Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Faith Displayed

Bryan Schneider · February 11, 2023

Mark 7:24-30

sharonrpc.org/sermons/faith-displayed

Summary

Jesus travels into the Gentile region of Tyre, where a Greek Syrophoenician mother approaches him in desperate love for her afflicted daughter.
The woman crosses social, ethnic, and religious barriers, falls at Jesus' feet, and keeps pleading because she recognizes him as her only hope.
Jesus' difficult saying about children and dogs highlights Israel's priority in salvation history and tests whether the woman will continue trusting his grace.
Her answer accepts Jesus' ordering, addresses him as Lord, and confidently reasons that even crumbs beneath the table display the master's abundant goodness.
Jesus recognizes her response as great faith and delivers her daughter from a distance, revealing grace extending to Gentiles.
Faith is humble, persevering reception of and rest upon Jesus himself, not confidence in ethnicity, entitlement, emotional intensity, or human merit.
By faith Gentile believers are adopted as God's children and invited not merely to crumbs but to the royal wedding feast.

Do I approach Jesus as one entitled to his help or as a needy sinner appealing to his mercy?
When an answer is difficult or delayed, do I abandon prayer or continue trusting Christ's goodness?
Who or what has become an alternative refuge before I finally come to Jesus' feet?
Is my faith fixed on Jesus himself or on the intensity of my feelings and the worthiness of my request?
How can I bring a suffering or wandering loved one to the throne of grace in persistent prayer?
Do I recognize faith itself as the Spirit's gift rather than a capacity I generate by willpower?
How does adoption change the way I understand my place at God's table?

Syrophoenician: A Gentile woman from the Phoenician region of Syria, outside Israel's covenant ancestry by birth.
Jew first: The priority of Israel in the historical unfolding of God's saving promises before the gospel's worldwide extension.
Persevering faith: Trust that continues appealing to Christ's mercy even when his initial answer is difficult.
Object of faith: Jesus Christ himself, received and rested upon as the saving content of the gospel.
Adoption: God's gracious welcome of believers as sons and daughters with a place in his household.
Wedding supper: The final kingdom banquet shared by Christ and his redeemed people from every nation.