A Foreigner’s Faith. Mark 7:24-30.
And from there he rose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”But she answered him, “Yes Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”And he said to her, “For this statement, you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Dear Family,
Most of Jesus’ ministry was within the boundaries of Israel, which at the time comprised mainly the provinces of Judea and Galilee. On occasion, Jesus went to other provinces and ministered there briefly. This is one such time. The cities of Tyre and Sidon lay along the coast, North of Israel, and were in Phoenicia. Jesus’ visit there may have been intended to be private, probably in order to get away from the crowds in Galilee. But alas, even in Phoenicia he could not hide! Even here, his fame had spread.
Request (vv. 24-26). A Gentile woman came to him and beseeched him to set her daughter free from an unclean spirit. No doubt she had heard that Jesus could do it. The account makes plain her desperation.
Reply (v. 27). Jesus’ reply needs to be understood in the context of that time. When he said that it was “not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” two things immediately spring to mind. One is that the Jews used the term dog about gentiles because they saw gentiles as uncultured in the ways of God. The second is idiomatic sayings that must not be taken literally. A good example is the idiom “The devil you know.” It would be a misrepresentation to say that the person using such a term was calling another a devil. Likewise, he used an idiom to communicate to the woman that his mission and ministry were mainly to the Jewish people. To take it to non-Jews was like robbing the children of their bread to feed it to the dogs.
Rebuttal (v. 28). The woman understood Jesus but did not give up. She told him that the children must obviously drop crumbs under the table as they eat, which crumbs everyone expected the dogs to pick up. In other words, she is saying to Jesus, “I have no quarrel with the focus of your mission. Those who are entitled to it may continue to enjoy its benefits. All I’m asking for is the crumbs from their table.”
Response (v. 29). The faith of the Syrophoenician woman impressed Jesus and he granted her wish. This also tells us that Jesus’ reply was not a refusal but a prompt, to enable her to declare her faith.
Relief (v. 30). The woman went away – no plea for Jesus to come to her house and confirm her daughter healed – a further demonstration of her faith. And sure enough, when she got home, the daughter was in bed sleeping, free from the demon. This woman’s faith contrasts sharply with the skepticism of the Pharisees whom Jesus was dealing with prior to this, and shows that people can be well informed, yet unbelieving, while those with little knowledge can still exercise faith to dramatic results.
Your Loving Pastor Chris