JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 16: THE REFINING FIRE 1. Key TextsMark 7:1–30—Purity Laws, Syrophoenician WomanMatthew 15:1–28—What Defiles, Gentile Woman’s FaithMark 8:1–33—Feeding of the 4,000, Peter’s Confession, Jesus’ RebukeMatthew 16:13–26—Peter’s Confession, Call to the CrossIsaiah 29:13—“This people honors me with their lips”Deuteronomy 8:3—“Man does not live by bread alone”2. Outline / NotesDate & Place• Late summer 28 AD, northern Galilee and borderlands.• Jesus expands his campaign beyond Jewish territory—crossing into Gentile regions.Main AccountsA. Purity–Redefining Holiness• Pharisees confront Jesus about ritual handwashing.• Ritual purity had become a badge of faithfulness under foreign rule—a way to preserve Jewish identity.• Jesus quotes Isaiah 29.• He turns the purity system inside out.• “Thus Jesus declared all foods clean.”• Jesus dismantles the system that decides who has access to God based on external rules.B. The Gentile Woman – Faith Beyond Boundaries• Jesus travels north into Tyre and Sidon—Gentile territory.• A Syrophoenician woman begs for her daughter’s healing.• Jesus tests her with a hard saying: “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”• She replies, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table.”• Her humility and persistence reveal profound faith.• Jesus honors her: “For this saying, your daughter is healed.”C. The Feeding of the 4,000• In the Decapolis, Jesus repeats the feeding miracle.• The symbolism: twelve (first feeding) = Israel; seven = fullness of the nations.• Even the word for “basket” (spuris) shifts from the Jewish term (kophinos) used earlier—hinting at Gentile context.• God’s table has no borders.D. The Blind Man of Bethsaida – Partial Vision, Gradual Clarity• In Jewish territory, Jesus heals a blind man in two stages.• First, partial sight: “I see people, but they look like trees walking.”• Then full sight: “He saw everything clearly.”• Disciples are like this man—seeing, still blurry in understanding.• Spiritual vision often comes in stages, not instantly.E. Peter’s Confession and the Rebuke• In Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”• Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”• Jesus affirms—but redefines it: “The Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, and be killed.”• Peter rebukes Jesus—he can’t accept a suffering Messiah.• Jesus responds sharply: “Get behind me, Satan.”• The temptation is the same one from the wilderness.• Jesus calls all followers to the same path: “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.”3. Exegetical Insight• Greek katharizō (“to make clean”) in Mark 7:19—Jesus redefines ritual purity.• “Children’s bread” (Mk 7:27) = covenant blessing; “dogs” (kynaria) = diminutive, suggesting “house dogs,” not total rejection.• “Seven baskets” (Mk 8:8) echoes Gentile inclusion—seven nations of Canaan (Deut. 7:1).• “Get behind me, Satan” (hupage opisō mou) = “fall in line again as follower.”4. Reflection Questions• What “purity systems” or boundaries still shape how you think about holiness?• Where might Jesus be asking you to cross a line—geographically, socially, or spiritually?• How do you respond when God’s call challenges your assumptions?• When have you, like Peter, said the right thing but misunderstood what it meant?• What would it mean for you to take up your cross—not symbolically, but in practice?5. Action Step / Challenge• Read Mark 7–8 slowly, paying attention to the shift to the Gentiles.• Identify one “boundary” you’ve drawn—someone or something you’ve considered “unclean.”• This week, cross it.• Pray for vision to see clearly, not just correctly. Buy the books! Jesus: The Strategic Life and Mission of the Messiah and His Movement.Buy or borrow:Hekhal.coJesus, vol. 1Jesus, vol. 2Jesus, vol. 3Amazon (print or ebook)Barnes & Noble (print or ebook)Hoopla (borrow)
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