s ycrumbs.

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she is saying if that’s what I am and the crumbs fall from teh table I get to eat at the same time as the children. In other words I don’t have to wait for what’s coming.
Here is what is happening. She is saying I get it. I shouldn’t be here. I am a women
I am from syria
I am a women
I don’t worship the God of Isreal
I have no idea about the Bible or what scripture says
but here is what I know
You are Jesus and You are good and that’s enough
here is the bottom line: She is depending on the goodness of Jesus and not her all
she knows anything that comes her way at this point is all GRACE
she is saying Jesus if you are the loaf and all I get is crumbs that would be enough
because that’s how good you are
Look at how Jesus responds

29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may zgo your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

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No word of healing is spken but Jesus tells her go home the demon has left your daughter
James Edwards says of her:
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“
The answer is that the woman is the first person in Mark to hear and understand a parable of Jesus.… That she answers Jesus from “within” the parable, that is, in the terms by which Jesus addressed her, indicates that she is the first person in the Gospel to hear the word of Jesus to her"
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Martin Luther when reading this passage saw the gospel in it.
He said something you’ve heard us say often at rivertree
“ This woman saw the gospel—that you’re more wicked than you ever believed, but at the same time more loved and accepted than you ever dared to hope.”
She doesn’t allow pride to get in the way of what the gospel says about her unworthiness
This woman saw the gospel—that you’re more wicked than you ever believed, but at the same time more loved and accepted than you ever dared to hope.”
but she doesn’t allow this unworthiness to rob her of the fact she was worthy of the Love of God
so there are these moments where we are made aware of who Jesus is and we respond to him because of his goodness and grace3
but there are moments in life that our approach to Jesus seems to happen in a different way.
As soon as Jesus leaves this woman look at what happens next:

31 aThen he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to bthe Sea of Galilee, in the region of the cDecapolis. 32 And they brought to him da man who was deaf and dhad a speech impediment, and they begged him to elay his hand on him. 33 And ftaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and fafter spitting touched his tongue. 34 And glooking up to heaven, hhe sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 dAnd his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And iJesus8 charged them to tell no one. But jthe more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were kastonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

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As soon as Jesus arrives in this region the crowds Bring and man who was deaf and had a speech impediment to Jesus
IN this time frame as horrible as it was to be blind or loss your vision it was worse to suffer teh social pain and stigman expeiernced by the deaf
people wouldn’t be aware of your condition and to make it worse the humilation of not being able to speak or speak in a way no one could understand would have been so painful
As I studied this week and thought about this man my heart was moved with compassion
I could not imagine what he was going through
He couldn’t ask questions, he could not hear explanations and most likely he coujldn’t read
there is a real possiblity that even the truth of scripture was hidden from him
Yet on this day he ends up in the path of Jesus
what can almost look like an accident is not because we can be confident of this truth that Jesus knows us and gives us exactly what we need
In verse 33-34 we see Jesus takes this man away from the crowd and is in private with him
and then he begins to do some pretty strange things on the surface.
he puts his fingers into his ears
he spits and touches the guys tough
He sighs
How we approach God.....
and we wonder what is Jesus doing? Did he just give this guy a wet willy?
some have suggested he is just acting like a normal miricale worker of the day. But we know this doesn’t make sense
for one if he just wanted to increase his popularity he would have done all of this in public. If you think about miricale workers in our day a lot of time it’s done with a lot of fanfare and for that persons own name
yet Jesus doesn’t do this in public
but also here is something else we know Jesus didn’t even have to be there to heal the man. He just healed a girl with a demon in her from a distant.
All he has to do is speak and this mans ears would be opened and he could hear for the first time
He is wetting this mans tounge as an indicaiton that you will soon be able to articulate. He looked towards heaven to show him where the power was coming from.
Here is what Jesus is doing
He is idenitifying with this man deeply
I will illustrate it this way
as I shared last week I have this cornea disease where my eyes don’t work the way they are suppose to
so i have had one eye doctor make me a speciality contact that’s been increadible. Without it I cna’t see very much but with it out of my right eye I can see so much better
I am so thankful for this contact
it’s a little difficult to get in at times and I am still new to contacts. I have to use this little pluger like thing hold my eye open with one hand and sometimes I mess up
most days it takes 2 attempts to get it right
but it is easier with some help. So a lot of days Elizabeth will help me put it in.
Taking it out is another story I use this suction like thing to pull it off my eye. Sorry if that grossed you out
Well wednesday was a tough day to get it in. Elizabeth left super early for work so I had to put it in myself. And I kept messing up
17 attempts in I realized I wasn’t getting it in by myself. Elizabeth was working with people with heart failure so she couldn’t come help so I called my friend and told him what was up
here is a picture of what my bathroom counter looked like
He washesitaent but willing
he came over and we worked on it together. IT was rough. But eventually we got it in
You know you have a good friend whose willing to help you put your contacts in haha
After we got the contact in he said I had no idea it was like that! HE was idenitifying with me in that moment in my struggle to see
but here is the difference
Jesus knows exactly what this man is expereicing and he is saying this is not the way it should be.
By thrusting his finger into this mans ears it’s a form of sign language
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By thrusting his finger into this mans ears it’s a form of sign language
He is saying I know what’s going on but things are about to be different
don’t be afriad
I am here with you know.
He says I am about to do something. Let’s look to God together.
He is communicating with this man in a way he con understand
He is stepping into this mans world.
and most likely he takes him away from the crowd because this mans always been a spetecle
but Jesus refuses to make him a speticale
He is identfying with this man on an emotionally level also
but it goes deeper. When Jesus sighs even though this man couldn’t yet her the sigh it was a visble way to communicate to this man that Jesus was moved by the mans condition. That he truly cared for this man
This whole passage points us back to Isaiah 35
because Jesus has connected with the man and his isolation and alenienation
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It’s his compassion and caring for this man that’s moiving.
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tThe wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

uthe desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

2  it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

vThe glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of wCarmel and xSharon.

yThey shall see the glory of the LORD,

the majesty of our God.

3  zStrengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

4  Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

aBehold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

5  bThen the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6  bthen shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

cFor waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

7  dthe burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of ejackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8  fAnd a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

gthe unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.1

9  No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

10  hAnd the ransomed of the LORD shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

ieverlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah saw this day coming. He saw a day when the Messiah would come with divine retribution to save his people
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He saw a day when the blind would see, the deaf would hear, the mute would shout
and mark is saying: do you see it? It’s happening. God has come to save you. Jesus is God and Jesus is king
And there is something else mark wants us to see. this divine retrubition isjn’t JEsus destryoing the people. He isn’t taking out a sword, he isn’t taking power
no he is giving it away
he isn’t taking over the world or allowing the people to make him king
he is serving the world
so where is this divine retrubution tha tIs saw? Did he miss someing?
no the answer is that Jesus came to bear that on the cross
because on the cross Jesus would idetfy with us totally.
Keller said it this way: “
On the cross, the Child of God was thrown away, cast away from the table without a crumb, so that those of us who are not children of God could be adopted and brought in. Put another way, the Child had to become a dog so that we could become sons and daughters at the table.

And because Jesus identified like that with us, now we know why we can approach him. The Son became a dog so that we dogs could be brought to the table; he became mute so that our tongues can be loosed to call him King. Don’t be too isolated to think you are beyond healing. Don’t be too proud to accept what the gospel says about your unworthiness. Don’t be too despondent to accept what the gospel says about how loved you are.

Until we see ourselves as the women.....not welcomed at the table, not good enough on our own, we will never see the beuty of the gospel
until we see ourselves as the deaf man, who can’t speak without the help of Jesus we won’t understand the cross
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So today here is the invitation. We come to the table. And the crumbs are enough.
that we would be remebered as we take the lords supper of how Chrsit idenified with us completely
says this

14 Since then we have da great high priest ewho has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, flet us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest gwho is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been dtempted as we are, hyet without sin. 16 iLet us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So let’s approach the table with Boldness and confidence knowing becasue of what Jesus has done for use
A friend texted me these thoughts this week when thinking about this passage
He can turn our wilderness into gladness
He can turn our deserts into blossoms
he can make our hot sands into pools of water
our blind eyes see
our deaf ears hear
our lames knees strong
our soft voices sing
our hard hearts soft
As his disciples sit at the table and miss the whole loaf, this woman begs for crumbs. They think they’re going to get in because they’re children of Israel, but she’s going to get in because she believes Jesus is God and can heal her daughter. They are loving God moderately, she is loving God with everything and falling at his feet
So as you approach the table today
and you break the bread realize on the cross Jesus was broken to deal with our brokeness forever
and as you dip it in the grape juice be reminded that Jesus poured out his blood, his life so we could stop pouring ourselves out trying to earn his love and approval
so today we celebrate, we take this meal as a family, we take this meal knowning it’s not based on our goodness that we have a seat at the table but based on his
Let’s pray
Jesus as we take this meal today, let us be reminded that crumbs are enough with you.
That just to be at the table where you are is enough
and in faith Jesus I pray that you would
help those who can’t even speak becasue of the pain in their lives rejoice again with singing
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that you would strengthen those whose hands and knees are week becasue of the pain of this life and allow them to walk again
that those with anxious hearts would hear you again and you would open their ears to hear you say
be strong and fear not
that those who haven’t seen you at work for a long time would have their eyes opened to what you are doing
and for those that are in the wildnerss they would expierence streams of living water in there dessert
Jesus thank you for loving us so well and far more then we desreve. Today we remeber you
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How we approach God.....
If you think you are in you probably aren’t
if you think you are far you are probably much closer then you think
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