Jesus was under a lot of pressure from the multitudes and much scrutiny by the scribes and Pharisees. This predicament must have been difficult, humanly speaking, because He was always in demand wherever He went. There was almost no time to rest. It may be for this reason Jesus departed from Gennesaret and took retreat in the region a Tyre and Sidon. “He entered a house and wanted know one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter” (7:24-26). Mark obviously makes a big deal about her nationality – she was not a Jew, but a Gentile (Greek). Matthew refers to her as “a woman of Canaan” (Matthew 15:22). Instead reacting in a manner which we have come to expect with Jesus, Matthew reveals that “He answered her not a word” (Matthew 15:23a). Although Mark does not document it, it appears that this woman went to Jesus’ disciples after He did not respond to her request and they begged Jesus to tell her to go away (Matthew 15:23b). Following a period of silence Jesus says to the woman, “Let the children [Israel] be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread [blessings] and throw it to the little dogs [Gentiles, non-Jews]” (7:27). Matthew adds Jesus’ words spoken prior to Mark’s statement, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). I am certain Jesus was not being unkind to this woman, but simply communicating His mission and maybe also testing her faith. Paul reveals in Romans 1:16 that the gospel was intended to be preached to “the Jew first and also for the Greek.” This is not a rejection of the Gentiles, but only the process God chose to spread His message of faith and repentance. Some people see this as favortism, but who are we to question God. I believe this is one of those things we cannot try to figure out, but simplpy trust that God knows best.
This woman whose daughter is demon-possessed is very persistent and evidences a great faith in Jesus’ ability to heal. She speaks to Him and says, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs” (7:28). Her view was that everyone would benefit from the blessings given to the Jews. God had promised Abraham that through His descendents, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). She obviously believed in this promise given thousands of years ago and knew in her heart that Jesus was the promised One sent from God the Father. Because of her faith and humility, Jesus granted her request and her daughter was delivered of the demon (7:29-30). This is a wonderful example of persistence and faith in God’s ability to do the impossible.
Dear God, teach me what it means to be persistent in prayer. When I believe You have the ability to accomplish something, may I not quit asking until the answer has come.
