GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 7:25
Too Good to Be True
Recently, a reporter described a man who heard about a wonderful investment in e-scooters in Japan, owned and rented by a company called LSSC. The sales pitch told him that Japanese people didn’t own automobiles, so the e-scooter business was booming. He saw pictures of rows of e-scooters parked, where anyone could rent one and pay per ride. According to the sales pitch, he could earn as much as $4,000 a month. This particular investor put in $200,000—his retirement savings—and received monthly reports showing the daily growth of his investment. He recruited some family members and friends to invest in the company. Then he needed some money, so he tried to make a withdrawal from his LSSC investment account—but there was no company, no investment, and no money to be had. He had been scammed. It was too good to be true.
Mark told the story about Jesus’ trip 70 miles north to Tyre and Sidon. After the long trip, perhaps taking about four days, he went into a house and wished to remain obscure. However, news about his message and ministry was already well known in the region (Mark 3:7-8; Luke 6:17-18). “But immediately, a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, she came and fell down at his feet.” (Mark 7:25) A woman, apparently in Tyre, heard about Jesus’ presence. It’s easy to imagine that she thought this news was too good to be true. The woman’s little daughter was ill. Mark said she had an unclean spirit—a generic term covering many maladies of the New Testament era. In all probability, this woman had sought the aid of physicians to no avail. Could it be that Jesus, the healer, was present—too good to be true?
Social conventions and customs aside, the woman came into the house, apparently in the middle of a meal, and fell at Jesus’ feet—an action that a respectable woman would never have done in ordinary circumstances. But these were not ordinary circumstances: her little daughter was ill. Was it too good to be true? Was the healer actually there? Would he help?
There are voices today proclaiming news that sounds “too good to be true,” like the e-scooter business. Then there is news about the hopeful resources available through faith at the feet of Jesus the Christ. May the Father grant wisdom to avoid the first and avail oneself of the second.
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