Beyond the Boundaries
This is the sermon I preached Sunday, 9/9/18 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel was Mark 7:24-37 . Today’s gospel reading starts out with Jesus on the move. Earlier in this chapter, we’re told he was in Galilee, probably Capernaum, where Peter’s house was. Jesus then goes to Tyre for some rest. That’s around 35 miles from Capernaum. That's where he’s at for our story. After that, he goes “by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee,” (v. 31). I don’t think so! Sidon is about 15 miles northeast of Tyre, while Galilee is southeast of Tyre. Later, Jesus goes to the Decapolis, parts of which border Galilee, to feed the 4,000. The point is that the route was pretty circuitous. We see this in other gospels as well, such as when Jesus went to Samaria. “[Jesus] left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4 But he had to go through Samaria,” (John 4:3-4). No, he didn’t. The most direct way from Judea to Galilee is through the Jordan Valley. Samaria was a detour, but Jesu...