September 20th, 2020 Study Guide
Crumbs For Dogs - Mark 7:24-30
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHT: Jesus dealt with those considered as religious outcasts with grace and mercy. No one was off-limits.
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon… (Mark 7:24a).
EXPLANATION: Tyre represented the most extreme expression of paganism, both actually and symbolically, that a Jew could expect to encounter. It would not be considered a desirable place to minister.
QUESTION: Is there any nation you would like to skip over in missions? What makes them unworthy in your mind? What would Jesus do?
ANSWER: Jesus is not for just one nation. He is for all nations, and we should be as well.
QUESTION: On a scale of 1-10, what is your passion level for personal evangelism and world missions? Why?
25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter (Mark 7:25-26).
QUESTION: How is the Phonecian woman different from the Pharisees?
ANSWER: The Pharisees were self-righteous, self-assured, and self-aggrandizing. Yet, in all their religiosity and pride, they lacked true faith. They felt no need. The Phonecian woman had faith that demonstrated her understanding of the desperateness of her condition. She knew she needed Christ's power, compassion, and grace.
QUESTION: Why is it that we are sometimes surprised by those who do exercise faith? True faith is often found in unlikely places by unlikely people.
QUESTION: For those of you who are parents, how much do you plead with God for your children’s salvation and spiritual growth?
QUESTION: Like the Phonecian woman, do you pray prayers of desperation for yourself? Do you beg God for his help and power in your life?
QUESTION: We like to tell ourselves we are righteous and OK, spiritually. Do you understand that you are in the same spiritual condition as the Phonecian woman? Our spiritual condition without Christ is desperate; we cannot change it in our own power and strength. We need Jesus.
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 (Mark 7:27).
EXPLANATION: Jesus is gently letting this woman know that she is outside of the family because she is a Gentile and that she is outside of the people to whom the covenant promises were made. She brought no merit of her own to the moment.
QUESTION: Do you understand that people who come to Christ have no merit of their own to approach Him? How should that affect the way you come before Christ?
But she answered him, Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs (Mark 7:28).
EXPLANATION: Essentially, she said, “When the provision of the father for his children is so rich that crumbs drop off of the table, the dogs can eat at the same time as the children. I would be glad to be a dog and to eat the morsels off the table of this One.” She didn’t fight the diagnosis inside; she accepted the description. She owned it. She was who Jesus said she was.
POINT: If we receive the “crumb” of salvation, we are no longer dogs but children of the King.
APPLICATION: We should be thankful that we have eaten of the crumbs and that our souls are no longer bound for hell.
29 And he said to her, For this statement, you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter. 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon was gone (Mark 7:29-30).
EXPLANATION: Jesus commends her for what He calls mega faith (Matthew 15:28) and dismisses her with the promise that her daughter is healed.
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon… (Mark 7:24a).
EXPLANATION: Tyre represented the most extreme expression of paganism, both actually and symbolically, that a Jew could expect to encounter. It would not be considered a desirable place to minister.
QUESTION: Is there any nation you would like to skip over in missions? What makes them unworthy in your mind? What would Jesus do?
ANSWER: Jesus is not for just one nation. He is for all nations, and we should be as well.
QUESTION: On a scale of 1-10, what is your passion level for personal evangelism and world missions? Why?
25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter (Mark 7:25-26).
QUESTION: How is the Phonecian woman different from the Pharisees?
ANSWER: The Pharisees were self-righteous, self-assured, and self-aggrandizing. Yet, in all their religiosity and pride, they lacked true faith. They felt no need. The Phonecian woman had faith that demonstrated her understanding of the desperateness of her condition. She knew she needed Christ's power, compassion, and grace.
QUESTION: Why is it that we are sometimes surprised by those who do exercise faith? True faith is often found in unlikely places by unlikely people.
QUESTION: For those of you who are parents, how much do you plead with God for your children’s salvation and spiritual growth?
QUESTION: Like the Phonecian woman, do you pray prayers of desperation for yourself? Do you beg God for his help and power in your life?
QUESTION: We like to tell ourselves we are righteous and OK, spiritually. Do you understand that you are in the same spiritual condition as the Phonecian woman? Our spiritual condition without Christ is desperate; we cannot change it in our own power and strength. We need Jesus.
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 (Mark 7:27).
EXPLANATION: Jesus is gently letting this woman know that she is outside of the family because she is a Gentile and that she is outside of the people to whom the covenant promises were made. She brought no merit of her own to the moment.
QUESTION: Do you understand that people who come to Christ have no merit of their own to approach Him? How should that affect the way you come before Christ?
But she answered him, Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs (Mark 7:28).
EXPLANATION: Essentially, she said, “When the provision of the father for his children is so rich that crumbs drop off of the table, the dogs can eat at the same time as the children. I would be glad to be a dog and to eat the morsels off the table of this One.” She didn’t fight the diagnosis inside; she accepted the description. She owned it. She was who Jesus said she was.
POINT: If we receive the “crumb” of salvation, we are no longer dogs but children of the King.
APPLICATION: We should be thankful that we have eaten of the crumbs and that our souls are no longer bound for hell.
29 And he said to her, For this statement, you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter. 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon was gone (Mark 7:29-30).
EXPLANATION: Jesus commends her for what He calls mega faith (Matthew 15:28) and dismisses her with the promise that her daughter is healed.
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