BIBLE STUDY LESSON 16

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

OUTSIDE THE LAND

A WOMAN OF FAITH

From Matthew 15:21-28

After this, Yeshua went into the countryside near Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman who lived there came to see Yeshua and begged Him for help. [Show mercy to me, King David’s son,] she pleaded. [My daughter has a demon in her and it is making her life miserable.] But Yeshua was silent. [Send this woman away,] His disciples said. [She keeps following us and making such a fuss.] At last Yeshua spoke. [I have been sent only to the lost people of Israel,] He said. But the woman fell down before Yeshua and begged Him some more. [Adonai, help me,] she pleaded. [It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to dogs,] He said. Then the woman answered. [You are right, Adonai,] she said. [But you also know that the dogs are glad to eat the few crumbs that fall from the table.] [You have great faith,] Yeshua told the woman. [So that for which you ask is now yours.] At the very moment He said that, the woman’s daughter became well.

A TIME FOR MIRACLES

From Mark 7:31-37

Leaving the countryside near Tyre, Yeshua went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, passing through the Decapolis or region of the Ten Towns. There some people brought a man who was deaf and almost without speech, begging Yeshua to put His hand on him. Yeshua took the man apart from the crowd and placed His fingers in the man’s ears. Then He spat and touched the man’s tongue. Looking up into heaven, Yeshua gave a sigh. [Open up!] Yeshua said. Immediately the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was freed so that he began to talk clearly. Yeshua ordered the people not to tell others about this, but it was too wonderful to be kept secret. The more He told them to keep it a secret, the more they told others about it. Of course, people were amazed when they heard about this miracle. [He certainly does everything well,] they said. [He even helps people hear and speak again!]

WHEN FOUR THOUSAND WERE FED

From Mark 8:1-9

One day a large crowd gathered around Yeshua. They stayed with Him for three days. Eventually they had no food left to eat, so Yeshua called the disciples to Him. [I’m concerned about these people, for they’ve been with Me three days and now they have no food,] He said. [If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way, for some have come a long distance.] [But where will we ever find enough food for them out here in the wilderness?] the disciples wondered. [How much bread do you have?] Yeshua asked. [Seven loaves,] the disciples answered. Yeshua told the crowd to sit on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks to YHVH, broke them into pieces, and asked His disciples to give the bread to the people. After the disciples had distributed the bread, they brought a few small fish to Yeshua. He gave thanks to YHVH for these also and told the disciples to distribute them to the crowd. When everyone had eaten until he was full, there were enough leftovers to fill seven baskets. Then Yeshua dismissed the crowd, which numbered more than four thousand people.

COMMENTARY

GENTILE NEIGHBOURS

In Bible times, the Roman army had conquered many of the smaller nations and made them a part of Caesar’s empire. The original boundaries that marked a country were no longer important, because most of the lands that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea now served the Roman emperor. Roads were built throughout the empire and people travelled freely from place to place. As they travelled, they came in contact with the cultures -- the ideas and customs -- of their neighbours. If something in another country was admired, the idea was often {borrowed} and made a part of their own culture. Even the Romans borrowed ideas from the countries they had conquered. They admired the art and architecture of the Greeks, and soon Roman art and architecture began to look very much like it. It became fashionable to speak Greek instead of Latin, and soon the Greek language was spoken all over the Roman empire. But the Jews in Palestine did not want to {borrow} from the Roman world. The Jews scorned their Gentile neighbours because they worshiped false gods represented by idols. They considered the Greeks and Romans unclean because of this and tried to avoid any contact with them. Since they were far too small in number and weak to fight for their independence, they separated themselves from the Roman culture in other ways instead. They kept to themselves as much as possible. A Jew even avoided brushing against a Gentile on the street. If he were defiled by contact with a Gentile, a Jew would not be able to go into the temple to offer his sacrifice. He wanted to keep away from anything that would make him unclean in the eyes of YHVH.