Jesus Enters in
Mark 7:24-30
I am convinced that God loves to bring those things broken in his creation back together. Indeed, God is engaged in a mission to take the hostility that has come into his world, hostility of people toward him and toward one another, and make peace. This restoring of what is broken and ending of what is hostile is the way I understand reconciliation. I am increasingly convinced that the ministry of reconciliation is the hub of almost all the ministries here at our church. When we engage in ministries of reconciliation – whether in evangelism, marriages, in times of moral restoration, or racial/ethnic oneness, we know we are serving in God's mission. Let me remind you that God has promised that, when he has completed his work in the world, all things will be reconciled, all things will be made right, "in Christ" (see Col 1:19-23). Because of that promise, when we prayerfully and faithfully take steps in the direction of reconciliation, we can be sure the Wind of God's Spirit will be blowing at our back.
But, it's very clear that God has not completed his work yet. As events in our country have shown us clearly, we live in a broken and hostile world. That's what I want to talk to you about this Advent season.
I'm not going to be able to attempt to deal with all the brokenness in our individual lives, in our church, neighborhoods and world. I won't even pretend that I have the ability to do so. But, in my Advent messages, I am going to walk through the biblical guiding principles I see in the reconciliation work of Jesus that I pray will help you navigate though the complex matters that reconciliation always requires:
#1: Enter in – to respect-filled relationship.
I m convinced that this is where reconciliation always begins. Without having relationships of listening, respect and trust, reconciliation will not happen.
#2: Call to – follow Jesus as Lord.
For reconciliation to happen, our thoughts, attitudes and conduct must change. And, I am sure that the change must be that we grow in thinking and living in ways conformed to what we see in Jesus.
#3: Walk with – anyone who is a brother/ sister in Christ. A life that leads to reconciliation must happen in the context of a community empowered by the grace, love and justice made possible by the Holy Spirit.
In the first message, I am only going to speak about the first, i.e., entering into respect-filled relationships. There can be no reconciliation without that. I find that the life of Jesus provides a crystal clear starting point for all the complexities for all reconciliation ministries. Jesus "entered in" to the brokenness. To see that, I am going to take us to what may seem to be a rather strange text in Mark 7:24-30 and let Jesus be our guide.
In this text, we meet a woman who would have been scorned by those in Jesus' society. The politicians and religious leaders would have argued that Jesus should have nothing to do with her. But Jesus turned his society's perspectives upside down. In doing so, Jesus shows us how to deal with all people.
Setting in Mark
Throughout the opening six chapters of Mark, Jesus had been doing things only God can do – controlling the winds and waves, casting out demons, forgiving sins, and even raising the dead to life. But, in chapter 7, the only thing that the religious leaders noticed was that Jesus and his disciples didn't wash their hands enough. The rulers thought that what mattered to God was staying away from being defiled by touching diseased things, demonized things, dead things and especially... damaged people -- like Gentiles. With this context in mind, notice that for some undisclosed reason, in v. 24, Jesus heads into Gentile territory and meets a rather bold woman there. It's always seemed to be a strange story for Bible readers. But, for a 1st C Jewish reader, everything would have seemed to be wrong culturally about this encounter. Like what?
#1: "Wrong" place for Jesus to be (v. 24)Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house...
On the heels of his community leaders insisted that God is not pleased when his children spend time with "unclean people" like Gentiles, Jesus intentionally head right into Gentile territory. He goes right into one of the greatest areas of brokenness and hostility of all, i.e., the relationship of Israelites and Tyrites. The people of Tyre had become the archenemies of the Jews. The 1st C historian, Josephus, called the people of Tyre, "notoriously Israel's bitterest enemies." And note this: the Tyrites were also thoroughgoing pagans in their religion. Bottom line: The religious leaders' of Jesus day taught that one thing Messiah would do is expel and subdue the Tyrites – not go into their homes. But, that's exactly what Jesus did in v.24. And that's exactly what we have to do in reconciliation ministries. Go where the brokenness is and be there with people. Talk with people. Reconcilers must be ready to speak not only with people we already agree with but also with those on the other side of the divide. And, to do so, we have to enter into their locations.
#2: "Wrong" kind of person for Jesus to be speaking to (7:25-26)
In case we might think that Jesus didn't really come into contact with any of these "unclean Gentiles" there in Tyre, we find that Mark gives us some detail about one of the people who came to him in vv. 25-26: A woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia.
This person was everything that those "teachers of the law" in Mk 7:1-23 said he should avoid like the plague. She was 1) a woman and women were thought to be unworthy of a rabbi's time. 2) She was a Gentile woman. 3) She was a Gentile Tyrite (Syro-phoenician) woman and 4) a Gentile Tyrite woman with a demonized daughter. This woman was in every conceivable way the kind of person "righteous people' should avoid. But Jesus did not avoid her. Nor should we.
#3: "Wrong" kind of response for Jesus to be making (7:27)
Imagine being a part of this scene. Other rabbis would almost certainly have lashed out at her, "You dog, you – get out of this house now! What on earth or in heaven makes you think that a person like me would anything to do with a person like you?"
But then, Jesus wasn't like other religious leaders. Other rabbis wouldn't have been in Tyre in the first place. I am quite sure this woman also knew that Jesus did many things that other religious people in her day did not do –like going to a tax collectors home, and like picking grain on the Sabbath, and like talking to a demon possessed Gentile man (Mk 5), and like blessing a defiled woman who had an untreatable uterine hemorrhage – and even letting her touch him.
With that in mind, look at Jesus' response in v. 27. He engaged in conversation – in dialoguing with her. As he often did, Jesus used a parable: 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.
Keep looking at that verse and let me open up this parable for you just a bit with a few observations:
- • The word Jesus used for "children" was "teknon", a word for biological children. It was the word used for Israel being the children of God. The woman will use the word "paidion" in v.28, a word for the entire household, including those who are adopted and those who serve in the home.
- • Jesus speaks of bread coming "first" to the teknon, the biological members of the household. According to the Scriptures, when the Messiah would come, he would first bring God's kingdom blessings to the children of Israel. And then would spill over and bring blessings to all the peoples of the world. As always, Jesus was resolute abut following Scripture. Note that!
- • In his parable, Jesus did not use the word people usually used for the wild and filthy scavenger dogs that roamed in packs in his day. That word was kyon. Jesus used the word kynarion, a word that referred to a household pet that belonged to the family. Notice that Jesus softens the rhetoric.
So, Jesus' response was not the kind anyone would have expected. I read it this way: Jesus is saying, "Don't you know that the bread of God's kingdom blessing that I bring must first go to the biological family members who have been persecuted so long and through whose lineage I have been born. Surely it's not right for me to take what must first come to my people and toss it to the pets in the household."
This was a rather shocking response – the animosity you would expect was taken off by the words Jesus chose. And, mostly I want you o notice this: Jesus' response was in a parable and, up until now, no person in Israel had ever understood any of his parables. Surely, this Gentile woman from Tyre won't get it. Right?
#4: The "wrong kind of person" receives the blessing of the King (7:28-30).
So, this woman knew that this was an unusual kind of Jewish rabbi. But there still was a risk when she broke into the house, fell at his knees and blurted out, "Lord, set my daughter free from evil!" Do you see it? This mother was desperate. Of course, she would normally expect a man like this to have her thrown out. Instead, she hears him use words like, "first" and household language like children and pets. So, in v.28, she does what all of us should do when we read one of his parables, i.e., she makes herself a part of Jesus' parable. She says, "There are always crumbs that fall from the table. When the pets eat the crumbs, they aren't stealing from the children."
You must see this: This Gentile, Tyrite woman living in a demonized home is the first one to grasp one of Jesus' parables. She says to Jesus, "Even the crumbs of God's blessing will be enough for us. Even if the bread must first go to the children of Israel, crumbs of what you bring will be enough."
And, Jesus says, "Such an answer." In Matthew, we're told he added, "Woman, you have great faith!" And then he said, "You may go. The demon has left your daughter."
By his entering into relationship with this Syrophoenician woman, Jesus expanded his ministry beyond anything anyone (except God) had conceived of for a Messiah. His actions universalize the reach of the Savior in terms of geography, ethnicity, gender, and even religious heritage in a way that was scandalous to those who observed him. It's clear that unless Jesus had entered in across all the walls of division, there would have been no hope for this woman or her daughter. And think about it: had he not "entered in" to her life, there would have been no hope of a new life for most of us here – for we too would have been on the wrong side of the ethnic, cultural divisions from Jesus. This is what Jesus always did: whether it was a child, a Samaritan, a tax collector, a prostitute, a leper or a Roman military men... Jesus shows us the way to begin to engage with reconciliation of a broken relationship. We begin by entering into the person's life.
Bundy's Gift Shop
Let me tell you just a bit about my own story related reconciliation. I began to think about reconciliation in the context of racial and ethnic reconciliation. In past sermons I told you about unexpectedly meeting a group of African American men in my hometown of Bluefield, WV. I don't think I'd ever had a conversation with a person of color before that. When I saw them one Saturday morning outside Bundy's Gift Shop, and they saw the terror in my face, one of them said, "Young fella, I have some advice for you. You should sit down with us and have a nice cool bottle of pop. I think you would learn something. You might learn that we're just folks." So, I sat down and I began to learn. I learned about what sociologists would now call "the African American experience in a rural Appalachian town. I learned what these men's kids felt like when the city officials closed the public swimming pool just because the didn't want their kids swimming with kids of color. I learned what it feels like to have a boy like me terrorized simply because I saw the color of their skin instead of the "content of their character."
I moved to Chicago several years later and immediately volunteered to go weekly to Cabrini Green, called "the Projects," in the city. My assignment was to lead children's ministries and teach Bible studies there. I know I didn't do anything very well. I don't know what kind of impact I had there. But... I know I was changed. I met great people. Single moms who loved their kids and loved the Lord but didn't know where the next day's necessities would come from. Families that didn't want their kids to get trapped in gangs and drugs. I began to learn about the African American experience in an urban housing project:
- • I learned something that still has spoken to me this past week, i.e., that Ferguson, MO in 2014 was not the first time and first place in which a young unarmed African American was shot in our country. This was a part of the life experience of families in the 1960s and long before.
- • I learned to think about what justice and mercy might look like – about how hard forgiveness is – about how frustrating it is for people when the same thing happens over and over and there seems to be no prospect for change.
When it comes to reconciliation, especially when the issues are so personal and the issues so long-standing, there are no fast fixes. There are no quick solutions. But, the life of Jesus shows me this, "We must enter in to those places of brokenness and hostility with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in the name of Jesus Christ and we must listen to the stories before we make declarations.
My call to you today is to "enter in" -- simply to go to those places where you see brokenness and enter into relationship with people. This is where ministries of reconciliation begin. Don't do it simply to be politically correct or because laws require it. Do so because you are grateful follower of Jesus yourself seeking to reflect the ways of Jesus to people in your world. You and I are more like the woman in this story than like Jesus. He entered into our lives in spite of our sin. He reconciled us to God – and he sends us out to tell people, "It's real. You can know God as Father. You can know his liberating power. We know this: If God is willing and able to enter into relationship with you and me, then there's hope for anyone – but they will never know unless we cross the lines of division and enter into relationship.
The fact is, reconciliation cannot be pursued without people speaking with one another – understanding each other. Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. The church must become flesh and dwell among the people where God has located us. We must enter in, find space for meaningful and respect-filled relationships to happen. It may be a kitchen table where estranged spouses talk. It may be a youth pastor's home where parents and their children learn to hear one another. It may be in a counseling room when a person has fallen morally and we begin to discuss the process of moral restoration. We live in a world in which people speak at one another. We must be churches in which people speak with one another as Jesus did with the Syro-Phonicean woman.
The essential first step in the reconciliation process is the willingness to enter into a relationship and hear the other side of the story – even if we remain unconvinced. And may I say it again: There is no fast fix for human brokenness. You may have to listen for a long time!! You must have a willingness to continue the relationships – to hear the other persons' stories, to feel their pain and anger.
And, maybe the most powerful lesson I learned in Cabrini Green comes from the fact that the families of the children I taught made sure I had safe passage into their home. More than that, they welcomed me. The reason was that they were convinced that the only real hope for their lives and their children was not new laws, not political maneuvering, and not military strength. These Moms and Dads and older siblings somehow believed that the only hope for justice is eventually to be found in the power of the gospel at work in the Jesus of Jesus Christ empowered by the Spirit of God. So, if I was going to teach their children about Jesus, I was welcomed in that place.
There is no God-forsaken person beyond the reach of God's love in this world. There are no God-forsaken places beyond the realm of God's presence in this world. There is no brokenness in this world that is greater than God's power to heal. And there is no hostility in this world beyond the grace of God and his readiness to make peace. And, 2 Corinthians 5 declares that you and I are in our community and world as God's ambassadors of reconciliation.
What is going to shape the way you deal with the divisions and hostility in the world? Talk radio? Fox or CNN news? Let it be Jesus. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5. Paul was humbled by the fact that Jesus had to die for him. Otherwise he had no hope. But Jesus had died for him. And then, he says again and again – "Jesus died not just for me but for all -- for all! This changed things for Paul. How? See 5:16:
From now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view... 2 Corinthians 5:16
If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. Behold it: The old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself in Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2014, Lake Avenue Church