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.
