If Jesus called you a dog, how would you react? In this message, which continues our This is My Story series, Pastor Jamie shares the biblical story of an outcast who received mercy from Jesus. 

In Mark chapter 7 and Matthew 15, we find the story of the Syrophenician Woman

This encounter takes place around 2/3rd of the way through Jesus' 3-year earthy ministry. He and his disciples traveled 50 miles north of Galilee to the coastal area of Tyre and Sidon.

Mark 7:24-26

Matthew 15:23 

Mark 7:26-27

The Jews were known to call Gentiles "dogs" as a racial slur and religious insult. The word they used meant "wild dog," but the word Jesus uses here mean "little dog" or pet. 

Mark 7:28-30 She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates." 29 "Good answer!" he said. "Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter." 30 And when she arrived home, she found ... the demon was gone.

This woman was an outcast in every sense of the word and had no right to Jesus' help—no one thought that she deserved anything from Him. But Jesus liked her bold answer showed mercy.

Three words that deal with what we deserve:

Justice: when you get what you deserve

Mercy: when you don't get the bad things you deserve

Grace: when you get the good things you don't deserve

Mercy is compassion in action. When you feel compassion it moves you to mercy.

Hebrews 4:16 NLT 

This woman came boldly. 

Luke 6:36 

God is a God of justice, but God is also a God of mercy

Our culture is mercy-deficient. Many of us value justice above all else, and God certainly values justice as well. But mercy is greater.

James 2:13b ESV "Mercy triumphs over judgment." (Higher than, better than)

Mercy is not God being soft on sin. Mercy doesn't redefine sin, but it's God's solution to sin. God's mercy to us defeated sin, it didn't empower sin. 

People who don't like mercy are people who don't think they need mercy. If you don't think you're sick, you won't be impressed 

with the cure for sickness. But when you see your deep need for God's mercy, you'll be quick to show it to others.

How do you get mercy? Show mercy.

Matthew 5:7

There is one way, and one way only to obtain mercy from God: give it to others. You can't earn it, you can only receive it by releasing it. If you feel that you can't catch a break in life, maybe you need to give the people in your life a break. 

We have nothing to offer a pure, holy, righteous and perfect God. All we can do is receive unearned, undeserved mercy. And the only way to get it is to give it.

Does mercy triumph over judgment in your life? What story are you writing?