tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389073879866656529.post926577988008872110..comments2023-05-13T11:17:45.044-04:00Comments on Minister of Mechanicsburg: Pentecost 14 Sermon -- Matthew 15:21-18 (LSB Proper 15A)Rev. Luke T. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06248166785577564914noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389073879866656529.post-14259235915454416262008-08-20T10:36:00.000-04:002008-08-20T10:36:00.000-04:00Welcome to the blogosphere. I'll have to read thr...Welcome to the blogosphere. I'll have to read through your sermons now that I know where to find them. It will be nice to have a chance to see what you are up to.<BR/><BR/>Take care,<BR/><BR/>Paulrevlittleelmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11856219714042134878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389073879866656529.post-82224689203395054172008-08-19T19:38:00.000-04:002008-08-19T19:38:00.000-04:00Bryce:Good question. I was knocking that around in...Bryce:<BR/><BR/>Good question. I was knocking that around in my mind as well, especially with the dog imagery (e.g. hold up the piece of ham and make the beagle jump for it).<BR/><BR/>What I found interesting was the Sending of the Twelve earlier in Matthew's Gospel, which was read a couple months ago in Church. Note the command that Jesus gives to them in Matthew 10: <I>"Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'"</I><BR/><BR/>Now of course, the Twelve (minus Judas Iscariot) would be sent to the Gentiles after Christ's resurrection. But in this part of Jesus' ministry, the Gentiles appear to be excluded from deliberate evangelistic effort. There seems to be a parallel here. And I found that fact to be influential in trying to explain the exchange in Tyre and Sidon with the Canaanite woman.<BR/><BR/>Why would Jesus make such a statement: <I>"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the <BR/>house of Israel"</I> and only send the Twelve to the same group, when we know that He was sent to redeem the entire world? I'm led to explain this by focusing on the timing of both incidents. At this point in His ministry, Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies regarding mastery over sin-plagued nature (miraculous healings, control over wind and wave, etc.), as well as remedying the poor spiritual condition of Israel (teaching with authority, rather than preaching Pharisaical theology). When this is completed and then the Suffering Servant prophecies are fulfilled, then the full effect of Jesus' work is seen: the entire world is redeemed.<BR/><BR/>But as we know, there are <I>"crumbs that fall from the Master's table"</I> during this ministry. The Gentiles, like the aliens in the Israelites' tents during the Exodus, receive good things from Jesus. Yet, it would not be until the institution of the New Testament and the Resurrection that they are made deliberate targets of the evangelistic mission of Christ.<BR/><BR/>That was bouncing around in my mind during the study of this event in Matthew's Gospel.<BR/><BR/>LTZRev. Luke T. Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248166785577564914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389073879866656529.post-77346111890924955292008-08-19T02:45:00.000-04:002008-08-19T02:45:00.000-04:00Luke, Do you think it is a possiblity that Jesus w...Luke, Do you think it is a possiblity that Jesus was simply testing the woman? From what we know of Jesus' holistic ministry, do you think he ever meant, literally, "I have come only for the house of Israel", or could this be a "test question" for those who misconceived his mission?<BR/><BR/>BryceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com