Bread Crumb Theology

Mark chapter 7, after many miracles, some great teaching, many lives impacted, the critics caught up with Jesus.

Mark 7 · chapter mention

! Pharisees and scribes had accused him of blasphemy for telling the paralytic that his sins were forgiven.

They had questioned his feasting with tax collectors and sinners and told him that he should be fasting.

They accused him of plucking grain on the Sabbath. That's harvesting in their minds.

They saw him healing on the Sabbath. That is considered work as well.

They even said that he was of the devil because he had power over the demons.

Earlier in Mark chapter 7, they called him defiled. They called him unclean.

Mark 7 · chapter mention

It just keeps coming.

Sometimes you just have to get away.

That's what he does in our passage today.

But yet, not really.

Mark chapter 7, beginning in verse 24, it says,

Mark 7 · chapter mention

And from there, Jesus arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know.

Yet he could not be hidden.

But immediately, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.

Now, the woman was a Gentile, a Seraphonician by birth, and she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

And he said to her, Let the children be fed first.

For it's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

And she answered, Yes, Lord.

Get even the dogs under the table, these children.

And he said to her, For this statement you may go your way.

The demon has left your daughter.

And she went home and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

The devil to Tyre is about 40 miles from the area in which Christ had been before.

It moves northward to the Mediterranean coast.

Sidon is about another 20 miles north of that, further into Gentile land.

This is the first time in the recorded ministry of Christ that he has been in this area full of Gentiles.

But they hadn't seen him before.

Word had gone out about him.

Crowds that he fed for the 5,000.

The crowds that surrounded him in the Galilean area.

For people who had traveled from as far as that area to be near him.

Because when he got there, they recognized him.

Word had spread.

Now the question is, why should he go so far from what seemed to be his strategic area of ministry?

Mostly in that Galilean area.

Well, I can give you several reasons why I believe he took this year.

One is, he was tired.

He needed some rest.

He was never alone, and the people had gotten more aggressive to get close to him.

They tried to force him to be king.

You see throughout the Gospels that Jesus loved his time alone.

He loved to be with the Father.

And if you live a busy life, and if you're around people a lot, that does not surprise you.

He was tired.

He also wanted things to cool down.

The religious leaders were back.

They were more critical, and they would soon become more aggressive.

And that had to, he had to, none of that had backed off.

And Jesus didn't back off from his story.

He didn't back off from his mission.

He told them when they were wrong.

He was not scared of them.

However, he needed more time.

I believe that the incarnate Christ came to earth for two reasons.

One very primary reason, the other secondary.

The primary reason Christ came to earth was to live a sinless life,

and to die, shed his blood on the cross for our sins,

and rise again and ascend to heaven and bear a place for us.

That is the redemptive story that Christ came to share with us.

But I believe the other reason he came was to train the twelve,

to train the disciples to carry out his ministry

when he no longer would be physically present with them.

And you see the evidence of that in the book of Acts.

As a matter of fact, the rest of the New Testament

are letters that are written from the time of the book of Acts

when it continued to spread.

And if it wasn't for them,

in planting that vision and that mission within those apostles,

that continue to spread that,

literally in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,

and the uttermost parts of the earth.

You can see like a rock in a pond with the ripples.

You can see the great commission in the book of Acts

start in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

spread to Judea, Samaria,

and the uttermost parts.

And thank God he came for that,

because we're the uttermost parts.

So he needed time to train the twelve.

His ministry was only three and a half years.

He needed time to train them,

and he had to pull them away.

Things needed to be cool.

But the third reason I believe he traveled there

is because he also was just living out what he was teaching.

I want to focus on that.

You'll notice in Mark verse 19

that we looked at last week,

it says,

Thus he declared all foods clean.

Foods are a powerful symbol in the New Testament.

As the Gospels broke down this,

as the Apostle Paul put it in Ephesians,

this dividing wall of hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles.

In Acts chapter 10,

Acts 10 · chapter mention

the Lord uses food to explain to Peter

that he was to reach out to the Gentiles,

the heathens,

the world.

In a dream,

Peter saw a blanket

spread out of heaven

with unclean food on it.

He didn't eat such foods,

and so

he said

when God told him to eat,

take, eat,

Peter responded

with the greatest oxymoron

in all of the New Testament.

He said,

Not so,

Lord.

He didn't say no to him,

he called him Lord.

And

he didn't eat unclean animals,

so he wasn't going to eat them.

And the Lord told him

he had made the foods clean to eat.

That was an illustration

to show Peter

that he was to go to the Gentiles.

So Peter went to Cornelius,

a Gentile's house.

He ate with him.

He brought him to Christ.

A bridge was built

there,

and we see the evidence

of that continuing to spread

throughout the rest of

the book of Acts.

However,

Jesus is building

the foundation

of that bridge

that would come

later years

here by going

to the land

of the Gentiles.

And listen to me,

after a conversation

in the previous part

of Mark chapter 7

Mark 7 · chapter mention

about unclean things

and unclean people.

He wanted to get away

and take a break.

However,

when Jesus

entered a house,

he cannot be hidden.

Notice,

he says,

when he went,

he entered a house

and did not want anyone

to know it,

yet he could not be hidden.

Listen,

when Jesus is present,

you can't hide it.

When he's present

in someone's home,

people hung through

the windows

to get a word from you.

And when he's present

in someone's life,

it cannot be hidden.

It should not be hidden.

Not in our lives.

Sometimes people tell me,

well,

pastor,

I believe one's faith

is private.

There's a Greek word

for that,

baloney.

There is no,

that is not

Christian biblical faith

if it's private.

There's nothing private

about it.

Romans 10,

10,

9 says,

if you confess

with your mouth

Jesus is Lord,

and it's not talking

about in the privacy

of your home.

It's not talking

about just with the preacher

or just with your parents

or just with your spouse.

You take the context

of that passage,

he's talking about

boldly proclaiming

that Christ is Lord.

There's nothing private

about our faith.

It's real.

And if it's real,

you can't hide it.

But when you really

know Christ

and have a personal

relationship with Him,

He is not just

in your heart.

He's all over your life

and the presence

of Christ cannot be hidden.

The presence of Christ

in a home

cannot be hidden.

And it could not be hidden

in that day

and it still can't be.

And in that atmosphere,

He meets a woman

with a daughter

with an unclean spirit.

That means she had a demon.

If there are categories

of people,

and we tend to categorize people,

I mean, I don't,

and I know you don't,

but I'm talking about

other people.

They do that.

But if there are categories

of people,

this woman would be

obviously not worthy.

I mean,

who is she to ask Christ

for anything?

She's an unclean Gentile.

She's a Seraphonician,

Canaanite woman.

That means she lives

in the most hideous,

pagan,

hardened,

rough people

around her.

Josephus,

the ancient Jewish historian,

said that Tyre

represented the most

bitter enemy

that the Jews had

at the time.

And quite honestly,

nothing's really changed.

That's modern day

Lebanon today.

Constantly fighting.

And in the first century,

it was filled

with the worst kind

of idolatry.

some of the darkest places

on the earth.

Therefore,

she is very unclean,

very unworthy

to approach Jesus.

She has no covenant

standing as an Israelite.

She has demons

in her home,

even in her own daughter.

She has no standing.

She has no leverage here.

She's completely desperate.

She's a mother

pleading for her child.

And a mother's plea

is the most earnest

of any on earth.

mothers fight

for their children.

And Mark tells us

that she fell

at his feet.

Not only does that

show her utmost

respect for him,

but she is pleading

with Christ.

Matthew writes

about this man.

And of course,

Matthew gives us

more details

than Mark does.

Because Mark writes

like a man.

He's in a hurry.

And he gives us,

Matthew gives us

some details

that we need.

Matthew chapter 15

Matthew 15:22

verse 22 says this,

And behold,

a Canaanite woman

from that region

came out

and was crying,

Have mercy on me,

son of David.

My daughter is severely

oppressed by a demon.

But Jesus

did not answer

her.

And his disciples

came

and begged him

saying,

Send her away.

For she's crying

out after us.

And he answered,

I was sent

only to the

lost children

house of the Lord.

She came

and knelt

before him

and said,

Lord,

help me.

And he said,

Let the children

be.

And she said,

Lord,

help me.

Matthew tells us

how Jesus

responded.

He didn't.

Matthew 23

said he didn't

answer her

one.

Eugene

Peterson

wrote a

paraphrase

of the New

Testament

called

The Message.

And in that

paraphrase,

Peterson says

that Jesus

ignored her.

I believe

Peterson was

wrong.

That's one

of the dangers

that you run

into when you

read a paraphrase

of Scripture.

Because a

paraphrase has

a lot of

somebody's

interpretation.

And I'm not

knocking the

message over

all.

Sometimes it

helps us to

understand passages

better.

But you need to

understand.

It's not a

translation,

it's a

paraphrase.

And here he

made an

interpreted

decision that

I believe

was wrong.

And the

reason why I

think that

partially is

because of

something that

happened to me.

one of the

toughest

assignments that

I ever had

in ministry.

I had a

dear member

of my

church that

was a

well-respected

retired

servant.

I love

judgment.

When I

first went to

that church,

I was

preaching a

prayer meeting

one night on

Matthew 24,

a very tough

controversial

passage.

scripture,

he was

sitting in

the back

at a table

of the

fellowship

hall there.

As I was

finishing up,

he raised

his hand.

And I

was new to

the church.

I wasn't

even honeymoving

in.

They were

just

getting

them.

And he

raised his

hand,

and so I

let him

speak,

and he

asked me

a question.

Now,

to be honest

with you

folks,

I ain't

going to

take

questions

today.

I'm

going to

tell you

everything

I got

in my

bag,

and that's

it.

I ain't

got a

high key.

I ain't

taking

questions.

Didn't plan

on doing

it that

night.

But

I

answered

his

question

to the

best of

my

ability,

and I

moved on.

Nobody

raised his

hand again,

and I

said,

Judge,

this ain't

your

courtroom.

I said

that,

knowing at

the time,

either I'd

be looking

for a job

next day,

or either

be a

judge and

hit it

on.

And I

figured if

he's a

retired

circuit

judge,

he's got

to be

tough enough

to understand

that.

He's one

of the

respect I've

ever met in my

life.

I made

rounds here in

Sunday school

to speak to

folks,

and when I

got into his

class,

I'd sit down

and listen to

him teach.

coach.

He's an

inductive

teacher.

He taught

like a

man who

fights with

a roundhouse

kick.

You don't

see him

coming.

You just

get kicked

in the

back of

the head

all of a

sudden.

That's

the way

he taught.

He'd start

out, and

you'd think,

man, what

is he

talking about?

He didn't

even study.

He don't

know what he's

talking about.

And by

the time

he got

done,

man,

he had

landed

in my

head.

His wife

came to

me one

day, and

she said,

how's he

doing teaching?

Because he's

struggling at

home.

And I

don't want

to do

embarrassing

to him.

And I

said, I

haven't

picked up

on it.

I said, I

never know

where he's

going until

he gets

there anyway,

so I

haven't really

picked up

on it

yet.

You know,

but I'll

watch out

for him.

So I

hung out

a little

longer in

that class,

and I

began to

see him

that.

There was

another

class of

the same

aged men.

There was

a class that

he taught,

and everybody

was in there

because he

was teaching

it, and

there was

another

class that

was over

there because

he wasn't

teaching it.

They

needed a

teacher.

I

couldn't

find one.

so because

of his

wife's

plea to

me,

for it

to keep

his dignity,

I want

you to

house

one.

hard thing

to do.

I sat

down and

I said,

Judge,

this other

class needs a

teacher,

and I can't

find one.

I really

need to

combine their

small class

with yours.

And I'm

just wondering

to make

that transition

smooth.

If you

wouldn't mind

me teaching

it.

The judge

had a

trait about

him that

I highly

respect,

but I sure

don't like.

he had a

trait of

long

pause.

And I'll

tell you what

was different

about this

man than

me or

most of

us,

is that he

thought before

he spoke.

That's a

novel concept.

most of

us just

open our

mouth and

hope we

catch up

with it,

you know.

And he

paused.

And I've

been prone

sometimes in

those pauses

to repeat

myself.

When I was

about to do

that,

he said,

passion.

I never

talked to

him.

I loved

him until

he died.

But I

believe the

pause that

Jesus did

was that

he was

trying to

to

gather

his

thoughts.

to

get

together

her.

But even

more than

that,

he was

wanting

those

disciples

together

things.

What

filtering

his

thoughts?

He was

letting the

woman and

the apostle

filter

things.

And he

then says

something

shocking.

he said

to her,

he said to

her,

let the

children

be fed

first.

It's not

right to

take the

children's

bread and

throw it

to the

dogs.

did he

call her

a dog?

I mean,

we're not

talking about

a pampered

household

pet here.

They didn't

have those.

Nor is it

in a couple

terms of

dogs in Greek.

Nor is it

the harsher

term of a

scavenger

dog like a

coyote kind

of concept

where they

come in and

tear and

you're scared

of them.

It's really

more of the

kind of dog

that we

inherited one

day when I

came home

from a late

meeting and

there was a

dog laying

right by my

back door

in a pile

of, among

a couple of

bags of

clothes we

were going

to give

away.

That dog

was nestled

up there

trying to

stay warm

and I

when my

family could

look, I

kind of

shooed the

dog off,

you know,

and when I

came back

the next day

that dog

was there,

you know,

and the

rest of

that's where

I get time

to tell

him,

I'm more

tired than

you are,

I promise.

We're

leaving

for spring

break.

I went

in and

fed the

dog.

We're

gone for

a week.

The dog

got to

find a

meal

somewhere

else.

The

girls wanted

that dog

so bad.

And I

said,

if the

dogs ever

get back

to the

dog,

I didn't

know.

They

have

been

in

the

family.

My

family,

my

rascals,

they

got

somebody

to feed

that

dog

at my

house.

But he's

not talking

about a

little dog.

He's

talking about

a softer

term for

a little

dog.

He kind

of wonders

the

harsher

term for

dog

was used

by Jews

to

support

Gentiles

like the

Canaanites.

So why

did he

say that?

I hope

you sense

this morning

the awkwardness

and the

tension

because you

should.

That's what

Mark

wants.

That's what

Jesus

wants.

after all

the

talk of

the

Pharisees

and the

scribes

about

what's

clean

and

what's

not,

Jesus

purposely

goes to

an

unclean

area,

is

approached

by an

unclean

woman

with a

demon

in her

home

begging

and the

apostles

just want

her to

go away

and Jesus

just wants

it all

to play

out.

There

are

people

that

are

obviously

not

worthy.

She was

one of

them.

Then there

are others

who are

observed

as

worthy

and the

Jews

sure

thought

they

were.

There's

a saying

and I

don't know

that it

was original

with it

but I

heard

Adrian

Rogers

say it

years ago.

A text

without a

context

is a

pretext.

This

passage

can be

easily

misunderstood

if you

ignore

the context.

Several

years ago

a feminist

scholar

said that

Jesus

was

insensitive

in this

passage

that he

was harsh

and that

he was

so severe

to the

lady

that he

demeaned

her

in a

chauvinistic

fashion

and by

doing so

he crossed

the borders

of courtesy

and slandered

her and

that means

he sinned

therefore he

cannot be

sinless.

And that

my friend

is a

false

reasoning

and a

pretext.

It's also

heresy

and it

also

demeans

Christ.

Be careful

about such

things.

I'm firmly

convinced

that Jesus

had left

an altercation

with the

Jewish

establishment

that his

disciples had

witnessed.

He had

pulled them

away for

a ministerial

retreat and

now what

seemed like

an interruption

was really

a divine

appointment,

was really

a life

lesson,

was really

an illustration,

was really

a walking

parable

before their

eyes.

They had

just been

with people

that were

seen as

worthy.

The Pharisees

and the

scribes

were descendants

of Abraham.

Those who

knew the

law,

they observed

proper

traditions,

they washed

ritually,

they attended

synagogues,

they tithed,

they fasted,

they separated

themselves.

The Pharisees,

the word

is a

participle that

means the

separated

ones.

That's what

they thrived

off of.

Anyone that

saw them

just knew

that they

were worthy.

They thought

it themselves.

A

Seraphonician

woman in

Tyre was

far from

worthy.

Good church

leaders,

they had to

be worthy.

Jesus

amplified that

thought to

the apostles.

more than

to the

lady,

I believe,

to let

it sink

in and

to sink

in heart

and in

that

pause,

my

breath.

Those

people that

appear

obviously

not worthy.

We look

down on

such people

as well.

Then there

are those

that are

observed as

worthy.

we think

a lot

of them.

We think

a lot

more of

them than

we should.

The reality

is the

only type

of believer

that there

really is,

what we

call a

Christian

today,

is one

that is

made

worthy.

Notice

what he

says.

In

Mark

Mark 7:27

chapter 7

verse 27,

he said

to her,

let the

children be

fed first

for it's

not right

to take

the

children's

bread and

throw up

the

dog.

But she

answered him,

yes,

Lord,

yet even

the dogs

under the

table

eat the

children's

clothes.

And he

said to

her,

for this

statement,

you may

go your

way.

The

demon

has

left

your

daughter.

God

went home

and

found

the

child

lying

in

the

man

and

the

demon

would

go.

Matthew

Matthew 15:28

15

verse 28

says,

then Jesus

answered her,

O woman,

great is

your faith,

be it done

for you as

you desire.

And her

daughter was

healed

instantly.

she didn't

respond with

offense.

She didn't

respond with

worthiness.

She didn't

respond with

anger.

She didn't

respond with

entitlement.

She didn't

respond with

bitterness.

She knew

she was not

worthy and

she responded

humbly.

Somewhere in

her heart,

she had

become

convinced

that Jesus

was

God.

That he

had enough

power,

that he

had enough

mercy,

that he

had enough

grace to

change her

life, to

change the

life of her

family.

And even

when she

felt small,

she knew

Jesus is

sufficient.

His mercy

overflows

every border

or boundary

that we could

ever come

up with.

Nothing

can separate

us from

the love

of God.

Romans 8.38

His grace

reaches all.

His power

changes

eternity.

I doubt

she knew

because she

was a

Gentile

Seraphonician

woman,

Canaanite.

I doubt

she knew

Psalm 51

17,

the sacrifice

of God

are broken

spirit.

A broken

and contrite

heart of God.

He

is not

a

spirit.

Not being

raised around

the word of

God.

I doubt

she knew

Isaiah 66

Isaiah 66:6

verse 6

that says

but this

is the one

who is

allowed

to

him.

He

is

humble

and

contrite

his

fear

and

trembles

at

the

heart.

But God

gave her

the insight

to have

a faith

in Christ

great enough

to trust

him,

to submit

to him

and to

ask

him.

And Romans

10

13

tells us

for

everyone

who

calls

for

him

shall

be

saved.

I

called

her

theology,

bred

from

theology.

And that's

the right

type

of theology.

She

wasn't

worthy.

Neither

am I,

neither

are you.

But thank

God

through

his grace

and mercy

through

Christ.

He'll

make us

one

when we

send

to

our

sins.

Thank you.

With every

head bowed

and every

eye closed,

I want you

to hear

me today.

The person

who's been

in church

all their

life,

the person

who's been

led in

church

for years,

is not

worthy.

If you

think that

will cover

you,

you're

wrong.

Hopefully

that

church

loyalty

and that

church

leadership

has

had a

beginning

that had

a lot

to do

with a

broken

and

contrite

heart

before

the

Lord.

we

surrender

our

lives

to

Christ

and

allow

him

to

make

us

work.

I want

to be

clear

today,

none of

us are

worthy,

but all

of us

have

opportunity.

And if

you've

never

given

your

heart

and

life

to

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ,

I want

you to

know

receive

you as

you are.

Any

function

within

you

to

come

to

him

didn't

come

from

you

and

came

to

him.

It's a

divine

appointment.

You

need not

leave here

without

giving your

life

a

throne.

We'll

stand and

we'll

sing in

just a

moment.

And

when we

do,

I

encourage

you to

step out

immediately

and

come

and

pass

right

in

the

seat.

Maybe

you're

here

this

morning

and

you

are

but

you

haven't

it's

just

been

a

private

faith.

It's

been

a

non-biblical

faith.

You

need to

make

that

public.

Like

those

that

we

baptized

last

Sunday,

you

need to

make

money.

Maybe

you're

here

and

it's

just

a

point

of

obedience

for

you.

You

just

need

to

do

what

God

tells

you

to

do

God

may

be

!

telling

you

to

because

of

what

Christ

did

for

us

on

the

cross.

A

humble

broken

spirit

can be

healed

by

such

mouth.

We

bring

your

brokenness

to you.

Heavenly

Father,

I love

you.

And I

thank you

for the

hard

lessons

that you

teach

us.

Sometimes

not

exactly

the way

we

wish

you would.

Help

us

on

God.

Take

you

.

Take

Take

Take

you.