The Pilgrim Path---Mark 7: 24—30

And from there he rose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And she said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH

---v. 24---Faith finds Christ: Even when He seems to be hidden, faith seeks and finds…

---v. 25---Faith falls at the feet of the Savior: Humility will know its place and plead its case…

---v. 26---Faith did some serious begging: This Gentile woman had to come and engage the Living Christ. She may not have been of the household of Israel, but she was of the same “faith” as Abraham---what confidence she had. Her plea was a strong and loving one: “Please heal my demon possessed daughter!”

---v. 27---“Feed the children first (the household of Israel)” This was the rather stern testimony of the LORD Jesus---A real “test” for all the hearers that were assembled…

---v. 28---“For certain---LORD! But even the dogs get to eat the scraps from beneath the table---when the children are eating.” What a wise and sharp word of trust from the Gentile woman…

---v. 29---“For this statement you may go: that demon that was tormenting your daughter is gone.” That is the LORD Jesus’ good word to the precious mother!

---v. 30---Faith takes her home: Faith’s reward---Her daughter in bed---the demon is gone! Thanks be to God!

Some notes from one of my favorite Scottish Preachers, Samuel Rutherford:

---Christ does have this way about Him: Seeming to “refuse” us at first. He wants us to go on in adoring and arguing---by faith. He knows we tend to “under-value” what is at our elbow…He wants us to press Him…

---We look upon God’s ways by halves and pieces; and so, we see often nothing but the black side, and the dark part of the moon. We mistake all, when we look upon men’s works by parts; a house in the building, lying in an hundred pieces; here a timber, here a rafter, half a window, in another place, the side of a door: there is no beauty, no face of a house here. Have patience a little, and see them all by art compacted together in order, and you will see a fair building…

---We “see” in this passage that The LORD Jesus actually wanted this woman to “find” Him---but He made it a chore for a time. Having found Him, He yet made it a test of faith. This precious woman waited for the word from Jesus---and she received it. “Feeling is of more credit to us than the word of faith; sense is surer to us than the word of faith.”

---There is but one of Tyre and Sidon who came to Christ: The mercy of the Good Shepherd to go leave the ninety and nine sheep in the wilderness---and go after the one which is lost---Luke 15: 4. “Grace is separative, and singled out one of many; all graced persons are privileged persons; heaven is a house of chosen and privileged ones: there are no common stones in the New Jerusalem, but all precious stones…”(Isaiah 54: 11, 12).

---Notice the Seven-Fold Relationship of Jesus Christ in the Covenant:

He is more than a creature, He is the Covenant itself

As He deals between parties, He is the Messenger of the Covenant

As He saw and heard all, He is the Witness of the Covenant

As He undertaketh for the parties at odds, He is the Surety of the Covenant

As He stands between contrary parties, He is the Mediator of the Covenant

As He signed the covenant, and closes it, He is the Testator of the Covenant

As He is a side, or half of the covenant, He is the Party contracting the Covenant

My soul, ask what thou wilt;

Thou canst not be too bold;

Since His own blood for thee he spilt,

What else can he withhold?

John Newton, 1779

Grace and Peace in Jesus Christ Our Risen LORD, Pastor Jason