This week, Matt and I talk about Christ the Healer, in Mark chapter 7. In this passage, Christ is traveling among the Gentiles, among strangers, having ventured outside the neighborhood a bit.
In this passage, a woman (a Greek) begged Jesus to heal her daughter. In a certain way, this is an ambitious (some would say audacious) request for a gentile to make of a Jew. Christ, instead of sending her away (as his Disciples wanted), healed her daughter, who was suffering terribly. Christ said that it was her faith that healed her daughter.
Here we see the character of God revealed in Christ in a profound way: Christ reached out to people of a different culture, entered the homes of strangers and sought out those in need. He didn’t have a sophisticated process for determining another’s worthiness. He didn’t care where a person came from, the crowd they ran with, or where they landed on the hierarchy of social status.
I first learned about this particular trait when I was a little boy in children’s church. We sang a song called Jesus Loves the Little Children.
“Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.”
I’m a simple person who enjoys understanding things in simple terms. With that in mind, it is clear that, to be like Christ, we must see others just as God see us: Precious. Worthy. Loved.
Take a moment to listen to a brief discussion of this passage.
Have a great holiday weekend!
The Pipe 