Imagine having a true political mandate from the
people. In our day, politicians on both
sides of the aisle, always like to claim to have had a political mandate that
got them elected. “The people have
spoken” is an oft cited phrase, even though our country is split nearly equally
down the middle with nearly as many people voting against something, as voting
for it. A true consensus that crosses
ideological, religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries is something as rare as
seeing a falling star. It is possible,
but rare indeed. But can you imagine the
absolute boundless joy that would occur in the heart of Donald Trump, or Hilary
Clinton, if the next polls showed literally 100% of the people favoring one of
them for president? They (like us) would
be almost certain to question the validity of the poll. It has never happened in American
politics. We have never reached a
unanimous consensus on who should be our next president. It would be unprecedented (and given current
polls, impossible in this election once again).
Imagine the heart failure in the losing party headquarters if 100% of
the people voted for only one candidate.
Imagine the vanity in the headquarters of the winning party. They would eat it up. They would long for their coronation, or
rather inauguration.
Do you think the winner, in a landslide like this, might be
tempted to propose amendments to our constitution in order to end
term-limits? After all, wouldn’t
something like a 100% victory be the political mandate someone needs to go from
a limit of 8 years, to a limit of a lifetime?
How tempting would it be, with 100% support of the common people, to
become king? What if they wanted you to
be king? What if they demanded that you
become king, even if you did not really want the position? This … was the “problem” Jesus faced. Despite how Trump, or Clinton might react,
our God, our Lord, our Savior has a different mission. Jesus could have easily become an earthly
king in Israel, in point of fact, the people were constantly trying to force
Him into it. Jesus had the biggest
political mandate since creation, by the nation He had come to bear witness to
of the Father’s love, to become its next king.
Everyone would have followed Him.
In the minds of the people, this was supposed to be the ultimate goal of
the Messiah in the first place. They
were less interested in the Father’s love, and more interested in political
dominance, and breaking the yoke of pagan Roman oppression. It made sense religiously, to replace
paganism with Judaism. It made sense to
stop human sacrifice for sport in the arenas, or on crosses along the highways
to inspire fear, and only sacrifice sheep instead.
There was nothing Godly about the Roman empire, how it
ruled, or how it oppressed the world. It
was a pagan empire, who worshipped sex, greed, and control. It was the most powerful kingdom to ever rule
the world, albeit not the most wealthy.
It ruled with an iron fist. To
have another David, another Joshua, another Solomon, all wrapped into a package
with superhuman powers lead Israel to conquer and rule the earth, with a
religious system that valued all life, made sense to everyone. It was the dream of every Israelite. It was the hope of a nation. Jesus was supposed to be this hope. Jesus was supposed to do all of this. Or Jesus would become “just another wanna-be”. When the people saw what Jesus could do in
healing people, they did not think of the Father’s love that directed His
works. They thought only of dead Romans
along the same roads they erected crosses on now. They thought only of taking Roman gold, and
melting Roman idols to make their own homes better instead. They thought of what the power of Jesus could
mean to them. No more work. No more sickness. No more torture. Only ease, comfort, and happiness forever
more.
That my friends is a political mandate like we have never
seen before. Trump or Clinton would
never be able to deliver it, and thus the reason why neither would ever garner
100% of anything. Jesus however was
capable of delivering it, but He chose not to.
In fact, He came to a point in His ministry, where trying to reveal the
Father’s love, was getting harder because of the fame of what He was doing, and
the deep desires of the people to make Him King, whether He wanted it or
not. So in order, to do the will of the
Father, Jesus did what no politician has ever done in the history of
campaigning in this country … He attempted to stop getting press coverage. He attempted to continue revealing the
Father’s love quietly and without any fanfare.
It is no small irony that Jesus could have been king any
time He wanted, He could have done what every Israelite believed the Messiah
would do. But He did not. He chose not to. He chose to avoid politics and power
entirely. He did nothing to break the
pagan Roman rule, instead He submitted to it, even when it killed Him without
cause. What Trump or Clinton would
likely kill for, our Lord discarded with deep disdain. Jesus had other priorities, other interests,
another mission He was here to perform.
If Christians are to follow His example, perhaps they should abandon a
quest for political power, and the ability to dominate the actions and
conscience of others, and instead pursue the course of their Lord, revealing
only the love of the Father to others.
But alas, this is something no Christian seems willing to emulate in
either political party. Instead
candidates tout their faith, and demand more power for themselves. And believers claim it is their duty to elect
someone who will “protect” Christianity and legislate its values “for the
benefit of others”. It is the revelation
of the Father’s love to someone in need, that would truly benefit others. That action is devoid of politics, and
mirrors the true mission of Christ. To
do this without credit or fame, is even closer to the actions of Christ.
Peter recalled what was fast degenerating into secret
missions of the Father’s love to John Mark in his gospel in chapter seven, and
beginning in verse 24 saying … “And from thence he arose, and went into the
borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man
know it: but he could not be hid.” Jesus
was traveling far and wide in the land of Palestine. He had gone to the very borders of the nation
near Tyre and Sidon and planned to conduct some revelations of the Father’s
love quietly and in secret. But there
would be no opportunity to quietly reach those in need. The devil would see to that. Jesus did not seek publicity at this
point. In fact He was always asking
those He healed not to reveal what had been done for them now. The crowds that would gather were no longer
as needy as they were determined to make Him King whether He wanted it or
not. John’s gospel includes many
references to times when Jesus had to “disappear” in a crowd in order to avoid
it making Him king. In this instance,
despite the distance from Galilee and Jerusalem, there was a reason why His
fame had reached this region. It stemmed
from an incident where Christ tested the faith of a supplicant.
John Mark continues recording it in verse 25 saying … “For a
certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and
came and fell at his feet: [verse 26] The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by
nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her
daughter.” This incident has many
interesting truths buried subtly within it.
First, the person coming to Jesus was not actually the one
possessed. So the victim appears to be
unable or unwilling to seek help directly.
If ANY healing is going to come, it will be because a mother is praying
for mercy for her daughter, no matter what the daughter wants. Anyone fall into this category now? Second, the woman was NOT a Jew, she was a
Greek. Even after Jesus ascends into
heaven it takes years before the disciples of Christ are “willing” to take the
gospel to people other than Jews. Oh
sure, they would travel to the far ends of the earth to find Jews to teach His
message to, but spend no time attempting to share it with pagans of any kind along
the way. But this woman is a Greek. In the Jewish mind, she is a pagan, and
rightfully has earned the demon that inhabits her for worshipping demons in the
first place. It is no accident her
daughter is possessed, it is simple cause and effect.
Jesus is aware of the mindset of those who follow Him, and
those who are witnessing this encounter.
So He does something unusual. He
does something along the lines of how God tested Abraham of old (the first hero
and father of the Jewish nation). Mark
records the response of Christ in verse 27 saying … “But Jesus said unto her,
Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.”
This was to be a test of faith for the mother. But it was also a test of faith for His
disciples and for us. The disciples
should have had empathy for this mother.
They should have had their hearts broken for her, and joined with her in
wanting her daughter’s pain removed. But
they did not. Nor do we. We see those who have sinned, and not only do
we blame them for their sins, we judge that the punishments they are receiving
are the ones they have earned. Our
hearts are unmoved. Pagans of old earned
their pain as do sinners who refuse Christianity today. We look upon Islamic refugees of war, rape,
and starvation, and judge that they worship our God yet deny His Son, therefore
are worthy of the pain they endure. If
they were Christian, perhaps, they deserve aid.
But as Muslims, or atheists, or Hindu, or pagan, they deserve nothing
but their pain. They too are “dogs” in
our minds. They are not human, not
worthy of our empathy, not worthy of our love.
This was the mindset of the Jews in His day, it had even infected the
minds of His disciples. It is the
mindset of Christianity today, in far too wide a circle.
But the faith of a mother, can withstand the insult of being
called a bitch, or a dog. The faith of a
mother who knows the love of God cannot be hardened against her, and will
persevere no matter what. The faith of a
mother availeth much. She responds in
verse 28 saying … “And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs
under the table eat of the children's crumbs.”
This woman lacks no humility, she is composed of it. She is not looking to be made equal in the
“status” of the Jews, she will satisfy herself with being a “dog” if she can
but lick crumbs of love from the floor.
Her faith is unparalleled. She
does not retreat after insult. She does
not abandon her cause. She humbles
herself even more, and will beg for the mercy of a love she knows cannot resist
this plea. The heart of Christ is broken
for her. He can no longer maintain the
charade of pretending to think like His companions think, or talk and treat her
as they would have done. He must reveal
the truth of love to her. So in tender
love He now tells her what she had come to hear saying in verse 29 … “And he
said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy
daughter. [verse 30] And when she was come to her house, she found the devil
gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.”
Jesus calls attention to her saying, her response. He does this for the benefit of His disciples
and for us. Not all Greeks, pagans, and
those steeped in sin, really want to remain in that condition. Some of who we judge as unworthy are actually
trying to find Jesus, but it is our judgment that gets in their way. Despite His harsh words to her, to reveal the
thinking of His companions, she does not flinch or desert her cause. Her faith is so great she is willing to eat
crumbs of love from off the floor. His
disciples are yet completely unwilling to humble themselves in this way. They lack even the empathy for her that
should have touched their hearts. Jesus
is making a comparison of the great faith of this woman who is NOT a Jew, with
those who “should” have had greater faith from the scriptures they
studied. A seemingly completely
uneducated woman (in Jewish scripture at least), only knows one thing, that
Jesus Christ is God on earth, and can heal her daughter. And a mother’s faith is rewarded with what
she asked, no matter how her daughter felt about it. The faith of a mother, interceding for her
child, was rewarded. Are there any
mothers today, who doubt their prayers will be heard? Look to the faith of this woman, and find hope. What is asked in secret can be rewarded
openly.
The disciples should have learned right here that pagans
were worthy of the gospel. They should
have learned right here that the love of God is poured out on ALL people. They should have been humbled by what Christ
said, to echo the feelings in their own hearts.
But people see what they want to see, and their blindness was a
choice. The lesson is more than just for
them. Jesus travels with an attempt at
secrecy to avoid being forced to take power.
We seek power every chance we find.
Jesus’ mission is instead to reveal the love of His Father to those in
need, despite the fact that they do not worship in the right religion,
understand the Bible, or continue to make decisions that lead to the conditions
they are in today. In spite of all of
that, Jesus reveals the Father’s love to them.
We judge those not like us, and condemn them for the sins they
commit. We should be humbled. We should be touched in our hearts for the
pain they endure, even though they bring it upon themselves. We should ache to see their sins removed, and
pain healed. We should long to show them
how love saved us, and why we are able to love them in spite of who they are,
or what they do, or what they believe.
It is love that provides the motivation to change.
We do not need to look for publicity for how we minister or
love. We do not need to seek to change
the laws of our nation to reach someone in need today. We need only to reach out, and find that His
love is sufficient for their needs, even if only reflected poorly through
us. The secrecy Christ sought, and the
missions of revealing His Father’s love had only just begun …
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