God is powerful: Power-for-all
Matthew 15:21-39
[title] Please
read these outlines to put us back in Matthew’s gospel. [slide] We started in Part One
dealing with Jesus’ fame, the transition dealing with the unbelief in Nazareth
and there are two parts left. [slide] Now we are in Part Two, the End Game.
[slide] In
this section, we are dealing with the question asked by the people in Jesus’
hometown: “Where did this man get this wisdom and
these miraculous powers (Matthew 13:54)?
In the first
verses of chapter 15, Matthew showed that the source of his wisdom and power
was not Jewish tradition. But that
didn’t eliminate the possibility that it might still be a related to Judaism in
general.
We have to wonder
if what Jesus had was a type that was Jewish friendly or even exclusively
Jewish. Like electricity that has
to have a metal conductor, did Jesus’ wisdom and power need Jewish conductors
in order to function?
Matthew 15:21-29. [??? – slide]
21 Jesus left that place and went off to the territory near
the cities of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A
Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried
out. “Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible
condition.”
23
But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him,
“Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!”
24
Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of
Israel.”
25
At this the woman came and fell at his feet. “Help me, sir!” she said.
26
Jesus answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the
dogs.”
27 “That’s true, sir,” she answered, “but even the dogs eat
the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.”
28
So Jesus answered her, “You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be
done for you.” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.
29 Jesus left there and went along by Lake Galilee.
[Map] Jesus left Galilee and went to the region of Tyre
and Sidon in Phoenicia. Jezebel was from this area. This was Gentile territory. Jesus needed a retreat. His fame had been established and he
now faced Jerusalem and the cross. He withdrew from the Jews to get his bearings.
But as frequently
happened, his R&R was interrupted this time by a very persistent and noisy
Canaanite woman. The Canaanites had
given Moses and the Israelites a hard time when they were moving into the Promised
Land from Egypt.
The disciples
wanted Jesus to solve her problems and get rid of her. Jesus engaged in some theologically
tinged banter with the woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Her faith amazed Jesus and he healed
her daughter.
Compare this
Gentile woman and the Jewish woman who suffered from a discharge of blood. [slide]
· Jewish woman alone and snuck up behind him
Gentile woman
alone and noisy confrontation
· Jewish woman fell at his feet – touched fringe
Gentile woman kneeled and said, “Lord, help me.”
· Jesus commended each woman for her faith
· Jesus healed Jewish woman instantly
Jesus healed Gentile woman’s daughter instantly
Here was at least
on instance where Jesus’ power was not strictly for the Jews. It hints at a gentile friendly power unless this was just an isolated
incident. Mark 15:29-31.
[??? – slide] 29 Jesus left there and went along by Lake Galilee. He climbed
a hill and sat down. 30 Large crowds
came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb, and
many other sick people, whom they placed at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed as they saw the
dumb speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing;
and they praised the God of Israel.
[map] In reporting the same story Mark was more
specific and reported that Jesus left the vicinity of
Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of
the Decapolis.
This was also
Gentile country inhabited primarily by Greeks. Jesus
had traveled through the Decapolis on another occasion and delivered a demonic who
lived among the tombs. The one who broke his shackles in pieces and no one had the strength
to subdue him (Mark 51-13).
Jesus’ previous
miracles explained the large crowds. They brought people and put them at Jesus
feet. Jesus healed them of all just
as he had healed the Jews: lame, blind, crippled, mute and people with many
other problems.
Conclusion: Jesus
ministry to the Gentiles was not an isolated incident, but how did he feel. Was
it just duty or did he have the same love for them?
Matthew
15:32-39. [??? – slide]
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I feel sorry
(have compassion) for these people, because they have been with me for three
days and now have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away without
feeding them, for they might faint on their way home.”
33 The disciples asked him, “Where will we find enough food
in this desert to feed this crowd?”
34 “How much bread do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven loaves,” they answered, “and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and
the fish, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to the disciples; and
the disciples gave them to the people. 37 They all ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up seven baskets
full of pieces left over. 38 The
number of men who ate was four thousand, not counting the women and
children.
39 Then Jesus sent the people away, got into a boat, and
went to the territory of Magadan.
There you
have it. He loved the Gentiles as much as he loved the Jews. It’s a fallacy to think Jesus’ power
and wisdom is Jewish specific. Let’s Jewish crowd of
5,000. [slide]
· Jesus felt compassion for the both crowds. The
same exact Greek word describes what Jesus felt for Jews and for Gentiles.
· Jesus healed the sick in both crowds.
· He served the same menu: bread and fish.
· He showed same hospitality: Had crowd sit and
disciples served them.
· He prayed over each meal.
· Both crowds ate and were satisfied with plenty
of leftovers.
· He sent the people to their home.
Jesus was true to
form. [slide] For the
LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes (Deuteronomy 10:17).
Of course, if
it’s true of God, it is also true of Jesus. For the two women what counted with Jesus was not their religious orientation. It was their faith. For the crowds
what counted with Jesus was not their religious
orientation. It was their need.
[??? – slide]
Where
did Jesus get his wisdom and power? From a God who loves the whole world.
There’s
one more important lesson to be had from this discussion. Let’s take another look at the outline.
[slide]
What’s
up for grabs here in the big picture is what is what power and wisdom are going
to guide your life? There are
really two contenders: tradition and the word of God. Or another way to look at it is the
ideas of humanity versus the mind of God.
Just
look at the state of the world and you can see that tradition and the ideas of
humanity are severely lacking. We
won’t go through all the ways but we will highlight one.
[slide] God’s
word is inclusive. The gospel is
inclusive. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts
2:21).
[slide] But
tradition is exclusive. The Jewish
tradition excluded Gentiles. God had told them: “When an alien lives with you in your
land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your
native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your
God (Leviticus 19:33).” But
tradition negated God’s word.
[slide] Let’s
look at two examples of how tradition has nullified the word of God. These examples are take from It’s time to Confront the Exclusionary
Ethnocentrism in Jewish Sacred Literature (i.e. the Talmud not the Torah)
written by Allan C. Brownfeld, Executive Director of the American Council of
Judaism.
[slide] The verse, “Thou shalt love thy fellow as
thyself” (Leviticus 19:13) is understood by classical and present day Orthodox
Judaism as an indication to love one’s fellow Jew, not any fellow human being.
The generous injunction to leave the gleanings of one’s field and vineyard
`for the poor and the stranger’ (Leviticus 9:10) is interpreted as referring exclusively
to the Jewish poor and to converts to Judaism.
No wonder Jesus hated their tradition. It excluded the Gentiles from God’s
goodness: his love and justice. Now
think about this: Does Jesus hate any of our traditions? Do any of our traditions put a barrier
between God and people who aren’t followers of Jesus. Let’s look at a list of our
traditions:
10am worship on Sunday morning
Worshipping in a church building
Pews
Hymns
Superstition
Political Convictions
Chipman
Tradition is like having a lot of inside
jokes. No one else gets them. The gospel is inclusive; so inclusive
it’s a tailor fit to everyone you know. Or as our next hymn (All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!) puts it: It’s
for every kindred, every tribe, on this terrestrial
ball.
Youth Message
Jesus loves all the children of the world!
Mrs.
McKnight is going to teach us a song this morning, Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World. You may already know
it and then we’re going to have a concert.
Jesus Loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow black and white
They're all precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
Whether you're rich or whether you're poor
It matters not to him
He remembers where you're going
Not where you've been
If you're heart is troubled
Don't worry, don't you fret
He knows that you have heard his call
And he won't forget
All around the world tonight
His chidren rest assured
That he will watch, and he will keep us
Safe and secure
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