February 25th

By Randall L. Broad

Read: Leviticus 16:29-18:30; Mark 7:24-8:10; Psalm 41:1-13; Proverbs 10:15-16 

Today we find in the One Year Bible two narratives of interest.

The first one is the story of Jesus healing the daughter of the Gentile woman. The mother falls at the feet of Jesus and begs him to drive a demon out of her daughter. He agrees but first He tests her faith. 

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. ²⁵In 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. ²⁶The 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.”

²⁹Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Mark 7:24-28

Jesus accepted her answer and drives the demon out.

This encounter illustrates an important truth of God–all people have value to Jesus. In addition, this Gentile woman shows a remarkable level of wisdom and understanding for her time. At this point in Jesus ministry most of his followers believe He came only to save the Jews and to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament covenants. Jesus uses food as a metaphor for his teachings (v. 27), and in a manner Paul will echo later, Jesus tells the woman his blessings are for the Jews first. But the Gentile woman is determined to save her child and believes Jesus has the power to do just that … by her wisdom, determination, and most importantly her faith the child is saved. Jesus must have seen in the Gentile woman the very thing he was looking for in all his followers: a selflessness and compassion for someone else’s need; as well as gratitude for even the smallest blessing. Disciples need to be like her–determined in our faith and grateful for every blessing.

The second point is along the same lines and is found in the story of Jesus feeding the four thousand. He tells the disciples to feed them, but they protest because they do not see any possible way to obey.

¹During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ²“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

⁶He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. ⁷They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. ⁸The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ⁹About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, ¹⁰he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Mark 8:1-10

What others see as limitations, Jesus saw a chance to show the power of love, and mercy, and grace. For it is in those miraculous moments the Glory of God is revealed to the multitude. Jesus gave thanks for the seven loaves of bread and the few fish; He broke it into pieces and fed everyone with an abundance left over. They started with seven loaves and ended up with seven baskets. Like the feeding of the five thousand, this narrative is rich in meaning and importance but suffice it to say today–the lesson Jesus taught the crowd and his disciples was with a little you can do a lot and even in remote areas you can produce an abundant harvest.    

Walk with the Lord …

Ephesians 1:17

(RLB250225)

© Copyright 2013: Randall L. Broad

Disclaimer: This commentary is written by Randall L. Broad. It is in no way affiliated with or represents any denomination, university, church, or pastor. Any errors or omissions are purely my responsibility.