Begging to Get In

October 18, 2009

Background Scripture: Mark 7:24 – 37
Lesson Passage: Mark 7:24 – 37

Today’s lesson demonstrates one of the principal messages that Jesus taught his Jewish detractors. The message was that Gentiles who were not being evangelized would come to Jesus craving what he was offering to the Jews while many Jewish leaders openly rejected it. Furthermore, the Jewish religious leadership made matters worse by condemning other Jews for accepting Jesus. The setting for today’s lesson takes place in the predominantly Gentile populated regions to the Northwest and around to the East of the Sea of Galilee. The scriptures point out that Jesus went into the region and entered a house, supposedly secretly. After innumerable healings among the Jews, Jesus was confronted by fault-finding Pharisees who observed Jesus’ disciples eating without first washing their hands. They accused Jesus of not teaching his disciples to live according to the traditions of their forefathers. Jesus offered his critics a brief lesson on personal hygiene and cleanliness but apparently this was to no avail. Countless people were being healed of various ailments and the religious leaders of the Jews were more concerned about hand washing. Jesus decided to remove himself from this environment for some privacy and probably much needed rest. The Gentiles in that region had also heard about this miracle-working Jew and sought him even as some of the Jews had. What the Jewish leaders were trying to ignore and outright rejected, the Gentiles were eagerly seeking after. In the first instance in our lesson, Jesus is approached by a Syrophenician woman who falls down at his feet and begs him to cast a demon out of her daughter. Matthew’s account of this incident is a little more dramatic in stating that Jesus ignored the woman’s initial request. When his disciples asked that he send the woman away, he responded to them that he was only sent to lost Jews. As he later stated to Zacchaeus, he had come to seek and to save those who were lost. At this statement, the woman fell at his feet and again begged him to help her daughter. Jesus’ direct response to her seemed harsher than his ignoring her initial plea. In essence, his response was that the works he did were to be a testimony to the Jews that they might believe in him and accept the message of the gospel that he preached. Her response to this indicated that she desired only what the Jews despised. To her, what the Jews were rejecting was more than enough to satisfy her request of Jesus. Jesus declared this woman’s faith to be great and rewarded her diligence by granting her request. As Jesus and his disciples moved from the area Northwest and North of the Sea of Galilee to the region to the East, he was again met in this Gentile area by others bringing the lame and afflicted to him including one who was deaf and also had a speech impediment. Jesus healed them that were brought. This caused praises to be offered to the God of Israel because the healed and the witnesses to the healings recognized that this was Israel’s God who did the healing. The irony of all of this is that Jesus went into those regions to remove himself from the religious leaders of the Jews who were rejecting him and he was sought out by those he had not come to look for. While the Jews were rejecting the grace of God offered through Jesus, the Gentiles were begging for the same.

Robert C. Hudson
October 12, 2009

Recognizing Jesus

October 11, 2009

Background Scripture: Mark 5:1 – 20
Lesson Passage: Mark 5:1 – 13, 18 – 20

Our lesson today takes place in the region known as Decapolis. This region consisted of ten cities scattered east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. During the first century, this region was populated primarily by Gentiles. As Jesus and his disciples came into the land east of the Sea of Galilee, they arrived at a cemetery where Jesus was met by a demon possessed man. The record shows that this man had defied being bound by ropes or even chains and had, in fact, broken them. No one was able to control him even without the use of ropes and chains. He lived out among the tombs crying out day and night and cutting himself. He lived in nudity and isolation. As Jesus and his disciples came ashore, the man went out to meet them. It was obvious that the man was possessed because the demons in him addressed Jesus. Jesus had commanded the demons to come out of the man. The demons knew who Jesus was although his disciples had not as yet comprehended Jesus’ true identity. The demons begged Jesus to not torment them by sending them away from that area. This was not a simple possession by a demon. This man was possessed by a host of demons. The demons had to leave the man because Jesus commanded them to do so. They asked permission to be allowed to enter into a herd of nearby swine. After having done so, the herd stampeded into the sea and drowned. This appeared to all be a part of the demonic plan to wreak havoc in whatever way possible. Some locals who were eyewitnesses to what happened reported it in the surrounding area. This resulted in a crowd gathering to see what had happened. Upon their arrival they found two situations. The first situation involved seeing the man that was previously demon possessed. He was no longer nude and acting out but was clothed and acting sane. The second situation involved the disaster scene of approximately two thousand drowned hogs. The crowd that gathered was informed by the eyewitnesses that Jesus was the source of both situations. The crowd became afraid that a man who was once insane, nude and hurting himself was now sane and fully clothed. Meanwhile they were furious about the drowning of the hogs. This is what led them to demand that Jesus leave their area. Never mind that he was able to totally change people, they wanted him out of the area. The man who was once insane now appeared to have more sense than the rest. If Jesus was leaving, then he wanted to go with him. Although the people were afraid of him now, he did not want to continue to live around them. Jesus did not permit him to go with him but instead made a missionary out of him. Jesus sent him back to the people that knew him, his friends. He was told to tell his testimony of what the Lord had done for him. He went throughout Decapolis sharing his story and the people that heard it were amazed. The demons recognized Jesus but after they were cast out, this man had gotten to know Jesus for himself. He now recognized that Jesus was indeed Lord and he was determined to not keep it to himself.

Robert C. Hudson
October 3, 2009