1 Kings 11:1-6; Matthew 4:23-25; Matthew 15:22-28; Mark 7:24-30; Acts 10:34-35; Matthew 8:10, 13.

 “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” (Matthew 15:28).

 From the beginning, a loving God sought His lost children (Genesis 3:9); and, to our day, this same loving God is still seeking to reach the lost (see Revelation 14:6-12), including the lost in the cities. In 2018, the United Nations published its latest findings, which say that 55 percent of the planet’s population lives in urban areas, and this will grow (if time should last) to 68 percent by 2050. We have no choice: we must witness to those in the cities.

 Yet, many of God’s people act as Jonah did when called to witness to a city: for whatever reason, they flee from the task. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). That includes what was written about Jonah.

 When here, Jesus ministered not only to those in the cities of Israel but to those in foreign regions, as well; that is, to those outside of the Jewish nation and the chosen people.

 This week we will study the Bible story of Christ’s mission to Tyre and Sidon and draw lessons to apply to our lives today.

 *Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 16.

 We read that Jesus took His disciples from Gennesaret (Matthew 14:34) “and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon” (Matthew 15:21). Why did He take them from Galilee to these pagan places? He leads His disciples on this field trip into the borders of these foreign regions so that they can learn, on location, what they could not learn so easily in Galilee. He wanted to teach His disciples lessons that would help prepare them for their calling to reach all people groups, including urbanites.

 Read Judges 3:1-6; 1 Kings 5:1-12; 1 Kings 11:1-6. How do these texts help us understand a bit of the background of these cities?

 From Judges 3:1-6, we see that these ancient peoples were used by God to test the Israelites’ faith. Unfortunately, God’s people failed that test, too, at least in this instance: “And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods” (Judges 3:6). Thus, right from the start, these people were a stumbling block to Israel.

 In 1 Kings 5:1-11, we can see the close relationship between the Sidonians and the Hebrews. Though on one level, the economic ties were mutually beneficial, no doubt the Hebrews were still negatively influenced by the paganism and idolatry of their trading partners.

 1 Kings 11:1-6 reveals just how negative that influence even­tually became: King Solomon married Sidonian princesses, who led him astray. “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians” (1 Kings 11:5).

 Yet, despite the history of paganism and idolatry, and their negative influence on the chosen nation, Jesus still brought His disciples to these places. In this way He initiated them in cross-cultural urban mission, confronting their bias and bigotry, and modeled for His followers wholistic urban mission to all cultures and nationalities.

 Many challenges face the Adventist urban missionary, among them include health and environmental concerns. Others would include the high cost of living, racism, bigotry, nationalism, and constraints on religious freedom and expression. Nevertheless, despite these obstacles, we must work for the cities.

 Despite challenges, external and internal, Jesus graciously extends the call to us for His mission to the cities.

 Read Matthew 9:35-38. What does this teach us about mission to the multitudes, wherever we find them?

 Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes, such as are found in cities. Luke 19:41 describes how Jesus wept over Jerusalem. We may not understand the depths of Jesus’ love for His children, even for the “faceless masses” living in cities. This is why in Matthew 9:38 Jesus tells us to pray, so that our motives and hearts can be like His.

 Read Matthew 4:23-25. As Jesus began His ministry, from what geographic locations did the people come?

 In Matthew 4:25, the multitudes following Jesus came from Galilee, from the ten city-states of the Decapolis to the east, from Jerusalem, and from Judea to the south. Besides Samaria, what region was missing? The coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, part of Phoenicia, along the Mediterranean Sea and northwest of Galilee. We now see why Jesus went to this area! This trip to the region of Tyre and Sidon was one of Jesus’ cross-cultural mission trips.

 “After the encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus withdrew from Capernaum, and crossing Galilee, repaired to the hill country on the borders of Phoenicia. Looking westward, He could see, spread out upon the plain below, the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon, with their heathen temples, their magnificent palaces and marts of trade, and the harbors filled with shipping.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,p. 399.

 Bible scholars believe that the Gospel of Matthew had been written specifically for a Jewish audience, and that Mark was written with primarily a Gentile audience in mind. It is helpful to keep this distinction before us as we study the Gospels.

 Read Matthew 15:22-28; Mark 7:24-30. What differences do you see in how the woman was depicted?

 Notice how Matthew describes this mother using her nationality or race: Canaanite. Mark is led by the Holy Spirit to use additional terms to describe this mother as “a Greek” or “a Gentile” and then gives additional information: “a Syro-Phoenician by birth” or “a Syrian of Phoenicia”—the only time that this term is used in the Bible.

 Consider how this story in Matthew 15:1-39 would impact the intended primary audience with their background and worldview. Matthew’s audience would see this mother as a despised heathen. This comes from the Jewish people’s historical experience with the Canaanites as an idol-worshiping people group whose evil lifestyle and practices had long been a stumbling block to their nation. Even Christ’s disciples did not consider the possibility that this woman had faith and was part of the kingdom of God!

 In Mark 7:1-37, Mark’s audience of Gentiles would have a different response from that of Matthew’s. The Gentiles did not have the same experience as the Jews did with the Canaanites. Instead, the Gentiles would identify with this woman, “a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth” (NKJV). Jesus healed one of their own! For the Gentiles, this woman would be regarded as a beloved mother who was concerned about the fate of her daughter and wanted the Master to heal her, regardless of this mother’s ethnic and national background.

 “Christ did not immediately reply to the woman’s request. He received this representative of a despised race as the Jews would have done. In this He designed that His disciples should be impressed with the cold and heartless manner in which the Jews would treat such a case, as evinced by His reception of the woman, and the compassionate manner in which He would have them deal with such distress, as manifested by His subsequent granting of her petition.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,p. 400.

 In the unreached neighborhood of the cities, there are many who long for hope. During Christ’s time, what prevented God’s people from bringing hope of the Messiah to such foreign cities as Tyre and Sidon? Nationalism, pride, and prejudice blinded God’s people to the opportunities to see those nearest to them who longed for the hope foretold by the prophecies of the First Advent. Today in the cities, there are many population groups with whom Jesus Christ wants His people to share the “blessed hope” of the Second Advent (Titus 2:13). And just as Jesus didn’t care what their nationality or race was, neither should we.

 Read Acts 10:9-16, 28, 34-35. How would you summarize the lesson taught here by the Holy Spirit?

 While waiting for lunch, Peter was given a vision of a rooftop buffet complete with a tablecloth filled with unclean animals and birds. Three times he was told in this vision to get up and eat. God used these visions to confront Peter’s religious pride and bigotry against the Gentiles. Peter eventually understood this truth: “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him’” (Acts 10:34-35).

 With this background, let’s reflect on our story for lessons from Tyre and Sidon. Look again at Jesus and His interaction with the mother. What lessons did the disciples learn from this field trip that related also to Peter’s vision? How can we apply these to our lives today and to Christ’s last-day call to His mission to the cities? What biases prevent us from seeing the needs of urbanites? What opportunities has God provided to us in the cities—to expand our mission understanding, and caringly to confront our bigotry, nationalism, and spiritual pride?

 Jesus patiently taught His disciples, who did not yet fully understand that God’s great plan of salvation was for the entire human family, not just one nation or rural ethnic group. The Holy Spirit can help us to overcome our prejudice and bias in order to complete our mission to the cities.

 In Luke 18:8, Jesus asks this question at the end of one of His parables: “ ‘When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ ” (NKJV). As Christ’s disciples today, we need to see what Jesus is looking for. In this story, we can see that Jesus is looking for faith that shines even amid darkness.

 Read Matthew 8:10, 13; Matthew 9:2; Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 2:5; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43. In these passages, whom does Jesus describe as having faith?

 This list includes people with faith that shone even in dark cities. In Capernaum, Jesus highlights several people with faith. In Matthew 8:10, 13, we see a converted pagan centurion with great faith. We meet four faith-filled friends who ripped up the roof to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus (Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; Mark 10:1-52), we meet the former blind man, Bartimaeus, whose faith shines bright in Jericho.

 At the same time, we would expect that among God’s people there would be great faith. Yet, even in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, little faith—or even outright unbelief—was the limiting factor to Christ’s ministry. Among His disciples, several times Jesus says of Israel, “O ye [thou] of little faith!” (Matthew 6:30; Matthew 8:26; Matthew 14:31; Matthew 16:8). And in Matthew 17:17, Jesus exclaims, “O faithless and perverse generation”!

 One lesson that we can apply to today is that faith is found in unexpected places: in the cities among foreigners, pagans, and people with different religions. In humility, we must go into the cities as Jesus did, seeking out those who, when presented with truth, will respond with a saving faith in Jesus. And they are indeed out there.

 “Among those whom the Jews styled heathen were men who had a better understanding of the Scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah than had the teachers in Israel. There were some who hoped for His coming as a deliverer from sin. Philosophers endeavored to study into the mystery of the Hebrew economy. But the bigotry of the Jews hindered the spread of the light.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,p. 33.

 “The Lord Jesus, the mighty Saviour, has died for these souls. He can arouse them from their indifference, he can awaken their sympathies, he can soften their hearts, he can reveal to their souls the beauty and power of the truth. The Master-worker is God, and not finite man; and yet he calls upon men to be the agents through whom he can impart light to those in darkness. God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world, but in humility and love, present to all the truth as it is in Jesus. Let men see piety and devotion, let them behold Christlikeness of character, and they will be drawn to the truth. . . . They are to lift up Jesus, the world’s Redeemer; they are to hold forth the word of life.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 17, 1893.

 What are some of the immediate needs in the areas where you live that could give you and your church the opportunity to reach out to souls who don’t know the truths that we do?
 Look at Ellen G. White’s words above regarding those of other faiths: “God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world.” In other words, how can we show people the error of their ways while at the same time not denigrating the people personally?
 “‘When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’” (Luke 18:8). What does Jesus mean by this rhetorical question? What is the difference between faith and belief? Why might people who have the correct belief be found void of faith when Christ returns?