(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.
