A Savior for All People

Our text this morning is Mark 7, verses 24 through 37. Now Jesus stood up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when he had entered a house, he was wanting no one to know of it, yet he could not escape notice.

Jesus in Gentile Territory and the Syrophoenician Woman

But after hearing of him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek of Syrophoenician descent, and she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

And he was saying to her, let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. But she answered and said to him, yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs.

And he said to her, because of this answer go, the demon has gone out of your daughter. And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left. And again, he went out from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee within the region of the Decapolis.

The Deaf and Mute Man in the Decapolis

And they brought to him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty. And they pleaded with him to lay his hand on him. And Jesus took him aside from the crowd by himself and put his fingers into his ears.

And after spitting, he touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven with a sigh, he said to him, Ephatha, that is be opened. And his ears were opened and the impediment of his tongue was removed and he began speaking plainly.

And he gave them orders not to tell anyone, but the more he was ordering them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. And they were utterly astonished, saying he has done all things well. He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.

Prayer for the Message and the Congregation

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, the scriptures ascribe your glory that you do make the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. Lord, that you cast out demons and you heal the broken. But Lord, we also know that you are the Savior of the brokenhearted.

That all, all of the goodness of God dwells in you, our great salvation, our Redeemer. Lord, we love you and we cannot sing praises enough, even though our hearts would melt inside of us. Lord, we cannot have the zeal that's required to sing of your greatness and your mercy.

But Lord, we try anyway. And Lord, we pray that this morning that that you would convict your people with the word that you would encourage us. Lord, I pray for David as he brings this message that you would give him calm, that you would give him peace.

Lord, but also that you would give him.

That.

The urgency Lord, to preach this word and to give it to a people who are hungry for the word. And Lord, we know that through all this, that your word will achieve its desired purpose, that it is not in vain.

Lord, and that it will stand forever through the test of time, even after everything else is gone. So Lord, we bank on that promise and we love you and we praise your name. Amen.

Mother's Day Encouragement and the Church at Work

All right. Well, good morning, everyone.

Um,.

No, I'd like to take this time. It is Mother's Day. I'd like to encourage all the mothers here from my standpoint as a man. We are encouraged to see you interacting and see you working with your children.

It's a blessing to us. It's not a distraction to see a mother get up and have to discipline her child. It's actually we get to see the church working. We get to live life. It's a true faith. It's not just this ethereal thing.

So.

Be encouraged. Just it. We do appreciate it. In our let me get my in the verses that Josh read today. It's not only a tale about Jesus healing a woman's daughter and a death man. It's not only about compassion.

Jesus the Savior of the Whole World

It's about Jesus venturing into Gentile territory breaking every expectations of a first century Jewish Messiah.

It's.

Announcing by his actions. I'm not just the Savior of Israel. I'm the Savior of the whole world. A Jew in the first century didn't just go to tire. They wouldn't risk being ritually unclean. Not only that to be spiritually contaminated.

The place was a was Canaanite. It was steeped in Baal worship. Asherah and ancient gods. But Jesus marched straight into enemy territory on purpose. He's not just changing zip codes. He's not lost. He isn't retreating.

He's entering into enemy territory.

Why?

Because he's not just the Messiah of Israel. Is God the God of the Jews only. Is he not the God of the Gentiles also?

Yes.

The Gentiles also. He is the one Yahweh promised in Psalm 82 8.

Arise.

Oh God judge the earth for you shall inherit the nations and he is coming back according to Isaiah 23 5 through 7.

Tire.

Was from days of old. It was a Canaanite stronghold long before Israel entered the land of Canaan. It was Bale stomping ground symbols of pride and rebellion against Yahweh. It was the homeland of Jezebel the Queen who nearly wiped out all the prophets of Israel under Joshua.

Israel failed to drive up to drive them out.

Of the land.

According to the command of God. They remained in the land given to the tribe of Asher and some of the tribe of Asher actually even assimilated into the culture of tire. God's arm really use these wicked people to help build his temple.

He also used these wicked people to help rebuild the temple and under.

Ezra's.

Day.

Please try to understand that Mark is using actions to teach great lessons the actions of Jesus. These lessons the disciples often fail to understand.

Wrote.

Mark was written to a Gentile population to the Romans. It answers the question what did Jesus do. It emphasizes the works of Jesus. So when you read Mark you think of those things think that it's it's action in the action.

When you read the word he says immediately it's used 41 times in the book of Mark. 41 times he says the word immediately 10 times in the rest of the New Testament. So it's definitely an emphasis on that.

Now today I will be moving from Mark and I will be using the parallel passages in Matthew 15 21 through 28 so if you want you can bookmark that and make it easier for yourself to go back and forth. Now the pagans are in that time frame in that area believe that the gods were territorial gods that they control certain land areas and that the people's in those land areas were subject to them and were totally controlled by these gods.

So they serve them out of fear. The Jews of this time frame were actually affected by the beliefs of the others and this does have an effect on their thinking both the Jewish leaders and the disciples.

They didn't fully understand the kingdom of God or the Messiah that was to come. They were looking for a warrior king. A warrior king like like David. They couldn't accept a suffering servant and a warrior king.

They couldn't understand what God had said. They couldn't see what he had done in their history for the Gentiles. They couldn't imagine what he would do.

Matthew 8.

11 12 says I say to you that many will come from the east and the west. Recline at the table.

With Abraham.

Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven but the sons of Abraham will be cast out into utter darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Even in the Old Testament God provided breadcrumbs to the Gentiles.

Nineveh received breadcrumbs through Joshua I mean through Jonah pardon me through Jonah.

Rahab.

The harlot was a great great grandmother of King David.

Ruth.

The Moabitess was the great grandmother of King David. They were both in the lineage of Jesus Christ two Gentiles Mark 7 24. And from there he arose and he went away to the region of Tyre and city in Sidon.

Think of of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah mocked them and said calling out with a loud voice for God for he is God either he's occupied or he's relieving himself.

Or.

Or he's on a journey or perhaps he's sleeping and needs to be awakened. Humor me for a minute. Let me set the stage for you in my imagination. I imagine a locker room scene. You got the little gods in there and they're like, hey Bale.

Bale's been called out Bale you've been called out. Bale's like who dares call me out and they're like.

It's Yahweh.

And Bale's like I think I hear my mom calling so into this. Jesus walks into Tyre.

Tyre.

A land ruled by hostile powers. Bale's old turf. To take back what rightly belongs to him. There he meets a woman whose daughter is possessed. Her child isn't just sick. She's held captive. The woman is a Syrophoenician and as it says in Matthew a Canaanite a Gentile of the worst kind from a Jewish perspective.

She was a Syrophoenician a Canaanite. Strike one. She was a woman in a patriarchal world. Strike two. She had a demonized daughter. Strike three. In other words she's exactly the kind of person the kingdom came for.

But why didn't she just go to the temple of Ishmael the pagan god of healing. Why did she seek out Jesus. I mean there was a temple for Ishmael in Sidon a major temple. And the enemy wasn't just going to give up what he thinks he owns.

I think we'll see that it was through faith through a God-given faith. Not a faith that she welled up. Not a faith that she could create but a faith that only God could give. I think we're going to see.

It's the same kind of faith that the Roman centurion had when God turned and said. Or when Jesus turned and said to his followers. I haven't seen such great faith in all of Israel. Imagine being one of the disciples that's standing there with him when he says that.

I will try to answer some of the questions that are bound to pop up as we go through this. There should be at least in my mind there's several questions that we that will come up. Mark he goes to the famously difficult verses in.

In.

Verse 27 where it says let the children be fed first for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

But.

But Matthew.

In Matthew.

Verse 15 28 and I'm going to turn there and I'm going to read those verses for you starting at verse 21. And going away from there Jesus with Jesus withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon and behold a Canaanite woman from the region came out and began to cry out saying have mercy on me O Lord son of David.

My daughter is cruelly demon-possessed. And he did not answer her a word. I want to point out before we begin that the desperation in this mother crying out for her daughter we can only imagine her pain.

We've all had trials with our children what would we not. There's nothing we wouldn't do for our children to protect to heal and to to have them saved. I don't know whether she knew or not but she called him by a prophetic name for the Messiah Lord son of David but Jesus didn't answer her.

Back to our text and his disciples came and they were pleading with him saying send her away.

Because she's.

Keeps coming shouting at us. Now the disciples had the Jewish mindset they knew first of all they didn't want to be touched by a Gentile they didn't want to be in the Gentile region and a woman. During those days the rabbis wouldn't even allow a woman to sit at the feet of a rabbi the Pharisees because they were unclean.

So now we have a Gentile and a woman coming to the disciples.

Who.

Are trying to do everything they can not to have to interact with her. They're even as you hear they're pleading they're begging to Jesus Lord get rid of her for us we we don't want to be soiled by her.

But he answered and said I was not. Except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel now. So there's a lot of confusion about that. A lot of people think that Jesus is saying he has nothing to do with the Gentiles and that's there that he is saying to the woman.

But if you look at the verse closely and you pay attention you'll notice he's talking to his disciples at that point. He's telling this to the disciples about his kingdom. Continuing on. But she came and was bowing down before him saying.

Lord.

Help me. And he answered and said it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs but she said yes Lord but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from the master's table. Then Jesus answered and said to her.

Oh woman.

Your faith is great it shall be done for you.

As you wish.

And her daughter was healed at once. I'm looking at Christ saying that her faith was great. And I think about the disciples. And I go back. And I try to think about and find is there anywhere in the New Testament that he tells the disciples that their faith was great.

I don't recall. The closest I can get to that is which we'll get into in chapter 9 where.

Peter.

Acknowledges Christ as the Son of God but you know a couple minutes later he's back to being called Satan.

So.

I think.

Many people stumble over this and don't understand what Jesus is trying to say. I I think it's key that we go back to Mark verse 27 where Jesus says let the children be satisfied first. Jesus is not excluding her.

He's actually announcing the inclusion of the nations. Here's the point. Jesus is saying my life in ministry. They are limited by his ability to only be in one place. At a time he came to do the will of the Father the response and fulfill the responsibility that he had been given.

He was saying yes the mission begins in Israel but it's going to overflow to the Gentiles one act of faith at a time. Jesus is saying this is what I came to do. I'm here to speak and reveal the covenant to the covenant people of Israel the Jewish people the fact that my kingdom and the mystery and wonder of who I am and what I've come to do.

Now we come to a famously difficult part of the verse part of the second part of 27. For it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

For.

Many people this is a stumbling block they stumble over this. First of all we can't see Jesus's body language right. We can't see his face we can't see his eyes we can't see his interaction so a lot of times it's misinterpreted because of those things it seems to be inconsistent with the compassion that we see of Jesus in the New Testament.

But what Jesus is doing is he's he's provoking faith.

In the woman.

He's using material and his cultural awareness of the day to make a very strong point. He's explaining his current ministry in a way that both the woman and the disciples that were watching could understand.

At that time his duty was to the people of Israel not to the Gentiles. He was very aware of the cultural context of the day and so so was she. Now there's a lot of discussion about the the Greek meaning of the word that's used there and I'm not even gonna attempt to try to pronounce Greek.

I'll let Josh do that.

But.

In the Jewish mindset of that day when they say dog they don't mean like a sweet little dog. They are talking about a wild vicious mangy think of a think of a slobbering mangy wild animal.

With.

Infested right that you would not want to be. That's what the Jews were calling them. It was a racist and it was a derogatory term that the actual term that Jesus used means small.

Dog.

Or little dog or pet dog.

Which.

They that's better but I mean you're still a dog so.

Yeah.

Take that for what for what. It's worth. But she gets it. She knows her position she also recognizes who Jesus is and.

Jesus.

Rewards that faith. Her daughter is delivered. She comes in desperation. She comes begging and crying. She doesn't care.

What.

Insults are thrown her way. She's call me a dog.

Lord.

Just.

Save my daughter heal my daughter. You're the only one. There's no other. So here's the point. She's not he's. Jesus didn't exclude her. He announced the inclusion to the nation's. He's saying yes. My mission begins with Israel but it's going to flow to the Gentiles.

And this is how he reclaims what is his one act of faith at a time. And from there Jesus moves on. He moves to the Decapolis to teach it to use his actions to teach to further teach the lesson that it's through faith.

Healing the Deaf Man and the Meaning of Ephphatha

We move on to Decapolis. For many of you most of you should be quite familiar with Decapolis. I think we were just there a few weeks ago. Remember. Jesus healed the demoniac man casting out the demons.

A legion of demons.

What's striking to me is at the end the man begs Jesus. Please can I follow you Jesus tells him.

No.

You stay here you stay in your hometown and you tell everybody what God has done for you.

And I think.

In this verse that we're going to have here we'll see that I believe he did his job and I think people came also in Mark 3. When you read about the people there was a large crowds from Sidon and Tyre that were there.

And I think.

That may have been the fruit of this man and I pray that's what it was. So as you read Mark 3 7 I mean as we read in Mark 31 through 37. Excuse me should be a lot of questions because I had several of them as I went through here.

First of all why did why did Jesus do that.

Why.

I think Jesus was using language that was fitting to the man by means of his actions he entered into the man's world the man's silent world. He was using sign language to touch where the man's need was.

Why did he take him away from the crowd. Well I think he did that to preserve the man's dignity to show his tenderness and his compassion.

Why would he.

Why would he put his fingers in his ears.

Why would he.

Touch his tongue. I think he did this so the man would understand that these are the areas that he is touching that he is going to heal now. Why did he spit. I'll be honest with you I don't know but you can ask Josh or some of the other elder candidates.

I'm sure they can give you a better explanation than I can at this point.

What.

Sorry.

Why did. Why did Jesus look up to heaven. I think with his eyes he was telling the man that we must look to heaven for God's help. Psalm 121 1 through 2. And I will lift up my eyes to the mountains from where shall my help come.

My help comes from Yahweh who made the heavens and the earth. And he sighed. And why do you think he sighed. Well I think it's because of so the man could feel his compassion and his love and his care for him.

Because he couldn't just tell him. Because the man couldn't hear why did he say he fafta.

The.

Word meaning to be open or be opened. I think he did this because the words hard to pronounce I mean it's by its very nature requires a distinct articulation of the lips which would make it easier for a lip reader to understand what he was saying.

I think also with those words he was pronouncing that the kingdom.

Of God.

Was opening so that all could enter through faith Mark 7 36 and he gave them orders not to tell anyone but the more he was ordering them the more they continued to proclaim it. Now why did he tell him not to proclaim it.

Why would he not want them to proclaim it. I think it's because it wasn't his time and because of the Jewish leaders. But again you're gonna have to ask Josh and the other candidate elder candidates because they probably know far better than I do.

Mark.

37.

Seven.

And I think people we miss this a lot and they were utterly astonished saying he has done all things.

Well,.

He makes even the death to hear and the mute to speak. Without even knowing this the Gentile crowd was announcing Jesus as Savior for all peoples. They were pronouncing the words of the prophet that were written long long ago concerning the Messiah.

They were even repeating some of the same exact words that Jesus used to comfort John when he was in prison. Isaiah 35 5 through 6. And then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped and the lame will leap for joy and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

And I think that's what we see in those verses. Jesus is the Savior of the elect both Jew and Gentile. Jesus isn't just cleaning hearts he's opened up the way for the Gentiles.

For us.

To become the children of God he went into Tyre he went into Decapolis into the spiritually dark demonized forgotten places and he still does today. They are healed not because of anything in themselves and we are not healed because of anything in ourselves.

We are healed because of the the mercy.

And love.

Of Jesus Christ we're all prisoners of the evil. One spiritually deaf until Christ by the Spirit of God opens our ears. Regeneration precedes faith. This man did not find Jesus Christ. Jesus found him and effectually saved him.

Others brought him to Christ. May we do the same and bring other people and share our Savior. May we call our elect brethren to Christ. These two accounts mirror the progressive redemptive history of scripture.

It aligns with the Abrahamic promise in you shall the nations of the earth be blessed Genesis 12 3. It also points us to the future. It points to to Revelation a great multitude that no one could number from every nation from every tribe and people and language.

In Revelation 7 9 Jesus Christ is the Savior of all people. The gospel is not universal in its effect but it's universal in its scope. People from every nation will be saved. Christ laid down his life for the sheep Jews and Gentile alike.

The kingdom is for outcasts for outsiders for the demonized for the death for the forgotten it's for all people. It means that Jesus Christ is taking back what is rightfully his. So for us what does this mean.

If your past is full of idols he can step into that. If your life feels like you're in enemy territory he's not intimidated. If you feel unworthy.

Like a dog.

He hears your cries. The woman represented the Gentile Nations once afar off. The man represents the individual sinner helping us and being dependent on the sovereign grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who opens ears who loosens tongues who grants faith to us to us the outsiders.

He saves sinners like me sinners like you. And he's not just the Savior of Israel. He's a Savior Savior of Tyre. He's a Savior of Sidion. He's a Savior of Decapolis. He's a Savior of your soul. He's a Savior of the drug addicted the skeptic the abused and the abandoned.

He's your Savior. Rejoice for the Messiah has come and he is the Savior.

For all people.

Sola de gloria to God be the glory.

Amen.

Closing Prayer and Charge to Live by Faith

I'm going to pray dear gracious heavenly Father.

Lord.

We thank you that you are the Savior of all people Lord. We thank you that you have an elect people Lord. We thank you for your power for your forgiveness.

Lord.

We ask that you would be with us that you would guide us.

You would protect us.

You would help us to go out and preach your word and to share.

Lord.

That you would help us to live life Lord. That we would live life to the glory and honor of Jesus Christ. That it would be a real life a real faith and not just ethereal faith. That we believe and not put into action Lord.

Lord put actions as you do. As you show and mark. Put actions to our words. Lord help us to do those things which bring glory.

And honor.

To the name of Jesus Christ. We thank you in Jesus name.

Amen.