A Mother's Heart

It's good to see all of you this morning and again, happy Mother's Day to all of our mothers.

And in honor of Mother's Day, I want to look at a passage in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7.

Mark 7 · chapter mention

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Thank you for laughing.

I appreciate that.

Thank you for laughing, I appreciate that.

Well, a man was working in the men's section of a department store and a woman came in looking to buy a white dress shirt for her husband.

And when the man servicing the department asked what his shirt size was, the woman really looked stumped at first.

Then her face brightened and she remembered.

She said she held up her hands, formed a circle with her four fingers and thumbs and said I don't know his size, but my hands fit perfectly around his neck.

Hope that helps well.

Okay, in contrast to that story, today's message is not going to be about conflict resolution in your marriage.

On this Mother's Day, I want to look at a mother whom Jesus commended in the Gospel of Mark.

We've looked at it before when we were studying the Gospel of Mark, but I want to take a fresh look at it today.

Again, it's a great account of Jesus' ministry In Mark, chapter 7,.

Mark 7 · chapter mention

Let me read the passage today, beginning in verse 24.

Jesus got up and went away from Galilee, really to the region of Tyre.

When he had entered a house, he wanted no one to know of it yet he could not escape notice.

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

Now the woman was a Gentile.

A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell down at his feet.

Now the woman was a Gentile of the Syrophoenician race and she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

And he was saying to her and I want to just interject here what's very interesting in the Greek, this is what he literally said to her he was saying to her let it go First, let the children be satisfied, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

Let it go.

He says I'll come back to that in a minute.

But she answered and said to him yes, lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs.

And he said to her because of this answer, go, the demon has gone out of your daughter.

And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon having left.

Now the context of this story.

Jesus had spent most of his ministry in Israel, but at this point in his ministry, the ministry was going so well it was crushing him.

The crowds were overwhelming, the needs were great and the opposition of the religious leaders was growing and was relentless.

At this point, jesus decides to take a break, leave the Jewish territories and go up north to the region of Tyre.

He's ministering in this area around Galilee.

There's the Sea of Galilee.

So he leaves Israel and he goes up here.

He must have known people up there because he got into the countryside and went into a house where they probably knew him and his disciples and he didn't want anybody to know he was there.

But even outside Israel.

That didn't work.

Mark 7, 24,.

Yet he could not escape notice After hearing Jesus was there.

A Gentile woman draws near to Jesus with her burden.

This is a story of a mother's heart meeting Jesus' heart.

What's strange about this account is we don't know the woman's name, we don't know her daughter's name.

So really, in a sense, she's standing in for every mother out there, anonymous, any mother who struggles with the welfare of her children.

The only name we know in this count is the only one we need to know Jesus, as we'll see.

Jesus was, as I said, kind of on a vacation.

The ministry was relentless, but you would all agree with me.

But for a mom there is no vacation.

They're on call 24-7.

When the child is sick or in trouble, that child's, mom's, all-consuming focus is that child.

So what can we learn from this mother?

When the issues of her life become too much for her to handle, or too much for us to handle, sometimes we will feel literally overwhelmed with the things going on in our life, whether it's our children or not.

So this mother shows us.

I'm going to mention three things that this mother or any of us should do when we feel or are overwhelmed.

First, like this woman, when we're overwhelmed, go to Jesus in humility.

This unnamed Syrophoenician woman's unnamed daughter is in trouble and the text reveals her heart with how she actually refers to her daughter.

I'll give you another little Greek thing here.

The normal Greek word for a girl is thugatar and the word the mother uses here is thugaterion, which means my sweet, precious little daughter.

Her heart is just bleeding and overwhelmed with her daughter's need At this, at this some point.

She was just overwhelmed when she realized her precious daughter was demon-possessed of all things and she felt helpless to rescue her.

Now, right here, I know some of you parents are wondering do the demons come in at age two or three and how long do they stay?

Okay, well, I can't answer that question, but here's what we can pick up.

Satan knows.

Okay, if you're a parent, satan knows.

If you're a God-fearing, jesus-loving parent, satan knows.

You know what your weakness is your kids, your kids are your weakness.

Oh, he knows that Sometimes he may do things to turn your heart, parent away from God.

Okay, he will do that.

Don't let him Do what this woman did.

Just the opposite.

She's running toward the Lord, not away from him, shaking her fist at God.

This overwhelmed mother came to Jesus for help.

But she didn't just come, she came in humility.

She found out what Jesus was saying.

She barged in uninvited, fell down at Jesus' feet.

She wasn't a Jew, she was a foreigner.

She brought nothing but her need.

She knew she didn't deserve this help, but she came to Jesus anyway.

And when she came to Jesus she began to do the second thing when we're overwhelmed, we need to do.

She came and fell at his feet and began praying for her children.

But she didn't just start praying, she prayed and she didn't give up.

Matthew's account of this incident adds a couple of interesting details that Mark doesn't mention, but I'm going to mention it.

First, matthew tells us what the woman was saying to Jesus.

Matthew 15, 22,.

The woman says have mercy on me, lord, son of David.

My daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.

The second thing Matthew mentions in verse 23 is the disciples actually beg Jesus to send her away.

This mother was taking a very bold step to pass over every cultural, religious, moral barrier in order to see Jesus.

Even though she was from Syrophoenicia, she would have known the basic customs of the Jews.

She knew that she had none of the Jewish moral, cultural credentials necessary to approach a Jewish rabbi Unheard of.

That's one reason I think the disciples sent her no, she shouldn't be meeting with you.

And yet here she is a Gentile not a Jew, a pagan not a worshipper of Yahweh, a woman, not a man, who has a daughter with an unclean spirit and she approaches Jesus to ask him for help, although she knew that in a daughter with an unclean spirit.

And she approaches Jesus to ask him for help, although she knew that in Jewish eyes she was unclean in every single way and she might be immediately disqualified and turned away from approaching this rabbi, she boldly came in to Jesus, fell down his feet and asked for his help.

She didn't care.

She goes into the house where Jesus is staying without an invitation.

She fells down his feet and begged Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.

The Greek word here used for begging.

She begged Jesus for help, asking for his mercy.

It's in the present they call it the present progressive tense, which means she kept on begging, she did not stop praying, she didn't stop, she didn't give up.

She could have very easily, because the first thing Jesus said to her let it go, Afe, let it go Because my focus is on the people.

God sent me to Let it go.

She didn't let it go.

The mother kept begging Jesus for help.

She didn't let it go.

The mother kept begging Jesus for help.

She didn't stop.

She wasn't going to let anybody or anything stop her from appealing to Jesus for help.

And at this point, jesus says nothing.

She just kept praying.

Do you feel sometimes, when you've prayed and prayed and prayed, there's silence from heaven?

No, I have silence.

Heavens are closed, not getting any, like the song said.

Well, jesus says nothing.

Why did Jesus hold back here?

Maybe the same reason he does with us.

For one thing, the woman was a Gentile, a Canaanite.

You know what?

We're all Gentiles too.

A Canaanite, you know what?

We're all Gentiles too.

But in contrast to us, these people were polytheists.

They did not believe in one true God, but a pantheon of gods whom they could manipulate and control and sacrifice to to get what they wanted.

That was their system of belief, that was their worldview.

Jesus says nothing.

He's waiting.

Hmm, see, these people, these polytheists, went to diviners and magicians to get spells and use secret arts to help them manipulate the gods.

Well, this mother came to Jesus.

And just who did she believe?

Jesus is Somebody who's just going to manipulate the forces of nature to get what she wants?

Or God, or is he the Messiah?

Jesus balked at her request and basically gives her by way of an analogy he's going to give her an analogy that he was sent on a mission from God to the Jews, the people of God, not the Gentiles.

Here's what he says.

Matthew 15, 24,.

I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But notice, jesus didn't say no, he didn't refuse her outright.

I think he was waiting for her response.

He was looking for the one thing In everyone he healed and saved.

He's still looking for it Her faith in him.

Who is he?

Who does she believe he is?

And that is exactly what he found.

When she addressed Jesus as the Son of God initially, son of David, I mean, it indicates that she believed, at least to start out with.

She heard that Jesus and believed he was the promised Jewish Messiah, calling him some of David.

Well, that caught his ear.

But in Mark 7, 27, he's going to go deeper with her and try to confirm her faith in him as the promised Messiah.

When he gave her a parable and listened for her response, here's what he said Let the children.

I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, so let the children be satisfied.

First Israel.

That's why I was sent, For it's not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs Gentiles.

Now you know, on any level it's an insult to refer to any race of people as dogs.

But Jesus isn't insulting her.

He's actually giving her an opportunity to explain why she thinks he can help her, since he was sent only to the house of Israel.

Basically, this parable, the family you get this picture, the family in Jesus' parable is sitting around a dinner table and Jesus in the parable says something to take away this harsh insult.

The word Jesus uses isn't the usual word for dog, it's the diminutive word for dog, meaning puppy.

Let me paraphrase what I think Jesus was saying to this woman in the sense the woman probably likely heard this.

He says to her you know how families eat.

First the children at the table eat, then their pets eat.

It's not right to not follow that order.

The puppies must not eat from the table before the children get a chance to eat.

What kind of parent would do that?

Jesus is teaching in this parable that children who are at the table are the ones to be fed first, people of Israel.

He's not here for the puppies, the Gentiles.

Yet the woman's response floored Jesus, amazed him.

She said hmm, yes, lord, but the puppies eat too, feeding on the children's crumbs.

Wow, he tells her a parable.

And you know what she's doing.

She's agreeing and she's putting herself right in the parable.

Yeah, I'm a little puppy.

Children need to be fed first.

Basically, she's humbling herself and says okay, I get you.

I'm not supposed to be at the table, I'm not a Jew, I'm unclean, I'm unworthy.

She accepts the fact about herself in relation to the Lord Unworthy.

She has no right to be at the table receiving Messiah's blessing before Israel has had a chance to respond to him.

And she doesn't get angry, she doesn't even get offended.

She acknowledges who Jesus is.

The text says she agrees.

She agrees, yes, lord, but as a puppy under the table, I believe there's more than enough that falls from what the children are eating to satisfy the puppies.

See, she still will not take.

No, she is relentless, she's persistent, she agrees with Jesus.

And you know what she's doing.

She's coming back magnifying Jesus' power and resources.

You've got plenty enough for the puppies.

And Jesus replied to her.

Basically, well said, well said.

Oh, my goodness, now, this is something to remember.

This is the only time that I can think of in the gospels where someone went toe-to-toe with Jesus in a debate and won.

Not all the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin, not all the Pharisees and Sadducees, not even his close followers, no, just mom.

This overwhelmed mother goes to Jesus in humility, prays and doesn't give up, and then she shows us the last thing we must do when we're overwhelmed Probably the hardest thing to do, but that's what it means to believe, to have faith, and that is when we've come to Jesus.

We've prayed and not given up.

Then fully trust him and leave the burden with him.

How do we know this woman fully trusted in Jesus to heal her daughter?

I'll tell you how.

She stopped praying and she went home.

She believed.

She believed what he told her, that he healed her daughter.

She left the burden with him.

Didn't know if this was true until she got home, but she believed it.

She believed the promise of God.

God rewards a mother's faith.

See, it wasn't the mother's request that impressed Jesus.

It wasn't her sincerity, her intensity, her ferocity, her boldness.

It wasn't her desperate need that impressed Jesus.

It was her faith in him as the promised Messiah.

How did she reveal her faith?

Let's look at it again.

We find it in every one of her responses to Jesus.

First, she acknowledged she believed Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of David.

Second, she accepts the fact as a Gentile she does not merit or deserve anything from this promised Jewish Messiah, admitting her need in need of mercy.

And third, she recognizes any blessing that she does receive will be because of his mercy and grace.

That's it.

I should mention that she says let the children verse 27,.

Let the children be satisfied.

First.

It's not good.

Or Jesus is saying let the children be satisfied, but she answered yes, lord, but even the dogs or the puppies under the table feed on the children's crumbs.

The word crumbs used here, the normal word for crumbs is psix.

She uses the word psikion, the very littlest crumbs, the very littlest crumbs.

I'll be happy with whatever, mercifully, you provide, even a very tiny little crumb.

Fourth thing is she insightfully, I believe recognized perhaps from the Hebrew Scripture itself that God had promised blessings of the Messiah would extend To the Gentiles?

She's really operating on that whole concept.

Coming to Jesus, isaiah 42.6 says I am the Lord.

I have called you in righteousness.

I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you.

He's done to the Jews.

I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations Could translate Gentiles.

As a light to the nations Could translate Gentiles In a real sense.

This mother was claiming the promises of God in her request.

That's all Jesus needed to hear Her faith.

She believed he was the Messiah.

She humbled herself before him, admitting she was an unworthy sinner, and she appealed to him not on the basis of her merit deserving his help, but on the basis of his mercy and grace.

That's exactly, really, the steps to salvation Believing that he is the promised Messiah, admitting we are unworthy sinners and then appealing to him for grace to save us.

Notice that Jesus said because of your answer, I'm granting your request.

And when she heard that her heart was fully trusting in Jesus to save her daughter and she went home, only then did she let it go.

So we hang on to the promises of god.

We appeal and not give up to our god and father, to our savior jesus, and her faith and trust obviously were well placed.

Her prayers were answered and this mother teaches us the lessons of what to do when we're overwhelmed.

Come boldly to jesus, not because of who you are or what merit you bring.

She brought nothing.

You come because of who he is jesus.

You come by faith who he is Jesus.

You come by faith recognizing he is the merciful son of David, messiah, the king, whose resources are inexhaustible.

This mother not only had faith in a good argument, she had persistence in prayer.

I can't emphasize that enough.

Many times we, when heaven feels shut, we stop praying, we give up.

She didn't.

She didn't let it go.

She kept asking why?

Because she's a mom.

Moms don't give up.

She didn't get angry.

She kept praying.

So should we?

So let me ask you what burden are you carrying that you feel is too great for you right now?

The same Jesus that helped her can help any one of us here today.

You know why Jesus invited us.

Matthew 11, 28 to 30,.

Jesus said come to me all you who are weary and burdened, all you who are weary and burdened, and I'll give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you.

Learn from me.

I'm gentle, humble in heart.

You'll find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy.

My burden is light.

By the way, jesus does not take a vacation anymore.

You know what he's doing right now.

He's currently interceding in heaven on your behalf, the needs you're bringing to the Father.

Hebrews 7.25,.

Therefore, he, jesus, is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

And what we see in this strange incident really is how faith in Jesus transcends all boundaries, how God is willing to reach down to anyone who reaches out to his son Jesus in faith for help, beginning with saving us from our sins.

As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1.16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

It's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek or Gentiles.

So let me finish by saying I urge you to believe in Jesus for the gift of eternal life, not just temporal things which he could fully provide, just temporal things which he could fully provide, but eternal things.

Eternal life in him is received when we believe in him as the promised Messiah and then, after you believe, come boldly to his throne of grace and receive the help you need.

Let's pray, father.

I thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you for Jesus, thank you for his compassionate heart.

Thank you that he is mighty to save.

And so today I lift up every mother in our church, right now, that you would hear the cries of their hearts for their children and hear the boldness of their faith in Jesus to trust you for the most precious thing in their lives.

Hear us, o Lord.

We cry out to you and we align ourselves with your word which says cast all our cares on you because you do care for us.

So we want to do that today.

By faith in Jesus, we cast every care on you.

Today we ask for your help, not on the basis of our merit, but on the basis of your great compassion for us in Jesus' name, and we ask in his name Amen.