Bible Guides – Mark 7:24-37 - 3 August 2009 |
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Jesus early ministry focused largely on the people of Israel, God’s people in the Old Testament. But Jesus did not come for the Israelites alone; he came to save ‘Gentiles’ (i.e. non-Israelites) too. In this passage we see a few hints of this.
- What does the woman ask Jesus to do (verses 25-26)?
- What extra information does Mark give us about this woman in verse 26?
Jesus’ reply in verse 27 likens the Israelites to ‘children’ and the Gentiles to ‘dogs’, in keeping with common first-century figures of speech.
- How does verse 28 demonstrate the woman’s faith in Jesus?
- How does Jesus respond in verses 29-30?
What hope does Jesus’ response hold out for people all over the world today?
- What problem does the man have in verse 32? How does Jesus solve it in verses 33-35?
- Does anything about what Jesus does strike you as strange in verse 33?
- When a slave was adopted as a son in Old Testament times, his ears would be pierced. Bearing this in mind, what might Jesus’ symbolic actions represent in verse 33?
How would meeting Jesus have changed the life of the man in verses 31-37?
Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Bible, Bible guides, Bible guides - Mark, Minister's Blog