The Compassion of Jesus:
- INVITES Me. (Mk 7:24-26)
- HUMBLES Me. (Mk 7:27-30)
- KNOWS Me. (Mk 7:31-35)
- MOVES Me. (Mk 7:36-37)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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Pastor Jeff:
00:00-00:03
Open up your Bibles to Mark 7.
Pastor Jeff:
00:04-00:10
We are going to be going back on tour with Jesus over the next several weeks.
Pastor Jeff:
00:11-00:28
And as you're turning, Mark 7:24, in the passage that we're going to be looking at, we're going to see that Jesus is taking His disciples on an extended private tour.
Pastor Jeff:
00:29-00:32
Actually, they go through Gentile territory.
Pastor Jeff:
00:33-00:37
In this passage we're going to look at, we're going to see that they travel to Phoenicia.
Pastor Jeff:
00:38-00:39
Again, it's Gentile region.
Pastor Jeff:
00:40-00:44
And the main cities were Tyre and Sidon.
Pastor Jeff:
00:44-00:46
These two cities were about 20 miles apart.
Pastor Jeff:
00:46-00:51
And Bible students will recognize those cities mentioned from the Old Testament.
Pastor Jeff:
00:55-00:57
How long was this trip?
Pastor Jeff:
00:58-00:59
We really don't know.
Pastor Jeff:
01:00-01:03
It probably lasted for several months.
Pastor Jeff:
01:03-01:10
And the purpose of this trip was to focus on training the twelve.
Pastor Jeff:
01:12-01:19
And you see very little written about of this chunk of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Jeff:
01:21-01:28
However, Mark notes two great acts of compassion by Jesus that we're going to look at today.
Pastor Jeff:
01:29-01:33
We're going to talk about the compassion of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Jeff:
01:33-01:34
Why?
Pastor Jeff:
01:38-01:49
Because when we encourage people to make a decision to Jesus Christ, there are a lot of things that we can do to motivate people, right?
Pastor Jeff:
01:51-01:52
Here's some motivators.
Pastor Jeff:
01:52-01:53
We can guilt people.
Pastor Jeff:
01:55-01:56
Like you know what?
Pastor Jeff:
01:58-02:04
You're a sinner, and Jesus died for you, and don't you feel bad that you haven't done something about that?
Pastor Jeff:
02:07-02:08
That can be a motivator.
Pastor Jeff:
02:09-02:13
For some people, the motivation can be just reason.
Pastor Jeff:
02:13-02:14
Like apologetics.
Pastor Jeff:
02:14-02:15
Look, it just makes sense.
Pastor Jeff:
02:16-02:28
You know, we have the archaeological, the historical, we have these facts, and science lines up with the Bible, and we have all these reasons that it makes sense to believe the Bible.
Pastor Jeff:
02:28-02:32
So doesn't it just make sense that you should believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?
Pastor Jeff:
02:35-02:37
That can be a motivator to come to Christ.
Pastor Jeff:
02:38-02:40
We can warn people about hell.
Pastor Jeff:
02:41-02:44
Hell is a real place, real people are really going there.
Pastor Jeff:
02:46-02:47
And that's a motivator.
Pastor Jeff:
02:47-02:48
Say look, you know what?
Pastor Jeff:
02:48-02:54
Apart from Jesus Christ, you are heading to a godless eternity.
Pastor Jeff:
02:58-03:00
All of those things can be motivators.
Pastor Jeff:
03:02-03:11
But do you know what the Bible says specifically as the motivator that brings people to Jesus Christ?
Pastor Jeff:
03:11-03:12
Do you know what it is?
Pastor Jeff:
03:13-03:14
This is the motivator.
Pastor Jeff:
03:14-03:16
It's in Romans 2:4.
Pastor Jeff:
03:16-03:20
It says God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
Pastor Jeff:
03:21-03:21
Did you know that?
Pastor Jeff:
03:24-03:27
We saw it in chapter 6 in the Gospel of Mark.
Pastor Jeff:
03:27-03:37
When Jesus walked on water, it is the love of God - specifically, the compassion of God - that makes the difference.
Pastor Jeff:
03:38-03:40
That's what we saw in Mark 6.
Pastor Jeff:
03:41-03:43
The disciples knew that Jesus was powerful.
Pastor Jeff:
03:43-03:45
They knew Jesus had authority.
Pastor Jeff:
03:45-03:57
But they didn't really internalize and embrace who Jesus is until they saw that He cared for them.
Pastor Jeff:
03:59-04:02
And that is true for everybody sitting here.
Pastor Jeff:
04:05-04:14
You're not going to fully understand You embrace who Jesus is until you understand that He loves you.
Pastor Jeff:
04:15-04:16
And He died for you.
Pastor Jeff:
04:19-04:23
His ministry, His purpose for coming to the earth was to die for you.
Pastor Jeff:
04:27-04:31
And I've shared with you before the line that changed my life.
Pastor Jeff:
04:31-04:32
I grew up in the church.
Pastor Jeff:
04:32-04:34
I knew some things about the Bible.
Pastor Jeff:
04:34-04:39
But the line that changed my life was when somebody said to me, any idea how much God loves you.
Pastor Jeff:
04:41-04:43
"Pastor Jeff, you didn't know that." No.
Pastor Jeff:
04:45-04:46
I knew it in here.
Pastor Jeff:
04:47-04:48
But I did not know it in here.
Pastor Jeff:
04:50-04:56
And it was at a very low point in my life where I embraced the truth that God cares for me.
Pastor Jeff:
04:57-04:58
He loves me.
Pastor Jeff:
05:00-05:04
That changed my life back in 1995.
Pastor Jeff:
05:07-05:12
We're going to talk about the compassion of Jesus, because that's what this passage is about.
Pastor Jeff:
05:12-05:20
Even on this story, even though Jesus was focusing on the twelve, we see that He couldn't help but help.
Pastor Jeff:
05:22-05:24
Look at Mark chapter 7.
Pastor Jeff:
05:25-05:26
Write this down first of all in your outline.
Pastor Jeff:
05:27-05:29
The compassion of Jesus, first of all, invites me.
Pastor Jeff:
05:30-05:31
Invites me.
Pastor Jeff:
05:33-05:48
Verse 24 says, "And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon." And he entered a house and he did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.
Pastor Jeff:
05:50-05:52
Jesus wanted to be under the radar.
Pastor Jeff:
05:54-05:57
And these people knew Jesus from before.
Pastor Jeff:
05:57-06:03
Actually, if you go back to Mark chapter 3 and verse 8, Jesus had a reputation with some people from Tyre and Sidon.
Pastor Jeff:
06:03-06:04
They knew who He was.
Pastor Jeff:
06:06-06:08
It says that Jesus kind of wanted to slip in.
Pastor Jeff:
06:08-06:10
This was a private thing with the disciples.
Pastor Jeff:
06:11-06:13
He didn't really want to make this a public thing.
Pastor Jeff:
06:14-06:17
What are the chances that God can pass through your town unnoticed?
Pastor Jeff:
06:18-06:18
What are the chances?
Pastor Jeff:
06:19-06:21
God's walking through town and nobody notices.
Pastor Jeff:
06:21-06:23
Right, Carrie. Zero. Zero.
Pastor Jeff:
06:24-06:26
People are going to notice when God's walking through town.
Pastor Jeff:
06:28-06:29
Look at v. 25.
Pastor Jeff:
06:29-06:53
It says, "But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet." Now, the woman was a Gentile - a Syrophoenician by birth - and she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
Pastor Jeff:
06:55-06:58
You can't miss the layers that Mark is giving here.
Pastor Jeff:
07:00-07:01
This is very intentional.
Pastor Jeff:
07:02-07:04
Mark didn't say somebody came to Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
07:04-07:07
He's being very intentional in pointing out who came to Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
07:08-07:09
First of all, he says it was a woman.
Pastor Jeff:
07:10-07:11
A woman came to Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
07:12-07:13
Not just any woman.
Pastor Jeff:
07:13-07:16
A Gentile woman.
Pastor Jeff:
07:19-07:22
And if that wasn't bad enough, she was a Syrophoenician.
Pastor Jeff:
07:23-07:24
Like, well, what does that mean?
Pastor Jeff:
07:27-07:29
Well basically, it identified her with the Romans.
Pastor Jeff:
07:31-07:34
Now this, in Jewish circles, is kind of an outcast.
Pastor Jeff:
07:35-07:37
They came to Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
07:37-07:41
And the Bible says that she has a little daughter.
Pastor Jeff:
07:42-07:44
How old, we don't know.
Pastor Jeff:
07:45-07:49
The lady's got married very young, especially in this day.
Pastor Jeff:
07:49-07:55
So, best guess, somewhere between seven and ten years old.
Pastor Jeff:
07:55-07:57
And did you see that in the text?
Pastor Jeff:
07:58-08:02
The woman says that she had a demon.
Pastor Jeff:
08:04-08:08
The little girl had a demon.
Pastor Jeff:
08:10-08:22
And if any of you have been with a child that has any type of illness, you know how heartbreaking that is as a parent.
Pastor Jeff:
08:23-08:26
How about something long -term?
Pastor Jeff:
08:26-08:28
How heartbreaking is that as a parent?
Pastor Jeff:
08:30-08:31
Something chronic.
Pastor Jeff:
08:32-08:34
How bad is that when you're a parent?
Pastor Jeff:
08:34-08:38
Ok, how about your little girl has a demon?
Pastor Jeff:
08:39-08:42
How heartbreaking do you think that is for a parent?
Pastor Jeff:
08:43-08:45
My child is possessed by an evil spirit.
Pastor Jeff:
08:48-08:57
That's why this Gentile woman that says she begged Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
Pastor Jeff:
08:59-09:04
Before we go on in the text, first of all, what you need to see is the compassion of Jesus invites me.
Pastor Jeff:
09:05-09:14
Even though this was a woman - a Gentile woman, a Syrophoenician Gentile woman, it seems that Jesus' compassion attracts very unlikely people.
Pastor Jeff:
09:17-09:19
Church persecutors like Paul.
Pastor Jeff:
09:21-09:23
correctionless sinners like me.
Pastor Jeff:
09:25-09:29
The compassion of Jesus Christ is what invites us to Him.
Pastor Jeff:
09:31-09:33
We need to note that it's available to all.
Pastor Jeff:
09:35-09:42
1 Timothy 2:4 says that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Pastor Jeff:
09:43-09:51
John 3:16, "Whosoever believes in Him..." John 6:37, Jesus said, "Whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out.
Pastor Jeff:
09:55-09:59
But you have to understand that the compassion of Jesus Christ invites you.
Pastor Jeff:
09:59-10:10
I've talked to so many people over the last 17 years or so of ministry that come up to me, "Pastor Jeff, you don't understand.
Pastor Jeff:
10:11-10:12
I've done some horrible things.
Pastor Jeff:
10:14-10:19
I've done some things that my wife doesn't even know about.
Pastor Jeff:
10:20-10:21
I am so ashamed of myself.
Pastor Jeff:
10:25-10:31
And I just want to share with you two amazing things about the compassion or the grace of God.
Pastor Jeff:
10:31-10:32
First of all, jot this down.
Pastor Jeff:
10:32-10:34
God wants you to receive it.
Pastor Jeff:
10:36-10:37
Do you know that?
Pastor Jeff:
10:38-10:40
God wants you to receive His grace.
Pastor Jeff:
10:42-10:47
God is not some cold, distant deity somewhere out there.
Pastor Jeff:
10:48-10:55
I've shared with you before, but sitting up in heaven with his arms folded, saying turn or burn, I don't care.
Pastor Jeff:
10:56-10:59
Get right or get left.
Pastor Jeff:
11:00-11:03
It doesn't really make a difference to me what you do.
Pastor Jeff:
11:04-11:04
That's not God.
Pastor Jeff:
11:05-11:06
That's not God.
Pastor Jeff:
11:10-11:22
The second thing is the amazing thing about God's compassion, the compassion of Jesus Christ, You're only received by people who know they need it.
Pastor Jeff:
11:27-11:29
That's the amazing thing.
Pastor Jeff:
11:29-11:33
The people that come to me and say I've done some terrible things, I'm like that's fantastic.
Pastor Jeff:
11:33-11:35
Because you're acknowledging that.
Pastor Jeff:
11:36-11:39
And you can't come to Jesus until you know that you need Him.
Pastor Jeff:
11:40-11:43
And I deal with people all the time who don't really think they need Him.
Pastor Jeff:
11:44-11:45
I've had a pretty good life.
Pastor Jeff:
11:45-11:47
I haven't done too much to really hurt people.
Pastor Jeff:
11:51-12:01
Well, the only difference between you and this Syrophoenician Gentile woman - really, the only difference - is that her problem looked more obvious.
Pastor Jeff:
12:04-12:09
Maybe you don't have a daughter that has a demon, but you are helpless on your own.
Pastor Jeff:
12:09-12:18
And just as Jesus' compassion drew her, when you see your need and you see Jesus' compassion, you're going to pursue Him.
Pastor Jeff:
12:20-12:21
You need to see that first of all.
Pastor Jeff:
12:21-12:23
The compassion of Jesus invites me.
Pastor Jeff:
12:25-12:26
His reputation was there.
Pastor Jeff:
12:26-12:27
She knew.
Pastor Jeff:
12:28-12:29
She knew who He was.
Pastor Jeff:
12:32-12:36
Secondly, jot this down, the compassion of Jesus humbles me.
Pastor Jeff:
12:39-12:41
The compassion of Jesus humbles me.
Pastor Jeff:
12:42-12:43
Ok, so do you have this scene?
Pastor Jeff:
12:44-12:46
This woman comes in and she begs.
Pastor Jeff:
12:48-12:49
Have you ever begged for anything?
Pastor Jeff:
12:50-12:54
Have you ever wanted something so bad that you...
Pastor Jeff:
12:56-12:58
No pride here. I'm going to beg.
Pastor Jeff:
12:59-13:01
I will get down on my knees if I have to.
Pastor Jeff:
13:03-13:04
That's where she was.
Pastor Jeff:
13:07-13:08
Look at Jesus' response.
Pastor Jeff:
13:09-13:14
"And He said to her, Let the children be fed first.
Pastor Jeff:
13:16-13:26
For it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." What?
Pastor Jeff:
13:28-13:30
Anybody else with me on that?
Pastor Jeff:
13:30-13:31
What?
Pastor Jeff:
13:33-13:35
My little girl has a demon.
Pastor Jeff:
13:38-13:42
Jesus said what?
Pastor Jeff:
13:46-13:48
Pardon the pun, but this is not an easy to swallow passage.
Pastor Jeff:
13:49-14:00
In fact, if you look up Matthew 15, Matthew gives you some details about the account that makes it even harder to swallow at first read.
Pastor Jeff:
14:02-14:11
Matthew tells us that this woman was repeatedly begging to the point that the disciples with her and we're like send her away.
Pastor Jeff:
14:14-14:18
She won't shut up. Please get rid of this woman.
Pastor Jeff:
14:22-14:37
Matthew 15 also tells us that at first Jesus answered her not a word. And then finally when he does give an answer it's let the children be fed first for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs?
Pastor Jeff:
14:41-14:53
We have to understand something. When we think about dogs, I know what I think about when I think about dogs. And I know what most of you think about when you think about dogs.
Pastor Jeff:
14:54-15:01
Okay, but understand, in Jesus' day, there were two words that were used for dogs.
Pastor Jeff:
15:04-15:09
The one word referred to like a large wild dog.
Pastor Jeff:
15:10-15:11
A wild dog.
Pastor Jeff:
15:12-15:19
When I was on a mission trip in Thailand back in 1996, I got attacked by a wild dog, okay?
Pastor Jeff:
15:20-15:21
This one didn't have a little caller.
Pastor Jeff:
15:22-15:26
You know, if lost, call Caitlin.
Pastor Jeff:
15:26-15:27
Here's the phone number.
Pastor Jeff:
15:27-15:29
You know, answers to the name Princess.
Pastor Jeff:
15:29-15:30
It didn't have one of those.
Pastor Jeff:
15:30-15:33
Okay, this thing like came out of the jungle and came after me.
Pastor Jeff:
15:35-15:36
That's one of the words for dog.
Pastor Jeff:
15:37-15:46
Well Jesus used another word here that's the diminutive form of the word that refers to a little dog or a domesticated dog.
Pastor Jeff:
15:46-15:47
Do we have dog people here?
Pastor Jeff:
15:48-15:49
Or is it just me?
Pastor Jeff:
15:49-15:52
I thought there was a good spirit in the room.
Pastor Jeff:
15:55-15:56
I'm among my people here.
Pastor Jeff:
15:57-16:01
So when I think of dog, I think of, many of you know our dog, we have a dog named Gordy.
Pastor Jeff:
16:04-16:07
And domesticated, a house dog, that's what Jesus was talking about here.
Pastor Jeff:
16:07-16:08
I've had people ask me that.
Pastor Jeff:
16:09-16:14
I thought dogs were like kind of wild and out of control, but there were some domesticated smaller house dogs.
Pastor Jeff:
16:14-16:16
Who has a little dog?
Pastor Jeff:
16:17-16:19
Okay, so you guys know what I'm talking about.
Pastor Jeff:
16:19-16:20
Anybody have more than one little dog?
Pastor Jeff:
16:21-16:22
Yeah.
Pastor Jeff:
16:22-16:24
All right, I'm praying for you right now.
Pastor Jeff:
16:27-16:28
I love dogs.
Pastor Jeff:
16:29-16:33
But understand Jesus was talking about a little domesticated dog here.
Pastor Jeff:
16:35-16:41
And you understand, obviously you understand the story, the little story that Jesus gave, right?
Pastor Jeff:
16:43-16:45
Your kids are hungry, like time to eat.
Pastor Jeff:
16:47-16:52
You know, let's get how we first let's feed how we and then we'll see if there's any food left over, you know, for the human.
Pastor Jeff:
16:55-17:02
Jesus is like, no, you don't do that, you don't take you don't take the kids food and give it to the dog and like not feed the kids.
Pastor Jeff:
17:07-17:08
So what's up with this answer, Jesus?
Pastor Jeff:
17:11-17:13
I mean, Jesus healed other Gentiles, right?
Pastor Jeff:
17:13-17:15
We read that. We studied that.
Pastor Jeff:
17:16-17:21
Jesus healed even Gentile demoniacs previously.
Pastor Jeff:
17:21-17:22
We saw that.
Pastor Jeff:
17:22-17:23
So what's this all about?
Pastor Jeff:
17:26-17:29
He's saying it's not time for the bread to go to the Gentiles.
Pastor Jeff:
17:31-17:37
This is an analogy about priority.
Pastor Jeff:
17:40-17:50
At this point in the ministry of Jesus Christ, at this point in history, the ministry specifically to the Gentiles was yet future.
Pastor Jeff:
17:51-18:01
In God's timetable, remember when Jesus sent the disciples out, He said to them, "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Pastor Jeff:
18:01-18:04
The priority is to Israel." The priority is to Israel.
Pastor Jeff:
18:04-18:05
That's what He's talking about here.
Pastor Jeff:
18:06-18:08
The ministry of the Gentiles, that's coming later.
Pastor Jeff:
18:09-18:17
Let's give the bread to the Jewish children first, and then later, we'll take care of the Gentile dogs so to speak.
Pastor Jeff:
18:20-18:21
Well, look at the woman's answer.
Pastor Jeff:
18:23-18:23
Love this.
Pastor Jeff:
18:25-18:40
"But she answered him, 'Yes, Lord, yet, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.'" She wasn't being smart-mouthed, okay?
Pastor Jeff:
18:41-18:43
She wasn't copying an attitude.
Pastor Jeff:
18:44-18:48
She was witty, obviously, but what she was doing was going with Jesus' analogy.
Pastor Jeff:
18:49-18:50
She was so desperate.
Pastor Jeff:
18:50-18:52
I mean, so desperate.
Pastor Jeff:
18:55-18:56
I understand what you're saying.
Pastor Jeff:
18:58-19:06
But you know, even the dog laying under the table, you know, if the kid drops a bite, even the dog picks that up.
Pastor Jeff:
19:07-19:08
Maybe the dog gets a little bit of it.
Pastor Jeff:
19:12-19:13
Look at Jesus' response.
Pastor Jeff:
19:15-19:19
"And He said to her, 'For this statement you may go your way.
Pastor Jeff:
19:19-19:38
The demon has left your daughter, and she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.'" Jesus said because of this statement, because of the faith, would speak such a statement, Jesus said it's done.
Pastor Jeff:
19:39-19:43
I really believe what was happening in this passage was Jesus was sort of testing her humility.
Pastor Jeff:
19:46-19:51
Because coming to Christ for compassion really should only generate one type of response.
Pastor Jeff:
19:54-19:54
And that's humility.
Pastor Jeff:
19:56-20:01
Coming to Jesus doesn't carry this attitude of I deserve this.
Pastor Jeff:
20:02-20:06
"Jesus, you know what? I'm going to receive you, Jesus, because I deserve heaven.
Pastor Jeff:
20:07-20:14
I deserve everything that you can give me, Jesus." It's shocking how much we say that in our culture.
Pastor Jeff:
20:14-20:15
I've caught myself saying it.
Pastor Jeff:
20:15-20:31
"You deserve this. You should do this. You deserve this. You deserve this." And I understand the sense in which sometimes that's communicated, but if we're really honest, You don't really deserve anything.
Pastor Jeff:
20:34-20:43
It's the compassion of Jesus, the mercy of Jesus that we seek just automatically comes assuming that we are unworthy.
Pastor Jeff:
20:44-20:54
And when you realize that you don't deserve compassion, when you don't let pride think that you're entitled, it's only then that you're ready to receive it.
Pastor Jeff:
20:56-21:01
It's only then that you come with of humility like this woman.
Pastor Jeff:
21:03-21:05
So the compassion of Jesus, first of all, invites me.
Pastor Jeff:
21:06-21:07
Second of all, it humbles me.
Pastor Jeff:
21:08-21:14
Thirdly, write this down, the compassion of Jesus knows me.
Pastor Jeff:
21:16-21:17
Knows me.
Pastor Jeff:
21:19-21:22
Look at verse 31, still traveling through here.
Pastor Jeff:
21:22-21:35
It says, "Then He returned from the region attire, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis." This is east of Galilee.
Pastor Jeff:
21:36-21:37
What's the Decapolis?
Pastor Jeff:
21:37-21:38
Those are actually ten cities.
Pastor Jeff:
21:38-21:43
They were Hellenized, which meant they were influenced by the Greeks.
Pastor Jeff:
21:43-21:45
These were non-Jewish cities.
Pastor Jeff:
21:45-21:50
And we read in Matthew 15 that Jesus had a reputation there too.
Pastor Jeff:
21:51-21:57
Verse 32 says, And they brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment.
Pastor Jeff:
21:59-22:02
And they begged Him to lay His hand on him.
Pastor Jeff:
22:04-22:20
Then verse 33 says, "And taking Him aside from the crowd privately, He put His fingers into His ears and after spitting, touched His tongue." The compassion of Jesus knows me.
Pastor Jeff:
22:21-22:26
to the man that literally they threw this guy at Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
22:28-22:30
The Bible says he was deaf and he had a speech impediment.
Pastor Jeff:
22:30-22:32
You can connect the dots there, right?
Pastor Jeff:
22:32-22:43
If you're born deaf, or if you become deaf at a very young age and you're not used to hearing how other people talk, it affects the way that you try to communicate.
Pastor Jeff:
22:43-22:45
And that's what was happening with this man.
Pastor Jeff:
22:48-22:52
It says that Jesus put His fingers into His ears.
Pastor Jeff:
22:55-22:56
Why did He do that?
Pastor Jeff:
22:57-22:58
Why did Jesus touch people?
Pastor Jeff:
23:01-23:05
I mean, we know that Jesus didn't need to touch people to heal them, right?
Pastor Jeff:
23:06-23:07
Didn't we just read that?
Pastor Jeff:
23:07-23:09
The little girl with the demon - did Jesus touch her?
Pastor Jeff:
23:10-23:10
No.
Pastor Jeff:
23:12-23:16
So why did Jesus touch this man?
Pastor Jeff:
23:18-23:20
Well, certainly Jesus didn't need to.
Pastor Jeff:
23:20-23:25
But the reason He did it was to show compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
23:26-23:27
Do you understand that?
Pastor Jeff:
23:28-23:34
Like if my friend Bob here is brought up - I like to act things out.
Pastor Jeff:
23:35-23:37
Bob will be the deaf person and I'll be Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
23:38-23:38
Okay?
Pastor Jeff:
23:40-23:41
It worked for you, Dina.
Pastor Jeff:
23:43-23:43
Alright, I'll be Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
23:44-23:46
But do you see the difference?
Pastor Jeff:
23:47-23:49
Well, Dina represented the people that brought the deaf guy.
Pastor Jeff:
23:50-23:52
He's deaf and he has a speech impediment.
Pastor Jeff:
23:52-23:54
I don't even think they had to tell Jesus that.
Pastor Jeff:
23:55-23:56
I'm willing to bet Jesus knew that.
Pastor Jeff:
23:57-24:04
Jesus could have said, "Alright, he's healed." And he could have walked away totally healed.
Pastor Jeff:
24:07-24:08
Do you see the compassion?
Pastor Jeff:
24:08-24:12
Do you see the difference coming up and putting His hands on him.
Pastor Jeff:
24:13-24:14
That's compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
24:15-24:18
That's compassion that reaches out and touches.
Pastor Jeff:
24:20-24:29
If you've ever picked up a child that fell off of a swing and held them, you know why Jesus touched people when He healed them.
Pastor Jeff:
24:30-24:30
It's compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
24:32-24:37
You understand, parents, when your kid falls off the swing, You picking them up doesn't heal them, right?
Pastor Jeff:
24:39-24:47
But if your child fell off the swing, you can assess it and be like, not much blood and doesn't look like anything's broken.
Pastor Jeff:
24:47-24:48
You're good.
Pastor Jeff:
24:50-24:50
Get up. You're good.
Pastor Jeff:
24:52-24:53
But what do you do?
Pastor Jeff:
24:54-24:57
You instinctively run and you pick the child up. Why?
Pastor Jeff:
24:59-25:00
Because you love them.
Pastor Jeff:
25:01-25:03
You just want to hold them and embrace them.
Pastor Jeff:
25:05-25:06
That's compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
25:08-25:11
You're moved so deeply that your child is hurt.
Pastor Jeff:
25:12-25:14
You can't help it.
Pastor Jeff:
25:15-25:16
And that's what's happening in this passage.
Pastor Jeff:
25:17-25:26
Jesus was moved so deeply that this man had this speech impediment and this deafness that he reached out and touched him.
Pastor Jeff:
25:26-25:26
That's compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
25:30-25:34
If you've ever kissed a boo-boo, you understand, right?
Pastor Jeff:
25:34-25:36
There's magic in that.
Pastor Jeff:
25:36-25:37
I don't mean like black magic.
Pastor Jeff:
25:38-25:39
Don't misquote me.
Pastor Jeff:
25:40-25:50
"Pastor Jeff is preaching to black arts in church." That's not what I mean, but you understand when your kid's hurt, your kid bonks his head on something, what do you instinctively do, parents?
Pastor Jeff:
25:51-25:52
You kiss their head.
Pastor Jeff:
25:53-25:54
It works.
Pastor Jeff:
25:55-25:55
Why?
Pastor Jeff:
25:56-25:57
Compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
25:58-25:58
Passion.
Pastor Jeff:
26:00-26:12
Then verse 34 says - in case you have this picture, Jesus put His finger in his ears and it says, "And after spitting, touched his tongue." I kind of wrestled with that this week trying to imagine what that looked like.
Pastor Jeff:
26:12-26:16
Did Jesus spit on his hand and then touch the man's tongue?
Pastor Jeff:
26:17-26:18
I don't know.
Pastor Jeff:
26:19-26:20
He touched the man though.
Pastor Jeff:
26:20-26:32
Verse 34 says, "And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to Him, "Faftha," that is, "he opened." What does it mean that he sighed?
Pastor Jeff:
26:36-26:38
It doesn't mean like he rolled his eyes.
Pastor Jeff:
26:39-26:42
Like they brought him this deaf guy and Jesus was like, "Ugh!
Pastor Jeff:
26:43-26:46
Alright." It wasn't that kind of a sigh.
Pastor Jeff:
26:49-26:51
What kind of sigh do you think it was?
Pastor Jeff:
26:52-26:53
A sigh of compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
26:53-26:54
Can you see it?
Pastor Jeff:
26:54-26:55
Can you see that in your mind's eye?
Pastor Jeff:
26:56-27:02
He touches this man and He knows the difficulties and the hurt that this man's experienced.
Pastor Jeff:
27:03-27:07
Jesus looks up to heaven and He's just...
Pastor Jeff:
27:09-27:09
It's compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
27:11-27:11
It's compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
27:13-27:24
He looks up and He says, "Be opened." Verse 35 says, "And His ears were opened, His tongue was released, He spoke plainly.
Pastor Jeff:
27:26-27:28
There's a miracle that He spoke plainly.
Pastor Jeff:
27:28-27:30
He didn't have to have a speech therapist.
Pastor Jeff:
27:30-27:32
He just started talking.
Pastor Jeff:
27:35-27:39
But something else I want you to notice, that Jesus' touch was very specific.
Pastor Jeff:
27:41-27:44
Why did Jesus touch the man's ears?
Pastor Jeff:
27:45-27:47
Why did Jesus touch the man's tongue?
Pastor Jeff:
27:47-27:48
Because Jesus knew.
Pastor Jeff:
27:50-27:53
And there's somebody here today He needs to know this.
Pastor Jeff:
27:53-27:55
Jesus knows what is hurting you.
Pastor Jeff:
27:55-27:57
You have to know that.
Pastor Jeff:
27:57-27:59
No matter how alone you feel.
Pastor Jeff:
28:02-28:04
No matter how much it's hurt.
Pastor Jeff:
28:04-28:05
No matter how long it's hurt.
Pastor Jeff:
28:05-28:07
Jesus knows what's hurting you.
Pastor Jeff:
28:08-28:10
Jesus knows what's worrying you.
Pastor Jeff:
28:10-28:13
Jesus knows what's frustrating you and discouraging you.
Pastor Jeff:
28:14-28:15
He knows.
Pastor Jeff:
28:16-28:18
And that's why He meets you where you are.
Pastor Jeff:
28:20-28:24
Not a cold and distant God, but a friend who loves you.
Pastor Jeff:
28:25-28:27
The compassion of Jesus knows me.
Pastor Jeff:
28:27-28:32
And finally, the compassion of Jesus moves me.
Pastor Jeff:
28:33-28:35
The compassion of Jesus moves me.
Pastor Jeff:
28:37-28:40
And Jesus charged them to tell no one.
Pastor Jeff:
28:42-28:45
But the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
Pastor Jeff:
28:46-28:48
They were astonished beyond measure.
Pastor Jeff:
28:51-28:54
Saying, "He has done all things well.
Pastor Jeff:
28:54-29:01
He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." The last thing, the compassion of Jesus moves me.
Pastor Jeff:
29:02-29:05
Let's be honest, this is kind of a bummer for this man, right?
Pastor Jeff:
29:06-29:09
Apparently, the guy went his whole life without really being able to speak.
Pastor Jeff:
29:09-29:12
And now Jesus touches him and he's able to speak.
Pastor Jeff:
29:12-29:15
And Jesus is like, Don't speak.
Pastor Jeff:
29:18-29:18
What?
Pastor Jeff:
29:19-29:20
Don't speak?
Pastor Jeff:
29:21-29:23
Actually, Jesus said that a lot.
Pastor Jeff:
29:23-29:24
We saw that in our study already, right?
Pastor Jeff:
29:24-29:29
Mark 1:31, 34, 3:12, 5:43.
Pastor Jeff:
29:30-29:33
Why was Jesus constantly telling people don't tell anyone?
Pastor Jeff:
29:35-29:36
Well, there's really two reasons.
Pastor Jeff:
29:37-29:40
The first reason is Jesus wanted to slow down the crowds.
Pastor Jeff:
29:41-29:45
Everywhere He went, He was constantly getting mobbed and crushed.
Pastor Jeff:
29:47-29:49
By who? By people that wanted the miracle.
Pastor Jeff:
29:49-29:55
By people that had the physical ailments and the demons, and it just never ended and there was no rest.
Pastor Jeff:
29:55-30:04
And to slow down the crowds, Jesus didn't want to make much public when it came to this.
Pastor Jeff:
30:05-30:13
The second reason is this, Jesus didn't want people telling the story about Him until the story was done being written.
Pastor Jeff:
30:15-30:16
What do you mean by that?
Pastor Jeff:
30:18-30:24
Jesus' purpose for coming to the earth was not to just be a miracle worker.
Pastor Jeff:
30:24-30:25
Do you know that?
Pastor Jeff:
30:25-30:31
Jesus' mission wasn't like, I've come to this earth to dazzle you with some displays of healing.
Pastor Jeff:
30:31-30:32
That wasn't His mission.
Pastor Jeff:
30:32-30:33
What was His mission?
Pastor Jeff:
30:34-30:43
His mission was to lay down His life on the cross for our sins and to raise from the dead we might have eternal life.
Pastor Jeff:
30:43-30:44
That was His mission.
Pastor Jeff:
30:46-30:51
That's why throughout His ministry, Jesus was like don't say anything, don't tell anyone, don't tell anyone, don't tell anyone.
Pastor Jeff:
30:53-30:55
But then what did Jesus say after He rose from the dead?
Pastor Jeff:
30:55-30:56
What did He say?
Pastor Jeff:
30:57-30:58
He said tell everyone!
Pastor Jeff:
30:59-31:00
Tell everyone!
Pastor Jeff:
31:00-31:03
Preach this message to all nations!
Pastor Jeff:
31:03-31:04
All peoples!
Pastor Jeff:
31:04-31:05
Get it out!
Pastor Jeff:
31:05-31:06
Get it out!
Pastor Jeff:
31:06-31:08
Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth - get it out!
Pastor Jeff:
31:09-31:10
Don't tell everyone.
Pastor Jeff:
31:13-31:17
Because the story was complete about his earthly ministry.
Pastor Jeff:
31:18-31:25
Obviously, these people were disobedient kind of understandably, right?
Pastor Jeff:
31:29-31:34
I'm not excusing disobedience, but I'm saying I can understand why they were.
Pastor Jeff:
31:35-31:42
Here's a guy that can't talk his whole life, and it's probably hard to shut them up.
Pastor Jeff:
31:45-31:49
However, there is a truth that's on display here.
Pastor Jeff:
31:50-31:59
That is this, when you have been met by the compassion of Jesus, you can't help but tell people about Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
32:02-32:18
When we talk about your personal evangelism, when we talk about you telling people about Jesus, you inviting people to come and worship, nothing is going to motivate you like you being gripped by the compassion of Jesus.
Pastor Jeff:
32:21-32:34
Honestly, the only really effective evangelist is the one who knows Jesus ; the one who can never let go of the fact that Jesus met them with His compassion.
Pastor Jeff:
32:37-32:51
And those are the people who not only love sharing the truth about Jesus with people, but they feel personally blessed in having the privilege of doing so.
Pastor Jeff:
32:53-32:54
I want you to watch this video.
Pastor Jeff:
32:55-32:56
I'm Alicia Thompson.
Pastor Jeff:
32:56-33:00
I go to Harvest with my husband Dan and our daughter Ellie.
Pastor Jeff:
33:01-33:02
I'm Darren Miller.
Pastor Jeff:
33:02-33:04
I'm the worship leader here at Harvest Bible Chapel.
Pastor Jeff:
33:05-33:06
Hi, I'm Ben Murphy.
Pastor Jeff:
33:06-33:08
I lead a small group here at Harvest Bible
Pastor Jeff:
33:10-33:10
(soft music)
Pastor Jeff:
33:15-33:19
I just wanted to share a really cool experience that I've had at work.
Pastor Jeff:
33:19-33:25
I'm a physician assistant and I work in an oncology department, so a lot of cancer patients.
Pastor Jeff:
33:26-33:29
I've also been playing in bands for the last 28 years.
Pastor Jeff:
33:29-33:33
I can't say I haven't had this opportunity, but I haven't had this experience.
Pastor Jeff:
33:33-33:39
I've been blessed to be part of the prison ministry that Mark Ort started for our church.
Pastor Jeff:
33:47-33:50
I came back to my office, end of the day, getting ready to go home.
Alicia:
33:52-33:59
I have a devotional book, the Jesus Calling book, and I leave it sitting on the corner of my desk.
Alicia:
33:59-34:13
And so I was getting my stuff together and the janitor comes in and I had put a couple papers over it and he pulls the book out from underneath and he asked me whose office this was.
Alicia:
34:13-34:33
I was like, "Well, it's mine and I share it with our surgeon." And he just said, "I just want to thank the person whose book this is because I read it I like the way that it talks from Jesus' perspective.
Alicia:
34:33-34:48
And my jaw just kind of dropped because it was just something that I set on my desk, and God was using this book without me even realizing it to this point to minister to our janitor.
Darren:
34:48-34:53
The group's just getting ready to set up one night, and I struck up a conversation with a guy.
Darren:
34:53-34:55
I could tell he was his late 40s.
Darren:
34:55-35:03
And I mentioned that he asked me if I played anywhere else outside of the church, or I'm sorry, outside of the van. And I said, yeah, we play at church.
Darren:
35:03-35:06
And we have a prison ministry. And he said, Oh, I'm a deputy warden.
Darren:
35:07-35:13
So as soon as, but I could tell as soon as I said, prison ministry, he said, thank you for coming in. That means so much to us.
Darren:
35:13-35:23
And then I could tell the look in his face, something struck him. And he said, I need to talk to you. And I said, well, man, if you're still here on the first break, I'll come and find you. He goes, I need to talk to you now.
Darren:
35:24-35:30
And so we went around the corner, the intersection of the kitchen and the restrooms, the busiest spot in the building.
Darren:
35:31-35:42
And this guy holds up a half a glass of beer and he says, "I've been trying to turn my life over to Jesus for six years." And he said, "This is my problem." And he started crying.
Darren:
35:42-35:45
And the guy stood there to a total stranger.
Darren:
35:45-35:57
And he's telling me his deepest regrets, his biggest shames, his embarrassment for his family and the problems that this alcoholism has caused, and how he wants to turn this over, but he just can't let go.
Ben:
35:59-36:04
I've understood going there, how little control I have over my own life.
Ben:
36:05-36:19
I know as a selfish person and a sinful person, we will grasp to any bit of control that we have and we'll reach out for it and try to take hold of it.
Ben:
36:19-36:27
And you see these guys that, as a man, it's very hard to let go of all of that.
Ben:
36:28-36:30
And they've had to, they have no choice.
Ben:
36:30-36:41
And you see the ones that come every Friday night when we show up and they're so excited to see us because they've chosen to listen to us and to listen to God's word.
Ben:
36:42-36:50
And they realize that He is in control of their lives and that he's the only one that has the answers for them.
36:51-36:52
(soft music)
Alicia:
36:56-37:15
I found out that he actually is a Christian and he's had a pretty tough life and God's done some, I could speak for an hour, but God's done some amazing things in him and using the brokenness of him to now minister to others struggling with addictions things like he did.
Darren:
37:16-37:46
I said bow your head Leo I said we're gonna blow your mind and we stood right there in the center of that busiest intersection we made servers carry big trays of food out around us we made people on the way to the restroom sidestep us and we prayed out loud with my hand on his shoulder we asked God for deliverance we asked him for healing we asked him for guidance and for strength and for him to be able to let go of this this poison in his life that he has identified the ways that it's been holding him back. The and give them your own
Ben:
37:46-37:53
life, they take to heart and I can tell that they're praying for us each and every week and they really do care for us.
Ben:
37:53-37:54
They want us to come back.
Ben:
37:55-37:59
They want us to speak to them about God's word.
Ben:
37:59-38:01
They wanna learn, they wanna drink it in.
Ben:
38:01-38:07
They're very, very hungry for his word and it's really, really exciting.
Alicia:
38:14-38:19
That was one of those moments where it was kind of like, just be still and know that I'm God.
Alicia:
38:19-38:21
'Cause I was like, I just was like floored that day.
Alicia:
38:21-38:24
I was like, okay, I was like, I get it.
Darren:
38:26-38:29
But the greatest thing is, I know he left there with
Ben:
38:29-38:34
something, but I drove the whole way home feeling like I was the one who got something out of that experience.
Ben:
38:35-38:40
It's not us pouring into them as much as they're pouring into us.
Alicia:
38:45-38:52
All our words and deeds and just our mannerisms all reflect Christ.
Alicia:
38:52-39:03
So just be passionate, whether it's in your speech or what you're doing, and always be giving in to the Spirit of Christ and people will notice.
Alicia:
39:03-39:09
Even if you don't realize that you're being a witness to somebody.
Darren:
39:11-39:30
All I ever say is God, I don't know what you want me to say, but I'm gonna open my mouth And I trust that you're going to say something through this I'm not I don't go in with some sort of prepackaged message. I just say God let me Speak for you. Let me speak through me. Let me just
Ben:
39:30-39:46
be a reflection I'm gonna say anything it's that I've chosen to live my life intentionally for him And that I know that He's called you to live your life intentionally for His glory.
Ben:
39:47-39:52
And that in order to do that, you have to step out of your comfort zone.
Ben:
39:52-39:54
You have to get off the bench and play
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Mark 7:24-37
Romans 2:4 tells us it is God's kindness that is meant to lead us to repentance? How does God's kindness (compassion) lead us to repentance? What does that look like?
Share how the compassion of Jesus has impacted you.
Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another. Each of you evaluate yourself: have I been genuinely fired up enough about the compassion of Jesus to naturally share Him with others? If not, how are you going to fan that flame?