Part two
The biggest difficulty one might have in accounting for the apparently flagrant exclusion of the Gentiles during the ministry of Jesus could be a result of one’s lack of understanding concerning the plan and purpose of His ministry; the timing of God; and a misunderstanding of certain passages of Scripture.The most common Scripture passage cited when presenting the case of Jesus’ exclusion of ministry to the Gentiles is found in the Gospel of Mark 7:24-30. There we have the account of Jesus meeting a Gentile woman who requests of Him that He heal her daughter that is possessed by a devil. It is now Jesus’ answer to her that brings about all of the confusion and misunderstandings and accusations railed against Him. Lets look at what Jesus says in verse 27. "Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." Certainly from a casual perusal of a statement like that it is easy to see the origin of trouble in a Westerner’s mind. But you can be sure that Scripture is not written with the intent to satisfy a casual perusal, nor a Westerner’s mind. On the contrary it is recondite passages such as this that requires some study and research into axioms and culture and languages in order to find accurate meanings.
However, before I briefly discuss that further, it will also lend to a clearer understanding by pointing out that this is not the first or only encounter of Jesus and a Gentile. In fact there are several encounters recorded in Scripture and it is important to note that on not one of the occasions; including the occasion under present discussion, were any of the Gentiles turned away, nor did their needs go unmet. Nor, I might add, could they possibly have left from their encounter with the Lord and go away unchanged themselves. Consider for yourself the very familiar story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well in John chap. 4. Or the Centurion Jesus commended with great faith not seen in all Israel. (Matt. 8:10).
There is no argument against saying that clearly the primary purpose in the ministry of Jesus was not to go to the Gentiles, however He never turned down any of the Gentiles that came to Him. I will even venture to say that support can be given to prove that these Gentile encounters recorded for us in Scripture were not by accident or coincidental. In fact, if it is believed that anything Jesus did or said could have been accidental or coincidental, then a bigger problem is at stake than this paper can deal with. Jesus said, I only do the things I see the Father do, and I only say the things I hear the Father say.
With these points in mind we can again look further into the text for this topic more inductively. The first thing to notice is that we are told that Jesus "went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house…" vs.24. Thus the region to which He purposely traveled was a Gentile populated town, and from that we can surmise that it was a Gentile’s home into which He entered. From this alone we might draw a comparison of John chapter 4:4 that says: "And He must needs go through Samaria." It is there, at a well, where a conversation takes place between Him and a Gentile woman that changes her life, and has been the subject of many a life changing sermons ever since.
The fact that Jesus purposed to go to the places that He went is strong support for saying that He was not surprised at what laid in wait for Him when He got there. That a Gentile woman would take the opportunity to obtain a healing for her daughter, having heard of His reputation; and that Jesus was in a Gentile territory; should not be surprising. Next we find that this woman came in and fell at His feet. This act indicates several things. It is an act of submission; an act of worship; an act of humility; and an act of desperation. It is in knowing this that makes us recoil when first hearing the response from the lips of Jesus when besought with such pleadings.
You can be sure that the Scriptures never waste words. There is always a lesson in what we are not being told, as much as what we are being told, and all the more so when certain details are included. Many times; and I believe this is no exception; Jesus is aware of His audience and uses the occasion as an object lesson at the same time. There are other Scriptures that tell us that all that were sick and diseased and possessed with devils that were brought to him, Jesus healed. (Matt. 4:24). There are no details given in this verse of any healing summarized in the word all, and yet in the passage to which we are dealing: there are many details given of the woman; her nationality; and the condition of her daughter.
So then, why did Jesus say what He said, and what did He mean when He said it? I believe Jesus had every intention of answering the woman’s request. I also believe that this encounter with her was part of the reason for His being there. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just for the Jewish nation, so there is no exclusion at the cross! But there is order and first things first so to speak. Jesus was not saying that her need was not important, but was establishing His calling to the Jews first. If one had a dog you would not starve the dog just because you had children, but you would certainly take care of the children’s need first. This is not to say either that Jesus thought of her as a dog, but it is also commonly known by both sides that Gentiles were referred to as dogs by the Jews. Jesus was not condoning this attitude either, but provoked her response, which was His whole purpose from the beginning!
For her to answer that "yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs " (vs.28) does not make light of the mercy, but in the presence of those that are there magnifies the abundance of cures to the Jews, in which a single cure for her daughter is but a crumb from the table. Oh such love; such faith; such persistence from the woman, and such compassion from our Lord. How much greater do we receive with thankfulness, that which we have all the more struggled to get. What we are told is that her daughter’s healing was granted because of her answer. What we are not told is the change that was made in her own heart that day. Consider the possibility from your own experiences how different her reaction might have been had her daughter been cured from just her asking. How often do we sometimes think of God as a giant lottery machine? We will play our "prayer ticket" and hope for a big pay off. Or as a slot machine in the sky that we insert a ten cent prayer for a million dollar answer! Perhaps she just came seeking a cure for her daughter from any source she thought might provide it. Perhaps she has been dealing with her daughter’s problem for a lengthy time and has run out of resources to find a cure, and Jesus was another shot in the dark. We are not told, but if such were the case her very own words may have set herself and those that were there straight as to why the Messiah was restricting his activity to the Jews. Sometimes we enforce the lessons we learn by the way that we learn them. A great lesson had been taught to all, and that by a great Teacher!
So then, from this we have learned more of the purpose and order in the mission of Jesus and have seen that He was fulfilling the Divine calling during His short three and a half year ministry. To the Jews first. Not at the exclusion of the Gentiles, but Divine order called for the Messiah to go to His own first. Once the process had begun, then the "great commission" found in Acts 1:8 could be given, and even there the progressive order is established. To be witnesses in Jerusalem first; then Judaea; then Samaria; and then on into the uttermost parts of the world.
Thus when persecution had forced the early Christians to flee for their lives and spread them into the surrounding lands, they were fulfilling the commission by constraint. Ironically God uses the greatest persecutor instigating this spreading of Jewish Christians into far away regions, to be the greatest defender of the message of the Gospel and ultimately Paul defines it for us in writing two thirds of the New Testament.
A broad overview of the history of mankind seems to be a slow and tedious process of redemption. We would prefer to speed things up to bring about a conclusion, "But the Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9. First the promise of a Savior given in the Garden Then a Nation is established to bring about the seed through which He would come. Then His arrival, and the redemptive process for creation continues throughout the ages all redounding to the Glory and Praise of our Eternal God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
AMEN.
