Crossing the Line...

        Jesus had been a Jew.

        He taught his disciples to spread the message of the good news within the boundaries of the Jewish territory.

        He walked carefully within the lines set for the Jewish people.

      "These twelve Jesus sent out and gave them orders, saying, Do not go among the Gentiles, or into any town of Samaria, But go to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel,  And, on your way, say, The kingdom of heaven is near. Make well those who are ill, give life to the dead, make lepers clean, send evil spirits out of men; freely it has been given to you, freely give." (Matt 10:5-8).

        At first while encountering the non-Jewish persons, Jesus ignored the crying request of a "Gentile" mother: 

        And Jesus went away from there into the country of Tyre and Sidon. And a woman of Canaan came out from those parts, crying and saying, Have pity on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is greatly troubled with an unclean spirit. But he gave her no answer. And his disciples came and said to him, Send her away, for she is crying after us. But he made answer and said, I was sent only to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel.  But she came and gave him worship, saying, Help, Lord. And he made answer and said, It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs. But she said, Yes, Lord: but even the dogs take the bits from under their masters' table  Then Jesus, answering, said to her, O woman, great is your faith: let your desire be done.  And her daughter was made well from that hour. (Matt 15:21-27 also in Mark 7:24-30)

 

Then out of the grace and the love of the Heavenly Father, Jesus crossed that line which separated the Jewish from the outside world for thousands of years. 

Jesus went ahead and healed that foreign daughter who was suffering from the evil ghosts. 

Jesus was a Jew.  

Yet he crossed the line. 

Thanks to that "foreign" mother and daughter. 

Thanks to Jesus who crossed that line. 

By crossing the line Jesus has been the savior of the world. 

Perhaps, when we cross the "lines" of our lives, we'd see the smiling face of God... 

- This brief message was delivered during the adult Sunday School at the  

  Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of Greater Chicago on September 17, 2017

-- The Scriptures were quoted from The Bible in Basic English

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