"It's an Honor Just to be Nominated"

Mark 7:24-30

In our text this week we find Jesus once again seeking refuge away from the crowds and alone with His Disciples. We again find someone coming to Him with a desperate need. And, we also, once again find Him responding favorably to the request and delivering a miracle. This occasion is unique for a few reasons. First, we find Jesus on foreign soil. After a year of ministering in Galilee, He is now in Tyre-Sidon which put Him in Gentile territory. No self- respecting Rabbi would have ever gone there. As it were with Him calling Levi the tax collector to follow Him, Jesus always challenged the traditional thinking of the age. I am not sure we see Him for the rebel and counter-culture voice that He was. Second, the woman who came to Him was a Canaanite and of not only of pagan decent but historically devout enemies of the Jews. Third, this Gentile, pagan, desperate woman had a deep understanding and unusual humility in her approach to Christ.

The reason I decided to deal with this text in our series is the dialog that ensued between Jesus and the woman. Clearly Jesus wanted His Disciples to know that they needed to witness beyond the borders of Israel and that the Gospel was available to all under the Covenant that He would soon make in His own Blood. Because of His amazing Grace we have been grafted into the family of God when we accept His free gift of salvation. 

In Christ

Pastor Todd