The Elbert County tribune., 1912-10-18

s:s7
Chronologically the incident OF the
centurions servent preoedes that OF
the Syrophenician woman, though we
will look at them in the order sug
gested. The one incident occurs near
the border Of Tyre and Sidon, prob
ably about May or June, A. D. 30. and
the other in Capernaum during the
summer of A. D. 2S. Both are Incl
dents in the life of Jesus that have
to do with his ministry as the Hebrew
Messiah to those who were outside OF
the pale of Judaism.
At the beginning of Marks record
". 24) we have wonderful sugges
ton as to the strain of Jesus, ministry
and the accompanying lesson that
true Righteousness cannot be hid, 1t
speaks for itself.
There are four uses of the word
answered" In Matthew's record of
this incident Matt. 15:21-28) that are
suggestive. Let US first, however. get
the setting. This woman was a Greef
"a GENTLE; by race she was a Sy
rophenician, that is. Canaanite.
Thus she was descendant of that
race whom God. by the hand of Josh
ua, had driven out to make room for
the Hebrew nation. and as such Is
under the ban OF God. See Eph. 2:12
Yet this woman reaches Jesus, her
trouble being that her daughter is
possessed by an unclean spirit. At
her approach she takes lowly place
at Jesus feet and requests that he
heal the child. She calls him the
Son of David" and He answered
her not a word" Matt. 1929. She
had no claim upon him as the Mos
siah. This was the wrong footing. fol-
she was not child of the kingdom.
1t was her need that drove her to
him. How she had heard of him is
suggested in Mark 3:S and 7:24, CT
Rom. 1917. There are some ques-
tion that silence will not answer. A
wrong conclusion will be reached, as
in this case the disciples came to
send her away" Contrast Jesus
patience with the disciples impa-
tience. "she crieth after US" and en-
phasize the danger of external judg'
ment There are many great moral
issues today that are demanding an
other answer than that of silence.
The Answer Of Law.
Jesus then made second answer.
the answer of law, Matthew 1924, in
which he accepts her estimate of him
as the Jewish Messiah. His work
was primarily to the Jews John 1:11.
12). But her need was great, and
4
the child she "worshipped" Jesus.
He is more than the Messiah, he is
Saviour. Not yet. however. is Jesus
ready to grant her request. His third
answer ". 25). the answer of mercy,
is literally that first the children
must be fed. and she replied, "Yea,
Lord; even the dogs under the table
eat of the children's crumbs" For
this saying. viz, that she did not pro
test against the words he had spoken
but accepted the proper estimate of
him as being the Jewish Messiah and
herself as outside Of that covenant
he made fourth answer, the answer
to faith. He answered: 20, woman.
great is thy faith" v. %, and grants
her carte blanc ". 2s). "be it unto
thee even as thou wilt" AS outcasts,
we must cast ourselves "at his feet"
Let us now look at the account of
the centurion's servant. Once more
Jesus is appealed to by one who Is
outside the Hebrew covenant and on
behalf of servant In the other in
cident there was the interruption of
a seeming refusal and here the inter-
ruption of an instantaneous granting
of the request. Again we need to
read the parallel accounts given by
the other evangelists. Verse ten OF
this section is the key to this whole
story. What are some of the marks
of great faith?" First, it is
tested. The servant was dear unto
the centurion" Luke 7:2. Second, 1t
is progressive when he heard OF
Jesus" Luke 7:3. Third. 1t will be
recognized by others, Luke 7:4.
The Great Faith.
The protest In v. 9, and the remark
able commentator OF Jesus thereon,
is solemn warning to all who are In
covenant relations with God and his
Son whom he has sent. Jesus had there
glimpse of that great coming day
when all Gentiles would be gathered
unto him, v. IL (cf. Rev. 7:9). The
centurion received for his faith COM
mendation. and healing for his servant
as well, v. 13.
Why should there be such a differ
ence in the treatment of these two
when we read of each that they had
great faith Matthew 1928 and 8:1c.
The difference can be explained only
by the fact that the Master knew all
the facts about both and he adopted
such tactics for each as were best
suited to the case. This impresses
us with the truth that personal work
h.rn Il 4.