Jesus, Severe and Compassionate

Dear CrossPointe,

This week’s text, Mark 7:24-37, is quite an interesting one! In back-to-back encounters, Jesus calls a Gentile woman a “dog” and then, in order to heal a deaf man, sticks his fingers into his ears and spits. This hardly seems like the most convincing argument for following Jesus.

What is going on in these two encounters? I think this passage shows us a beautiful combination of severity and compassion in Jesus. This Sunday we’ll think deeply about the implications of this unusual mix.

Take some time to chew on the text before Sunday. You’ll get so much more out of it if you come having read and thought about the passage beforehand. Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday!

Grace and peace,

Brad