Please take your Bibles and turn to Mark's Gospel once again, chapter 7. And we'll be reading verses 24 through 30. That'll be our sermon text for the evening. Mark 7, 24 through 30. And from there he arose 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 was possessed by 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 a demon out of her daughter. And he 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. This is God's holy word. Let's ask for his blessing upon it. Father, we do seek your, your blessing upon your word, Lord, as we have heard it read. And now, as we go to the preaching of it, Lord, we seek your blessing upon its proclamation, Lord, that it would be faithful and true and that you would instruct your people by it. In Christ's name, amen. I wonder if you've given much thought to the fact that you are a Christian. What I mean is, after all, you are not Jewish. And as I'm sure you know, Christianity is a thoroughly Jewish religion. If you take your Bible, you see that two-thirds of it by page count, roughly, is the Hebrew Bible that we know as the Old Testament. And even in our New Testament, you can hardly turn to a page of the New Testament and not find it full of references to the Old Testament. All of Jesus' first disciples were, of course, Jewish men. All of the apostles who followed after him, or most of them anyway, were Jewish men. And of course, the Lord Jesus himself was born and raised in a Jewish family. And yet, how is it that we here today, in this time and place, and Our fellow Christians throughout the world, spanning the globe and every, in every continent among every tribe and tongue and nation, we find those who call upon the name of Christ, the Jewish Messiah as their Lord and savior. It's a remarkable thing when you think about it, considering that, uh, that so often religions are national things are a part of your, your national and your cultural identity. It's like that with so many religions and yet Christianity is a global religion that transcends nations and cultures and languages. Our text tonight gives us a glimpse into how this reality comes to be and indeed opens our eyes to God's purposes in making the faith of Christianity, the gospel of Christ, salvation through Israel's Messiah, how that comes to be as a reality today because it's been part of God's eternal plan. What this text presents to us is simply this, the idea that the benefits of God's grace in Christ are for people of all nations, not just to Israel alone, but for people of all nations. So there are three things that we'll see and three things for us to consider. First, that God's grace in Christ was indeed to Israel first. But then that God's grace in Christ is for all nations now. And finally, that God's grace in Christ is received by faith alone. Well, as we've read our text, we understand the situation. Jesus has left the region where he'd been teaching and he's gone north several miles into the region of Tyre and Sidon, far north of his own home country of Galilee, where he had been busy ministering in and around the Sea of Galilee. And he enters into Gentile country. He has left the boundaries of Israel. Now, as things unfold, we'll see that he'll be there really for only a relatively brief stay. And he's not engaged in the same heavy level of continuous ministry as he was in his work in and around Galilee. And in fact, the text makes clear to us in verse 24, that he went into a house and did not want anyone to know about it. His intent was to lie low, as we would say. Probably what's going on here is that Jesus is finally taking that time of rest, that retreat that he intended to go on with the disciples so many days previously, and now takes this time to be with his disciples for rest and for one-on-one instruction and discussion without the distractions of the public ministry. But it's very significant for us, and we don't want to miss this point, that Jesus is in Gentile country. And we have to remember, of course, that the Gentiles, or the Greeks as they were often referred to, simply meaning anyone who is not a Jew, were considered unclean to a devout Jew. You see, any self-respecting decent Jew would have done anything in his power to steer clear of the Gentiles whenever possible. We might recall our text earlier in in chapter seven, where even going out into the marketplace and rubbing shoulders with Gentiles would be an occasion for the religious leaders and the religiously observant Jew to immediately rush home and wash up and to remove the defilement of being in that unclean society. And we might recall also that even passing through Gentile country on a journey, Observant Jews would be careful to shake the dust off their feet so as not to bring the contamination of Gentile soil into the land of Israel. And yet here it is with Jesus taking up residence, even though temporarily, but taking up residence in a Gentile house in the middle of Gentile country. But we see as usual that Jesus can't remain hidden. for long, just as before his reputation, his fame make it hard for him to remain unnoticed for any length of time. And so we see that this local resident, a Gentile woman, a native Phoenician, she's a Phoenician or a Canaanite in the region of Syria by birth. She comes to Jesus, she seeks him out. And you see, Mark has given us a rather full description of this woman, calling her not only a Gentile or a Greek, as it is in the original, but also a Syrophoenician. All of this to really emphasize that this woman is not a Jew. She's not an Israelite. And he drives this point home because this is central to this story as it unfolds. Here is an unclean, Gentile woman seeking out Israel's Messiah. We see this woman comes to Jesus because she has a problem. She's in terrible need. And that's often the case, isn't it? People come to Jesus seeking him out, looking for help and for deliverance because they've heard and they believe that he of all people is capable is able to solve their deepest, most troubling problems. And so this woman comes with a heart burdened as a mother because her daughter, her little girl, text tells us in verse 25, is suffering from the affliction of having an unclean spirit. So she manages to track Jesus down. As he's in this house desiring to remain unknown, knocks on the door, he opens the door and she falls at his feet and pleads her case. Lord, come and help me, my little girl. She needs your help. But then we see in verse 27 that Jesus gives her an answer. And it's an answer that as we hear the words, They seem harsh to us. They're almost shocking. Maybe it bothers us to hear Jesus answer this way. Let the children be first, he says, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. But you see here in this answer are actually the first two things that this text teaches us. It's here in this answer that we find the truth that God's grace in Christ was to Israel first, but then that God's grace in Christ was or is now for all nations, not to Israel only. So first God's grace in Christ was to Israel first. You see, that's exactly what he's telling her in the words that he speaks to her. Let the children be fed first. Now the children here in this, in the statement or this parable really is what Jesus is saying, the children are of course none other than Israel. That's who Jesus is referring to. Matthew 15 in the parallel passage here makes this abundantly clear. There Matthew records for us some other words that the Lord spoke on this occasion. He says, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So it's very clear from the parallel passage that this is Jesus' intended meaning. Jesus is saying, my mission, my blessings are to Israel first. Well, that's what Jesus tells her, but that's entirely in line with what the scriptures had said as well. The scriptures tell us that Israel had a special place in God's plan of salvation. Israel had priority in God's plan of salvation. The scriptures lay out for us that in fact Israel existed as a distinct people and a distinct nation for the purpose of manifesting God's presence and blessing. Let me say that again. Israel existed as a distinct people and nation to manifest God's presence and blessing. In other words, God's presence and blessing upon Israel was to make his presence and blessing visible to all the nations of the world in and through Israel. That's why he called them. And you see, this takes us back to Genesis 3.15. It was there that just after the fall in the garden that God made the promise to our first parents that he would deliver man from the ruin of sin and that he would destroy the enemy who had led his creatures into sin. He made that promise all the way back in Genesis 3.15. And now, in and through Israel, God is carrying out his plan of salvation and of grace and blessing. And the prophets confirm this as well. Jeremiah writes in the second chapter of his prophecy that Israel was holy to the Lord and the first fruits of the harvest. So we see there the idea again of Israel being set apart and being the first fruits of the harvest of salvation, the first of those to be gathered in God's working out of his plan of salvation. Isaiah 59, 20, the deliverer will come from Zion. And of course, we remember Jesus's own words in John chapter four, as he's speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. Salvation is from the Jews. Now here, speaking of Samaritans, this would be a good opportunity for me to correct something that was said in the morning sermon when I spoke about the parable, or I'm sorry, the account of the good Samaritan. The man who was lying by the side of the road, robbed and beaten, was not the Samaritan, of course. In all likelihood, he was a Jew. It was the Samaritan who had come to his aid. Nevertheless, the point from this morning still stands that the religious leaders avoided him fearing uncleanness because he appeared to be a dead body. And so that point remains. But returning to our text here, understanding Israel's place in the history of God working out his plan of salvation then, we need to remember though that God didn't choose Israel. God didn't call Abram because of anything special about them. In fact, Deuteronomy chapter 7 verses 6 and 7 tell us that same thing precisely, that the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. And it was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. So in other words, they weren't a great, impressive people. There was nothing about the people of Israel to commend them to God. And yet God chose them. And so what we understand from that is if Israel is special in any way, it's because they were chosen. They were not chosen because they were special, you see. Now what we understand from all this and what the scripture sets forth for us is that there is a twofold purpose to God's selecting Israel. We read earlier from Genesis chapter 12, when God called Abram. And when God did so, in making Abram the father of the nation of Israel, He spoke those words to him that we read, that, I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So you see, there are two parts to the call of Israel to bring blessing of grace to Abram and his descendants to make them a great nation, but to bless the world and all the families of the earth in and through Israel. But yet another dimension unfolds for us when we consider the promise of a Messiah that was made to Israel. The Apostle Paul speaks of it this way in Romans 15, for I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised, that is a servant to the people of Israel to show God's truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. The twofold purpose again, Christ came. In order to be a servant to Israel, to show God's truthfulness, to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs of Israel. And secondly, in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. So in short, the whole purpose of Israel was as a means or an instrument for God to keep his promises and to be faithful to his covenant. So God's grace in Christ was for Israel first, in order that those blessings might come. But we see that it's from God's faithfulness to his promises to Israel, and indeed in bringing the Messiah out of Israel, out of this chosen nation, that now God's blessings of grace in Christ are for all nations, no longer limited to a peculiar people in a certain geography, limited by language and culture. And you see, it's the second point that we find in Jesus' words as well. Jesus tells her very plainly in verse 27, but we have to listen for it. Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. You see what he's saying? First the children and then the dogs. First implies a second. It implies that there are others to follow. There's order, there's priority, but you see the world is not excluded just because Israel is first. Jesus' mission is to bring the blessing of salvation first to those of the nation of Israel, but now that her Messiah had come, with him had come salvation for all who would believe, even outside of Israel. That's what Jesus tells her. But here again, just as before, Jesus' words line up exactly with what the scriptures say. The scriptures say that the world is included, that the world is a part of God's plan for salvation, just as much as Israel. Isaiah 49.6 makes this perfectly clear. I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. These were God's words to Israel. These words are cited again in Acts 13 47 by Paul and Barnabas as they're preaching once again. And they understood their mission to the Gentiles in precisely these terms. They drew upon this language of Isaiah 49, that I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation will reach the ends of the earth. See, that's the way it works. And of course, we, are familiar with Jesus own words, John 12, 46, I am the light of the world. I have come into this world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. Whoever believes. And again, the apostle Paul, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and then also to the Greek Romans 1 16. And of course, who doesn't know the words of John 3, 16, God so loved the world that he gave his son. He did that because he loved the world and desired to bless the world with his grace in Christ. And so in each case, we can't miss what the scriptures and Jesus are telling us. that the Christ came for the salvation of the world and not for Jews only. This is what Jesus was saying to the woman in his words. But then we see an important development out of this. So Jesus has given her his answer. She's come and pleaded her case and Jesus says, look lady, Let the children be fed first. It's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. This woman hears this and hears her reply in verse 28. Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. Now, even just at first blush, even if we don't fully grasp everything that she's saying in this, we certainly can hear that this is a It's a witty, it's a clever reply, it's a quick reply. It's the kind of reply that we probably wish that we could give on a spur of a moment like that. But then comes a surprise. You see, whatever it was that she was saying, there's a surprise because Jesus commends her answer. Look at what he says in verse 29. For this statement, you may go your way. The demon has left your daughter. For this statement, you may go and receive what you've asked for, is what he says. Again, the parallel in Matthew 15 makes this very clear for us, just really takes all the mystery out of it. There, we hear Jesus say these words to her in response, great is your faith. And it's with those words that he sends her on her way. And she receives what she asked for. But this is remarkable, isn't it? After all, what had the woman done? What did the woman done to impress Jesus in this way and to be able to gain what she had sought from him in the first place? She brought nothing to Jesus. She didn't bring any offering, no sacrifice. She just shows up at his door. She didn't perform any kind of ritual. And she certainly didn't become Jewish. She didn't become an Israelite. And yet Jesus commends her for her faith. Well, what was it about this statement then that Jesus commended? Well, what's in there is that with this reply, the woman demonstrated both the humility and the hope of faith. We see both of those in her answer. See, her faith was demonstrated by her pleading with Jesus in humility. She had picked up on something in Jesus' words that would be easy for all of us to miss. See, when we hear Jesus' words, it's puzzling to us because it does sound harsh or even insulting. I mean, we get the analogy that he's drawing there. We get it. If the people of Israel are the children, well, we know that that, we know what that makes her and the rest of the Gentiles. They're the dogs, right? And you probably also know that to speak of the Gentiles as dogs was something that Jews would often do pridefully. They would do that in a disparaging way to emphasize their, their elevation above the Gentiles. that the Gentiles were unworthy, that they were low, that they were like street mongrels, like stray dogs scavenging here and there, filthy. And so we're wondering why would Jesus speak this way to this woman? Are we hearing him right? What might help us if we knew a little bit of Greek, because then it becomes a whole lot clearer. Because the word that Jesus uses here is not the ordinary word for dogs. It's an affectionate term. It's a term that would probably best described as little dogs or puppies, but with the idea of it being a house pet, a beloved house pet. It's the same way of changing a word, just the same way that the woman speaks of her daughter. She doesn't just call her my daughter. She speaks of her as my little daughter. And all that comes through with that, all the love that comes through with that, my precious little daughter, my baby. That's the way Jesus is speaking to her. You see, Jesus opens that door. And do you think that the same Jesus who looked upon the crowd of 5,000 and saw them as sheep without a shepherd, as sheep in need of a shepherd could now look upon this woman? with harshness and with coldness. No, wouldn't he rather look at her the same way with the eyes of a shepherd, with love in his heart? And so, in fact, what Jesus is doing here is he's just playing on the terminology. They were both familiar with this language of dogs, so he's playing on this this choice of words, but she can tell by the way he's speaking, by her, by his use of this affectionate term, little dogs, and just in the manner of his speaking, that he doesn't mean this in an unkind way. And so she doesn't take offense to it. And in fact, she doesn't even object to being the dog in the metaphor that Jesus uses. You see, that's how we're seeing her humility in her response. And so she even answers, yes, Lord, you're absolutely right. First place belongs to the children. The Jews have the priority. But then in humility, she accepts second place as a Gentile. She's willing to say, I'll take second place. I understand how things work in God's economy. And so you see then that when she Continues to plead with Jesus as she does. She doesn't do so demanding her rights. She doesn't come to Jesus standing on her rights and saying, Jesus, I'm entitled to this. No. It's not something that Jesus owes her. And she recognizes that. Instead, she comes to him pleading for his mercy. Pleading on the basis of mercy alone. That's her humility. And that demonstrates the faith that she had. But then we see, finally, that her faith is demonstrated in the way that she pleads with Jesus in hope. You see, when she heard Christ's words, not only was she not insulted as we might have expected at first, but she seized upon the hope that they offered. See, because after all, she picked up on the fact that if Jesus is saying, children first, that that first implies a second. As we've already taken note of and therefore that others would be welcomed to, even if perhaps not just yet. But see, she was also thinking of Christ's words about the little dogs, that these were just as much a part of the master's household. That these pets in the home are loved and cared for. And yes, they too are fed from the children. at the master's table. And so she doesn't protest being in second place. She's grateful to have her place in the master's household, even if it is as a dog under the table. Doesn't make any difference to her whether she's first or second. She knows that she will be eating at the table of Christ's abundance. And so you see, she hoped by trusting in Christ's abundant mercy, She had hope that there would be enough for all to be fed. See, that's her demonstration of hope. And she hoped by trusting that her pleas were not in vain. And as it turns out, we read in the close of the passage, that in fact, she does go home and she finds her daughter well, just as she had asked. And so what she hoped for, had come to pass, you see. She had partaken of God's grace in Christ, although she was not of the people of Israel. And so we see then how this passage opens up for us and gives us a view into the way that God is unfolding the great riches of His mercy and grace to all people throughout the world through Israel's Messiah to Israel first, but then to the rest of the world. Amen. Father, we thank you for your word. And we thank you, O Lord, that we have received this great blessing of your grace in Christ. Even we who are not a people, we who were far off and distant from you all to the praise of your glorious grace in Christ's name. Amen.