Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Mark 7:24-37.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Mark 7:24-37.
Lindsey: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Lindsey Blair, and I’m joined by Bobby Gilles. This past Sunday, Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Mark 7:24-37. He said that everyone who comes to the master’s table will be fed. But if you missed the sermon or need help remembering, you’re in the right spot for the Midweek Checkup.
Bobby: Jonah began by reminding us the story of Joshua and Caleb in the Old Testament. Caleb wasn’t born an Israelite, but was an adopted outsider. Caleb’s name sounds like the Hebrew word for dog. But his whole heart was devoted to God, like Joshua. He was not afraid, because he believed the Lord was with him. He said that the giants of Canaan were like scraps of bread, and Israel should not be afraid of them.
Lindsey: Mark talks about Jesus, whose Hebrew name is Yeshua — the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament. Our text tells us Jesus left Galilee to the region of Tyre...part of a land called Canaan. And then we have a woman. A Gentile. An outsider. This woman's little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Bobby: Jews in Jesus’s day believed demons, evil spirits, were the disembodied spirits of the giants killed in Noah's flood of water in Genesis and Joshua's flood of soldiers in Numbers. Fear of Giants in numbers, spiritual violence from Canaanite giants in Mark 7… The curious reader's alarm bells should be ringing. Do you remember what gave Caleb confidence they could defeat the giants? He said, “The Lord is with us! They are like scraps of bread.”
Lindsey: The gentile woman asked Jesus, Yeshua, to heal her daughter. Jesus said, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates.” In the language being spoken, it would have sounded like this: Jesus says, “it’s not right to take children's bread and give it to the Calebs.” She says, "Yes, Lord, and yet even the Calebs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.”
Bobby: The Old Testament whispers to us that one day all of humanity would become the chosen people of God. It whispers to us that, one day, the Gentiles would be adopted in to Israel. Maybe there is something about you that makes you think this isn't for you. Maybe you think you're the wrong gender. The wrong background. The wrong religion. Maybe you think you're too far on the outside. Then be a Caleb, and come to Jesus, the boundary crosser.
Lindsey: Everyone who comes to the master’s table will be fed. Join us this Sunday’s we continue learning about how big the mission of God is, what it means for us, and how we can press into it. We hope to see you at Bible Fellowship, as well, as we discuss Psalm 100, which is the backbone of several famous hymns and worship songs.