30 Days In The Gospel Of MarkMostra

Thought:

In Jesus’ day, there were two categories of people: Jews and Gentiles. Anyone who was descended from the Israelites was Jewish. Everyone else was considered a Gentile, or someone who was not Jewish. In the Old Testament, God chose Israel as His special people. He promised to save them. Jesus came to fulfill that promise. At first, it seemed that Jesus had only come to save the Jews. When the woman asks for Jesus’ help, at first He tells her He needs to go to the children (the Jews) before the dogs (the Gentiles). This is not because Jesus wanted to be mean but because God’s first promise to save people was to His special people, Israel. Jesus turned these expectations on their head. In today’s passage, we see Jesus cast a demon out of a Gentile woman’s daughter because of her faith. This is a big deal! It is one of the first signs we have that Jesus is God’s plan to save all people, not just Jewish people. Most people in America today would be considered Gentiles—unless your ancestors (such as your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.) are Jewish, you are a Gentile. Gentiles were the outsiders that Jesus welcomed in through His great grace. It is because Jesus came to save all people, like this Gentile woman, that we who are Gentiles are able to be saved. Race or social category doesn’t define who Jesus will or won’t save. He loves everybody and died for everybody’s sins. What good news!

1. Why did the woman seek out Jesus?

2. What is Jesus’ first response to the woman? Why?

3. How did the woman refer to Jesus?

4. What happened to the woman’s daughter?

Engage:

Sometimes we can feel as if we are at the center of God’s story. We may think, often without realizing it, that God’s plan was all about saving us. God does care about and love us a great deal. Our salvation matters (a lot!) to Him. That is why Jesus died for all people. But it is also important to remember that many of us were the outsiders. We were like the kids who have no one to sit with at lunch. The story was not about us, and we were not included. Then Christ came and welcomed us from the outside into the inner circle. Reminding ourselves that Christ welcomed us from the outside can help us to remember to keep our eyes open for the people who are on the outside today. We should not think we are better than them but should welcome them in with love like Jesus did to us. Who is someone on the outside you can show love to this week?

Deeper Waters:

Sometimes people in our society can be placed on the outside because of their race or because of how much money they have. It is important to God that we love everyone and address these injustices however we can. Jesus wants everyone to be welcomed in, even if they are different from us or if society tells us we should not include them. Find something you can do this week to learn and appreciate something about someone who is different than you.