Jesus’s Ministtry to Gentiles
Below is the Message Audio. It is followed by Typed Notes.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem in southern Israel which was in the land of Canaan.
The land of Canaan in the Bible refers to the ancient geographical area God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants-The Land of Promise.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
So although the people of Israel took posession of the the land of Canaan promised to them, some Canaanites remained and are referred to as Gentiles.
Canaan was situated in the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea west of the Jordan River which today encompasses present-day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and the Southern portions of Syria and Lebanon.
Jesus reaching out to Canaanites who were Gentiles.
Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man. Mark 5:1-8, 18-20. They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me,Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
During the time of Christ, the ten cities of Decapolis and the surrounding region were inhabited mostly by Gentiles, not Jews, and the area had a strong Greek influence. This fact probably accounts for the presence of a large herd of swine near Gadara.
Jesus restores the daughter of a woman of Canaan. Matthew 15:21-28. Jesus went “into the coast of Tyre and Sidon” (This is modern day southern Lebanon.) 22. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24. But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25. Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26. But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27. And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” 28. 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.
When Jesus was born, Israel was under Roman rule. The Jewish population may have not been the majority of the population in Canaan land. Jesus ministry was focused on the Jewish population, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Later in His ministry, Jesus did also reach out to Gentiles because He came to redeem all sinners who have faith in Him.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:16. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Below is the underlined link to the Typed Notes pdf