Matthew-15_21-35 PDF

For discussion:

Church Acts Guide

• What is mistake you have made that you can laugh at today?

Matthew

The passages this week each describe Jesus' ministry to gentiles, starting in Tyre and Sidon, and then as he travelled back through a circuitous route through gentile territory to Magdala (south of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee).

Matthew 15:21-28 Healing a Canaanite woman's daughter

Tyre was 35 miles North of Galilee, Sidon about 60 miles North (a serious walk!).

 

• Why did Jesus and the disciples go so far North?

• Why did Jesus hesitate to heal the woman's daughter?

• Why did Jesus ultimately heal the woman's daughter?

• What do we learn about Jesus and how we should approach him?

Matthew 15:29-35

Mark 7:31 describes Jesus’ journey back to the sea of Galilee. From this we see that the four thousand fed in this passage were probably gentiles.

• What do you think of the gentile peoples’ reaction to Jesus and his teaching? Notice that "they glorified the God of Israel".

• How does Jesus’ ministry to these gentiles fit with what he told the Phoenician woman?

• In light of Matthew 14:13, what do you think the disciples were expecting when they questioned Jesus about how to feed the gentile group?

What do you think the disciples learned from this journey? What do these passages regarding Jesus’ ministry to the gentiles teach us?

From the events we discussed this week, what is one thing that you will try to put into practice this week?