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Ministry in Tyre and Sidon

Text: Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28
6 April 2014

MINISTRY IN TYRE AND SIDON

1. These are Gentile cities

2. Fame: Sea-ports

TRAVELING INCOGNITO

1. Jesus entered a house            Mark 7:24

2. He did not want anyone to know about His being there            Mark 7:24

a) Especially not His enemies
b) They would just hound Him
c) They were already hindering His ministry
i) To the multitudes
ii) To the Disciples

3. Some possible reasons:-

a) Ministry to the Gentiles was not on the top of His agenda
b) His main focus was to reach the lost sheep of Israel
c) His ministry to the Gentiles could be used against Him by His enemies
d) His disciples were not ready to enter into ministry to Gentiles

SYRO-PHOENICIAN WOMAN

1. Identity of the woman

a) Syro-Phoenician by birth
b) Greek (indicating that she was not Jewish)            Mark 7:26

2. She heard that Jesus was in the vicinity

3. She sought Him out            Mark 7:25

4. Plea of the Syro-Phoenician woman

a) Her daughter was demonised
b) She pleaded for her daughter to be healed

5. Perspective of Matthew

a) She addressed Jesus as “Lord, Son of David”            Matthew 15:22
b) Jesus did not make an immediate reply            Matthew 15:23
c) The disciples wanted Jesus to send her away            Matthew 15:23

6. First set of cryptic words of Jesus

“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”            Matthew 15:24

7. Correct response of the woman

a) She retained the title “Lord”

“Lord, help me.”            Matthew 15:25

b) She drops the title “Son of David”           Matthew 15:25

8. Second set of cryptic words of Jesus

a) Children = Israel

“Let the children be filled first,”            Mark 7:27

b) Little dogs = Gentiles

“It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”            Mark 7:27

9. Correct response of the woman again

“Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.”            Matthew 15:27

10. Commendation of the woman’s faith

“O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.”            Matthew 15:28

“For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”            Mark 7:29

a) The demon left her daughter
b) She was lying in bed (resting)            Mark 7:30

11. Wherein was the faith of the Syro-Phoenician woman evidenced?

a) Seeking Jesus out
b) Tenacity
i) Silence of Jesus
ii) Surly attitude of the Disciples
c) Humility

12. Where was the faith of the Disciples?
Still lacking!

13. Where was the compassion of the Disciples?
Also still lacking!

POEMS – Charles Tan

#7 AND THERE HE PRAYED

Jesus began His public ministry fasting and praying in the wilderness,
Praying was a spiritual discipline He established in great tenderness.
Prayer was never a ritual though it was a practice common enough,
Prayer was sweet communion with His Father even when ministry was tough.

The first thing in the morning was set aside to pray to His Father-God,
He never took this relationship for granted, prayer must always be sweet accord.
He had to find a quiet place where He could spend time to commune with God in prayer,
This was an important discipline that would allow His soul to feed on refreshing love there.

He prayed as our Great High Priest concerned over the sinful souls of men,
He offered up prayers with vehement cries and tears as He pleaded again and again.
The Father heard His cries for He prayed with such a sense of reverence and fear,
Prayers that are uttered from the depths of the heart are often expressed with tears.

He did not take for granted that He was the only-begotten Son of God,
Prayer was a necessary discipline that would make Him strong and bold in the Lord.
Thus each morning without fail, long before the sun was up, Jesus would be found in prayer,
Blessed are the disciples who are able to cultivate this discipline and diligently seek God there.

Inspiration: Mark 1:35

#40

BECAUSE THEIR HEART WAS HARDENED

With great enthusiasm and sincerity the disciples had decided to follow the Lord,
Their hearts were thrilled and they believed that Jesus was the Anointed One of God.
They listened to Him expounding the Scriptures with a great sense of awe,
No one had ever spoken with such power and authority before.

They watched Jesus perform miracles with a deep sense of wonder that was pure,
No one was too ill that He could not heal, no one so demonized He could not cure.
Day after day they noted that Jesus would wake up before dawn to pray,
And even after a hard day’s work He never failed to seek God the day’s events to relay.

Little did the disciples realize that knowledge alone would not be enough,
They had not reckoned that sin could make the heart so hard and tough.
Their failure at the tests that Jesus set for them caused them to humbly realize,
They were still so gripped by fear, their mind and hearts were paralysed.

They could not bring their faith up to the fore when the needs were there,
They had failed to understand that to have a great faith was something rare.
Their hearts were filled with shame as the answer was revealed to them,
Their hearts had been hardened along the way, and they were in a jam.

They had to retrace their steps to overcome their weaknesses and flaws,
They must give greater attention to prayer or fail to fulfil spiritual laws.
Knowledge by itself would not yield much by way of strength and power,
Faith must be consciously exercised or there would be failure in the testing hour.

Inspiration: Mark 6:52