Transformed Hearts: Embracing Jesus' Love for All

Before this encounter, we need to understand the context of what's going on and why this is so significant.

What a joy to know that you've joined us in worship! For 67 years, we have been gathering in worship, not only in the sanctuary but online as well. You are part of that amazing history, and in this hour ahead, I pray that you would be reminded of God's love for you, how He longs to be in a relationship with you. Whether it's your first time or you've been here thousands of times before, I pray that today would be a fresh day, that you would be renewed, that you would be refreshed, and that you would be sent out into this world to be the hands and feet of Jesus. So let's worship our King of Kings and our Lord of Lords.

We have been taking a look at different encounters that Jesus had with individuals during the three years of His public ministry before He went to the cross. As we've gone through each of these, a reminder that how Jesus engages with individuals is completely different as it relates to every unique and different person. Jesus is not some formula or shape that you have to just fit into in a universal way, but ultimately, Jesus longs for people to come from all walks of life to Him. He says that no one can come to the Father unless they come through Me, and yet we see people all come to Jesus in different ways. There's one way to the Father but billions of ways to Jesus, and we're reminded of that in this sermon series.

If you've missed any of them or will miss any in the weeks to come, of course, you can get caught up or see those later on our YouTube channel; simply search for Bel Air Church. This sermon series is titled "He Sees Me," and that's our hope and our prayer—that you wouldn't just be removed from these stories and say, "Well, that's nice for them," but ultimately, you come to realize that Jesus sees you. You would say in your prayer life, "He sees me. You see me, God. You meet me in the midst of whatever situation I'm going through."

Here we find ourselves in the Gospel According to Mark, chapter 7. In a moment, I'm going to begin reading in verse 24, and there is a woman whom we are introduced to. We don't know her name, but we know her ethnic background, which is significant for us to understand the lengths that the gospel will go to and how God's love is for all people. But it's important to understand the events that happen right after Jesus's encounter with her, which I'll read, but also the events that happened before this encounter so that we can understand the context of what's going on and why this is so significant.

Jesus was interacting in Jerusalem with a group of Pharisees, a group of religious leaders and teachers of the law who were very much concerned about how to live out the way of Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They put a big emphasis on the exterior, the external way of life, and so, in doing so, found themselves in a place where they were very critical of and very judgmental of the type of people Jesus was embracing. In fact, there was a group of people who were following Jesus who didn't follow some of the same ceremonial washing of hands before meals, and the Pharisees began to judge; they began to critique. Jesus goes into this teaching, quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures, from the Old Testament. Again, Jesus isn't pivoting and going a new way; this is the way of God, but He reveals it in a fuller way. Jesus says, "I've come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it."

In the first half of Mark 7, Jesus is saying what matters is the heart, and what matters is what comes out of the heart. What comes in is one thing, but we have to start with the heart. We need a transformed heart, a renewed heart, and out of that, it transforms everything; it transforms your perspective, it transforms how you interact with other people, it transforms how you see yourself, how you see the world. As you move through our life, it has to begin with a transformed heart.

After that, Jesus withdrew from Jerusalem into a different region, ultimately to withdraw to get some rest. But as we quickly discover, even in the midst of rest, Jesus is confronted with the reality of human need, human suffering, and brokenness, and Jesus enters in.

This is Mark 7, beginning in verse 24: "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." Jesus said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” He said to her, “For this statement, you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Then He returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Decapolis. They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. They begged Him to lay His hand on him. He took him aside from the crowd privately. He put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” His ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Jesus charged them to tell no one, but the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf and mute speak.”

It's, my friends, the reign of God's word, and as we say every week, thanks be to God.

Now, there are some foundational truths that we need to be reminded of before we go into this text. We go all the way back to Genesis chapter 12, where God calls Abram and Sarah, ultimately becoming Abraham, to be a people blessed by God so that they would be a blessing to all the nations. Ultimately, there's a promise that God gives Abraham that through his ancestors, all the worlds, all the nations would be blessed. We've come to realize that the ancestral lineage from Abraham and Sarah leads directly to Jesus, and through Jesus, it's not just the people of God that are Israel throughout the Hebrew Scriptures—the ones that God makes a covenant with and walks with and protects sometimes against the other nations that are attacking. We see through Jesus that all the nations are invited to come and to experience what it means to be part of God's family, to be adopted into God's family, as it says in the Book of Romans, to be grafted into the tree of Israel.

What does this mean? This remarkable truth that God cares not just for a subset of people but cares for all people. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." It is the world; it is all people that God longs to be in a relationship with.

Yet, isn't it interesting? Have you thought about it? Jesus spent His entire life in Israel. Why is that? Why didn't Jesus leave Israel and go to the other nations? And why did Jesus come 2000 years ago when He could have come today in the 21st century and not had to travel? He could have used social media; He could have gotten His message out. He could have gotten a publicist, a massive media conglomerate behind Him, and gotten the word and the message of the Gospel to all the people so they could see Him with their own eyes around the world. Why did He first come to Israel?

One of the things that we ask and see answered in this is that Jesus has His heart set for the world, but He first must start with Israel. In fact, Paul unpacks this in his letter to the church in Rome and talks about how significant it is that now anybody who is not Jewish, i.e., Gentile, born of a different lineage, a different heritage, a different part of the world—anyone who's not Jewish—is now invited to be part of God's family. God wants to help His original people, the people of Israel, which is so much more than just a geopolitical state. This is spiritual Israel—ultimately, people who come to know Yahweh as their Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Yahweh longs for them to come to know that it is not just Yahweh far away, but Yahweh has come in the flesh in the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Son of God, who is our Passover Lamb, our High Priest, and has fulfilled the Law of Moses, not abolished it. All of Scripture points to Jesus, and there is an order of things. Jesus first starts with Israel, and after His resurrection, one of the first things He says to His disciples is to go into all the nations—in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth. He starts with Israel and moves on.

In Mark 7:24, Jesus sets out and goes away to the region of Tyre, which is still in Israel, but away from a community in a village in an area of Jerusalem that is predominantly Jewish. Here we have a Syrophoenician woman who has moved into this area and worships other gods, believes in different things, and has other viewpoints about where we came from and how many gods there are. Her identity, culture, norms, and practices are dominated by this worldview that comes from a different way of life outside of the God of the Bible.

When she hears that Jesus is in town, she goes to Him and begs Him. In the first century, women would never barge in to get an audience with a Jewish rabbi. The Greek word for "she begged Him" in verse 26 is in the present progressive tense, a Greek tense that means ongoing, continual. A woman had a daughter with an unclean spirit, and she had heard about Jesus. She was desperate and came to Him with persistence. Jesus welcomed her and didn't care that she was not Jewish. He saw her heart and was moved by her desperation. Parents can relate to this, as they will do anything for the sake of their child. Jesus entered a house and tried to rest, but the woman's urgency was heard. The Gospel of Mark reads like an action movie with intense action, signs, and wonders. Jesus healed the daughter without even needing to go to her. This story shows us that Jesus cares less about external things and more about the heart. He welcomes all and is moved by desperation and persistence.

Mark says that when Jesus gets in the sand, this woman breaks in and bows down at His feet. This is a sign of respect and worship. This mixture of confident humility and humble confidence is rare, especially in America today. We are either confident and lack humility, or we have a different form of humility that is not biblical. Maybe you find yourself today with a personality that is bold, demanding, and has your rights. This woman responds differently, and Jesus responds differently to her. Maybe you are someone who is afraid to ask, timid even when it comes to praying to God.

Leonard Sweet, the doctoral advisor for Mark's doctoral program, had a cohort of 14 people who spent time around his home on Orcas Island. In his family room, Mark noticed a small door that was from an 18th-century merchant ship. Leonard said that it was the door through which he must enter into his study, where he does his greatest work, has the greatest level of impact and influence, and where God uses him more than anywhere else in the world. When Leonard enters his study, he must enter through the small door, which is too short for him and set on a threshold about a foot and a half above the ground.

"I have to do two things at the same time if I want to do my greatest work. I have to step up and literally open and step up over the threshold. If I don't step up and just kind of walk, I'm going to trip and fall. I've got to bring my strength, my best, my education, and my experiences. I have to be ready, studied up, and prayed up. I've got to be totally present and step up, but at the same time, I've got to bow low or else I'll hit my head. As it says in the Old Testament, 'Pride comes before the fall.' If I come in with all stepping up and all greatness, I'm going to smack my head. I must come in with humility and realize that I bring myself as a humble offering before the Lord, as it says in Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' It's not my strength; it's my strength in Him. It's Christ in me, the hope of glory."

I see that imagery as a way of servant leadership, as a way of moving out in this world that is very different than what culture tells us to do. It is one with confident humility. We see this with the Syrophoenician woman. She comes in with confidence and humility, bowing at His feet. It goes on to say that the woman was a Gentile of Syrophoenician origin. It doubles down or reminds us that there are great cultural norms that she is breaking to be in the presence of Jesus. Great courage and boldness; it would be understandable, sadly, in that ancient world to brush her aside. Yet, this is one who isn't bound by the cultural norms of the day. This is God in the flesh, and here we see God's heart responding towards a heart that is drawn towards Jesus.

This is not about external behavior; this is about a heart that is being drawn towards Jesus that maybe a community would say they don't belong, they shouldn't be here. Jesus looks at the heart, and the heart is heading to Jesus. She begs Him, present progressive tense, continually she's begging Him. Not once, not twice; as long as she has the ears of Jesus, she is begging. Not for herself, not for her to have more riches, not for her to get ahead or this or that. She begs Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Now, verse 27 can be odd on the surface, but hang with me. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." On the surface, you may be like, "What are you talking about? Jesus, children, dogs?" It feels like a non-sequitur. Yes, there's a child of the woman, but how do dogs mix in all this? You need to know two things. One of the common descriptions of Israel, going all the way back to Abram, who has a son named Isaac, whose son named Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, who has 12 sons. Those 12 sons each become tribes, and those tribes ultimately become the nation of Israel. So, when Jesus says "children," He's referring to the nation of Israel. When He says "dogs," He's referring to the Gentiles.

Often, God refers to His people Israel as children, and when Jesus says, "Let the children be fed first," He's not talking about the child of the woman. She's begging the Messiah, this Jewish rabbi who has come first to transform the heart of Israel and through the heart of Israel to be sent out to the nations. She's coming to Him and saying, "Yes, yes, do it now," and He says, "First, let the children be fed first."

But what about the dog? In the ancient world, dogs were looked down upon in society. Today, in places where there are stray dogs, dogs can be violent, vicious, and abused. In the Western world, we love canines, and we're "dog people." We have movies about dogs, and we lift them up as being our best friends. The word Jesus uses for "dog" isn't the same word for "dog" that was used in other places of Scripture where people gave an insult. It was a different word that actually meant "puppy." In some rare cases, there were households, especially in royal families, people of wealth and means, that had dogs as pets. Jesus is subverting language that's used in culture, and He turns it into a metaphor to make a point.

He simply says on the surface, "This is more." This woman is an example of humble confidence. She responds to Jesus with four words, "Yes, Lord," bowing low and submitting to His lordship. She then enters into the parable and allows it to identify her worldview. She allows the parable and the teaching of Jesus to shape her understanding. Jesus had used a metaphor to communicate something about the heart and love of God. He said, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the puppies."

As a mother, she understood the order of things within a family. You feed your children first and wouldn't withhold from them to feed your pet. Jesus was subverting the negativity and reminding her of the priority of His mission. He had come to transform the heart of Israel and through Israel to the nations. She responded with humble confidence, "Yes, Lord, yet even..."

In the Gospel According to Mark, Jesus has been teaching His disciples in parables, but they don't understand. Then, a Syrophoenician woman comes to Him and says, "Even the dogs under the table and the puppies and the pets eat the children's crumbs." When there's crumbs, it means you have more than enough. Jesus responds to her, saying, "For this statement, you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." He acknowledges that she understands what He has been teaching and that she has come to Him with humility, not based on her rights, but on the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

The woman goes home and finds her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. This is a preview of what is to come, as the disciples go out into all the nations and people experience the more-than-enough salvation, grace, provision, security, significance, joy, sanctification, and justification that Jesus offers.

Today, we see a beautiful contrast between the Syrophoenician woman and this Jewish man. The woman was petitioning for her daughter, while this man was brought to Jesus by a group of friends. Jesus sees both of them and their needs and responds with the same love and hope. He reminds us that we can come before God boldly, with humility, and share the desires of our heart. We can trust that there is more than enough love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, justice, provision, and miracles at Christ's table.

The man was deaf and mute, and Jesus laid His hand on him. This shows us that Jesus not only sees us but sees our persistence and our prayers. We are called to be bold before God, to ask and petition, but to do so in a way that doesn't say we deserve it. Ultimately, Jesus was killed outside the city gates, and upon Himself, all the iniquities and brokenness were laid so that we may be healed. We are like dogs apart from a saving relationship with Jesus, but He became worse than a dog so that through faith and trust in Him, we might become children of God.

When Jesus says the word "be opened," it's a blessing of healing and restoration. So when Jesus says this word, "be opened," He's not just saying open up your ears; He's saying open up your heart, open up your life to the blessing of God that's coming to you.

Jesus was communicating to a deaf man in a unique way. He touched his ears, his tongue, and looked up to heaven. This was a reminder that Jesus can only heal through His obedience to God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus said the Greek word "be opened," it was a blessing of healing and restoration. This same word is only found once in the Old Testament in Isaiah 35:5. Jesus was not just saying open up the man's ears, but open up his heart and life to the blessing of God.

In that moment, Jesus was communicating not only to the man He was healing but to everyone around Him. He was communicating who He is and the journey they were about to see unfold. This journey was not just about healing people but ultimately about the saving and potential of experiencing that saving reality for all of the human race. Isaiah 35:5 says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” Jesus is communicating to us today that He is the Messiah, the one whom John the Baptist was preparing the way for. He is the Son of the Reign of the Father, and He comes to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Living Word of God. No matter what is going on in the world, Jesus sees our hearts, and if we run to Him, He will meet us in the midst of whatever is going on. He will not only see us, but He will transform us. He is the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, and He invites us to come to the table.

The sacrament of communion invites us into preparation, invitation, and participation. Jesus was conscientious of preparing a table for His friends when He celebrated the last supper with His disciples. As we prepare ourselves for this sacrament, we ask that you go and get bread, a cracker, and some juice or water. We pray that the Holy Spirit would take our words and fashion them into what we need to remember, and that anything else would be forgotten. As we continue this hour of worship, may we turn back to Jesus, for He first turned Himself to us. May we worship Him for laying down His life and lifting us up.

Wherever you are right now, we know that part of the preparations for participating in this is preparing our minds, hearts, and souls to approach this not just as food, but as a sacrament. Through this sacrament, we are lifted into the presence of Christ in a profound and intimate way. These common elements represent an uncommon truth, a supernatural truth that Jesus, God in the flesh, came to us and gave of Himself to us. Jesus, with His friends, is inviting us to this moment, to these elements. All of us, regardless of where you are, what you've done, or what you haven't done, it's not your holiness that makes you worthy of this table; it's the Holy One that is worthy and is the one who invites us, you and I, to this table.

As we participate in this, we recall the words that Jesus said to His friends sitting around a table on a dark night in a valley ahead of them. On that night that He was betrayed, He took bread, and after He blessed it, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take, eat, this is my body which I give for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper, He took the cup, having blessed it, He poured it, saying, “This is the cup of the New Covenant in my blood, just been poured out for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink this cup, do so in remembrance of me.” The Apostle Paul reminds us that as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again.

Let's pray over these elements as we participate together. Gracious God, we thank You for Your love for us. You would demonstrate Your love in such a tangible way that You would give of Yourself so that we might have life. Lord, this bread and this cup, we take, we participate, we accept Your invitation, and we ask that You would transform these elements to be a means of grace to strengthen us, to enliven us, to be Your church, to be the church at work. We love You, Jesus. It's in Your name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Take, eat; these are the gifts of God for the people of God. If you've been blessed in any way by these services that we as a church have been sharing with the world, I would love for you to consider not only Bel Air Church your church family but also to know that you can play an indispensable part in what God is doing throughout the ministry here in Los Angeles to the ends of the earth. Would you consider giving your time, your talent, your treasure—those ways in which you can pray for the ministry of Bel Air Church, ways in which you can serve wherever you are, but also, no matter where you live, you can give financially to the ministry that God is doing? If you simply went to belair.org/give, you can find out all the information about what our giving is all about and also a link to that secure giving online, and you get to be part of a 67-year history of people simply saying, “God, take what I have and multiply it for Your kingdom purposes.” May God bless you as you give, and thank you in advance.

Oh my God, there are so many ways in which we can dive deeper into community and also into God's word. Of course, you can follow us on social media, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel, you can go to our website and check out all the things going on. But in particular, I'd love for you to check out a particular page on our website, belair.org/classes. As we go into this fall, we have many resources for you, whether in person or online, to go deeper into God's word, to grow in your faith. Ultimately, as you grow in your faith, my prayer is that you would encounter the one Jesus the Christ who comes to you out of love. And that together, we get to follow Jesus every day and everywhere with everyone. May God bless you in the week ahead. Thank you.