In the next three bits of Scripture, we are going to look in upon Jesus dealing with folks who are not Jews—they are Gentiles.
In the Jewish mind of his day, the Jews viewed all the people in the world as being in one of two groups. You were either a Jew, or you were simply in the “everyone else” group—called Gentiles.
Seeing yourself as part of a unique group is not inherently bad, unless of course that exclusivity begins to turn into a power used in ungodly ways.
God set apart His people, the Jews, to be a light to the rest of the world. The rest of the world was to look upon the Jewish people, be so amazed, that they (we) would be drawn to God. Jesus was sent, first to call God’s people, the Jews, back to the Father. In 14:13 through 15:20 we read of Jesus engaging with Jewish people.
In Matthew 15:1 through 16:12, we will read of Jesus interacting with the Gentiles and then engaging the religious of his day. In a fairly direct way this text parallels Jesus’ interaction with the Jews.
Much is made of Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman. People wonder if Jesus is joking, if he is being mean, if he is struggling to determine if he should actually help her. There has been a lot of ink spilt wrestling with the tone of this episode.
I tend to think that Jesus behaves this way to make a point to everyone else around him (his disciples who are Jewish). To those who would think this woman outside of God’s family, Jesus is emphatically saying that she is not. His conduct dramatically makes the point of her non-Jewishness. Her response notes the vast expanse of God’s mercy. In the end, her needs are met. The point? Jesus models for those around him that they too should reach out to people.
This is not a new point of view for Jesus. It is for his followers. Take for example how he again reinforces this point of view in the parable of the Good Samaritan we read in Luke’s Gospel. In it a religious person asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor” and Jesus’ answer again points outside the Jewish caste.
Please note in these episodes, and others, what Jesus does not do. He does not compromise God’s Law. One post earlier I wrote:
“I spend a fair amount of time these days talking to “religious folks” about all sorts of things. One common theme is that they don’t want to hurt of offend others.”
In that post I was dealing with people “inside the church”. Yet I would observe that in an effort to be compassionate, to reach outside the exclusivity of the church, we allow that same “fear of offending others” to change our message. We compromise what the church actually is offering—a life lived in union with God now and forever.
Why do I return to this issue of offending others? Because the message of return and repentance is one that is challenging—we inherently feel as if we are offending others.
Jesus, as he engages those outside the Jewish people, never compromises God’s Word. He knows living in accordance with God’s Word yields a rich life. His words today seem offensive. The point? Reach outside our circle.
Where have I allowed my “fear of offending others” to limit my walk with Christ? Who am I afraid of offending, and how might I without becoming rude reorient my behavior?
How about you?