The Ministry, Message, and Messiah in the Book of Mark Week 18:
"Jesus Heals the Hurt, Helpless, and Hopeless"
(Mark 7:24-30)
Crossroads Community Church
Rev. Ricky A. Rohrig Sr., Founding Pastor
Introduction:
Have you ever had a broken bone, had surgery, or severely hurt yourself before as a child? I remember when I was 7 years old and my best friend was Brian Merfeld. He lived right across the street and we would ride our bikes everywhere. We would play cops and robbers, make ramps, ride them to the ball diamond, the swimming pool, and all around town. Back then you had the cool bikes with the banana seats. Some of you know what I am talking about. His was brown and mine was blue. I remember on particular occasion we weren’t even a half a block away and I saw Brain jump his bike with a risen manhole and in midair his front tire turned bit. I thought how cool I want to do that. So the next bump in the road I jumped my bike turned my wheel and did not turn it back and the front turned this away and my face landed in the ground that way. When your face pummels into cement, the cement usually wins. There was blood everywhere and I made the short trek back home and had to go to the emergency room and had fortunately only a chipped jaw bone and had to have 7 stitches. The doctor said if it didn’t heal by the time I was in 5th grade I would have to have surgery. Miraculously it eventually healed on its own. Throughout my entire childhood and life I have never had a broken bone or bloody nose. That in its self is nothing short of a miracle because I was a dare devil as a kid. Yes Melanie that is where Zane gets it. So the point of my story is this, when you are sick physically you go to the doctor, most of us anyways. You know the routine, you make the call, get an appointment, check in, fill out or update the necessary paperwork, and then you wait for your name to be called. The nurse takes you back to weigh you, then takes you to room whatever, you sit down she takes your temperature and blood pressure, asks you a few questions, and she says the doctor will be in shortly, and then you wait some more. The doctor comes in, introduces himself looks over the chart and looks you over while diagnosing the problem. Sometimes if you are privileged it may be just some medicine at the pharmacy you need to get or you may have to have a shot. The intentions of this story is two-fold, when there is something wrong with you physically you go to the doctor, and hopefully they diagnose you and find a way for you to feel better. We know that the doctors don’t have all the answers and remedies do they? That is why when the doctor says I don’t know, we turn to God because He knows all, sees all, and has the ability to cure all. The OT saints called on Jehovah Rafah, interpreted, God is our healer. We now have access to a man named Dr. Jesus to look to not only for our physical health, but mental, emotional, and spiritual heath as well. Everything you need God’s got it, and wants to give it you. As I ended last week I will pick up there. I stated it all starts and ends with Jesus! As we continue in our series from Mark, ‘The Ministry, Message, and Messiah in the Book of Mark.’ I want us to discover why "Jesus Heals the Hurt, Helpless, and Hopeless."
If you have your Bibles please turn to:
Mark 7:24-37
24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.
25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Pray
The passage we read has a parallel in Matthew 15:21-31. As we focus on Mark’s gospel it’s interesting to note that as we go from general to specific that this is a Narrative, Gospel — (NT) A narrative focused on the life and teaching of Jesus. It is also a Narrative, Miracle — (NT) A story recounting the miracles performed by Jesus or the apostles. Finally it is a Healing — (NT) A report of Jesus' actions healing people from various illnesses and diseases.
Last week we ended where Jesus was instructing and teaching about the true source of defilement coming from within a person. As we pick up where we left off we see that Jesus is a mission minded guy, He always had a purpose for what He did. That is why it is imperative that we be mission minded as well. Isn’t it good to know that throughout the SBC through your giving to this church that through the cooperative program, your monies goes to fund nearly 5000 missionaries around the world, to make sure that every single person has an opportunity to hear the transformational, life changing, rock your world altering message of Jesus Christ. There is still worked to be done as there are still 3000 people that have not heard about Jesus Christ.
So as Jesus is on this mission he is traveling to the Tyre and Sidon. (slide) The purpose is to get away from His disciples and people for a while and most likely rest and pray. But this is Jesus, by this time people not only knew who He was, but they knew what He could do.
• How much better off would our world knew who Jesus was personally and let Him change their lives from the inside out for His glory
In verse 25 we see a certain woman (He explores her identity in the next verse) has not only a concern but a serious problem.
• For all you parents out there, one of the hardest things to go through in life is to see you child sick and suffer
Her daughter had an unclean spirit. Now this was serious stuff, let me explain, because this sets the foundation and tone for the next few verses so you have to get this. Let’s unpack it together:
12.39 p?e?µa ????a?t??: an evil supernatural spirit which is ritually unclean and which causes persons to be ritually unclean—‘unclean spirit.’ What is important about the term ‘unclean’ is that the possession of such a spirit makes the individual ritually or ceremonially unclean. Accordingly, ‘an unclean spirit’ is equivalent in a number of languages to ‘a contaminating spirit.’
So let’s dig a little deeper, this child was possessed by the devil, had a demon in her: Demons are fallen angels, divinely created supernatural beings who, under the leadership of Lucifer (Satan), rebelled against God. Demonism is the activity of demons, while demonology is the study of demons and their activity, for the purpose of knowing the tactics of the enemy (2 Cor 2:11) in order to properly exercise authority over them (Lk 10:19).
Who Demons Are -
The English word “demon” is derived from the Greek daimon, which essentially means “a divinity, a deity” (i.e., a false deity, a demon; cf. 1 Cor 10:20). Any deity other than the one true God is a spirit opposed to him; therefore such a spirit is an evil spirit or demon. The word “demon” does not appear in the KJV, which mistranslates daimon as “devil.” There is only one devil (Greek diabolos), who is known by a variety of names, titles, and epithets in the Bible. He is the prince or ruler of all the other demons, who are subject to him.
Often in the Bible the word “spirit” is used for demon, along with a descriptive or identifying phrase; for example, “evil spirit” (Acts 19:12, 13), “unclean spirit” (Mt 10:1; Mk 1:23, 26; Acts 5:16), “spirit of infirmity” (Lk 13:11), “dumb and deaf spirit” (Mk 9:25). Spirits may be identified by their specific role or function, such as a spirit of murder, suicide, lust, depression, fear, lying, etc., associating them with various sins or attitudes contrary to God, the kinds of things that the Bible lists under the “works of the flesh” (Gal 5:19–21).
You must know and get this: you have power over the demonic forces of this world, watch this in:
Luke 10:18-20
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
You have the power, authority, and ability to cast out demons in the name above all names: look what Paul tells us in:
Philippians 2:8-11
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The devil thought that the damage was detrimental but Jesus not only defeated the devil, He defeated death.
• So today when the name of Jesus is lifted up He will draw all men unto Him
• When the name of Jesus is proclaimed the devil trembles
James 2:19
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
• When you get in trouble don’t call 911 call upon the name of Jesus
• When you get in over your head don’t call your best friend, Jesus Christ
• When the obstacles of life become overwhelming, there is a name above all names that is awaiting you to call upon Him so He can come to your rescue and that name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth
o Our healer
o Redeemer
o Power
o Strength
o All in all
o Our way out of no way
o Our overcomer
o Our deliver
o Our Messiah
o Our Lord of Lords
o King of Kings
o Our salvation
• When you get in a bind call on thine
• When you get in a jam, call on the man, Jesus
• When your down to your last, get to your knees fast
• When troubles got you down, look to Jesus and He will be found
Because everything starts and ends with Jesus
This certain woman came to the one that could heal her daughter, save her from her sins, and solve their problem. She needed Jesus to perform a exorcism. The practice of expelling evil spirits by means of prayer or set formulas was common among the Jews and pagans, and was taken over by the Christian Church after the example of Christ and His Apostles (cf. Mt. 10:1 ff., Lk. 11:14 ff., Acts 16:18, 19:13 ff., etc.). Exorcism has been practiced on persons possessed with an evil spirit from NT times onwards
Look what happened when she came to Jesus in verse 25. She came and fell at his feet.
Prostration was an indication of both grief and reverence. A ruler of a synagogue, Jarius also fell at the feet of Jesus (5:22). The implication of two such different persons doing so is that all should bow before Jesus as Lord
Look at verse 26:
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
a Syrophoenician A designation used by Roman authors to distinguish the Phoenicians of Syria from those of North Africa. The term could be intended to distinguish the Phoenician (coastal) part of Syria from other subregions of the Roman province.
This tells a lot about the woman’s faith:
• A Gentile woman sought Jesus. Mark shows the incredible cultural and gender boundaries that existed between Jesus and the woman. First, she was a Gentile. The Gentiles had not always treated the Jews kindly, and they often dominated them. There was a gender issue. Men dominated women during this time. Also, a rabbi (teacher) was not supposed to have any direct contact with a woman. By nationality she was a Syrophoenician (during this time Phoenicia belonged to Syria). Yet, the desperate need of her daughter and her radical faith in God’s goodness caused her to humble herself before Jesus and risk crossing all these barriers.
o That’s the faith that we need to day when something is wrong in our lives we will do whatever it takes, no matter where we have to go, even if it is not politically correct, no matter what our friends and family think, we need to have a unwavering, unconditional, and untiring faith that will not only get us to Jesus but point others to Him as well
Look what Jesus says to her in verse 27-28
27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
Again, this is a crucial passage to understand to comprehend these verses:
7:27–28. Jesus probably spoke to the woman in her language, which was Greek. He said to her, First let the children eat all they want … for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs. Jesus was not being sarcastic or uncaring. His mission centered on the “lost house of Israel.” Jesus implied that there was a place for the Gentiles. It just was not then. Their turn would come later. The reference to dogs was not to scavengers on the street but to the little dogs that wait eagerly under the table of their master for the scraps and crumbs to fall from the table. The children of the household indicated the privileged position of Israel in hearing the gospel, and the “little dogs” indicated the less privileged position of the Gentiles.
This did not deter this woman of faith. Jesus left an opening, saying that the Gentiles would have a turn at hearing the gospel and benefiting from his ministry. Why could not that time be now? As far as she was concerned, it was time to “seize the moment.” This woman agreed that Israel was first but she had a radical faith that refused to believe she was excluded. She replied, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. This shows her persevering faith and her belief in God’s goodness. The barriers of race, culture, and gender are surface issues. The real need is true healing on the inside, and only the gospel can cross these barriers to bring such healing.
29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
Notice how Jesus is omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), omnibenevolent (all loving)
There is another miracle within this miracle. Jesus does even see the girl or touch the girl. This goes to show how Jesus’ powers transcends people, places and time.
30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
• Man will promise you the sun, moon, and stars
• But when Jesus says it, it is done, finished, 100% guaranteed.
Casting out a demon (vv. 24–30). Of the thirty-five recorded miracles in the Gospels, four directly involve women: the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:30–31); the raising of the widow’s son (Luke 7:11–17); the raising of Lazarus (John 11); and the casting out of the demon as recorded here.
Miracles come in all sorts of forms, shapes and sizes. Chances are today right where you are at you need Jesus to do something miraculously in your life OR maybe miraculously in the life of a friend or loved one.
God loves you, yes you! Right where you are at even of you have let him dwon, feel like you failed him, or walked away from him, he still loves you. Not only that but he wants you to have a relationship with him and that is through His Son Jesus Christ. Maybe you never have experienced Jesus for yourself wholly, completely and fully. As we look what Jesus for the ladies child, he can do the same thing for you today, right now. Maybe you know you need to get back on the right track with God and be all in this time, full time for Christ not part time or going through the motions. Maybe you’re a candidate for baptism today by immersion. Maybe you have some questions and need someone to pray for you. Or maybe you have a strong hold, an addiction and are bound to something or bound by something or someone. Jesus can break every chain and set you free. If any of these describe you after I pray and while this we sing our song of decision we ask you to come forward so we can pray with you, for you, and let you know more about the most important part of and person in your life, Jesus Christ!
