"Offensive" Gospel
Updated: May 11, 2020
Pastor Jiang
Translated by Leo Liu
Mark 7:24-30 This passage may be the most offending part of the entire Bible. Jesus entered the territory of the Gentiles Tyre and Sidon. Although he deliberately acted in a low-key manner, people still heard about his whereabouts, and went to Jesus one after another, and gave the sick and the demon-possessed to Jesus to beg him to heal them. There is a story of a Greek woman living in Canaan who pleaded for Jesus to save her little girl who was possessed by the evil spirit. This made us better understand the gospel and know the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, "Let the children eat first, and it’s not easy to throw the children ’s bread to the dogs." Obviously, Jesus directly told the Canaan woman who was seeking medical treatment that the gospel and grace of God were first prepared for the Jew. The children refer to the Jews, the elects of God during the Old Testament. Here, the Gentiles are likened to dogs who are unable to eat with their owners and children. The woman was very humble and wise. Not only did she not feel "offended" by Jesus' metaphor, on the contrary, she immediately realized that the dog that Jesus mentioned was a family dog, not a stray dog without a master. Although the small family dog cannot be seated with the owner's children, he has an owner, but he lives in the owner's house and is a part of the owner's house. The woman replied, "Lord, good! But the dog also eats the children's scraps under the table." Jesus saw the woman's faith and humility, and he did not even say a word when he cast out the ghosts and healed her daughter. Instructing the woman to go back, the ghost had left her daughter. In fact, the Gentiles of Jesus' generation did not know God and had nothing to do with the salvation of Christ. Outside the nationals of Israel, they were outsiders in the covenants promised by God, and there was no hope or God in the world (Eph. 2:12). If the Gentiles did not rely on the mercy of Jesus Christ, they really had nothing to do with God's family. They were stray dogs, not dogs in God's family. They were not eligible to enjoy the wonderful food given by their master. The Canaanite woman knew she was unworthy. She looked up to Jesus' mercy and grace and received the Lord's favor. Because the Lord does not favor people (Romans 2:11). Hallelujah! Dear brothers and sisters, the gospel has an “offensive” aspect, because the gospel carries the light of truth, which shows who is confessed to his sins and unbearable by the true light of the gospel illuminating the darkness of his heart. When the gospel points out through the law that people live in sin and are incapable of self-seeking, the blessed are the humble ones who are sad and regretful (Ps 149: 4). On the contrary, if people are proud and self-righteous, they cannot see their sins, they will feel "offended" by the truth of the gospel, they will have hatred in their hearts and resist the gospel. Then righteous judgement will fall upon them! God didn't owe sinners anything, but sinners broke their covenants and lacked the glory of God. In a sense, dog loyalty trumps human hypocrisy and betrayal. We are unscrupulous, and we ask the Lord for forgiveness and salvation. Everything we receive is derived from the free grace of God! The gospel not only tells us that our sins are worse than what we know (which humbles us); it also declares that God ’s love and acceptance of God ’s forgiveness are more hopeful than we thought (this raises us) . This is the gospel of Jesus Christ! Dear brothers and sisters, the dogs always lay their lives to protect the owner's life and safety. This is the purpose of the owner to keep the dog. Have you ever heard of an owner who in turn laid down his dog's life? But in the gospel, the owner lays down his life for the dog, and it is the stray dog who does not know his owner who lay down his life. The Bible says: "We are all lost like sheep, and we all go our own way. Jehovah (God) puts all our sins on him (Lord Jesus) ... Because of oppression and judgment, He was taken away. As for the people of his life, who wanted him to be whipped and cut off from the land of the living, is it because of the sins of my people? "(Isa 53: 6, 8) In salvation grace, the Lord Jesus willingly put his life under the dog's life. It ’s not that the dog was offended, only our Lord Jesus is real, the only one who should have been glorified and not offended ... Please pray and meditate: through the above scriptures, meditate on the ten salvations of the Lord Jesus on yourself, so that you can live a life of abundant grace from the Lord in the epidemic, no longer gloomy He will not blame the heavens and the people, regard the epidemic situation as an opportunity for mercy, humbly serve with brothers and sisters in one unity, and repay the Lord Jesus as the love for his life.