"Not A Crumb Is Wasted"

Christ Rules! Gospel of Mark Series (part 15)

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Mark 7:24-30

OUTLINE

Focus:  The proud love to be accommodated by the best—the gourmet meal, the VIP treatment.  Leftovers would be an insult.  On the other hand, humble starving souls long for crumbs off the table, or under the table.  Not a crumb is wasted on the humble.  Humility is prerequisite for receiving benefits from Christ.

I.                 Jesus Still Offends the Proud

II.               Jesus Will Test Your Humility

III.             His Crumbs Satisfy the Humble

            A.  Humble Yourself And You Will Be Exalted

            B.  Exalt Yourself And You Will Be Humiliated

            C.  Humble Yourself Or Be Humiliated

And Now Introducing. . .

Lloyd Ogilvie, former pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church, and a popular speaker and writer once spoke at a large convention. The woman who introduced him began by saying, "we have a very unusual privilege tonight. In our midst is without a doubt the world's finest communicator. He is extremely sensitive, alert, compassionate and wise. He can sense a person's true needs immediately and speak just the right word to heal a hurt."

Dr. Ogilvie later confessed that he felt both flattered and frightened. How could he live up to all that? He didn't have to. For as the woman came to the end she said, "We are in for a tremendous experience tonight because this supreme lover of people is in our midst. Who is He? He is Jesus Christ. And now here is a man named Lloyd Ogilvie who will tell us about Him.[i]

Sermon Title

Today we are going to look at pride and humility.  Tell me, do you think this would have been a better title for a sermon on humility:   How’s this for a title:  “Jim Hammond’s Very Good Sermon on Humility”  That title shows you just how elusive humility can be.

True humility is not looking down on yourself but looking up to Christ.

Why is it important that we learn about pride and humility?  Because humility is a prerequisite for receiving any benefits from Christ.  Here is the same truth in the negative: pride is a barrier to receiving any benefits from Christ.  Pride is that cork in the bottle under the waterfall of grace.  It keeps the grace from entering.  Humility is admitting you are needy, removing that cork.

Focus:  The proud love to be accommodated by the best, the gourmet meal, the VIP treatment.  Leftovers would be an insult.  On the other hand, humble starving souls long for crumbs off the table, or under the table.  Not a crumb is wasted on the humble.  Humility is prerequisite for receiving benefits from Christ.

Not the Sunday School Jesus

In the passage we are going to study together this morning, I think you will find one of Jesus’ statements shocking.  The Sunday School Jesus we learned about as children was never offensive.  But what about the real Jesus?  The Jesus we learn about as children perhaps has omitted some of his very harsh statements.  We picture the friendly Jesus, or the Jesus who smiles at children, or holds a sweet lamb.  Do you ever picture the offensive Jesus?  Can you think of any times in Jesus’ ministry where he said something offensive? 

Let me help you.

“You Hypocrites!”  (You find a whole stack of offensive remarks in Matthew 23)

• "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."
• “You blind fools”
• “you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
• "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?"

We’ve taken these statements and learned to see Jesus words as the harsh confrontation necessary to cut through the calloused hardness of heart of the Pharisees.  But in today’s passage we will find a statement that sounds harsh spoken to a troubled mother seeking help for her daughter.

See if you hear an offensive remark in the passage we are studying today:  Mark 7:23-30

(Mark 7:24-30 NIV)  "Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. {25} In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. {26} The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. {27} "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." {28} "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." {29} Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." {30} She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone."

Wow.  What’s going on here?  

Jesus compares this woman, a Gentile, to a dog, and the Jews to Children around the table and he’s feeding them bread.  Isn’t that insulting?

Would you feel insulted if you were compared to a dog?

Here let me help some of you.  This is an edited version of something Richard forwarded to me.  The source is unknown.

How dogs and men are the same:

• Both take up too much space on the bed.
• Both have irrational fears about vacuum cleaning.
• Neither tells you what's bothering them.
• Neither understands what you see in cats.
• Neither do any dishes.
• Neither of them notices when you get your hair cut.

How dogs are better than men:

• Dogs do not have problems expressing affection in public.
• Dogs miss you when you're gone.
• Dogs feel guilty when they've done something wrong.
• Dogs admit when they're jealous
• Dogs are very direct about wanting to go out.
• Dogs do not play games with you-except fetch (and they never laugh at how you throw)
• Dogs are easy to buy for.
• Dogs understand what "no" means.
• You can train a dog.

Now do some of you feel a bit insulted?  And this was the more tasteful edited version.   Was Jesus insulting the woman when he compared her to a dog?

Without explaining anything yet, let me simply say. . .

I.        Jesus Still Offends the Proud

            People are still Offended by Jesus

·          “Who do they think they are?  Those Christians think they are better than us!”

·          “How can those Christians be so arrogant as to think everyone else besides themselves are lost, and going to hell.” 

·          “Are You implying that I’m a bad person.”

When the Miami Herald refused to carry an Easter advertisement submitted by Jesus Fellowship, an 800-member, nondenominational charismatic church in the city, the congregation fought back via the Internet.

Publisher David Lawrence, Jr., would not allow the congregation to advertise its Easter services on the paper's home-delivery yellow polybag covers used to protect newspapers from foul weather.

Church leaders say they were told the ad, which featured the words Jesus Fellowship in large letters, was "offensive." The church turned to the Internet to publicize its plight, posting a "Religious Discrimination at The Miami Herald" title on its Web site and asking readers to e-mail the Herald with protests. The church says it received 2,000 copies of e-mail protests.

After a visit from the church's attorney, the publisher ran the advertisement three times inside the newspaper at no cost. Lawrence, who is Roman Catholic, also published an editorial on Easter asking readers what they would do in his place. The response was 3 to 2 in the paper's favor, the Herald reported.

"It seems to me insensitive to many people of another faith to go outside their doors in the morning, expect their newspaper, and be greeted by a bag on behalf of another faith," Lawrence wrote. "It also seems to me that many Christians would feel exactly the same about that bag on behalf of a non-Christian faith."

Pastor Rick Patterson found such reasoning illogical. "If it is 'insensitive' on the outside of the polybag, then it is insensitive on the inside of the paper," he says.[ii]

Why is Jesus offensive?  Because people who don’t believe in Him understand that if Jesus is right, they are wrong!  Jesus never allows a middle of the road approach to him. 

The Gospel rightly understood means a lower view of self and that can offend our egos.

Humanism VS Christianity

During construction of Emerson Hall at Harvard University, president Charles Eliot invited psychologist and philosopher William James to suggest a suitable inscription for the stone lintel over the doors of the new home of the philosophy department.

   After some reflection, James sent Eliot a line from the Greek philosopher Protagoras: "Man is the measure of all things."

   James never heard back from Eliot, so his curiosity was piqued when he spotted artisans working on a scaffold hidden by a canvas. One morning the scaffold and canvas were gone. The inscription? "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" Eliot had replaced James's suggestion with words from the Psalmist. Between these two lines lies the great distance between the God-centered and the human-centered points of view. [iii]

A.W. Tozer put it this way:

   The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather, he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is, in the sight of God, more important than angels. ... He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring. [iv]

Let’s get back to the SyroPhoenician Woman.  Let’s attempt to understand what is taking place here.  Her background is the all important context for understanding Jesus’ comments to her.

{26} The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia.

The woman is a Greek.  She is a Gentile Pagan.  Understand what this means.  It must be assumed that she believes in and serves other false gods!  But when she hears about Jesus and what he can do she seeks him out.  This is not at all incompatible with her beliefs.  She already believes in many gods.  She already believes in the weird.  She has heard convincing stories about Jesus, and she’s desperate!  So she comes to Jesus.  .  In fact, Matthew writing to a Jewish audience says the Woman is a Canaanite.  These were the ancient enemies of the Jews.  The city she comes from is one of the great enemies of Israel.  Historically, they oppressed Israel.  The Jews of her day shared the view that contact with such a Gentile made one unclean, a defilement by the touch.

Her request then is creating a dramatic tension.  At first Jesus is silent.  (SEE Matthew 15:22-23).  Is Jesus’ silence testing his disciples?  Then Jesus makes the statement that is offensive to our ears, and to us seems a bit unfair.  If Jesus said this today to some nonchurch going person, don’t you think that most people in our day would be offended?  But I want you to notice something--this woman was not offended!

So we have the truth with us today, Jesus still offends the Proud.  Secondly, . . .

II.               Jesus Will Test Your Humility

An entire message series for a year could be given on how God tests the humility of his servants:

o      Adam’s first test was a test of humility.  Will he believe God, or will he assert himself to gain what he perceives as greatness—becoming like God himself by eating of the forbidden fruit?

o      Jesus’ humility was tested in the wilderness before his mission 40 days.  Will he go the way of humility or will he assert himself as king?

o      Moses’ humility was tested in the desert 40 years before he came to the burning bush.

o      Paul’s faith was tested by his “thorn in the flesh” and the lesson he learned was to see his weakness as his strength.  It forced him to depend upon God.

o      Every man’s faith will be tested to see if we depend upon ourselves or upon God.  This is the test of humility.  The Gospel itself is a test of humility.  Will we trust God for salvation, or believe we are good enough to stand before God on judgment day?

There are many surprises in this section.  

·       Surprise # 1.  Jesus says something that sounds offensive to our ears, and he says it to someone who is seeking his help. 

·       Surprise # 2  The Woman chose not to be Offended. 

·       Surprise # 3 She understood what Jesus meant.  She understands that she is not a Jew, that she is not one of the “children” but one of the “dogs”.  Most of Jesus’ listeners up to this point are always missing Jesus’ meaning.  They didn’t get the meaning of what really defiles a person, what really makes them unclean.  They didn’t get the implications with regard to the miraculous provision of bread.  But this woman understands that Jesus gives out bread.  She is willing to stoop merely for the crumbs she knows she doesn’t deserve.  She appeals to his mercy, not his justice!   Pride appeals to justice.  Humility appeals to mercy!   I don’t know about you.  But I don’t want the justice of God.  I want his mercy.  So does this woman.   She understands that “the children” are the Jews, and “the dogs” are the Gentiles.

Poem:

How Odd

Of God

To Choose

The Jews

To which Leo Rosten responded

Not Odd

Of God.

Goyim

Annoy ‘im.[v]

·       Surprise # 4:  She accepts what Jesus implies yet is persistent: (she is asking for something that she doesn’t deserve, and is out of order but this doesn’t stop her faith, or persistence.)  She is not embittered.  In fact she is the first person to speak to Jesus constructively about his mission.  Jesus is talking about his mission, and the woman brings out clearly that what Jesus brings will bless everyone—Jew and Gentile.  And what she is insisting is that the Gentile doesn’t need to wait.  He is there now.  All she wants are the leftovers.  The crumbs.  The tossed away pieces.  The pieces the children won’t miss at all. 

·       Surprise # 5:  Jesus’ commends this Gentile’s faith and persistence

She was saying, "Lord, I know that I don’t deserve Your love; just give me a few scraps of blessings that have fallen from the children’s table, crumbs that they won’t miss." Jesus saw the woman’s great faith and healed her daughter instantly. 

Jesus will test you, but we take heart knowing he sent nobody away empty handed except for those who were so full of themselves they could receive nothing from him. 

Jesus still offends the proud, and he still tests the humble.  But the humble learn something from his tests.

III.  His Crumbs Satisfy the Humble

Jesus healed her daugher!

A.    Humble Yourself And You Will Be Exalted

Jesus Commended Her Faith! (Mark 7:29 and compare Matthew 15:28)

Humility has such a practical side to it.  It is so mundane.  It shows up in the little things.  In a marriage relationship, it is humility that helps us to admit we are wrong.  It is also humility that makes us easier to live with when we are right.

Knowing God makes us humble; knowing ourselves keeps us humble.

Before God exalts a person, he humbles him.   If you want that process to be less painful, humble yourself before God so he doesn’t have to humiliate you.

B.    Exalt Yourself And You Will Be Humiliated

“We Americans generally want to think of ourselves as good people. That, in many respects, is where the trouble begins.”[vi].

The Gospel starts on a different foot.  The good news isn’t recognized until you understand first that you need it.

“Muhammad Ali was in his prime, and as he was about to take off on an airplane flight, the stewardess reminded him to fasten his seat belt. He came back brashly, "Superman don't need no seat belt." The stewardess quickly came back, "Superman don't need no airplane, either." Ali fastened his belt.”[vii]

“A pastor was asked to speak for a certain charitable organization. After the meeting the program chairman handed the pastor a check. "Oh, I couldn't take this," the pastor said with some embarrassment. "I appreciate the honor of being asked to speak. You have better uses for this money. You apply it to one of those uses." The program chairman asked, "Well, do you mind if we put it into our Special Fund?" The pastor replied, "Of course not. What is the special fund for?" The chairman answered, "It's so we can get a better speaker next year.” [viii]

C.    Humble Yourself Or Be Humiliated

The man who bows the lowest in the presence of God stands the straightest in the presence of sin.

WHAT DOES JESUS COMMEND: 

1.     The woman came to Jesus,

2.     put her faith in Jesus,

3.     looked up to Jesus,  (fell at his feet, begged [assumed a position of humility])

4.     acknowledged her need (Stayed in the position of humility even after the “dog”/ “children” comparison),

5.     admitted the truth about herself (CONFESSION). 

6.     She persistently sought the crumbs OF MERCY from Jesus’

Here’s a shorter way of summarizing what I’ve been saying to you this morning.  Stay humble or stumble.

Close with Communion Service: 

Acknowledge the glory of the Bread from Christ’s Table.  We actually partake of little more than a morsel, a crumb from the mercy of God.  But the wonder of it is the fact that we receive more than a crumb.  That mercy transformed we who were “dogs” into adopted “children”, heirs of the promise, children of Abraham, through the seed of Christ.

There is one thing worse than being called a dog.  That’s being a dog, and not being interested in the crumbs from Christ that are all around us.  The term for “dogs” that Jesus used was not the same term “dogs” that the Jews normally used in reference to the Gentiles.  The Jews used the term for those dogs that roamed the streets on the outside, those scavengers who were a nuisance to people.  Jesus used the term “dogs” that referred to the inside house pet, hence looking for crumbs and table scraps.  Jesus reply was perhaps encouraging to the Gentile woman, because she could still look forward to the “scraps”.  From that thought she persisted in pressing to gain the crumbs she was looking for.  Such persistent faith was commended.

Prayer:  Lord, again we come before you to acknowledge our need.  We identify with this woman.  We have no merit of our own.  We, like her, have sought our own ways, we have done our own thing, we have sinned and come before you guilty.  Yet, we, like her, have needs that we bring before you.  Knowing that we in ourselves don’t deserve the bread, we appeal to your mercy.  Let the crumbs of your grace fall to us, the hungry undeserving ones.  We thank you so much for your mercy.  You have done more for us than you did even for this woman.  You changed us,  from “dogs” to “children of God”.  You have given us the bread of life, not just the crumbs off the table.  Thank you for loving us as your children.  Thank you for adopting us and giving us Your Name, and Your Life.  All the riches in Christ are now ours.  We are truly humbled by the wonder of your grace.