Title: Unclean Trust
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Mark 7:24-37
We can easily accept the concept that none of us is worthy, none of us is righteous, none of us has any claim to present before God on our merits. At the same time, we easily and readily make a big deal of just how some group or another exists on some other plane of unworthiness, unrighteousness, or less than the average human. Maybe it's their allegiance to a politician or party. Maybe it's economic standing. Maybe it's one's immigration status, nationality, educational level, criminal record, or mental illness. If none of us are truly worthy, however, how do we determine who is worthy enough?
Jesus has just been engaging the issue of rules and traditions in opposition to fulfilling God's singular command, the heart of God's will. The next thing we hear from Mark is not that Jesus merely left town, he left Israel altogether. He took his disciples and left the region, going to what had been known as the land of the Phoenicians on the edge of Syria, in the southern part of modern day Lebanon. It was pretty obvious he was going to encounter people outside the fold of Israel on this journey. He stepped out of Israel to enter lands that had never been part of Israel, even at its greatest expansion under Solomon. Mark tells us he was not looking to be found, although it would be hard to hide a band of Jews traveling outside of Israel, as their dress, customs, and speech stood out all too easily.
While he took refuge in a home opened to him, a local sought him out. She was not of Hebrew or Jewish ancestry. She was of two peoples disconnected from Abraham's descendants. The Phoenicians had come to the land from the sea, while the Syrians had come from the North. Both peoples had a history of leading the Jews into idolatry, specifically the worship of Ba'al. Despite being completely disconnected with Jesus and his Jewish heritage, she knew who he was. She had heard of miracles and healings he had ...
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Mark 7:24-37
We can easily accept the concept that none of us is worthy, none of us is righteous, none of us has any claim to present before God on our merits. At the same time, we easily and readily make a big deal of just how some group or another exists on some other plane of unworthiness, unrighteousness, or less than the average human. Maybe it's their allegiance to a politician or party. Maybe it's economic standing. Maybe it's one's immigration status, nationality, educational level, criminal record, or mental illness. If none of us are truly worthy, however, how do we determine who is worthy enough?
Jesus has just been engaging the issue of rules and traditions in opposition to fulfilling God's singular command, the heart of God's will. The next thing we hear from Mark is not that Jesus merely left town, he left Israel altogether. He took his disciples and left the region, going to what had been known as the land of the Phoenicians on the edge of Syria, in the southern part of modern day Lebanon. It was pretty obvious he was going to encounter people outside the fold of Israel on this journey. He stepped out of Israel to enter lands that had never been part of Israel, even at its greatest expansion under Solomon. Mark tells us he was not looking to be found, although it would be hard to hide a band of Jews traveling outside of Israel, as their dress, customs, and speech stood out all too easily.
While he took refuge in a home opened to him, a local sought him out. She was not of Hebrew or Jewish ancestry. She was of two peoples disconnected from Abraham's descendants. The Phoenicians had come to the land from the sea, while the Syrians had come from the North. Both peoples had a history of leading the Jews into idolatry, specifically the worship of Ba'al. Despite being completely disconnected with Jesus and his Jewish heritage, she knew who he was. She had heard of miracles and healings he had ...
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