In the middle of the Gospel of Mark, Peter makes his great confession that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus explains to His disciples what it means for the Son of Man to be the Christ, and His disciples are scandalized. It turns out that Jesus is not the savior they expected, but He is exactly the Savior they needed.
In Mark’s gospel, we are learning about who Jesus is. However, in chapter 8, we see that the Pharisees and the disciples are blind to who Jesus is. They do not understand why he came and what the messiah has to do in order to save his people.
Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the recurrent question is, “Who is Jesus?” Everyone agrees He is unique, but opinions vary widely when it comes to rightly identifying who Jesus is. Who Jesus is, determines how people approach Him. In Mark 7:24-37, we are introduced to two stories of people approaching Jesus. The first is a Syrophoenician woman with a demon-possessed daughter. The second is a deaf-mute man from the Decapolis. Both are Gentiles, and both of them, ironically, approach Jesus rightly.
Religion can’t save us. Religion can’t cleanse us because we have a relational problem. Our hearts are broken, stained, and defiled. What we need is more than quick fixes, laws, and behavior modification. What we need is new hearts.
This story addresses the heart that needs to see Jesus in the storm. Often, the next step in belief comes through experiencing the peace only God can bring in a God-ordained storm.