Factors of Encountering Jesus

(Apr 2012: Homiletics: "Expository Sermon")

TITLE:      FACTORS OF ENCOUNTERING JESUS

TEXT:       MARK 7:24-30

INTRODUCTION

Illustration: There was a Taiwanese woman pastor who was born invalid. She could not walk and had to crawl on the floor. Everyone despised her and saw her as a debt to the family. Yet her mother treasured and loved her so much that she would grasp every opportunity to seek for her daughter’s healing. Her mother would even be willing to climb up mountains, pass by rocky roads and travel miles of journey carrying her on her back in order to look for medical assistance or divine healing. 

     The Phoenician woman we are going to look at this morning in the passage is like the Taiwanese mother, who was helpless yet never gave up her hope to seek healing for her daughter who was demon possessed. Because of her love for the daughter, she was persistent and humble enough to come before Jesus, and thus she encountered God in a tremendous way, receiving healing from God both for herself and for her daughter.

Proposition:  Every one of us needs to encounter God.

Interrogative sentence:   How can we encounter God like this Phoenician woman?

Transitional sentence:   Mark 7:24-30 indicates two aspects helping us to encounter God, factors which have to do with man and factors which have to do with God.

I.            MAN’S FACTORS

Before we look further on factors contributed by man, let’s have some background ideas about this Phoenician woman. Matthew 15 refers her as a Canaanite woman. She was identified differently because Luke addresses to Greeks who regard her as a Phoenician and the Jews recognize her as a Canaanite. Canaanites were well-known for worshipping multiple gods. In the Old Testament we see that they built altars everywhere, either under the trees or on top of the mountains, and they bowed down to Baal, to stones, to trees etc. With influences from the Greek culture and religions, their gods were even varied in names and great in numbers.

Under such cultural setting, the Phoenician woman could have run about all over places of Phoenicia and its nearby areas but she just could not find any god who was able to heal her daughter. In verse 25 the Bible says she heard about Jesus. And as soon as she heard about him, she came and fell at his feet.

Where is Phoenicia? It is situated east along the coast of Mediterranean Sea, at the north of Galilee. After Jesus received the empowerment from the Holy Spirit, He was actively demonstrating power of the Kingdom through healing and deliverance. His fame was widely spread, farther even across to those pagan regions nearby Galilee. When Jesus entered the vicinity of Phoenicia, he was discovered immediately by the woman.

It was never easy for a Phoenician woman to come before Jesus. Firstly, though Jesus had entered into her homeland, he was a complete stranger to her. Secondly, she was a pagan woman while Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi. The Jewish Rabbis were reluctant to associate with women in public places, even with their own wives. Thirdly, there was a religious gap between her and Jesus, with her believing in multiple gods and Jesus believing in One and Only True God of Israel. Fourthly, there was ethnical discrimination causing the Jews to despise the pagans and name them dogs while the pagan mocked Jews as dirty pigs. There was such invisible and unspeakable tension existed between her and Jesus.

Transitional sentence: Why then, did the woman come before Jesus?

1.   BECASUSE SHE HAS A NEED   

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.

She came to Jesus precluding any fears of being rejected, because there was an immediate and desperate need in her. She had sought long enough and found none who could meet her need. Whenever people have needs, they could either choose to possess an attitude of unbelief, to give up and to do evil, or they could choose to humble themselves in order to solve their problems. The Phoenician woman chose to be the latter. Therefore she overcame her psychological hindrances and came to Jesus.

She did not address Jesus as a Rabbi. Instead she called him “Lord”. By bowing to him and calling him Lord, she actually lowered herself and acknowledged that she could be a servant of Jesus. Others might see Jesus as a Rabbi, yet she saw him as the Lord, the God. He was equaled or even greater than those gods that she had worshipped before. She placed her hope in Him and perceived Him as the only One who would be able to deliver her daughter from the torturous tricks of the demons.

What will be our reaction when we have unmet needs or unresolved problems in our lives? Sometimes in our lost we turn to all gods trying to get our own solutions. In our innocent moments we might behave as she did. But if you were to know that Jesus is the Lord, would you be willing to come as the Phoenician woman, to let go of all the prejudices, fears and uncertainties, to overcome sense of enmity because of cultural, ethnical and religious differences, and uphold your needs or problems before the Lord?

Transitional sentence: The second reason which caused her to come to Jesus was

2.   BECAUSE SHE BELIEVED JESUS WAS WILLING TO MEET HER NEEDS

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.”

      How did Jesus reply her? It was surprised to hear what Jesus had told her. Many who came before Jesus were never turned down by Him. Even those Samaritans, whom Jews considered detestable, were granted their requests whenever they willingly asked of Him. It seems to us that Jesus intended to humiliate this woman. He plainly told her that He had come for the salvation of the house of Israel. The pagans were nothing but dogs in His eyes. If there were many among the children of Israel who were still hungry and unfed, how could He possibly minister to the needs of those unrelated Gentiles?

      Lives of people were definitely more precious than dogs and Jesus indicated that He should prioritize His time and energy in feeding the Israelites instead of this pagan woman. The words of Jesus seemed harsh and bitter to be swallowed. Just imagine how you would react under this humiliation, even when you were in the midst of desperate need? Would you remain calm and humble? Or would you felt irritated and annoyed?

      The woman could have raised an issue and urged her countrymen to drive Jesus out from their homeland. But she became more humble. She waited upon mercy of her Master. It was because of her determination to get her daughter healed that she was unwilling to let go of Jesus. The words of Jesus did not deter her, but instead intensified her persuasion towards Jesus. Even the dogs under the tables would eat the children’s crumbs. That was her faith. That was her declaration of trust towards the love and mercy of God. She was pretty sure that she could receive His grace unconditionally.

      It was indeed true that dogs will get their share of food most of the times after the children are well-fed. It would be abnormal for a master to refuse to feed his dogs if he had surplus. The faith of the woman convinced Jesus, and He granted her heart desire. Her daughter was healed and delivered from the torture of the demons.

      We learn an important lesson from this woman, how she held on to the source of her hope and refused to give up in the midst of difficulties and humiliation. Having faith is the very first step for us to see miracle and breakthrough. The woman never let go of Jesus, for she believed with all her heart that He was willing to bless her daughter.

      Do you have such confidence that Jesus loves us and He will certainly meet our needs if we humbled ourselves and never give up on Him? Jesus taught that those who are persistent in their prayer shall see God’s mercy and grace. He will provide what they need and what they ask for.

   Grasp Jesus and ask of Him. He is more willing to help us in our predicaments and difficulties. He is more willing to hear us out and ease our anxiety. He is there always ready to pour out His blessings to those who are willing to see Him with the eyes of faith.

      Our faith will not be in vain. If we are willing, God is even much more willing. The Scripture shows us the heartbeat of Jesus towards this troubled mother. That is His heartbeat for us too.

Transitional sentence: After seeing the factors that have to do with man, we shall examine factors that have to do with God in this divine encounter:

II.          GOD’S FACTORS

Have you ever wonder why Jesus seemed so unfriendly towards the woman? Was that because He did not intend to meet the needs of the woman at the first place? We knew that Jesus came to Tyre to take rest. But why he chose the village of this woman? Couldn’t He foresee this helpless woman before he entered the village? Our Lord is more than a Rabbi, He is the Son of God. He possesses prophetic senses and the heart of the Father. There were reasons more than taking a rest that had caused Him to travel so far into the vicinity of Tyre. He had in mind two main intentions when He was conversing with this woman.

Transitional sentence: Firstly, from the passage we know that ultimately,

1.   JESUS INTENDED TO MEET HER NEED

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.

Our Lord Jesus is not just the Lord of Israelites, but He is also the Lord of all nations. He is the Lord over Phoenician. His heart is not concerned only about the salvation of Israel, but all those who are lost and in need of Him. He will sparingly and freely give His salvation to all men who come before Him, regardless of their nationality, geographical locality, age, sex, religion etc.

The woman had been worshipping some gods which were constraint and confined by geographical distances, and they were limited to nationality and ethnicity. But Jesus is beyond human boundary. He does not restrict himself to a certain place or people group, and His heart goes all out for the needy. He travels and seeks, and there He meets the lost, the hungry, the sick, the underprivileged, the outcast etc.

Some of us might be seeking after many gods or life philosophies to secure our future. But we need to be aware that while we are running after all these futile things, Jesus is the One who pursues us. God is not far away but near. He does not distance from us sitting high in heaven ministering to us from above. He descended on earth, and lived as a man among His people. He has suffered what we have suffered and He understands what is meant to be human and to have weaknesses. He had seen the need of the Phoenician woman even before she approached Him.

Many of us might not meet or experience Jesus before. But He has seen you and He has come in our midst, ministering to all of us through His servants and His living Word. There is no barrier between us and God, as long as we are willing to admit our sin and put our trust in Him. Nothing is able to separate us from the love of God, not even the barrier of languages, localities, ethnicity, social statuses etc. For Jesus is willing to forgive the sins of all men, and to receive us into His Kingdom.

Transitional sentence: What more then, has Jesus intended when he conversed with the woman?

2.   JESUS DESIRED TO RELATE WITH HER

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.”

Jewish Rabbis would not interact with women unnecessarily. Yet Jesus has ignored this tradition. There were many women among those who followed Jesus. Jesus spent times to communicate with women and He cared for their needs, e.g. in the lives of Samaritan woman, the woman with twelve years bleeding problem, the mother-in-law of Simon Peter, Martha and Mary etc. Here Jesus occupied Himself with a pagan woman.

Jesus made a statement which was commonly known by both the Jews and the Gentiles. He started the conversations to understand the woman’s thought. He mentioned the contempt Jews have towards the Gentiles over generations, perceiving Gentiles as dogs. His intention was more than breaking down barrier between Rabbi and women, but those fortified walls between Jews and Gentiles. Through this conversation, mutual trust and friendship were established unconsciously between her and Jesus.

If we go to doctors for treatment, what do doctors expect after our cure? Definitely not our time and our friendship! Instead they will charge us for time spent and professional aids offered! If we go to temples to inquire of gods, what do those in temples require of us? Of course our offerings and money! But when we come to Jesus, He desires our personal attention, and He is after our friendship. Jesus wants to build a personal and intimate relationship with you and with me!

How would we feel if we have parents who feed us and meet all our physical needs yet refuse to relate to us? How devastating the outcome will be! Therefore God gives us family and friends for us to relate with. Above all else, He offers His friendship for us, so that through relationship with Him, we could enjoy abundant peace, joy, love and overwhelming satisfaction. He is God who speaks and relates with His people.

The more the woman conversed with Jesus, the more her faith was enhanced and strengthened. The more we relate with God, our faith will be enhanced and strengthened too. God does not intend to give us physical blessings only, but spiritual blessing through relating with Him and knowing Him personally and intimately.

Transitional sentence: The main thing God cares for is how we could relate with Him.

CONCLUSION

Illustration: Once there was a father who would call his son to him every morning and gave him pocket money of the day and chatted with him about school life. One day his son asked, “Father, why don’t you give me a whole sum of money for the month, and I will apportion it for daily usage.” The father replied, “My son, I could give you a lump sum of money for a month, even for a year. But when you get your money, I won’t be seeing you so often. My son, I will instead give you daily so that I could spend more time with you every day.”

Like the son, we do have needs in our lives. Like the son, we turn to the father and believe that he is willing to meet our needs. Yes, the father truly wants to bless the son. But on top of that, he wants to build a personal relationship with him. Jesus did that to the Phoenician woman, as how the father did to the son.

If you have a need today and would like to entrust your need unto Jesus, and believe that He will meet your need, or if you want to be know Jesus more, raise your hands and receive Him this morning. Amen. Let’s pray.

      May the Lord bless you abundantly!

APPENDIX

PASSAGE: MARK 7:24-30

²⁴Jesus 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.

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.”

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.