Tag: Mark 7

He Came Back and The People Received Him!(Mark 7:31-37 Devotion)

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Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed [it]. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

– Mark 7:31-37 (NKJV)

This is not the first mention of this place, Decapolis (which literally means 10 cities Deca / polis). In Mark 5:20 Jesus sends the man who was delivered by demons back to his people to proclaim what Jesus had done. It says that he went around this area, Decapolis, “telling how much Jesus had done for him and the people marveled.” It is in this countryside down by the lake that the people first told Jesus to go away. They were afraid for what he had done to the pigs!

But now things have changed. They have a man who has a severe need, He can’t hear or talk well and so they bring him to Jesus. Then Jesus does something incredible and touches this man, healing him in a way that he could see and know what is going on. Once again, Jesus enters into an impossible situation and brings hearing and clarity of communication back into this man’s life.

Now the people are ready to receive him and the more he tells everyone to be quiet, the more they tell everyone about what He has done! It seems like a region that was once closed off to Jesus is now receptive and people are bringing their sick ones to him to be healed.

Before their hearts were like the soil that fell on the hard path in Mark 4. Now their hearts are softer. What was the difference? Jesus came to the region at a different time, in a different way (land instead of sea), and the man had been through the region sharing his testimony of what Jesus had done for him.

My take away today is to remember that a “no” to the word of God today, doesn’t mean it will always be a no. God has a way of opening up people to his word. Sometimes it takes coming at a different time, in a different way, with or behind someone who shares their testimony.

I’m so grateful for the teenagers at our church who have been practicing and sharing their testimonies. You never know quite when or how God will use your testimony of what God has done in your life to effect others. There was a whole region that was formerly closed off to Jesus that now welcomed him in because Jesus had sent this man back to his people to tell of all the great things he had done for him.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. I am grateful that the people in this area got a chance to see Jesus do his work in their midst. Give us perseverance in telling others about the good work you have done in our life. Give us grace in sharing your word to others. Where we have friends who have previously closed off their hearts to you, we ask that you would make them receptive to your word. Please guide us in your will and direction. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Belief Beyond the Borders (Mark 7:24-30 Devotion)

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From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know [it], but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw [it] to the little dogs.” 28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

– Mark 7:24-30 (NKJV)

Jesus was intent on getting out of the area for a chance to take a break. He crossed over into a gentile area. Here the crowds wouldn’t be pressing in on him. But even across the boarder there was a gentile woman who had heard of him and what he could do and so she called out to him to deliver her daughter from an unclean spirit.

What Jesus says, may seem mean spirited if we aren’t tuned into a few clues that are offered here. In his conversation, Jesus never says, “no” to this woman. In fact, she walks away with the assurance that her daughter has been healed.

So what does Jesus say to this woman? He says that he has come primarily for the Jews, FIRST. That doesn’t mean that the work of Jesus won’t eventually reach where this woman is… indeed he tells the disciples in Acts 1:8 to ultimately go to the “uttermost parts of the earth!”

He then uses an illustration. You wouldn’t bake bread for your kids and throw it to the pet dog. It’s important what word for dog is used here and it’s for something like a family pet, this is different than the mongrel wild type dogs that roamed the streets. Jesus is saying that there will be a time when his work reaches her region, but his focus is on the Jewish people for the moment.

So here response is spot on when she says that even the little dogs are blessed with the crumbs from the children. The picture is of kids who are sloppy eaters and so bread falls down and the dogs grab it from the floor or even of kids who sneak the bread under the table to the dog. In essence, her response says that she isn’t asking for him to do everything in her region that he did in Galilee, but that since he is here he could at least do one thing, namely cast this demon out of her daughter.

So what does this story teach us? Jesus intends for the gospel to go to the gentiles, which is good news because that’s what most Christians are these days. It also teaches us that this woman had a strong faith in the work of Jesus that even a small “crumb” could provide healing for her daughter. It also shows us that persistence in prayer matters.

That faith the disciples were lacking not long ago, to believe that Jesus can do a lot with just a little... This woman who hadn’t spent all that time with Jesus already knew it to be true and so she was persistent.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for all the crumbs that fall from the table. We are grateful of how you take care of us and meet our needs. Grant us to have stong faith like this woman did. Please guide us in your will and direct our steps. In Jesus Name, Amen.

From the Inside Out (Mark 7:1-23 Devotion)

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Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash [their] hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 [When they come] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, [like] the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with [their] lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men–the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 9 He said to them, “[All too] well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me [is] Corban”–‘ (that is, a gift [to God]), 12 “then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” 14 When He had called all the multitude to [Himself], He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 “because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, [thus] purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

– Mark 7:1-23 (NKJV)

It’s easier to wash your dishes than it is to wash your heart. The Pharisees were upset that the disciples weren’t clean freaks like they were. Well it actually goes a little deeper than that. They were concerned that the disciples weren’t keeping their traditions. The traditions they had set up around the Law of God in order to keep the Law of God. Kind of like when you play a game and someone adds rules to the game to help put things to their advantage.

The Law of God is hard to keep, indeed it’s impossible for anyone other than Christ to keep it fully. The reason is because it reveals our hearts. Try as we might to keep the Law, we are broken and flawed creatures. That’s because we are sinners. Loving God with all your heart or loving your neighbor as yourself just doesn’t happen in selfish hearts like it should, so try as we may to keep all the rules, we just can’t. And that’s the point we need someone to save us (fix us).

But what if we make up our own rules to help us cheat at the game and get a sense that we are winning? We can’t change our hearts apart from Jesus, but we can clean up really good on the outside. We can wash some dishes and tell other people that theirs are dirty!

So somewhere along the way these secondary “preferences” or man-made laws became as important or more important to the Pharisees than the actual law of God. They thought by keeping those rules and sticking to them as close as possible, that it somehow made them right. (But they were still rotten). Perhaps they thought that if they could point to someone else breaking the rules, even the ones they made, it would make them look better! (Kind of like when you tattle on your brother or sister).

But someone else’s wrong never makes us right and that’s true especially when we’ve added our own rules to the game. Jesus rightly corrects the Pharisees here. They are more concerned with keeping their own rules that coming to God for a clean heart. What about you? It’s pretty easy to feel like you are a better person than some other people when you are keeping score, but the only score that matters is the one God keeps. Have you come to him for a clean heart?

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We know that there is no one who is righteous on their own. We all need you to give us clean hearts. We ask you now to search our hearts. Keep us from being proud like the men in this passage who were too proud to even see what you were doing. Give us pure hearts that really do love you and seek after you. Take our brokenness and make something new. Please guide us in your will and direct our paths. In Jesus Name, Amen.