Lesson 11 Review: Mission to the Unreached: Part 2

 

Introduction

Memory Text: “Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (Matthew 15:28, NKJV).

55 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and that should grow (if time should last) to 68 percent by 2050. Yet, many of God’s people act as Jonah did when called to witness to a city: for whatever reason, they flee from the task. When here, Jesus not only ministered to the cities of Israel but ministered to foreign nations as well which include Tyre and Sidon, we should too.

Why did Jesus lead His disciples from Galilee to these pagan places?

Jesus led His disciples to the pagan places to teach them lessons that would help prepare them for their calling to help reach all people groups, including urbanities.

What is the brief history of Sidonites, Amorites, Perrizites, Jebusites, Hivites, people of Lebanon and others in Sunday’s lesson?

They have a long history of idolatry; they were reserved to test the children of Israel. Solomon had relationships with these pagan people, and he made a treaty with Hiram king of Tyre, He loved many pagan wives and children.

What is the message to Adventist Urban missionaries?

Health and environmental challenges, high cost of living, racism, bigotry, nationalism and constraints on religious freedom and expression and other challenges face the Adventist urban missionary. Nevertheless, we must work for the cities.

What lesson can we learn from Monday’s lesson?

Jesus was moved with compassion for the people, he saw their need and was moved with compassion for them. We too, should pray for a heart like Jesus’ to be moved with compassion over our fellow brethren. According to Mathew 4:25, the multitudes following Jesus came from Galilee, from the ten city-states of the Decapolis to the east, from Jerusalem and from Judea to the South, but besides Samaria, the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, part of Phoenicia, along the Mediterranean Sea and northwest of Galilee was missing among the multitudes that follow Jesus, now we see why Jesus went seeking for them. We too, Christ’s followers seek the multitudes in need of the message of salvation where they are.

What do bible scholars believe about the gospel of Matthew and Mark in Tuesday’s lesson?

Bible scholars believe that the Gospel of Matthew had been written specifically for a Jewish audience, and that Mark was written with primarily a Gentile audience in mind.

What are the distinctions in the description of Matthew 15 and Mark 7?

While Matthew describes this mother using her nationality or race: Canaanite, Mark is led by the Holy Spirit to use additional terms to describe this mother as “a Greek” or “a Gentile” and further says, she is “a Syro-Phoenician by birth” or “a Syrian of Phoenicia”.

What are the various reactions the audience of Mathew 15 and Mark 7 would give?

Matthew’s audience will see this mother as a despised heathen coming from the fact that the Jewish people has even before then seen the Canaanites as an idol-worshipping whose evil lifestyle and practices had long been a stumbling block to them. Mark’s audience would identify with this woman, “a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth” (NKJV), a beloved mother concerned about the fate of her daughter and wanted Jesus to heal her irrespective of the mother’s ethnic and national background.

How did Christ respond to the woman’s request and why?

Christ first received this woman as the Jews would have done to show His disciples the cold and heartless manner the Jews would treat such a case, then He showed His disciples the compassionate manner in which He would have them deal with such distress, by subsequently granting her request.

What questions stem from Wednesday’s lesson concerning Peter’s vision of unclean animals and the story of Tyre and Sidon?

What lessons did the disciples learn from this field trip that related also to Peter’s vision? How can we apply these to our lives today and to Christ’s last-day call to His mission to the cities? What biases prevent us from seeing the needs of urbanities? What opportunities has God provided to us in the cities-to expand our mission understanding, and caringly to confront our bigotry, nationalism, and spiritual pride?

Who can help us to overcome our prejudices and bias in order to complete our mission to the cities?

The Holy Spirit can help us overcome our prejudices and biases in order to complete our mission to the cities.

What is Jesus looking for in Chris’s disciples?

Jesus is looking for faith that shines even amid darkness. Thursday contains various passages in the Bible that include people with faith that shone even in dark cities. For instance, in Matthew 8: 10, 13, we see a converted pagan centurion with great faith.

What lesson can we apply from Thursday’s lesson?

Faith is found in unexpected places, therefore speaking to people about the gospel who are not “God’s people” can certainly lead to conversion. On the contrary, little faith-or even outright unbelief- was the limiting factor to Christ’s ministry. ‘Among His disciples, several times Jesus says of Israel, “O ye [thou] of little faith!” (Matt. 6:30, Matt. 8:26, Matt. 14:31, Matt. 16:8) . And in Matthew 17:17, Jesus exclaims, “O faithless and perverse generation”’!

In Conclusion,

We are not to see people as unworthy to receive the message of grace. In every race or nationality can be found God’s precious jewels, hence, we must deny them the gospel. Our mission is to those in cities, it is to everyone. I pray that the Holy Spirit helps us to overcome bigotry, prejudices, and bias in Jesus’ name.