Reflective Bible Study

In what some may call the most insensitive event in all the gospels, we come to a passage where it appears as though Jesus ignores someone asking for help, before out rightly insulting her. While this doesn’t sound at all like Jesus, part of me wonders if some of this was meant to be an example for those present and for us today regarding the idea of faith and persistence.

Let’s read what happened, and what we can discover from this event. Our passage and event are found in Matthew, chapter 15, and we will read it from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 21, Matthew tells us that:

²¹ Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.”

²³ Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, “Send her away. She keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”

²⁵ Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

This passage amazes me. On one hand, we see Jesus acting the most insensitive He has ever acted, while on the other hand, we don’t really know why Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon in the first place. These two towns were located in far north-west Israel, along the Mediterranean Sea, and they were likely some of the most secular, least Jewish places in the entire region. These towns are on the edges of most Bible maps of the region, and we might easily wonder if these two towns were even a part of Israel or not. The best-case scenario is that they were border towns.

In these towns, there were likely clusters of Jewish people, but being port towns, they were also very likely to be secularized and Roman.

With this in mind, I again wonder why Jesus went up to this region. Nothing else is said about what happened during this visit and both gospel writers who include this event share how Jesus leaves after this miracle to go elsewhere. According to what made it into the gospel record, it’s almost like Jesus made this trip to the region just to insult, though also to ultimately help, this gentile woman.

However, why would Jesus travel a decent distance to get to these two towns just so He could ignore the requests of a gentile woman? It doesn’t make sense, unless we can learn something in Jesus’ actions.

While I won’t begin to think I know all the reasons why Jesus did what He did, in this event, I see an amazing opportunity to demonstrate persistence in faith. I haven’t looked, but this might have been the only time Jesus traveled to this region, so this gentile woman likely knew that this was her only opportunity to get help for her daughter.

By this point in Jesus’ ministry, word had spread that Jesus could simply say the word and it would be done regardless of the distance, so while this took faith, it wasn’t faith without prior evidence.

However, this miracle is one of the only ones where it appears as though Jesus was reluctant to do it. I don’t think Jesus was actually reluctant to help someone in need, but I think He could see in this situation an opportunity to teach us about persistence.

In this situation, from very early on, Jesus knew that this gentile woman had an incredible, persistent faith. However, the only way to demonstrate this type of faith is by giving it resistance to push against it. If Jesus had shouted from a distance when the woman first was heard that her faith had saved her daughter, no one would know how persistent this faith was.

Instead, Jesus ignores and insults this woman to show everyone present that nothing would stop her, distract her, or shake her determination to get Jesus’ help. This gentile woman serves as an example for all of us. Regardless of whether we mess up, fall down, or fail God, the only way we truly fail is if we don’t get back up and press forward. If our faith disappears at the slightest push of resistance, it is worthless and weak.

In contrast, if we keep pushing forward, holding strong to our faith, and persistently pray for God to step in while moving forward in life knowing that He will direct our paths and step in when needed, we cultivate the faith that God is looking for. When we persist in prayer and don’t take “no” for an answer, we demonstrate the persistence this woman demonstrated and this woman ultimately received the answer to her prayer.

While I don’t believe God likes to ignore us, and I don’t believe His desire is to insult us, I believe that the only way to truly test the strength of faith is by giving it resistance. Without pushback, it is impossible to test the strength of faith. Without resistance, it’s impossible to become like the first century church heroes and model Christ to a world needing a Savior.

For too long, the Christian church has pressed for influence through any and every angle they have thought of, except the angle that mattered the most. As follower of Jesus, we should persist in prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to grow our faith in the areas that matter, and help us live like Jesus lived, and love those who are hurting like Jesus loved those who were hurting. Our faith should persist against all obstacles until we ultimately reach heaven.

When we live our faith through prayer and persistence, we overcome every setback and we truly become the people God has called us to be!

As we come to the close of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and live your faith in an intensely persistent way. Intentionally get back up when setbacks come, and always pray and move forward with the confidence that God will answer your prayers and that He will direct your steps forward.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. While other people can give you great things to think about, take everything to God personally as you pray, read, and study His Word.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Continuing our journey through Mark’s gospel, we come to an event that Mark breaks into two parts. In the first portion of this event, we have one of two places where the gospel writers record Jesus as hungry. It is interesting that in both of the times Jesus is recorded as being hungry, He faces a similar situation.

The first time Jesus is identified as hungry was while he was fasting in the wilderness for 40 days leading up to being tempted by Satan. The second time is what we will be focusing in on at the start of our passage for this event.

Let’s read about what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 12, Mark tells us that:

¹² The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he became hungry. ¹³ Seeing a fig tree in leaf from far away, he went to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves, because it was not the right season for figs. ¹⁴ So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And Jesus’ followers heard him say this.

Let’s pause reading here. On the surface, this event sound entirely unlike the first time the gospels mention Jesus as feeling hunger, but while the situations were very different, in both cases, Jesus does not get his hunger satisfied – at least initially.

In a similar way, when we face feelings of hunger, whether they are feelings of hunger that are literal or feelings of hunger that are spiritual, oftentimes we are unable to satisfy those feelings immediately. Sometimes when we feel hungry, there is no immediate way for us to satisfy our hunger. In other times, when we feel hungry, we intentionally push our hunger aside for more immediate or pressing concerns.

Regardless of what prompts our feelings of hunger, if you aren’t able to satisfy your hunger, understand that Jesus has been there too.

Also in this event, we are introduced to a fig tree that was full of life, but it had no fruit. Mark tells us this was because it wasn’t the right season for figs, but that detail does not appear to matter to Jesus. In the context of this event, Jesus expected a tree that had life to also have fruit.

While this is a very literal event, I wonder if Jesus responds in a way that emphasizes a spiritual truth. If we are full of life while alive on this earth, I wonder if we are also equally expected to be bearing fruit. While we face different seasons in our lives, I wonder if every season of our lives is able to bear a different type of fruit. I wonder if in the drier seasons, our fruit is more internal, growing more trust, more dependence, and more faith, while during other seasons, our fruit is able to be more visible, and we are able to share this spiritual fruit with others.

While we normally think of fruit trees as having fruit only during the season for picking fruit, if it isn’t winter time when many of these trees go dormant, every other season has these fruit trees working on producing fruit. In the spring, the trees work on buds and flowers that will ultimately become fruit, and in the summer, we see fruit beginning to form and grow. It is only when we reach harvest time that the fruit is ripe and ready to pick.

I wonder if Jesus didn’t see any evidence of any fruit growing on this fig tree. Regardless of whether it was the right season to pick figs or not, if the tree had leaves on it, it would be reasonable to expect it to have some evidence of figs growing even if these figs were not yet ripe. I wonder if this tree showed no fruit at all.

Because of the lack of fruit, Jesus curses the tree saying “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

Jumping down a few verses to the next day, we pick back up in verse 20:

²⁰ The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his followers, they saw the fig tree dry and dead, even to the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! The fig tree you cursed is dry and dead!”

²² Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. ²³ I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. ²⁴ So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. ²⁵ When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. [ ²⁶ But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.]”

In this event, Jesus turns the now dead fig tree into being an example of the power of faith and prayer. I think too often, we immediately jump to this second illustration while missing focusing on the importance of being fruitful.

Actually, as I mention this, I think that all of these characteristics are connected. I don’t believe we can have visible faith and powerful prayer without being fruitful and being fruitful is evidence of a powerful faith and a powerful prayer connection with God.

I don’t believe God wants us to run around killing fruit trees or throwing mountains into the sea with our faith. Instead, I believe He wants us to know that our faith is powerful and when we have faith in Jesus, we can do more with God than we could even imagine. God wants our faith and our prayers to be fruitful, and when we are being fruitful we are living the lives God created us to live!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to be fruitful in whatever season you are in. Whether you are resting in the winter or growing fruit at various stages during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, intentionally be fruitful with what God has blessed you with in the season of life you are in.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow a strong faith and connection with God. Only when we are connected with God can we produce the fruit God wants us to have in our lives and when we are connected to Jesus, we are able to be fruitful from eternity’s perspective!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!