Jesus Christ: The God Who Astonishes Beyond Measure

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Jesus Christ is the greatest missionary who ever lived. He came the greatest distance, from heaven to earth, to bring the good news of salvation. He also made the greatest sacrifice, giving His life in the place of sinners that we might be reconciled to God. Yet in spite of having no planes or trains or cars, in His brief three years of earthly ministry He made time to travel to foreign soil to give us a glimpse of Great Commission Christianity, demonstrating beyond question that God’s kingdom knows no ethnic, racial, national, or gender barriers. Indeed, all who come to Him will find salvation from the One who “could not escape notice” (v. 24), the One who does “everything well” (v. 37).

Mark sets side by side two healing miracles that take place in pagan, Gentile territory. One is the healing of a demon-possessed little girl (vv. 24-30). The other is the healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment (vv. 31-37). Both demonstrate that God’s kingdom has come and that Jesus is God’s man for all peoples. Contrary to religious and racial bigots, no one is so unclean that they cannot receive the blessing and the touch of Jesus Christ—the God who astonishes (v. 37).

Jesus Is the Savior Who Cannot Be Hidden

Mark 7:24-30

Our Lord knew that His Father had mapped out His life from beginning to end. It would involve days of happiness as well as times of trial159 and opposition, pressure and disappointment. Jesus has just engaged the Pharisees in a heated discussion over religion versus the gospel (vv. 1-23). Things are building to an inevitable showdown that will result in His crucifixion. However, it is not yet the appointed time. So Jesus leaves Galilee to get away from His enemies, spend some teaching time with His disciples, and get a little R & R. However, He is denied the last and, in the process, teaches us spiritual truths about the heart of God.

Jesus Cares for the Nations, and So Should We (Mark 7:24)

Jesus heads north to the district of Phoenicia—what is today Lebanon—to the seaport city of Tyre. He went there primarily to get away to rest, but “He could not escape notice.” This is not surprising, especially since a delegation from Tyre and Sidon had earlier come down to see Him (3:8). Further, the brilliant glory of the Son of God cannot be hidden!

That Jesus chose to get away in the region of Tyre and Sidon is missiologically significant. As best we can tell, this is the only time Jesus ventured beyond the borders of Israel. Further, Tyre and Sidon were inhabited by pagan Gentiles, and the region had a long history of opposition to Israel. This had been the home of Jezebel (1 Kgs 16:31-32). Both Ezekiel (ch. 26) and Zechariah (ch. 9) prophesied against her. James Edwards says, “Tyre probably represented the most extreme expression of paganism, both actually and symbolically, that a Jew could expect to encounter” (Edwards, Mark, 217). Yet Jesus goes there and graciously expands the scope and reach of the Messiah beyond what Israel expected. Unfortunately, like Jonah, too many Jews of that day could not imagine that God would extend His salvation beyond the borders of Israel. “From a socioreligious perspective, Jesus’ visit to Tyre universalizes the concept of Messiah in terms of geography, ethnicity, gender and religion in a way entirely unprecedented in Judaism” (Edwards, Mark, 217). This Savior is not for just one nation. He is for all nations, and we should be as well.

Jesus Cares for the Jews, and So Should We (Mark 7:25-27)

Word gets out quickly that Jesus is in the house. A most unlikely individual shows up asking for His help. She is a woman, she is a Gentile, and she is a Syrophoenician by birth. Matthew 15:22 calls her “a Canaanite woman.” A pagan, Gentile woman could not have been further from “the citizenship of Israel” (Eph 2:12). No doubt she knew how socially unacceptable it was for her to approach a Jewish rabbi on any level. Yet she “kept on asking” Jesus “to drive the demon out of her daughter.” She came boldly but humbly (“she fell at His feet”), and she was persistent.

160Jesus’ verbal response is one of the most shocking and controversial statements He ever made. “He said to her, ‘Allow the children to be satisfied first, because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’” This sounds like a massive insult unworthy of our Lord. Yes, Jews often referred to Gentiles as dogs—unclean scavengers unworthy of salvation. Is this what Jesus meant? Not at all. (1) The very words of Jesus are something of a parable rather than a direct statement. (2) The word for “dogs” is a word that corresponds to our word puppies. It is not a street scavenger but a household pet, which the parable makes clear. (3) There is the crucial word “first.” Jesus was, I believe, testing the woman’s faith by saying, “I must first minister to Israel before I minister to Gentiles.” Paul said the same thing in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”

Our Lord has a deep love for the Jewish nation. He wept bitterly over her rejection of Him as her Messiah (Matt 23:37). In spite of her unbelief, He still loves her. God is not through with the Jews! Paul in Romans 11:25-29 makes this crystal clear:

So that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Liberator will come from Zion; He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs, since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable.

God cares for the Jews, and so should we.

Jesus Cares for the Individual, and So Should We (Mark 7:28-30)

It would have been easy for this woman to walk away in bitter disappointment. Yet she fires back with a burst of boldness! Tim Keller says, “There are cowards, there are regular people, there are heroes, and then there are parents. Parents are not really on the spectrum from cowardice to courage because if your child is in jeopardy, you simply do what it takes to save her” (King’s Cross, 86). With wit, courage, and faith, the woman responds. She does not take offense. She does not question the accuracy of Jesus’ words. She simply and humbly carries His analogy one step further. “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” What insight! What161 humility! What faith! Jesus commends her for what He calls “mega faith” (Matt 15:28) and dismisses her with the promise that her daughter is healed. What a magnificent picture of salvation we have in this story! Yes Lord,

we are all dogs under the table with no rights whatsoever as members of the family. I acknowledge I don’t deserve a place at the table, but I believe there is enough even for me on the table! Just a few crumbs will be enough. That I believe. Then in amazing grace and mercy our Savior lifts us up, no longer a dog (sinner) but a child (saved), no longer under the table but now a member of the family at the table.

Are you willing to see yourself as the dog you are that you might be transformed into the child you might become? Perhaps your sin is greater than you realize, but His grace is greater than you could ever imagine.

Jesus Is the Savior Who Does All Things Well

Mark 7:31-37

Perhaps this particular miracle had special significance to Peter, the eyewitness source for much of Mark’s Gospel, because he saw it as a physical parallel to his own spiritual experience. I can identify with that!

Jesus went north to Sidon before turning southeast to the region of the Decapolis (“10 cities”). All together this horseshoe-shaped journey would have constituted a 120-mile walk. It is an unusual course. It may have been taken to further avoid the Herodians and Pharisees who were after Him. It may also have been intended as an extension of His ministry to the Gentiles. More dogs are to receive crumbs from His table.

Jesus Hears Our Cries for Help (Mark 7:31-35)

A man is brought to Jesus who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Like the Syrophoenician woman, the man’s friends were persistent in begging Jesus to lay His hand on the man. That they did not specifically ask for healing may indicate that all they were asking for was our Lord’s blessing. This they would receive, and more!

Jesus takes the man aside. His attention is personal and compassionate. Entering the man’s world, our Lord uses “sign language.”

The man could not hear Jesus and he was also incapable of verbal communication. So Jesus “spoke” to him in the language he could understand—sign-language. The fingers placed in his ears and then removed meant, “I am going to remove the blockage in your hearing.” The spitting and the touching of the man’s tongue meant, “I162 am going to remove the blockage in your mouth.” The glance up to heaven meant, “It is God alone who is able to do this for you.” Jesus wanted the man to understand that it was not magic but God’s grace that healed him. (Ferguson, Mark, 116)

As Jesus looked up to heaven, first He sighed. I believe this is an expression of our Lord’s love and compassion for this man and also His great grief over the fall of man and the terrible consequences of sin. It is the sigh of God over a broken creation. Second, He said, in Aramaic, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” The result is given in simple, straightforward language: “Immediately his ears were opened, his speech difficulty was removed, and he began to speak clearly” (v. 35). The original text says literally, “The shackle of his tongue was released.” Like a prisoner bound in chains, Jesus broke the fetters of his captivity and set him free.

Jesus Deserves Our Praise for All He Does (Mark 7:36-37)

One can only imagine the first words of clear speech uttered by this man. No doubt he was praising and glorifying God. Jesus charged him and his friends not to spread the news (v. 36), “But the more He would order them, the more they would proclaim it.” We cannot condone their disobedience, but we certainly can understand their response.

Mark’s conclusion has deep theological significance. “He has done everything well (good)” echoes creation and God’s work in Genesis 1-2. “He even makes deaf people hear, and people unable to speak, talk” recalls Isaiah, who wrote that when the Messiah comes, “the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for waters will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (Isa 35:5-6). Again James Edwards captures the great significance of this when he writes:

The allusion of Isaiah 35 is of supreme significance for Mark’s presentation of Jesus, not only because the restoration of speech signals the eschatological arrival of the Day of the Lord but also because the desert wastelands of Lebanon (Isa 35:2) will receive the joy of God. The regions of Tyre and Sidon are, of course, precisely the Lebanon of Isaiah 35. Jesus’ healing ... in the Decapolis becomes the firstfruit of the fulfillment of Isa 35:10, that Gentile Lebanon will join “the ransom of the Lord [and] enter Zion with singing”! Salvation thus comes to the Gentile world in Jesus, who is God’s eschatological redeemer from Zion. As we have noted before, the only categories adequate for Mark to describe the person and work of Jesus are ultimately the categories of God. Once again, as in the story of the Syrophoenician163 woman (7:24-30), “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). (Edwards, Mark, 224-25; emphasis in original)

Thus we see the “grand redemptive storyline” in a miracle put on display. Creation (what God does is good) → Fall (a man deaf because of sin) → Redemption (the miracle of healing) → Restoration (God’s kingdom has arrived). Oh, there is so much here we need to see! There is so much here we need to “zealously proclaim.”

A beautiful hymn written by Charles Wesley wonderfully captures the heart of this text as well as our joyful response. “Hear” the words of stanzas 1, 4, and 5.

1. O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer’s praise

The glories of my God and King

The triumphs of His grace!

4. Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,

Your loosened tongues employ,

Ye blind, behold your Saviour come;

And leap, ye lame, for joy!

5. My gracious Master and my God,

Assist me to proclaim,

To spread through all the earth abroad

The honours of Thy Name. (Wesley, “Thousand Tongues,” 1739)

Jesus is the God who cannot be hidden. He is the Lord who does all things well!

Reflect and Discuss

1. What constitutes an effective missionary strategy in our day? How did Jesus begin to instruct His followers about successful missions?
2. Is there any nation you would be tempted to skip over in missions? What makes them unworthy in your mind? What would Jesus do?
3. What should be our attitude toward the Jewish people as a political nation? As individual souls?
4. Why would Jesus’ ministry in Gentile lands have shocked His disciples? How does it presage Peter and Paul’s ministries in the book of Acts?
5. Why was the Syrophoenician woman happy with mere “crumbs”? What can we learn from her attitude?
6. How can boldness and humility both be demonstrated at the same time in our prayers?
7. How would you respond to someone who suggested that Jesus was using some kind of magic in 7:33-34?
8. 164Why do you think Jesus “sighed deeply” before he healed the deaf man? How does that encourage your faith in Him?
9. How was Jesus’ healing ministry associated with the gospel of a restored relationship with God?
10. What part do the old hymns play in your worship experience? How do new songs and choruses help you perceive and worship God?