Mar 7:24-30 . The Syrophenician woman (Mat 15:21-28 ). points to a change from the comparatively stationary life by the shores of the lake to a period of wandering in unwonted scenes. Cf. Mar 10:1 , where is used in reference to the final departure from Galilee to the south. The , instead of the more usual , emphasises this change. ., not towards (Fritzsche), but into the borders of Tyre. There can be no doubt that in Mk.’s narrative Jesus crosses into heathen territory ( cf. Mar 7:31 ). In view of the several unsuccessful attempts made by Jesus to escape from the crowd into quiet and leisure, so carefully indicated by Mk., this almost goes without saying. Failing within Jewish territory, He is forced to go without, in hope to get some uninterrupted leisure for confidential intercourse with the Twelve, rendered all the more urgent by scenes like that just considered, which too plainly show that His time will be short. , into a house; considering Christ’s desire for privacy, more likely to be that of a heathen stranger (Weiss) than that of a friend (Meyer, Keil). , He wished no one to know (He was there); to know no one (Fritzsche), comes to the same thing: desires to be private, not weary of well-doing, but anxious to do other work hitherto much hindered. , He was not able to escape notice; not even here!

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mark

CHILDREN AND LITTLE DOGS

Mar 7:24 – Mar 7:30 .

Our Lord desired to withdraw from the excited crowds who were flocking after Him as a mere miracle-worker and from the hostile espionage of emissaries of the Pharisees, ‘which had come from Jerusalem.’ Therefore He sought seclusion in heathen territory. He, too, knew the need of quiet, and felt the longing to plunge into privacy, to escape for a time from the pressure of admirers and of foes, and to go where no man knew Him. How near to us that brings Him! And how the remembrance of it helps to explain His demeanour to the Syrophcenician woman, so unlike His usual tone! Naturally the presence of Jesus leaked out, and perhaps the very effort to avoid notice attracted it. Rumour would have carried His name across the border, and the tidings of His being among them would stir hope in some hearts that felt the need of His help. Of such was this woman, whom Mark describes first, generally, as a ‘Greek’ that is, a Gentile, and then particularly as ‘a Syrophcenician by race’; that is, one of that branch of the Phoenician race who inhabited maritime Syria, in contradistinction from the other branch inhabiting North-eastern Africa, Carthage, and its neighbourhood. Her deep need made her bold and persistent, as we learn in detail from Matthew, who is in this narrative more graphic than Mark. He tells us that she attacked Jesus in the way, and followed Him, pouring out her loud petitions, to the annoyance of the disciples. They thought that they were carrying out His wish for privacy in suggesting that it would be best to ‘send her away’ with her prayer granted, and so stop her ‘crying after us,’ which might raise a crowd, and defeat the wish. We owe to Matthew the further facts of the woman’s recognition of Jesus as ‘the Son of David,’ and of the strange ignoring of her cries, and of His answer to the disciples’ suggestion, in which He limited His mission to Israel, and so explained to them His silence to her. Mark omits all these points, and focuses all the light on the two things-Christ’s strange and apparently harsh refusal, and the woman’s answer, which won her cause.

Certainly our Lord’s words are startlingly unlike Him, and as startlingly like the Jewish pride of race and contempt for Gentiles. But that the woman did not take them so is clear; and that was not due only to her faith, but to something in Him which gave her faith a foothold. We are surely not to suppose that she drew from His words an inference which He did not perceive in them, and that He was, as some commentators put it, ‘caught in His own words.’ Mark alone gives us the first clause of Christ’s answer to the woman’s petition: ‘Let the children first be filled.’ And that ‘first’ distinctly says that their prerogative is priority, not monopoly. If there is a ‘first,’ there will follow a second. The very image of the great house in which the children sit at the table, and the ‘little dogs’ are in the room, implies that children and dogs are part of one household; and Jesus meant by it just what the woman found in it,-the assurance that the meal-time for the dogs would come when the children had done. That is but a picturesque way of stating the method of divine revelation through the medium of the chosen people, and the objections to Christ’s words come at last to be objections to the ‘committing’ of the ‘oracles of God’ to the Jewish race; that is to say, objections to the only possible way by which a historical revelation could be given. It must have personal mediums, a place and a sequence. It must prepare fit vehicles for itself and gradually grow in clearness and contents. And all this is just to say that revelation for the world must be first the possession of a race. The fire must have a hearth on which it can be kindled and burn, till it is sufficient to bear being carried thence.

Universalism was the goal of the necessary restriction. Pharisaism sought to make the restriction permanent. Jesus really threw open the gates to all in this very saying, which at first sounds so harsh. ‘First’ implies second, children and little dogs are all parts of the one household. Christ’s personal ministry was confined to Israel for obvious and weighty reasons. He felt, as Matthew tells us, that He said in this incident that He was not sent but to the lost sheep of that nation. But His world-wide mission was as clear to Him as its temporary limit, and in His first discourse in the synagogue at Nazareth He proclaimed it to a scowling crowd. We cannot doubt that His sympathetic heart yearned over this poor woman, and His seemingly rough speech was meant partly to honour the law which ruled His mission even in the act of making an exception to it, and partly to test, and so to increase, her faith.

Her swift laying of her finger on the vulnerable point in the apparent refusal of her prayer may have been due to a woman’s quick wit, but it was much more due to a mother’s misery and to a suppliant’s faith. There must have been something in Christ’s look, or in the cadence of His voice, which helped to soften the surface harshness of His words, and emboldened her to confront Him with the plain implications of His own words. What a constellation of graces sparkles in her ready reply! There is humility in accepting the place He gives her; insight in seeing at once a new plea in what might have sent her away despairing; persistence in pleading; confidence that He can grant her request and that He would gladly do so. Our Lord’s treatment of her was amply justified by its effects. His words were like the hard steel that strikes the flint and brings out a shower of sparks. Faith makes obstacles into helps, and stones of stumbling into ‘stepping-stones to higher things.’ If we will take the place which He gives us, and hold fast our trust in Him even when He seems silent to us, and will so far penetrate His designs as to find the hidden purpose of good in apparent repulses, the honey secreted deep in the flower, we shall share in this woman’s blessing in the measure in which we share in her faith.

Jesus obviously delighted in being at liberty to stretch His commission so as to include her in its scope. Joyful recognition of the ingenuity of her pleading, and of her faith’s bringing her within the circle of the ‘children,’ are apparent in His word, ‘For this saying go thy way.’ He ever looks for the disposition in us which will let Him, in accordance with His great purpose, pour on us His full-flowing tide of blessing, and nothing gladdens Him more than that, by humble acceptance of our assigned place, and persistent pleading, and trust that will not be shaken, we should make it possible for Him to see in us recipients of His mercy and healing grace.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 7:24-30

24Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. 25But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

Mar 7:24 “Tyre” This is northwest of the Sea of Galilee, out of the boundaries of the OT Promised Land. It was predominately a Gentile area. The phrase “and Sidon” is missing in a few ancient Greek manuscripts, such as D, L, and W, but is present in Mat 15:21 and Mar 7:31 and in manuscripts , A, and B, as well as the Vulgate and Peshitta.

“yet He could not escape notice” This was the result of His miracles (cf. Mar 3:8). Even in a predominately Gentile area He could find no rest and private time with His disciples.

Mar 7:25 “little daughter had an unclean spirit” How children become demon possessed is not stated here nor in the account in Mar 9:17-29. In neither of these cases does it seem to be a familial spirit (i.e., demon passed from generation to generation within a family). See Special Topic: Exorcism at Mar 1:25.

“fell at His feet” This was a cultural sign of (1) asking a request of a superior or (2) humility. It is possible that she had heard of Jesus’ miracles and, out of desperation, approached this Jewish rabbi in fear!

Mar 7:26 “a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race” Remember, Jesus helped other Gentiles (cf. Mar 5:1; Mar 11:17; Mat 8:5-13; John 4), but within the geographical boundaries of the Promised Land. If Jesus had begun a healing ministry in a Gentile land, He would have been rejected by the Jewish populace because of their prejudices.

There is an interesting parallel between Jesus’ ministry to a Phoenician woman and Elijah’s ministry to a Phoenician woman in 1 Kings 17. In both God’s love, concern, and help are available to the hated Gentiles. This may have been another veiled evidence of His Messiahship.

In what language was this interchange between the woman and Jesus conducted? It would seem obvious that it had to have been Greek. Growing up in northern Palestine Jesus would have been tri-lingual. In Luk 4:16-20 Jesus reads from a Hebrew scroll of Isaiah. He would have been exposed to biblical Hebrew at synagogue school. He normally spoke Aramaic. He could speak Koine Greek (i.e., the private conversation with Pilate).

“she kept asking” This is an imperfect tense. She asked repeatedly!

“to cast the demon out” This is aorist active subjunctive. She still had some doubts about Jesus’ ability or willingness to act, which is expressed by the subjunctive mood.

Mar 7:27 “the children” This familial term refers to Israel (cf. Mat 15:24).

Mar 7:27-28

NASB, NRSV,

TEV”dogs”

NKJV, NJB”little dogs”

This is the only use of this term in the NT. Its harshness is diminished by the fact that it is diminutive in form (i.e., kunarion), “puppies” (NJB has “house-dogs”). The Jews called the Gentiles “dogs” as a term of derision. This dialogue was intended to help the disciples overcome their prejudice against Gentiles (cf. Mat 15:23). Jesus recognized and publicly affirmed that her faith was great (cf. Mat 15:28).

Mar 7:28 “‘Lord'” This is probably used in the cultural sense of “sir” or “mister,” as in Joh 4:11. This is surprisingly the only example of the use of kurios spoken to Jesus in Mark’s Gospel.

“the children’s” This is literally “little children” (paidion). There are several diminutive forms found in this context. In Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 1, p. 326, A. T. Robertson says “the little children purposely dropped a few little crumbs for the dog.” One wishes that Jesus’ voice inflection, facial expressions, and body language could have been recorded. I think the encounter was much more positive than mere words can record.

“children’s crumbs” The wealthy used bread to wipe the hands after eating, like a napkin.

Mar 7:29 “‘Because of this answer'” Jesus was impressed with this mother’s attitude of persistence and faith (cf. Mat 15:28). Jesus healed/delivered people based on the faith of another several times (cf. Mar 2:3-12; Mar 9:14-29; Mat 8:5-13).

“go; the demon has gone out of your daughter” This woman believed Jesus that He could expel the demons even from a distance with no ritual or magic.

Mar 7:29-30 “has gone” In Mar 7:29 it is a perfect active indicative and in Mar 7:30 it is a perfect active participle, which focus on the abiding result of a past act. The demon was gone and would stay away.

Mar 7:30 “lying on the bed” This is a perfect passive participle which could be understood in two ways: (1) the demon had violently left (cf. Mar 1:26; Mar 9:26) and thrown the little girl on the bed or (2) her demoniac condition had caused her to be bedridden.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

went = went away. See note on “withdrew”, Mar 3:7; Mar 6:31,

would = wished to. App-102.,

no man = no one.

know = get to know. Greek. ginosko. App-132.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

24-30.] THE SYROPHNICIAN WOMAN. Mat 15:21-28. Omitted by Luke. A striking instance of the independence of the two narrations. Mark, who is much more copious in particulars, omits a considerable and important part of the history: this would be most arbitrarily and indeed inexcusably done, if the common account of his having combined and epitomized Matt. and Luke is to be taken.

Our Lords retirement was to avoid the Pharisees: see notes on Matt. throughout.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mar 7:24-29. And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrens crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Christ capitulated at once, yielded to the strong arms of conquering prayer and faith, and so the pleading woman had her will.

Mar 7:30. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

This exposition consisted of readings from Gen 32:22-30; Exo 32:7-14; and Mar 7:24-30.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Mar 7:24. ) the common boundaries.-, no man) For He was still within the borders of the land of Israel.[51]

[51] , He could not remain hid) Things were so disposed by the direction of God, that the benefit seemed to have been as if at random, and by fortuitous coincidence, conferred on her as being a heathen woman.-V. g.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Mar 7:24-30

SECTION SEVEN

TOUR TO TYRE AND SIDON

Mark 7:24 to 8:13

1. THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN’S

DAUGHTER CURED

Mar 7:24-30

(Mat 15:21-28)

24 And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon.–The frontier region, or according to Matthew (Mat 15:21), into the parts of region of Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were the two principal cities of Phoenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre was about twenty miles south of Sidon, and about one hundred miles northwest of Jerusalem. In the days of David and Solomon, Tyre was the leading seaport of the world. It was afterwards taken by the Babylonians, the Persians, and Alexander, but up to the time of Christ it remained a great commercial city. Since then its harbor has been filled with sand, and there remains only a wretched shadow of its former greatness. Both were Gentile cities in a Gentile country. This is the only instance in the Lord’s ministry when he went beyond the bounds of Palestine.

And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it;–Probably he intended to give private instruction to the apostles. He desired privacy for a short time.

and he could not be hid.–He was unable to be hidden. No doubt he used every precaution so that no one might know who or where he was.

25 But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him,–Of his miracles, arrival, and where he was abiding.

came and fell down at his feet.–It seems that she knew where he was and had no trouble in finding him. This was an act denoting reverence and earnest entreaty. Her faith in his power is thus at once manifested. His concealment was the first means in its development. Faith led her to Jesus. Matthew (Mat 15:22) adds, “0 Lord, thou son of David.” It is remarkable that two of the brightest examples of faith seen in the ministry of Christ were exhibited by Gentiles, that of the centurion (Mat 8:8-9) and of this woman. The fact that she addressed Jesus as the “son of David” shows that she knew of the prophecies concerning the Christ and that he would be the Son of David.

26 Now the woman was a Greek,–Mark describes the woman as a Gentile. The Jews called all persons Greeks who were not of their nation. (Rom 1:14.) The whole world was considered as divided into Jews and Greeks. All who were not Jews were also considered Gentiles. The term “Greek” is here used, as it was frequently by the Jews, in the sense of Gentile. (1Co 1:24.) After Alexander’s conquests, when all the world was in subjection to the Greeks, the Jews divided the world into Jews and Greeks.

a Syrophoenician by race.–“Syrophoenician” is compounded of Syrian and Phoenician, and means a Syrian of Phoenicia, Phoenicia being at that time a part of the province of Syria. She was also a Canaanite. (Mat 15:22.)

And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter.–Matthew (Mat 15:23) says: “He answered her not a word.” He neither repelled her nor made favorable answer. There were reasons for hesitations. (Mat 15:24.) No doubt he intended to have mercy. He delayed to bring out a great lesson. His disciples intervened for her, but he said: “I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Mat 15:24.) That is, to the Jews. His personal mission was to the Jews.

27 And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled:–That is, suffer the children, the Jews, first to be satisfied. The Jews were first to have the gospel and its blessings offered to them. It was not yet time for the Gentiles. The request of the woman was unseasonable. There was, however, hope for her in the future.

for it is not meet to take the children’s bread–It is not good, proper and right. The Jews considered themselves as the peculiar children of God. To all other nations they were accustomed to apply terms of contempt, of which “dogs” was the most common. “Children’s bread” was that which Jesus came to offer to the Jews.

and cast it to the dogs.–Throw it to the Gentiles. Gentiles were styled dogs by the Jews. The woman knew that, in comparing the Jews to the children of God’s family, and the Gentiles to the dogs without, Jesus simply used customary language of a Jew. He would bring out fully the greatness of her faith. The gospel was offered first to the Jews and then to all. He was putting her faith to a severe test. Many a woman, at such a speech, would have risen in despair, and gone away in anger, but she kept calm. Jesus means to say that he was sent to the Jews. The woman was a Gentile. He meant that it did not comport with the design of his personal ministry to apply benefits intended for the Jews to others. Jesus did not intend to justify or sanction the use of such terms. He meant to try her faith.

28 But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord;–Yea, I admit all you say; it is not proper and right to take away the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. I am indeed one of the dogs–a Gentile–and am willing to take my place as one. It is not fit for the dogs to be fed before the children.

even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.–I am willing to accept the crumbs–that which is left after all the children are filled. (Verse 27.) Let the children have the best food. Let the Jews have the chief benefit of thy ministry. But the dogs, beneath the table, eat the crumbs. So let me be regarded as a dog. A Gentile, as unworthy of everything. Yet grant one exertion of that almighty power displayed among the Jews, and heal the despised daughter of a despised heathen mother. Grant the dogs this much. The answer of the woman is a wonderful illustration of faith, turning the most untoward circumstances to a good account. We know not which to admire more–the readiness of her wit, or the depth of her humility.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way;–Her speech showed a strong faith in Jesus. Matthew (Mat 15:28) says: “0 woman, great is thy faith.” We can see how greatness of faith is manifested: (1) she came to Christ under difficulties, (2) she persevered when her prayer seemed to be denied, (3) she still pleaded when obstacles were presented, (4) she waited at the feet of Jesus until he had mercy. Such faith always prevails.

the demon is gone out of thy daughter.–Her request is granted. The same hour Jesus said: “Be it done unto thee even as thou wilt.” (Mat 15:28.) The demon left the daughter.

30 And she went away unto her house,–She returned home in full confidence that her child had been or would be blessed. and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out.–The mother found the Master’s declaration verified, and her faith realized. The daughter is no longer raving, or in convulsions, but lying quietly on the bed, healed in consequence of her mother’s faith and prayers. Doubtless her mother’s heart was full of joy.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

a Mothers Faith Rewarded

Mar 7:24-37

Before faith can be fully exercised we must take the right attitude toward Christ. His mission at that time was to the Jewish people; they were the children. This woman had no claim as a child, and the question was whether she was prepared to take the lower place. It is the humble soul that has power with God, and when she showed herself prepared to put Jesus in His place as Lord, and to take her own place as willing to accept the childrens crumbs, the Lord was able to put the key of His treasure house into her hand and bid her have her desire. Faith can wring blessing from an apparent negative, and use what might seem to be a rebuff to open Gods treasuries.

In the following miracle, notice that upward look, that sigh, and that touch. These are the conditions of all successful religious work, and it is a great encouragement to faith that our Lord Himself knew what it was by a look to draw down the mighty power of God. That upward look may be ours when it is impossible to kneel for prolonged prayer. When we stand in the light of eternity, we also shall say, as our Lords contemporaries did, He hath done all things well.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 30

Mercy Needed, Mercy Sought, Mercy Given

And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrens crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

(Mar 7:24-30)

Here Mark gives us his inspired history of this poor woman, her great need, the mercy she obtained of the Lord Jesus, and his high commendation of her faith. It is the same story Matthew gives us in Mat 15:21-28. But both Matthew and Mark give specific details the other was not inspired by the Spirit of God to relate. So it will be helpful to read Matthews account as well.

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Matthew tells us that this woman was of Canaan. She was a Gentile. Mark adds that she was a Syrophenician, that is, she belonged to that part of Phoenicia that bordered Syria. She came seeking Christ. Who taught her about the Lord Jesus? How did she to know that he was the Christ, the Son of David? We are not told what instrument God used to teach her; but it is obvious that God himself was her Teacher. God the Holy Spirit had given her faith in Christ.

And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. (Isa 54:13)

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Fathers will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (Joh 6:37-40)

Taking the accounts of Matthew and Mark together, I see ten gospel lessons clearly set before us in the story of this Syrophenician woman.

1.Mans unbelief never thwarts or even hinders the purpose of God. Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon (Mat 15:21).

It is written, For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged (Rom 3:3-4). The Pharisees would not hear him or receive his Word. Their pride, self-righteousness, and religious traditions kept them out of the kingdom of God. Therefore, in judicial reprobation, our Lord left them; but his leaving them was that he might enter into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and there bestow his grace upon a chosen Gentile woman.

2.Before ever a sinner will come to Christ seeking mercy, the Lord Jesus Christ must come to that sinner in mercy.

We do not read this story aright if all we see is a needy soul coming to Christ. Certainly, we must not neglect that; but this Syrophenician woman could never have come to Christ for mercy if Christ had not come to her in mercy. She sought the Lord; but he came to seek her first. It is not the lost sheep who seeks and finds the Shepherd, but the Shepherd who seeks and finds his one lost sheep. If we love him it is because he first loved us (1Jn 4:19). And if we seek him, it is because he first sought us.

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear (Isa 65:24).

Our Lord passed by the multitudes, the congested cities, and the people of renown and came to the outskirts of nowhere to show mercy to a nobody. That brings me to our third lesson

3.Grace always comes to the most unlikely.

I always get a little uneasy when I hear men talk about being able to tell who is going to be saved. Anyone would have thought, If the Lord is going to do any great work or perform any great miracle, he will pick someone important, someone respected, someone other people will look up to. But that simply is not the case. The Son of God comes to a Greek, a Canaanite, a Syrophenician woman, a woman with no promise from God, no covenant rights with God, no relationship to God, and nothing to offer God; but she was a certain woman loved and chosen by God as the special object of his special grace.

4.When the Lord God intends to be gracious to a sinner, he always causes that sinner, like this poor woman, to hear of him, to hear the gospel of his free and sovereign grace in Christ. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet (Mar 7:25).

As I have already stated, we do not know who the instrument was by whom this woman was taught of God; but we do know that an instrument was used because the Scriptures tell us that it is the will, pleasure, and purpose of God to use the preaching of the gospel, by one means or another, to save sinners, give them faith in Christ, and teach them (Rom 1:15-16; Rom 10:13-17; 1Co 1:18-29; Eph 1:13; Eph 4:8-16; 1Ti 4:12-16; Jas 1:18; 1Pe 1:23-25).

The Word of God, the gospel of Christ, is the power of God unto salvation, the catalyst God uses to give sinners life and faith in Christ (Rom 1:16). A catalyst is an agent of action. If a chemist desires to unite two substances to create another, in many cases a catalyst is necessary. The catalyst does not cause the union and never enters into the union of those substances. But without the presence of that specific catalyst, the union could never take place and could not continue. That is exactly what the preaching of the gospel is in Gods saving operations.

Without question, were it his pleasure to do so, God almighty could have chosen to save sinners without the use of any means or agency of any kind. Had he chosen to do so, he could have sent angels to pull us into heaven by our noses, once atonement was made for us. But that is not his pleasure.

The Lord God has chosen to regenerate and call chosen, redeemed sinners through the agency of gospel preaching. The fact that God has so ordained it makes the preaching of the gospel the catalyst necessary for the communication of his saving grace.

I know that many cry out against this and say, That limits Gods sovereignty. That makes salvation depend upon man. Do not be so foolish as to be found fighting against God. We must never force the Scriptures to mean what we want them to mean. We must never bend the Word of God to our doctrinal notions and theological system. Rather, we bow to Gods Word. We cannot extol and honor God if we refuse to submit our reason to his Revelation.

Carefully read the Scriptures cited above. It is impossible to read them in their context without concluding that regeneration and faith in Christ, gifts of God the Holy Spirit and operations of his irresistible grace, are communicated to chosen, redeemed sinners through the instrumentality of gospel preaching. In each of those passages the Lord God plainly declares that it is his purpose and pleasure to save his elect through the preaching of the gospel.

Perhaps you think, What if one of Gods elect is in a remote barbarian tribe in the jungles of New Guinea where no gospel preacher has ever been? I can see how that would create a problem, except for one thing There are no problems with God! He knows exactly how to get his prophet to the people to whom he has purposed to show his mercy. Just ask Jonah!

We preach the gospel with a sense of urgency, knowing that sinners cannot believe on Christ until Christ is preached to them. Yet, we preach with confidence of success, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord (1Co 15:58). Gods Word will not return to him void. It will accomplish his will and prosper in the thing it is sent to accomplish (Isa 55:11). Every chosen, redeemed sinner must be regenerated and called by the Holy Spirit. And that work will be accomplished through the preaching of the gospel.

5.True prayer arises from a heartfelt need of mercy, grace, and divine intervention.

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil (Mat 15:22).

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter (Mar 7:26).

Such is the pride, self-sufficiency, and arrogance of our hearts that we will never come down until God brings us down. We will never beg for mercy until we need mercy. We will not seek grace until we need grace. We will not come to Christ until we have to have him.

This woman came to the Lord Jesus because her daughter was grievously vexed with a devil. None could help her but the Son of God who was manifested to destroy the works of the devil (1Jn 3:8). How blessed it is to have such a Savior to whom we may turn in times of great distress and trouble (Heb 4:16). May God the Holy Spirit give us such faith in Christ as this woman had, that we may spread our sorrows before him and seek grace to help in every time of need.

This woman wanted just one thing from the Lord, mercy! She cried, Have mercy on me, O Lord! What a comprehensive prayer that is. If he will have mercy, we need no more. The ground upon which she hoped for mercy was the fact that the man Jesus is the Son of David, Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, God and man in one person. She sought mercy from Christ because he is the Christ.

Thousands of the Jews saw him daily, who knew him not; but this woman who was a Gentile knew him, believed him, came to him, and sought mercy from him. Obviously, none but God could have taught her; and the teaching of God infallibly brought her to Christ. So it has ever been; and so it shall ever be (Joh 6:45-46).

6.The place of mercy is at his feet.

Look at Marks description of this womans behavior.

For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter (Mar 7:25-26).

She was in trouble and had a desperate need. She heard about Christ. She came to the Son of God. She fell at his feet. If we would worship Christ and obtain mercy from him, we must be found, like this needy soul, at his feet (Mar 5:22; Luk 7:2; Joh 11:32; Rev 1:17). This is the place of mercy, the place of humility, the place of reverence, the place of worship, the place of love, the place of obedience, the place of blessing, the place of honor, the place of peace, and the place of contentment.

7.True faith always bows to Christ.

Faith does not rebel against Christs words or his deeds. Faith bows, because faith acknowledges Christs place, dominion, and rights as Lord.

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table (Mat 15:23-27).

But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrens crumbs (Mar 7:27-28).

The Lord Jesus ignored her; but she considered that his right and waited for him to acknowledge her. The Master spoke to her plainly about the purpose of God in election and the distinguishing character of his grace; and she worshipped him (Mat 15:24-25). The Lord described her in the most humbling terms, calling her a dog; but she took the ground he gave her, and begged his mercy and help, even if it were just the crumbs others despised.

8.Faith honors Christ and Christ honors faith. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour (Mat 15:28).

Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Robert Hawker suggested that it is as if Jesus threw the reins of government into her hand. Does he not say as much to all true faith? Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me (Isa 45:11).

9.When Christ enters into the house of mans soul and takes possession of it, he drives the devil out by the power of his grace.

We are told that when this woman came into her house, she found the devil gone out. What a blessing!

Let me show you one more thing. I readily admit that Im stretching the text, using it now in a strictly allegorical, spiritual way; but I am not stretching the Scriptures. What I have to say in the last place is the teaching of Scripture, and a blessed teaching of Scripture. This is the dessert I promised you. In Mar 7:30 we read, And her daughter laid upon the bed. Here is our tenth lesson

10.When Christ saves sinners he always puts them to bed.

Isaiah tells us of those who lay in a bed of religious deceit, a bed of free will, works religion, in which no rest is to be found. The bed of your works is too short to stretch out on it; and the covering of your self-righteousness is too narrow to wrap up in (Isa 28:20).

Here is a bed you can stretch out on: Christs blood atonement! Here is a covering you can wrap up in Christs perfect righteousness! But the only way you will ever stretch out on this bed and wrap up in this cover is if Christ himself gives you rest. Therefore, he graciously bids weary, helpless, guilty sinners to come to him for mercy and grace.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Mat 11:28-30).

May God the Holy Spirit lay to our hearts the wonders of Gods free grace in Christ that are displayed in the inspired records Matthew and Mark have given us of this woman.

We see the sovereignty of Gods grace in this chosen vessel of mercy, called from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Our Savior has his elect in all nations, who must be gathered to him in faith. They shall come from north, south, east, and west. And they shall come willingly in the day of his power (Psa 110:3).

Often our God uses great afflictions and troubles to sweetly force his own to seek his mercy, just as he did in the case of this woman (Psalms 107). How we ought to thank him for those trials of life by which our Savior sweetly causes us, under the irresistible influence of his grace, to seek him!

In order to enhance his blessing in our estimation and to improve our faith, the mercy we desperately need is sometimes withheld for a season, just as it was with this woman. By graciously forcing us to wait at his feet, our Savior renews our strength (Isa 40:27-31).

When the Lord was about to perform his wondrous mercy for this woman, he first forced her to take her proper place of humility before him, calling her a dog, to which she replied, Truth, Lord. She acknowledged that she was altogether unworthy of childrens bread. A proper view of Christs greatness, grace, and glory always causes sinners to have a proper view of themselves. Christ alone is exalted where Christ is known in the blessed experience of his grace (Psa 115:1). All who have experienced Gods mercy in Christ gladly sing with Augustus Toplady

A debtor to mercy alone

Of covenant mercy I sing;

Nor fear, with thy righteousness on,

My person and offring to bring.

The terrors of law and of God

With me can have nothing to do;

My Saviours obedience and blood

Hide all my transgressions from view.

The work which his goodness began,

The arm of his strength will complete;

His promise is Yea and Amen,

And never was forfeited yet;

Things future, nor things that are now,

Not all things below nor above,

Can make Him His purpose forego,

Or sever my soul from His love.

My name from the palm of his hands

Eternity will not erase;

Impressed on his heart it remains,

In marks of indellible grace.

Yes, I to the end shall endure,

As sure as the earnest is givn

More happy, but not more secure,

The glorified sprits in heavn.

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

from: Mat 15:21-28

Tyre: Mar 3:8, Gen 10:15, Gen 10:19, Gen 49:13, Jos 19:28, Jos 19:29, Isa 23:1-4, Isa 23:12, Eze 28:2, Eze 28:21, Eze 28:22

and would: Mar 2:1, Mar 3:7, Mar 6:31, Mar 6:32, Isa 42:2, Mat 9:28, 1Ti 5:25

Reciprocal: Mar 7:31 – from Luk 6:17 – the sea

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE EPIPHANIES OF THE MINISTRY

He could not be hid.

Mar 7:24

The Divine in Christ was revealed by the holiness of His character, by His mighty works (Joh 2:11), by the authority and originality of His utterances, by the influence He exerted. Ultimately He could not go anywhere, even when seeking to conceal Himself, but some recognised Him. Christ was not hid

I. From His disciples.These beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father (Joh 1:14). They confessed Him to be Gods Son. It was not before but after this confession (Mat 16:16) that they were admitted to see His glory in the transfiguration (Mat 17:1).

II. From the multitude.The extraordinary effect produced on the multitude by Christs miracles and teachings is frequently recorded. They were amazed, they marvelled, they praised God; they said it had never been so seen in Israel.

III. From His enemies.Those sent to take Him testified, Never man spake like this man (Joh 7:46). The council owned to His miracles (Joh 12:47). His would-be captors fell back before Him in Gethsemane (Joh 18:6).

IV. Even from devils.On the contrary, evil spirits were the first to recognise Him, and to bear testimony to Him as the One Who came for their overthrow (Mar 1:24).

Illustration

The Sun of Righteousness has arisen with healing in His wings, and therefore the Lord Jesus is not hid. He is plainly seen by those who have eyes to see, and plainly heard by those who have ears to hear, although He is in the highest heavens. Who shall declare how wicked is the attempt to hide the Lord Jesus, Who said, I am the Light of the World? Do any attempt it? Yes, many have done so, and still do so.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Chapter 7.

He Who Could Not Be Hid

“And from thence He arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but He could not be hid.”-Mar 7:24.

The Limits of Christ’s Ministry.

Jesus for the most part confined Himself to His own people. In Matthew’s account of this incident the Lord says that He was not sent save to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat 15:24). This does not mean that His sympathies were limited to those of His own race. They ran out to those other sheep which were not of the Jewish fold; and never in all His life was He so moved as when He was notified of the desire of those Greeks who came to Philip, saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” It was in the interests of His work that Christ confined Himself to Palestine. For the future of Christianity it was infinitely better that He should concentrate His energies upon a limited number, and impress them deeply, radically, vitally, than that He should dissipate Himself over larger numbers, and leave only a weak and ineffectual impression upon any. By concentrating His energies upon Palestine, and specially upon His twelve disciples, Jesus produced so deep and profound an impression that, even though He went, it was absolutely certain that the Christian faith would remain. But, all the same, I am glad He did not absolutely and entirely limit Himself to Israel.

The Visit to Phnicia.

-Its Cause.

Once at least Christ crossed the border and sojourned amongst the Gentiles. Here we reach the story of that visit to those who were strangers and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. “And from thence He arose,” says Mark, “and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon” (Mar 7:24). What was it that impelled our Lord to take this long and tedious journey into pagan Phnicia? What was it made Him break His rule of confining Himself to Palestine? I think it was His desire for solitude and quietness. You remember how, after the return of the Twelve from their first evangelising tour, He had invited them to come apart into a desert place to rest awhile. He saw they needed rest after the excitements of their missionary labours, and He had Himself many things to say to them about the future which it was necessary they should hear and understand. But the rest they sought on the other side of the sea they did not find. Instead of a solitude, they found a multitude. Instead of quietness, they had passed ever since from one excitement to another. First, the feeding of the 5000; then the storm at sea; then the crisis in Capernaum and the desertion of the crowds; and, finally, the controversy with the Jerusalem Scribes and Pharisees about ablutions.

In Search of Retirement.

The opportunity for quiet talk with His disciples which Christ had so much wanted had never come. And yet every day that passed showed more and more clearly how urgently necessary such a time of quietness was. Even in the controversy about ablutions the slowness of the disciples had distressed Jesus. “Are ye so without understanding also?” He said. It became obvious to Jesus that if the disciples were to be ready for that time when He would be taken from them, He must somehow gain quietness and leisure to teach and train them. But the quietness He wanted it seemed hopeless to expect anywhere in Palestine. Experience had taught Him that, no matter where He went, the multitude was sure to follow. And so He turned His eyes to the land that lay to the north-west of Galilee.

The people of that country were the descendants of the ancient Canaanites, whom the Israelites had dispossessed on their entrance into the Land of Promise. They had once been the foremost maritime people in the world, though now fallen from their high estate. But to the Jew the land was an unclean and abhorred land, because of the loathsome and licentious idolatry practised by its inhabitants. To this country Jesus now bends His steps. Its very loathsomeness to the Jew seemed to promise to Him the quietness and retirement He desired. He went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, hoping to be able to sojourn there unrecognised and undisturbed. But once again the rest had to be set aside.

“But He could not be hid.”

“He entered into a house, and would have no man know it,” says Mark: “and He could not be hid” (Mar 7:24). “He could not be hid!” That is one of the penalties of greatness-privacy becomes impossible. Let our king travel abroad, and he cannot be hid. He may travel incognito, as we term it, but the ubiquitous newspaper man is ever on his heels, watching his every act, and his every movement is proclaimed to the world. And Jesus could not be hid. Not that the newspaper man existed, as we know him, in those far-off days. But His sayings and doings had set all Palestine in a ferment. He was the subject of conversation wherever men did congregate. Phnician visitors who had heard of His wonderful works, and perhaps witnessed some of them, had carried His name and fame beyond the confines of His own land, and had astonished their own countrymen with the report of what they had seen and heard. Doubtless, in many a home in pagan Phnicia, and especially in many a sick home, the name and power of Christ had been eagerly canvassed. Christ’s fame had preceded Him into the borders of Tyre and Sidon.

The Power of His Personality.

Quite apart from what report had done for Him, I believe there was something in the very aspect of Jesus that made people feel that here was no ordinary man. “Her very walk proclaimed her a goddess,” says Virgil, about one of the characters in his neid. And so there was something about the appearance, the manner, the speech of Jesus that proclaimed the secret He fain would hide. I was once discussing with my Bible Class the passage in which John tells how the officers of the Temple, who had been sent to seize Christ, returned with their errand unfulfilled, giving as their excuse, “Never man so spake.” And I asked my class what they thought it was about Jesus that had so impressed and subdued these Temple officials. And one of them replied, “I think it must have been something in His very face.” Technically, the answer was not the right one. But, all the same, I think it was profoundly true. I think there was something in the very face of Jesus, a nobility and a graciousness about Him, that stirred unwonted emotions in every heart. No, Jesus “could not be hid.” Face, speech, manner, all published abroad who and what He was. You may build, as some one has said, a high wall around your rose garden; yet you cannot hide the existence of the roses. Over the highest wall ever built the roses will waft their fragrance, and men as they pass will say, “There are roses near.” And Jesus was the Rose of Sharon. Fragrant, gladdening, sweetening influences flowed forth from Him. Instinctively, men recognised that the Rose was in their midst. Jesus needed no trumpet to sound before Him, no herald to proclaim His coming. Men found Him out. He had not been an hour amongst these pagan strangers in Phnicia before they knew that He was no ordinary man. “He could not be hid.”

The Self-evident Christianity.

Nor, suffer me to say in passing, can the true Christian either. If a man is able to hide his Christianity, it is probably because there is no Christianity to hide. When a man is a true Christian, all the world knows it. A genuine faith always proclaims itself by the influences it emits and the qualities it begets. “They took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” The men who have really been with Jesus “cannot be hid.”

Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary

4

Jesus left the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee and went on across the country to that lying near the Medi-terranean Sea in which were the cities of Tyre and Sidon. He wished to have some privacy and entered into a house for that purpose. Could not be hid. Jesus did not wish to be always performing miracles to accomplish his purposes, but often took the same course that other men would take under the same circumstances. In the present case the shelter of a house was not enough to hide him.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

WE know nothing of the woman who is here mentioned, beyond the facts that we here read. Her name, her former history, the way in which she was led to seek our Lord, though a Gentile, and dwelling in the borders of Tyre and Sidon-all these things are hidden from us. But the few facts that are related about this woman are full of precious instruction. Let us observe them, and learn wisdom.

In the first place, this passage is meant to encourage us to pray for others. The woman who came to our Lord, in the history now before us, must doubtless have been in deep affliction. She saw a beloved child possessed by an unclean spirit. She saw her in a condition in which no teaching could reach the mind, and no medicine could heal the body-a condition only one degree better than death itself. She hears of Jesus, and beseeches Him to “cast forth the devil out of her daughter.” She prays for one who could not pray for herself, and never rests till her prayer is granted. By prayer she obtains the cure which no human means could obtain. Through the prayer of the mother, the daughter is healed. On her own behalf that daughter did not speak a word; but her mother spoke for her to the Lord, and did not speak in vain. Hopeless and desperate as her case appeared, she had a praying mother, and where there is a praying mother there is always hope.

The truth here taught is one of deep importance. The case here recorded is one that does not stand alone. Few duties are so strongly recommended by Scriptural example, as the duty of intercessory prayer. There is a long catalogue of instances in Scripture, which show the benefits that may be conferred on others by praying for them. The nobleman’s son at Capernaum-the centurion’s servant-the daughter of Jairus, are all striking examples. Wonderful as it may seem, God is pleased to do great things for souls, when friends and relations are moved to pray for them. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (Jam 5:16.)

Fathers and mothers are especially bound to remember the case of this woman. They cannot give their children new hearts. They can give them Christian education, and show them the way of life; but they cannot give them a will to choose Christ’s service, and a mind to love God. Yet there is one thing they can always do-they can pray for them. They can pray for the conversion of profligate sons, who will have their own way, and run greedily into sin. They can pray for the conversion of worldly daughters, who set their affections on things below, and love pleasure more than God. Such prayers are heard on high. Such prayers will often bring down blessings. Never, never let us forget that the children for whom many prayers have been offered, seldom finally perish. Let us pray more for our sons and daughters. Even when they will not let us speak to them about religion, they cannot prevent us speaking for them to God.

In the second place, this passage is meant to teach us to persevere in praying for others. The woman whose history we are now reading, appeared at first to obtain nothing by her application to our Lord. On the contrary, our Lord’s reply was discouraging. Yet she did not give up in despair. She prayed on, and did not faint. She pressed her suit with ingenious arguments. She would take no refusal. She pleaded for a few “crumbs” of mercy, rather than none at all. And through this holy importunity she succeeded. She heard at last these joyful words: “For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter”!

Perseverance in prayer is a point of great moment. Our hearts are apt to become cool and indifferent, and to think that it is no use to draw near to God. Our hands soon hang down, and our knees wax faint. Satan is ever laboring to draw us off from our prayers, and filling our minds with reasons why we may give them up. These things are true with respect to all prayers, but they are especially true with respect to intercessory prayer. It is always far more meagre than it ought to be. It is often attempted for a little season, and then left off. We see no immediate answer to our prayers. We see the persons for whose souls we pray, going on still in sin. We draw the conclusion that it is useless to pray for them, and allow our intercession to come to an end.

In order to arm our minds with arguments for perseverance in intercessory prayer, let us often study the case of this woman. Let us remember how she prayed on and did not faint, in the face of great discouragement. Let us mark how at last she went home rejoicing, and let us resolve, by God’s grace, to follow her example.

Do we know what it is to pray for ourselves? This, after all, is the first question for self-inquiry. The man who never speaks to God about his own soul, can know nothing of praying for others. He is as yet Godless, Christless, and hopeless, and has to learn the very rudiments of religion. Let him awake, and call upon God.

But do we pray for ourselves? Then let us take heed that we pray for others also. Let us beware of selfish prayers-prayers which are wholly taken up with our own affairs, and in which there is no place for other souls beside our own. Let us name all whom we love before God continually. Let us pray for all-the worst, the hardest, and the most unbelieving. Let us continue praying for them year after year, in spite of their continued unbelief. God’s time of mercy may be a distant one. Our eyes may not see an answer to our intercession. The answer may not come for ten, fifteen, or twenty years. It may not come till we have exchanged prayer for praise, and are far away from this world. But while we live, let us pray for others. It is the greatest kindness we can do to any one, to speak for him to our Lord Jesus Christ. The day of judgment will show that one of the greatest links in drawing some souls to God, has been the intercessory prayer of friends.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Mar 7:24. And from thence. Probably Capernaum, though the locality is nowhere specified.

Went. Matthew: withdrew, to avoid the Pharisees.

The borders of Tyre and Sidon. See on Mat 15:21. Some ancient authorities omit and Sidon, probably to avoid a difficulty in Mar 7:31.

Entered into a house. To avoid notice.

And he could not be hid. From the desire of the mother who came. She entered the house, and afterwards followed Him in the way. Some however suppose that the first entreaty (Mat 15:22) took place outside the house and the final entreaty within it, so that He could not be hid, because she pressed in.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

All along in the history of our Saviour’s life, we are to take notice how he went about from place to place doing good. Being now come into the borders fo Tyre and Sidon he finds a poor woman of the race of the Canaanites, who becomes first an humble supplicant, and then a bold beggar, on the behalf of her possessed daughter.

Where observe, 1. That though all Israel could not example the faith of this Canaanite, yet was her daughter tormented with the devil.

Learn hence, That neither truth of faith, nor strength of faith, can secure against Satan’s inward temptations, or outward vexations: and consequently, the worst of bodily afflictions are not sufficient proof of divine displeasure.

Observe, 2. The daughter did not come to Christ for herself, but the mother for her. Perhaps the child was not so sensible of its own misery, but the mother feels both the child’s sorrow and her own. True goodness teaches us to appropriate the afflictions of others to ourselves, causing us to bear their griefs, and to sympathize with them in their sorrows.

Observe, 3. The seeming severity of Christ to this poor woman; he calls her not a woman, but a dog; and, as it were, spurns her from the table. Did ever so severe a word drop from those mild lips? What shall we say? Is the Lamb of God turned a lion, that a woman in distress, imploring pity, should be thus rated out of Christ’s presence?

But hence we learn, How Christ puts the strongest faith of his own children on the severest trial. This trial had never been so sharp, if here faith had not been so strong: usually, where God gives much grace he tries grace much.

Observe, 4. The humble carriage of this holy woman; her humility grants all, her patience overcomes all, she meekly desires to possess the dog’s place; not to croud to the table, but to creep under it, and to partake of the crumbs of mercy that fall from thence. Nothing is so pleasing to Christ as to see his people follow him with faith and importunity when he seems to withdraw himself from them.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Mar 7:24-26. From thence he arose, and went into the borders , into the parts which bordered upon, or rather lay between, Tyre and Sidon; and entered into a house, and would have no man know it Namely, that he was there, or, know him. Jesus, knowing that the Pharisees were highly offended at the liberty which he had taken in the preceding discourse, in plucking off from them the mask of pretended piety, wherewith they had covered their malevolent spirit and conduct, and not ignorant of the plots which they were forming against his reputation and life, he judged it proper to retire with his disciples into this remote region, with a view to conceal himself a while from them. We learn from Jos 19:28-29, that Tyre and Sidon were cities in the lot of Asher; which tribe having never been able wholly to drive out the natives, their posterity remained even in our Lords time. Hence he did not preach the doctrine of the kingdom in this country, because it was mostly inhabited by heathen, to whom he was not sent. See on Mat 10:5. Neither did he work miracles here with that readiness which he showed everywhere else, because, by concealing himself, he proposed to shun the Pharisees. But he could not be hid It seems he was personally known to many of the heathen in this country, who, no doubt, had often heard and seen him in Galilee. And, as for the rest, they were sufficiently acquainted with him by his fame, which had spread itself very early through all Syria, Mat 4:24. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him This person was a descendant of the ancient inhabitants, and probably by religion a heathen. She is called, Mat 15:21, a woman of Canaan; here, a Syro-Phenician, and a Greek. There is in these denominations no inconsistency. By birth, she was of Syro-Phenicia, so the country about Tyre and Sidon was denominated; by descent, of Canaan; as most of the Tyrians and Sidonians originally were; and by religion, a Greek, according to the Jewish manner of distinguishing between themselves and idolaters. Ever since the Macedonian conquest, Greek became a common name for idolater, or, at least, one uncircumcised, and was equivalent to Gentile. Of this we have many examples in Pauls epistles, and in the Acts. Jews and Greeks, , are the same with Jews and Gentiles. Campbell. Nevertheless, though a heathen, this woman had conceived a very great, honourable, and just notion, not only of our Lords power and goodness, but even of his character as Messiah; the notion of which she had probably learned by conversing with the Jews. For when she heard of his arrival, she came in quest of him, and meeting him, it seems, as he passed along the street, she fell at his feet, addressing him by the title of son of David, and besought him to cast the evil spirit out of her daughter. See the story related more at large, and explained, Mat 15:22-28.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

LXVII.

HEALING A PHOENICIAN WOMAN’S DAUGHTER.

(Region of Tyre and Sidon.)

aMATT. XV. 22-28; bMARK VII. 24-30.

bAnd he entered into a house, and would have no man know it [Jesus sought concealment for the purposes noted in the last section. He also, no doubt, desired an opportunity to impact private instruction to the twelve]; and he could not be hid. [The fame of Jesus had spread far and wide, and he and his disciples were too well known to escape the notice of any who had seen them or heard them described.] 25 But {a22 And} behold, bstraightway aa Canaanitish woman bwhose little daughter [the word for daughter is a diminutive, such as often used to indicate affection] had [399] an unclean spirit, having heard of him [having formerly heard of his power and having recently heard of his arrival in her neighborhood], acame out from those borders [this does not mean, as some construe it, that she crossed over into Galilee from Phoenicia; it means that she came out of the very region where Jesus then was], and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David [Sympathy so identified her with her daughter that she asked mercy for herself. The title “son of David” shows that the Jewish hopes had spread to surrounding nations and that some, like this woman and the one at Jacob’s well, expected to share in the Messianic blessing]; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. 23 But he answered her not a word. [God’s unanswering silence is a severe test of our faith.] b26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by race. [The Macedonian conquest had diffused Greek civilization throughout western Asia till the word Greek among the Jews had become synonymous with Gentile. The term Canaanite was narrower and indicated an inhabitant of Canaan–that is, a non-Jewish inhabitant of Palestine. The term Syrophoenician was narrower still. It meant a Syrian in Phoenicia, and distinguished the Phoenicians from the other Syrians. Phoenicia was a narrow strip near the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. It was some twenty-eight miles long with an average width of about one mile. Canaan means lowland; Phoenicia means palmland. The Canaanites founded Sidon ( Gen 10:19), and the Phoenicians were their descendants.] And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. aAnd his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. [The woman by her loud entreaties was drawing to Jesus the very attention which he sought to avoid. The disciples therefore counseled him to grant her request for his own sake–not for mercy or compassion, but merely to be rid of her.] 24 But he answered [answered the disciples, not the woman] and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [Jesus had not forborne [400] answering her prayers through lack of feeling, but from principle. It was part of the divine plan that his personal ministry should be confined to the Jewish people. Divine wisdom approved of this course as best, not only for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. Variations from this plan were to be few and were to be granted only as rewards to those of exceptional faith.] 25 But she came band fell down at his feet. aand worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. [The narrative indicates that Jesus had left the house and was moving on, and that the woman obtruded herself upon his notice by falling in front of him and obstructing his way.] 26 And he answered and said, bunto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet [suitable, becoming] to take the children’s bread and to cast it to the dogs. [By the use of the word “first” Jesus suggested that there would come a time of mercy for the Gentiles. He uses the diminutive for the word dog, thus indicating a tame pet, and suggesting rather the dependence and subordinate position than the uncleanness of the dog. By so doing he gave the woman an argumentative handle which she was not slow to grasp.] 28 But she answered and saith {asaid,} bunto him, Yea, Lord; afor even the dogs bunder the table eat of the children’s crumbs. awhich fall from their masters’ table. [Jesus had suggested that domestic order by which dogs are required to wait until the meal is over before they receive their portion; but with a wit made keen by her necessity, she replies by alluding to the well-known fact that dogs under the table are permitted to eat the crumbs even while the meal is in progress; intimating thereby her hope to receive and before all the needs of Israel had first been satisfied. By using the word dogs Jesus did not mean to convey the impression that he shared the Jewish prejudices against Gentiles; a construction which would be contrary to Luk 4:25, Luk 4:26, Mat 8:10-12.] 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: bFor this saying go thy way; abe it done unto thee even as thou wilt. bthe demon is [401] gone out of thy daughter. [Thus by its ending this little incident illustrates the doctrine that men should pray and not faint ( Luk 18:1-8). The woman’s experience has been often repeated by other parents who have prayed for children which, if not demon-possessed, was certainly swayed by diabolical influences. The woman’s faith is shown in many ways: 1. She persisted when he was silent. 2. She reasoned when he spoke. 3. She regarded this miracle, though a priceless gift to her, as a mere crumb from the table of his abundant powers. It is noteworthy that the two most notable for faith–this woman and the centurion–were both Gentiles.] aAnd her daughter was healed from that hour. b30 And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out. [The posture of the daughter indicated the physical exhaustion which would naturally succeed the intense nervous strain of demoniacal possession–especially the last paroxysms produced by the departing demon.]

[FFG 399-402]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN

Mat 15:21-28; Mar 7:24-30. And rising up, He departed thence into the regions of Tyre and Sidon. And having come into a house, he wished no one to know it; and He was not able to be hidden. For a woman, hearing concerning Him, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, coming out, fell down at His feet. And the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by race, and asked Him that He may cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, Let the children first be fed; for it is not good to take the bread of the children and cast it to little dogs. But she responded and says to Him, Yea, Lord, for even the little dogs under the table do eat the childrens crumbs. And He said to her, On account of this word, go; the demon has already gone out of thy daughter. And having come into her house, she found that the demon had gone out, and the daughter was lying on a bed; a confirmation of the demons departure, as hitherto her vexation and misery had been such that she could not rest, day or night, but incessantly leaped, struggled, gnashed, foamed, and wallowed, a raving maniac. We have many such now, comparatively unknown, because secreted away in mad-houses and lunatic asylums; there being no such institutions in that day, every family having to care for their own maniacs, lunatics, and epileptics the best they could; consequently giving great notoriety to all such characters, generally denominated demoniacs, because all these abnormal conditions are in some way imputable to Satanic influence.

Mat 15:22 : My daughter is awfully demonized. And Jesus did not respond a word to her; and His disciples, coming, asked Him, saying, Send her away, because she crieth after us. And He responding, said, I am not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. These lost sheep were the rank and the of the Jewish Church, both membership and clergy, who are actually lost in the fogs of dead formality and empty hypocrisy, to which they were vainly clinging for salvation, with the exception of a saint here and there.

Mat 15:28 : Then Jesus, responding, said to her, O woman, great is thy faith; be it done unto thee as thou dost believe. And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Why did Jesus, with His apostles, suddenly leave Capernaum, and go away into Phoenicia, a heathen land? It was not to preach the gospel, as the time of the Gentiles had not yet arrived. It was to take much needed rest for their weary bodies. The Twelve had labored so assiduously in their double-quick evangelistic peregrinations throughout all Israel, that when they all returned to Him at Capernaum a few days previously, seeing them worn, jaded, hoarse, foot-sore, and leg-weary, He advised them to go aside into an uninhabited region and rest a little while. When they undertook it, the people in the cities dotting the bank of the Galilean Sea, observing them going away in a ship, some following in boats, and many running overland around the sea, anticipate their disembarkation, so that by the time they have reached the mountain park off the coast to the northwest, between Bethsaida and Tiberias, they find many people on the spot, the crowd increasing, as they pour in from all directions, till, by the middle of the afternoon, when our Lord, moved with compassion for the hungry, miraculously feeds them on five loaves and two fishes, they find a swelling throng of ten thousand. Though, sending away His disciples, dismissing the multitude, and going under the darkness of the ensuing night into the mountain to pray; walking out on the stormy sea at midnight, to the relief of His tempest-tossed disciples, embarking with them and returning home to Capernaum; the multitudes, embarking on several ships at Tiberias, follow on across the sea, where they find Him, and give audience to that wonderful sermon on entire sanctification (John 6), which upset so many of His disciples that they turn back, and walk no more with Him, now He resorts to a second attempt to secure that physical rest which He had already admonished them to take; as He knew that they had to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth and preach to all the Gentiles; hence the importance of hygienical prudence. Consequently they now leave the land of Israel, and go off among the heathens, to whom as yet they had no commission to preach. Though they propose to go into retirement and remain a little while in voluntary exile, in some way this woman finds them out. Syria and Phoenicia join by a mere air-line, and consequently there was much miscegenation between them, this woman being a mixed-blood of these two celebrated ancient Shemitic races. Such is her importunity, crying after them incessantly, that the disciples get utterly worn out with her annoyance; so they implead their Master to send her away. Consequently He dismisses her, by a positive notification that He is not sent to the Gentiles, but to the children of Abraham. Such is her importunity that the Master is constrained to deal very plainly with her, informing her as to the impropriety of taking the childrens bread and casting it to contemptible little dogs. The woman unhesitatingly accepts the situation, oblivious of the opprobrium, responding, Yea, Lord, for even the little dogs do eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table. At that moment, Jesus responds, Great is thy faith, O woman Let it be done unto thee as thou dost wish. From that moment the demon evacuated her daughter, so that she could lie down and rest sweetly on the bed like a tired child. O what a happy respite from raging mania! What is the solution of this wonderful problem? Why did Jesus call her dog? Of course, He knew all about her, even before He went thither; and traveled all the way from Capernaum, not only to give the Twelve and His own weary body. the much-needed rest, but to meet this wonderful woman, whose heart, amid all the superstitions of idolatry, the Holy Ghost had prepared for the mighty work of demoniacal ejectment, destined to bring a heavenly sunburst into her home. While we see here that this miracle was wrought commensurately with the faith of the mother, yet Mark, whose message Peter, an eye-witness, dictated, says nothing about her faith, but only indirectly emphasizes her humility, which is the granite pedestal on which alone the majestic column of faith can rise and penetrate the skies. Now you see that after Jesus has notified her that she is excluded by the impassable wall separating Jews and Gentiles, having discarded her under the opprobrious epithet of a contemptible little dog (as the Jews called all the Gentiles dogs, thus stigmatizing their impurity, as the dog is the unclean animal interdicted by the Mosaic law), when she unhesitatingly, without the slightest repellency of the insult, accepts the situation, shouting, Yea, Lord, even the little dogs do eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table: All right; I accept the situation, and take the dogs place under the table of my Lord and Master, infinitely delighted to be the Lords dog rather than the devils queen. That sweeps every objection from the field, and leaves Jesus her humble Servant. Consequently He says, outright, O woman, great is thy faith! Let it be done unto thee as thou dost wish; i.e., If you are humble enough to take a dogs place and be satisfied with dog-fare in the house of God, rather than a queenly crown in this wicked world, all right! You can have anything you want! All heaven is open to such humility! Come right along, and take it! This kind of humility and faith leaps a million of miles above the partition wall for ages standing between Jews and Gentiles; while the pearly gates spontaneously fly wide open, and angelic platoons sweep out from the golden city, making the heavenly arches ring, Welcome home, Syrophenician woman and demonized daughter!

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Mar 7:24-30. The Healing of the Greek Womans Daughter.Jesus now leaves Galilee and withdraws to Gentile districts, not to evangelize them, but to avoid Herod and the Pharisees, and to train the Twelve. A Greek, i.e. a pagan, woman discovers Him, and requests Him to heal her daughter. Jesus asserts His conviction that His mission is to the Jews. The assertion is somewhat harsh, only softened by the diminutive little dogs, i.e. household dogs. This must be original. The womans wit is seen in the way she catches up and builds on the very word which Jesus uses. If Jesus said dogs and the woman changed it to little dogs, the repartee is dulled. Mt. says the womans request was granted because of her faith. Mk. implies that Jesus yielded out of admiration for the quickness of her answer. Jesus is won, not by the recognition of Jewish primacy, but by the ready wit of the woman (so HNT rightly, against Menzies and others). This in itself stamps the incident as historical, and throws a valuable light on the person of Jesus. The cure is wrought at a distance, as in the case of the centurions servant (Mat 8:5 f.).

Mar 7:24. And from thence: the district of Gennesaret is the last place named (Mar 6:53). Presumably the reference is to Gennesaret.

Mar 7:27. Let the children first be filled is not given in Mat 15:26, and is probably no part of the original saying. It embodies the principle on which the subsequent mission of the Church was regulated (Swete), and may reflect Pauline influence, as Loisy supposes.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Verse 24

Tyre and Sidon; the region of these cities was north of Galilee, near the Mediterranean Sea. He went away from the scene of excitement which his ministry had produced in Galilee, desirous, apparently, of a season of retirement and rest.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know [it]: but he could not be hid. 25 For a [certain] woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast [it] unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. 29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Before looking into this passage a quick note about the swine herders in the account of the demoniac is needed. There is a lot of discussion about whether the swine herders might have been Jewish. I recently was in a discussion on an Internet forum on the subject. One man entering into the thread quite late stated flatly that this was an area of ten gentile cities. No proof only a statement as if it were fact and all that were involved should take it as truth.

This account may give indication that in fact Christ was in Gadara to reach Jews. In our present account a gentile comes seeking help for her daughter and Christ rejects her plea due to the fact that the children should first be filled, speaking of the Jews. Unless He was being untruthful with the woman this would indicate that he was not in Gadara to reach Gentiles.

Matthew records an even colder welcome to this Gentile woman in 15.23 Where it says “But he answered her not a word.” It goes on to state clearly “But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This is even a clearer statement of His intention in ministry.

The apostles ask Christ to send the woman away because she was causing such a stir. Such compassion they did show to one in need. Gill gives the apostles some latitude by saying thatthey wanted Christ to grant her wish so that she would leave, though the text does not seem to grant such latitude.

The woman’s answer changes Christ’s mind. Matthew mentions that it was her faith not the words presented though her words depicted that faith clearly. By speaking of herself as a dog of the masters she was placing herself under the umbrella of faith the same as the Jewish people. The Old Testament saint came by faith the same as we. They responded in faith to the revelation that they had.

The Old Testament set forth a method by which a Gentile could come to the Jewish fold and become for all practical purposes a Jew. The sad part of this provision was that the Jews saw their God as “THEIR’S” and did not share Him with others. This is not unlike the church of our own day and the lack of missionary work at present.

Let me give a thought in relation to this account of the dog under the table. We recently became possessed by a little puppy that was given to us by a woman who could no longer care for him. He has taken over the house, it is his and he allows us to remain only to feed and play with his royal being. He was not in the house but a few days when he found the accidental dropping of a piece of food.

It was only a short time before we found a puppy intertwined in our feet and ankles looking for such tiny morsels as might fall. Christ’s illustration for the woman was so very vivid to any dog owner. Her reply also seems to hint of coming from one that knew the actions of dogs.

Mark mentions that the daughter was vexed with an unclean spirit while Matthew mentions that it was a devil or demon.

Just a little hint as to the power of the Lord – He willed the demon be removed and it was so.

Tyre and Sidon are on the coast of Israel. Tyre is northwest of the Sea of Galilee and Sidon is about twenty miles north of Tyre. Tyre is also an area between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean on some maps while other maps label this area as Phoenicia. Robertson terms the woman as Greek by religion, Syrian by tongue and Phoenician by nationality/race.

Barnes points out that “Greek” probably is a more general term for all non-Jews. To the Jew there were Jews and Greeks. The woman may have been loosely a follower of the Greek religious thought, yet it would seem that she was in the process of change in her dealings with Christ and her faith in Him.

The verb relating to the demon having left the daughter is a perfect tense indicating that it was a done deal and all was well with the daughter. When the mother arrived home she found the demon gone, again a perfect tense, and the daughter lying in bed. Presumably from the fatigue of having had the demon in control of her life. “Laid” is a perfect passive, which would suggest that she was there due to some force from outside. Fatigue would fit the situation.What a wonderful day that must have been for the mother, to have brought about the healing of her child and probably from the tone of the text have found spiritual change in her life.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

7:24 {6} And from thence he arose, and went into the {l} borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know [it]: but he could not be hid.

(6) That which the proud reject when it is offered to them, that same thing the modest and humble sinners as it were voraciously consume.

(l) Into the uttermost coasts of Palestine, which were next to Tyre and Sidon.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

4. Jesus’ teaching about bread and the exorcism of a Phoenician girl 7:24-30 (cf. Matthew 15:21-28)

Jesus increased His ministry to Gentiles as He experienced increasing rejection from the Jews. This third withdrawal from Galilee took Jesus outside Palestine for the first time. Mark also recorded Jesus doing more things outside Galilee and fewer things within Galilee than the other evangelists. By pointing this out Mark helped his readers realize that ministry to Gentiles was God’s will in view of Israel’s final rejection of Jesus. One writer believed the point of this story was simply that Jesus could heal. [Note: R. S. Sugirtharajah, "The Syrophoenician Woman," The Expository Times 98:1 (October 1986):13-15.] But this seems shortsighted. Mark included three events that occurred outside Palestine and one following Jesus’ return.

There is a logical connection between this section and the one that precedes it (Mar 7:1-23). Jesus had explained why He did not observe the traditional separation from defiling associations. Now He illustrated that by going into Gentile territory. This contact would have rendered Him ceremonial unclean according to the Jews’ traditions.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Mark normally began a new paragraph with the Greek word kai ("and"). Here he used de ("and" or "now"). This difference indicates a significant change in the narrative. The hostility of Israel’s leaders led Jesus to correct them "and" to leave Galilee for ministry elsewhere.

The New Testament writers often spoke of Phoenicia as the land of Tyre and or Sidon because they were the two notable cities of the region. Tyre stood on the Mediterranean coast about 40 miles northwest of Capernaum. Jesus went there to be alone with the disciples. Nevertheless His fame accompanied Him, and He was not able to remain incognito. Josephus described the people of this region as "notoriously our bitterest enemies." [Note: Josephus, Against Apion, 1:13, quoted by Guelich, p. 384.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

CHAPTER 7:24-30 (Mar 7:24-30)

THE CHILDREN AND THE DOGS

“And from thence He arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and He could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of Him, came and fell down at His feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. And He said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. But she answered and saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And He said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the devil gone out.” Mar 7:24-30 (R.V.)

THE ingratitude and perverseness of His countrymen have now driven Jesus into retirement “on the borders” of heathenism. It is not clear that He has yet crossed the frontier, and some presumption to the contrary is found in the statement that a woman, drawn by a fame which had long since gone throughout all Syria, “came out of those borders” to reach Him. She was not only “a Greek” (by language or by creed as conjecture may decide, though very probably the word means little more than a Gentile), but even of the specially accursed race of Canaan, the reprobate of reprobates. And yet the prophet Zechariah had foreseen a time when the Philistine also should be a remnant for our God, and as a chieftain in Judah, and when the most stubborn race of all the Canaanites should be absorbed in Israel as thoroughly as that which gave Araunah to the kindliest intercourse with David, for Ekron should be as a Jebusite (Zec 9:7). But the hour for breaking down the middle wall of partition was not yet fully come. Nor did any friend plead for this unhappy woman, that she loved the nation and had built a synagogue; nothing as yet lifted her above the dead level of that paganism to which Christ, in the days of His flesh and upon earth, had no commission. Even the great champion and apostle of the Gentiles confessed that his Lord was a minister of the circumcision by the grace of God, and it was by His ministry to the Jews that the Gentiles were ultimately to be won. We need not be surprised therefore at His silence when she pleaded, for this might well be calculated to elicit some expression of faith, something to separate her from her fellows, and so enable Him to bless her without breaking down prematurely all distinctions. Also it must be considered that nothing could more offend His countrymen than to grant her prayer, while as yet it was impossible to hope for any compensating harvest among her fellows, such as had been reaped in Samaria. What is surprising is the apparent harshness of expression which follows that silence, when even His disciples are induced to intercede for her. But theirs was only the softness which yields to clamor, as many people give alms, not to silent worth but to loud and pertinacious importunity. And they even presumed to throw their own discomfort into the scale, and urge as a reason for this intercession, that she crieth after us. But Jesus was occupied with His mission, and unwilling to go farther than He was sent.

In her agony she pressed nearer still to Him when He refused, and worshipped Him, no longer as the Son of David, since what was Hebrew in His commission made against her; but simply appealed to His compassion, calling Him Lord. The absence of these details from St. Mark’s narrative is interesting, and shows the mistake of thinking that his Gospel is simply the most graphic and the fullest. It is such when our Lord Himself is in action; its information is derived from one who pondered and told all things, not as they were pictorial in themselves, but as they illustrated the one great figure of the Son of Man. And so the answer of Jesus is fully given, although it does not appear as if grace were poured into His lips. “Let the children first be filled, for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to the dogs.” It might seem that sterner words could scarcely have been spoken, and that His kindness was only for the Jews, who even in their ingratitude were to the best of the Gentiles as children compared with dogs. Yet she does not contradict Him. Neither does she argue back, — for the words “True, Lord, but . . .” have rightly disappeared from the Revised Version, and with them a certain contentious aspect which they give to her reply. On the contrary she assents, she accepts all the seeming severity of His view, because her penetrating faith has detected its kindly undertone, and the triple opportunity which it offers to a quick and confiding intelligence. It is indeed touching to reflect how impregnable was Jesus in controversy with the keenest intellects of Judaism, with how sharp a weapon He rent their snares, and retorted their arguments to their confusion, and then to observe Him inviting, tempting, preparing the way for an argument which would lead Him, gladly won, captive to a heathen’s and a woman’s importunate and trustful sagacity. It is the same Divine condescension which gave to Jacob his new name of Israel because he had striven with God and prevailed.

And let us reverently ponder the fact that this pagan mother of a demoniacal child, this woman whose name has perished, is the only person who won a dialectical victory in striving with the Wisdom of God; such a victory as a father allows to his eager child, when he raises gentle obstacles, and even assumes a transparent mask of harshness, but never passes the limit of the trust and love which he is probing.

The first and most obvious opportunity which He gives to her is nevertheless hard to show in English. He might have used an epithet suitable for those fierce creatures which prowl through Eastern streets at night without any master, living upon refuse, a peril even to men who are unarmed. But Jesus used a diminutive word, not found elsewhere in the New Testament, and quite unsuitable to those fierce beasts, a word “in which the idea of uncleanness gives place to that of dependence, of belonging to man and to the family.” No one applies our colloquial epithet “doggie” to a fierce or rabid brute. Thus Jesus really domesticated the Gentile world. And nobly, eagerly, yet very modestly she used this tacit concession, when she repeated His carefully selected word, and inferred from it that her place was not among those vile “dogs” with are “without,” but with the domestic dogs, the little dogs underneath the table.

Again, she observed the promise which lurked under seeming refusal, when He said, “Let the children first be filled,” and so implied that her turn should come, that it was only a question of time. And so she answers that such dogs as He would make of her and hers do not fast utterly until their mealtime after the children have been satisfied; they wait under the table, and some ungrudged fragments reach them there, some “crumbs.”

Moreover, and perhaps chiefly, the bread she craves need not be torn from hungry children. Their Benefactor has had to wander off into concealment, they have let fall, unheeding, not only crumbs, although her noble tact expresses it thus lightly to their countryman, but far more than she divined, even the very Bread of Life. Surely His own illustration has admitted her right to profit by the heedlessness of “the children.” And He had admitted all this: He had meant to be thus overcome. One loves to think of the first flush of hope in that trembling mother’s heavy heart, as she discerned His intention and said within herself, “Oh, surely I am not mistaken; He does not really refuse at all; He wills that I should answer Him and prevail.” One supposes that she looked up, half afraid to utter the great rejoinder, and took courage when she met His questioning inviting gaze. And then comes the glad response, no longer spoken coldly and without an epithet: “O woman, great is thy faith.” He praises not her adroitness nor her humility, but the faith which would not doubt, in that dark hour, that light was behind the cloud; and so He sets no other limit to His reward than the limit of her desires: “Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary