Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 7:25
For a [certain] woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
25. heard of him ] The fame of His miracles had already penetrated even to these old Phnician cities, and we have seen (Mar 3:8) “a great multitude” from Tyre and Sidon coming to Him (comp. also Mat 4:24).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 7:25-30
The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by nation: and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
The Canaanitish mother
Through her natural affections she had mounted up, as it would seem, to higher and spiritual things; for to a wonderful degree did she enter into the secrets of His mysterious nature; she worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me! She pierced, as though by the intuition of some blessed instinct, through the veil in which He was shrouded. Her faith laid its hold at once upon His very Godhead, and on His true humanity. As God, she fell before Him-she worshipped Him; as man, she appealed to His feeling for the sorrows of mans heart, crying to Him, Lord, help me! She reached on to that entire sympathy which was to be the fruit of His being perfected through suffering. Thou that art the Man of Sorrows; by Thy mans heart, and by the covenant of Thy suffering, help me in my woe. Twice more, we know, she seemed to be refused; and yet she persevered. He had but tried her faith, and perfected her patience. There was in her heart a hidden treasure which was thus brought forth; there was in it the fine gold, to which this hour of agony had been as the refiners fire. Her importunity had won its answer; for indeed it was itself His gift. The fire upon the altar of her heart had been kindled by the beams of His own countenance; her cleaving to Him was His gift; her love the reflection of His love to her; He had put the words into her mouth, and He had strengthened her to speak them. And so the end was sure: she had knocked, and the door had opened; she had asked, and she received: O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Such is the narrative; and in all its parts we may read that which concerns ourselves most closely. For what else are our lives, with all their varying accidents and issues, than, as it were, the shadows cast forward into all time by these dealings of the Son of God with man? He has come nigh unto us; yea, He stands amongst us-He, the Healer of our spirits; He, our hearts true centre-He is close beside us; and we, have we not each one our own deep need of Him? Have we not each one our own burden?-the young daughter who lieth at home grievously afflicted, whom He only can heal? And then, further, do not characters now divide off and part asunder even as they did then? Are there not those who, like the Jews, know not the office of this Healer; who hear all His words, and see all His signs, and languidly let Him pass, or angrily murmur at Him, or blasphemously drive Him from them; from whom He passes, even to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, to pour on others the blessing they refuse? But then there are also those who do seek Him with their whole heart-unmarked, it may be, by any of the outward appearances which catch the eye of man.
I. There is the lesson taught us by the Jews, that He does pass away from those who will not stay Him with them; that He goes on and heals others: and that they die unhealed, because they knew not the time of their visitation. And the root of this evil is here pointed out to us: it is a want of faith, and, from this, a lack of the power of spiritual discernment. Such men are purblind: the full light of heaven shines in vain for them. They do not intend to reject the Christ, but they know Him not; their gaze is too idle, too impassive, to discover Him. They know not that they have deep needs which He only can satisfy. They yet dream of slaking their thirst at other streams.
II. But there is also here the lesson of the woman of Canaan; and this has many aspects; of which the first, perhaps, is this, that by every mark and token which the stricken soul can read, He to whom she sought is the only Healer of humanity, the true portion and rest of every heart; that He would teach us this by all the discipline of outward things; that the ties of family life are meant thus to train up our weak affections till they are fitted to lay hold on Him; that the eddies and sorrows of life are meant to sweep us from its flowery banks, that in its deep strong currents we may cry to Him; that for this and He opens to us, by little and little, the mystery of trouble round us, the mystery of evil within us, that we may fly from others and ourselves to Him.
III. And, once more, there is this further lesson, that He will most surely be found by those who do seek after Him. For here we see why it often happens that really earnest and sincere men seem, for a time at least, to pray in vain; why their Lord, help me! is not answered by a word. It is not that Christ is not near us; it is not that His ear is heavy; it is not that the tenderness of His sympathy is blunted. It is a part of His plan of faithfulness and wisdom. He has a double purpose herein. He would bless by it both us and all His Church. How many a fainting soul has gathered strength for one more hour of patient supplication by thinking on this Canaanitish mother; on her seeming rejection, on her blessed success at last! And for ourselves, too, there is a special mercy in these long-delayed blessings. For it is only by degrees that the work within us can be perfected; it is only by steps, small and almost imperceptible as we are taking them, yet one by one leading us to unknown heights, that we can mount up to the golden gate before us. The ripening of these precious fruits must not be forced. We have many lessons to learn, and we can learn them but one by one. And much are we taught by these delayed answers to our prayers. By them the treasure of our hearts is cleared from dross, as in the furnace heat. He would but teach us to come to Him at once for all, and not to leave Him until we have won our suit. (Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.)
Faith triumphant over refusal
1. Here is, first, the Saviour leaving the usual scenes of His ministry, and passing into a land to which He had as yet no message. As soon as He reaches it, He makes it plain that He did not come there for purposes of public ministration. He came there, I think we may say, for the sake of one soul. He would leave on record just one example of His care for those who were not yet His own. Thus would He warn the Jews that Gods blessing might escape them altogether, if they gave not the more earnest heed. When and as He will, such is the law of His working. And they who would find Him must watch for Him. Into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon He comes but now and then, or He comes but once.
2. Again, how many are the hearts sorrows! How often are they connected with family life? Happy they whose family sorrows bring them to the same place for healing-to the feet of Christ.
3. But at all events, if the home be ever so bright, if the life be ever so cloudless, there is a want deep down within, which is either keenly felt, or, if not felt, tenfold more urgent. If not for a child whom Satan hath bound; yet at least for ourselves we have all need to approach Christ with the prayer, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David. In some of us there is by habit a possession of the evil one: in all of us there is by nature a taint and an infection of sin.
4. Thus then we have all of us occasion to approach Him who has turned aside to visit our coasts. We have all a malady which needs healing, and for which He alone, alone in heaven or in earth, even professes to have a remedy. The less we feel, the more we need. My brethren, we do not believe that any real prayer was ever cast out for the unworthiness of the asker.
5. And doubt not, but earnestly believe, that as this miracle describes us in some of its parts, so shall it describe us also in all. It was written to teach men this lesson-that refusals, even if they were uttered in words from the heavenly places, are at the very worst only trials of our faith. Will we, that is the question, pray on through them?
6. And assuredly, this morning, we may take the history before us as a strongly encouraging call to Christs holy Table. (G. J. Vaughan, D. D.)
The Syro-Phoenician woman
I. A commendation of the womans faith. But now what is it that Christ commends and admires? It is the greatness of the womans faith. Now faith may be said to be great either in respect had to the understanding, or to the will. For the act of faith proceeds from them both; and it may be said to increase and be great, either as the understanding receives more light, or the will more warmth: as the one doth more firmly assent, and the other more readily embrace. In the understanding it it raised by certainty and assurance, and in the will by devotion and confidence. This womans faith was great in both respects. She most firmly believed Christ to be the Lord, able to work a miracle on her daughter: and her devotion and confidence was so strongly built, that neither silence nor denial nor a reproach could shake it. And because we are told that the greatness of virtue is best seen in the effects; as we best judge of a tree by the spreading of its branches, and of the whole by the parts; we will therefore contemplate this womans faith in those several fruits it brought forth,-in her patience, in her humility, in her perseverance; which are those lesser stars that shine in the firmament of our souls, and borrow their light from the lustre of faith, as from their sun.
1. We must admire her patience. She endured much; misery, reproach, repulse, silence, and the name of a dog. Her patience proves the greatness of her faith.
2. Next follows her humility, a companion of patience. She worshipped Him. Not a humility which stays at home, but which comes out of her coasts after Christ. She cries after Him; He answers not. She falls on the ground; He calls her dog. A humility that is not silent, but helps Christ to accuse her. A humility, not at the lower end, but under the table, content with the crumbs which fall to the dogs. Thus doth the soul by true humility go out from God to meet Him, and, beholding His immense goodness, looks back unto herself, and dwells in the contemplation of her own poverty; and, being conscious of her own emptiness and nihility, she stands at gaze, and trembles at that unmeasurable goodness which filleth all things. It is a good flight from Him which humility makes. For thus to go away from God into the valley of our own imperfections, is to meet Him: we are then most near Him when we place ourselves at such a distance; as the best way to enjoy the sun is not to live in his sphere. We must therefore learn by this woman here to take heed how we grace ourselves. For nothing can make the heavens as brass unto us, to deny their influence, but a high conceit of our own worth. If no beam of the sun touch thee in the midst of a field at noonday, thou canst not but think some thick cloud is cast between thee and the light; and if, amongst that myriad of blessings which flow from the Fountain of light, none reach home to thee, it is because thou art too full already, and hast shut out God by the conceit of thy own bulk and greatness. Certainly, nothing can conquer majesty but humility, which layeth her foundation low, but raiseth her building to heaven. This Canaanitess is a dog; Christ calls her woman: she deserves not a crumb; He grants her the whole loaf, and seals His grant with a Fiat tibi. It shall be to humility even as she will.
3. And now, in the third place, her humility ushers in her heat and perseverance in prayer. Pride is as glass: It makes the mind brittle and frail. Glitter she doth, and make a fair show; but upon a touch or fall is broken asunder. Not only a reproach, which is a blow, but silence, which can be but a touch, dasheth her to pieces. Reproach pride, and she swells into anger; she is ready to return the dog upon Christ. But humility is a wall of brass, and endureth all the batteries of opposition. Is Christ silent? she cries still, she follows after, she falls on her knees. Calls her dog? she confesseth it. Our Saviour Himself, when He negotiated our reconciliation, continued in supplications with strong crying (Heb 5:7), and now, beholding as it were Himself in the woman, and seeing, though not the same, yet the like, fervour and perseverance in her, He approves it as a piece of His own coin, and sets His impress upon it. And these three, patience, humility, perseverance, and an undaunted constancy in prayer, measure out her faith. For faith is not great but by opposition.
4. I might add a fourth, her prudence, but that I scarce know how to distinguish it from faith. For faith indeed is our Christian prudence, which doth innoculate the soul, give her a clear and piercing eye, by which she discerns great blessings in little ones, a talent in a mite, and a loaf in a crumb; which sets up a golden light, by which we spy out all spiritual advantages, and learn to thrive in the merchandise of truth. We may see a beam of this light in every passage of this woman; but it is most resplendent in her art of thrift, by which she can multiply a crumb. A crumb shall turn this dog into a child of Abraham. To our eye a star appears not much bigger than a candle; but reason corrects our sense, and makes it greater than the globe of the earth: so opportunities and occasions of good, and those many helps to increase grace in us, are apprehended as atoms by a sensual eye; but our Christian prudence beholds them in their lust magnitude, and makes more use of a crumb that falls from the table, than folly doth of a sumptuous feast. A little, saith the Psalmist, which the righteous hath is more than great revenues of the wicked (Psa 37:16). A little wealth, a little knowledge, nay, a little grace, may be so husbanded and improved that the increase and harvest may be greatest where there is least seed. It is strange, but yet we may observe it, many men walk safer by starlight than others by day.
Many times it falls out that ignorance is more holy than knowledge.
1. Shall we now take pains to measure our faith by this womans? We may as well measure an inch by a pole, or an atom by a mountain. We are impatient of afflictions and reproaches.
2. But next, for humility: who vouchsafeth once to put on her mantle?
3. Lastly: For our perseverance and fervour in devotion, we must not dare once to compare them with this womans. For, Lord! how loath are we to begin our prayers, and how willing to make an end! Her devotion was on fire; ours is congealed and bound up with a frost. But yet, to come up close to our text, our Saviour mentions not these, but passeth them by in silence, and commends her faith.
Not but that her patience was great; her humility great, and her devotion great: but because all these were seasoned with faith, and sprung from faith, and because faith was it which caused the miracle, He mentions faith alone, that faith may have indeed the preeminence in all things.
1. Faith was the virtue which Christ came to plant in His Church.
2. Besides, faith was the fountain from whence these rivulets were cut, from whence those virtues did flow. For had she not believed, she had not come, she had not cried, she had not been patient, she had not humbled herself to obtain her desire, she had not persevered; but having a firm persuasion that Christ was able to work the miracle, no silence, no denial, no reproach, no wind could drive her away.
3. Lastly; Faith is that virtue which seasons all the rest, maketh them useful and profitable, which commends our patience and humility and perseverance, and without which our patience were but like the heathens, imaginary, and paper patience, begotten by some premeditation, by habit of suffering, by opinion of fatal necessity, or by a stoical abandoning of all affections. Without faith our humility were pride, and our prayers babbling. For whereas in natural men there be many excellent things, yet without faith they are all nothing worth, and are to them as the rainbow was before the flood, the same perhaps in show, but of no use. It is strange to see what gifts of wisdom and temperance, of moral and natural conscience, of justice and uprightness, did remain, not only in the books, but in the lives, of many heathen men: but this could not further them one foot for the purchase of eternal good, because they wanted the faith which they derided, which gives the rest , a loveliness and beauty, and is alone of force to attract and draw the love and favour of God unto us. These graces otherwise are but as the matter and body of a Christian man, a thing of itself dead, without life: but the soul which seems to quicken this body, is faith. They are indeed of the same brotherhood and kindred, and God is the common Father unto them all: but without faith they find no entertainment at His hands. As Joseph said unto his brethren, You shall not see my face except your brother be with you (Gen 43:3); so, nor shall patience and humility and prayer bring us to the blessed vision of God, unless they take faith in their company. Yea see, our Saviour passeth by them all: but at the sight of faith He cries out in a kind of astonishment, O woman, great is thy faith! And for this faith he grants her her request: Be it unto thee even as thou wilt: which is my next part, and which I will touch but in a word.
II. Fiat tibi is a grant; and it follows close at the heels of the commendation, and even commends that to. (A. Farindon, D. D.)
Suffering sends to Christ
No wind so powerful to drive us from Tyre and Sidon to Christ, from the coasts of sin to the land of the living, as calamity. (A. Farindon, D. D.)
Light drawn out of darkness
Here is a cloud drawn over her; yet her faith sees a star in this cloud; and by a strange kind of alchemy she draws light out of darkness, and makes that sharp denial the foundation of a grant. (A. Farindon, D. D.)
Prayer richly answered
Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Before, silence; now, admiration: before, a reproof; now, a commendation: before, a dog; now, a woman: before, not a crumb: now, more bread than the children. She cried before, and Christ answered not; but now Christ answers, and not only gives her a crumb, but the whole table; answers her with Be it unto thee even as thou wilt! (A. Farindon, D. D.)
So,to prayers take long to answer
If Gods chastisements make you better, thank God for them. Those unfeeling words, that cold look, and that indifferent way of Christ-what gush of feeling they brought out of this womans soul! That pushing away-how it brought the pleading hands out, as it were! How it caused every tendril and fibre of her heart to clasp and cling to the Saviour, and made her refuse to let Him go! It was out of the apparent winter of His face that her summer came. It was out of His repulsion that her blessing came. Any dealing that makes you better inside is beneficial. And do not feel when God is dealing with you severely that He has forgotten you. It takes a great while to answer some prayers. One day an acorn looked up and saw an oak tree over it, and did not know that this tree was its father, and pleaded with Nature, saying, Make me such a one as that. So the squirrel took it, and raced off with it towards its nest; and on the way he dropped it on a ledge where there was a little soil, and lost it. There it germinated, and its roots struck down. And after a year the little whip cried, I did not pray to be a little whip; I prayed to be like that oak tree. But God did not hear. The next year it grew and branched a little; but it was not satisfied; and in its discontent it said: O Nature, I prayed that I might be like that voluminous oak, and now see what a contemptible little forked stick I am. Another year came, and the winter froze it, and the summer storms heat on it, and it tugged away for its life, and its roots ran out and twined themselves around rocks and whatever else it could get hold of, and fed on the hillside. So it grew and grew till a hundred years had passed over it. Then behold how on the hillside it stands firm, and defies the winter storms and tempests. Then behold how it spreads itself abroad, and stands an oak indeed, fit to be the foundation of a princes palace, or the keel of a ship that bears a nations thunder round the globe! You cannot he transformed in an instant. You cannot be changed between twilight and sunrise. When, therefore, you pray that God will regenerate your nature, will you not give Him time to do such a work. When you pray for the reconstruction of your character, will you not wait till God can perform such an act of mercy? If, looking at the interior, He sees that the work can be expedited, He will expedite it; but you must be patient. (H. W. Beecher.)
Great faith found amongst the Gentiles who were to gain the most by it
If it be through the special virtue and dignity of the grace of faith that the new dispensation is enabled to make itself commensurate with the world, it seems peculiarly appropriate, that the chief examples of that grace, which was thus to equalize the claims of all the races of mankind, should have been selected from among those who were to gain the advantage in this equalization. (W. A. Butler, M. A.)
A gradual transition from Jew to Gentile
Nor, perhaps, is it altogether unworthy of notice in this point of view, that when the Church was indeed to be declared a Church of Gentile no less than Jew, the first believer-the common ancestor of the world of evangelized heathen-was a man holding the same office, and, it would appear, similarly connected in habits and disposition with the Jews: for as it is said of the Centurion of the Acts, that he was one that feared God, and gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway-so it is likewise said of the Centurion of the Gospel, that he loved their nation, and had built them a synagogue. And I may add that this respectful attachment to the ancient people of Jehovah is very discernible in the language of our immediate subject, the believing Canaanite; for she not only addressed her Redeemer in her supplication as the Son of David (a title which could appear honourable only to one who sympathized with the feelings and prepossessions of a Jew), but even acceded to the justness of our Lords strong expressions when He classed her nation as dogs in comparison with the long-adopted children of God. However this may be, the choice of the previous friends and revelers of Israel, as the special instances of Gentile faith in Christ, may be considered in a view beyond this; not merely as a striking exemplification of that law of gradual transition which seems to pervade all the works of God, spiritual no less than physical-the heathen being partially Judaized before he be comes wholly enlightened, but also as manifestly rendering these instances more appropriate types of the entire work of Gentile conversion-externally, of the preaching of the gospel to the heathen in all ages, which in all ages must include so large a Jewish element, must build itself upon Jewish history, authenticate itself by Jewish prophecy, and proclaim its great Subject the fulfilment of Jewish types; internally of the parallel story of the gospel life in the soul, which, perhaps, finds every man more or less a Jew in heart, in pride, self-reliance, spiritual ignorance, and formality-before it conducts him into the humility, the faith, the illumination, and the liberty of the gospel. (W. A. Butler, M. A.)
A prayer that involved an argument
I am not sent but to Israel, said Jesus. She came, not with an argument, but a prayer that involved an argument, and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me! She no longer calls Him Son of David, for her object was to rise from the Son of David to the Son of God, from the Messiah of the Jew to the Messiah of the world-to the Lord in the simple majesty of the name, yea, to the mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age, the Prince of peace. She, therefore, designates Him by the vaster and ampler title, and adds to her designation worship. She insinuated that the Lord had power above His commission; that this plenipotentiary of heaven could at will transcend the terms of His instructions; and by that omnipotence which ruled the world it had created, she invoked Him, Lord, help me! But even this is ineffective. Faith must see more than power; and the Canaanite must pay a price for being the model of the Church to come. Like Him she implored, she must be made perfect through sufferings. For, alas, omnipotence acts by mysterious and often exclusive laws; though the agent be almighty, the object may be unfit for its operation; the same power that bade Carmel blossom left Sinai a desert. It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it to dogs; Let the children (St. Mark adds) first be filled! But now for a bolder flight of the eagle wing, and a keener glance of the eagle eye of faith. She springs from the supreme control to the benevolent equity of providence. She rises above the clouds of the Divine power, often, to us who can only see them from below, dark, disturbed, and stormy, into the holy serenity beyond them. She sees the calm Sovereign of the universe, partial, yet impartial too; preferring some, yet forgetting none. She knows that His care is over all His works, and-deepest wonder of her heaven-sent enlightenment-she can see that He loves her, and yet accord His unquestionable right to love, if He please it, others more; allows she can ask but little, yet believingly dares to pronounce that little certain! She will permit (would to God we could always follow her in our speculations!) no mystery of dispensation to contradict the truth of the Divine character. Truth, Lord, is her retort, for the calmness of her settled convictions left her power to point her reply: Truth, Lord! yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table. Everything is here. All Christianity is concentrated in one happy sentence. She believes in her own lowliness: she believes in Gods absolute supremacy; she believes in the secret propriety of the apparent inequalities of His providence; she believes that those inequalities can never affect the true universality of His love. God is all, yet she is something too, for she is Gods creature. Men from deep places can see the stars at noon-day; and from the utter depths of her self-abasement she catches the whole blessed mystery of heaven: like St. Pauls Christian, in having nothing, she possesses all things. (W. A. Butler, M. A.)
The power of faith shown in the woman of Canaan
We may learn from this narrative-
I. That misfortunes and calamities, however severe and painful they may appear, are the best, and often the only means of leading us to a sense of religious duty.
II. That no want of present success should ever lead us to despair.
III. That the lowest station, and even the vilest in heart, are still within the reach of the sanctifying mercies of their Redeemer. This woman belonged to an outcast race. (R. Parkinson, B. D.)
The woman of Canaan
1. Her faith had a good foundation. She called Jesus the Son of David.
2. Her faith made her very diligent to seek out Christ, when she heard that He was in the country. (E. Blencowe, M. A.)
The Syro-Phoenician woman
Jesus went thence. The persons and places that have been favoured with Christs presence and instructions may not be always so; having delivered His message, and done His work, He will remove. The day is going away, and night will succeed. Happy they who, while they have the light, know how to use it; and, having Jesus with them, make sure of an interest in Him, before He go from them.
1. The suppliant.
2. The title she speaks to our Lord by-O Lord, Thou Son of David.
3. The request.
I. The trials and difficulties this suppliants faith met with.
1. Though she cries, Christ is wholly silent. How great a trial is this, to speak to the only Saviour, and have no return; to cry to a merciful Saviour, and meet no regard. Prayers may be heard, yet kept in suspense. A bitter aggravation of affliction (Lam 3:8; Son 5:6; Psa 22:2; Psa 69:3; Psa 77:7-9). This a trial, considering the encouraging character under which God is made known to His people (Psa 65:2; Psa 50:15; Isa 65:24).
2. Christ seems to intimate that He had nothing to do with her. He was able to save, but salvation was not for her.
3. When her request was renewed, Christ seems to answer it with reproach.
II. Having spoken of the trial of this womans faith, I come to consider how it was discovered, and worked through all.
1. Though Christ was silent she did not drop, but continued her suit. The eternal Word would not speak to her, the wisdom of the Father would not answer her, the compassionate Jesus would take no notice of her, the heavenly Physician would not yet help her; but all this does not discourage or sink her. How does the earnestness of this heathen in crying after Christ reproach the ignorance and ingratitude of the Jews, who generally made light of Him; and invite all that hear it, to admire her faith thus discovered, and the grace of God in general wherever it works. Faith enabled her to read an argument in Christs silence, and by it she continued her suit. The same words that bid us pray, bid us wait too (Psa 27:14).
2. When Christ speaks, and seems to exclude her out of His commission to give help and relief, she passeth over the doubt she could not answer, and, instead of disputing, adores Him, and prays to Him still. Two or three things are here implied, as what she kept her eye upon, and by which she was quickened and helped on in praying to Christ amidst so many discouragements, which otherwise would have been enough to sink her.
(1) Upon her deep necessity. It was a deplorable case her child was in, being grievously vexed with a devil, from subjection to which she earnestly desired to see her set free.
(2) Upon Christs power, and His compassion joined with it, that He and He only could, and, as she hoped, would relieve her. Her faith as to this is manifested by her coming to Him, and by the title she gives Him, of Lord-Lord, help me.
(3) Upon Him, as the Messiah promised of God, the great Deliverer, and so worshipped Him, and east herself upon Him, with this strong cry, uttered by a stronger faith, Lord, help me. This was the discovery of this supplicants faith under trials. Now followeth-
III. The happy issue of this, in her faiths triumph. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. To how blessed an issue is the struggle brought! Christs answer before was not so discouraging as this was comfortable. What consolation is it fitted to convey, as it is the testimony of one that knew the heart, and given after a manner most fit to revive it?
1. Her faith was owned, commended, and admired by the Author of it, whose words are always spoken according to truth, most clearly and certainly.
2. The reward of her faith was ample, as large as her desires were, to have it to be, Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And how fast and far will a sinners thoughts and desires fly after good things? What a compass will they take? Looking downward he will say, I desire to be delivered from the bottomless pit, that my soul may not be gathered with sinners, nor my portion be with them in their place of torment; and Christ will say, Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Looking inward, his language will be, O that I may be delivered from this body of death. Looking upward to the mansions of glory, the believer cries, O that heaven may be mine. (D. Wilcox.)
Power and efficacy of prayer
I. Prayer in its opportunities. Some are more highly favoured with opportunities of prayer than others. Many are early instructed in its nature, etc., others are destitute of such instruction: such was the ease probably with the Canaanitish woman who so urgently presented her suit to our Lord.
1. Seasons of affliction furnish opportunities for prayer.
2. The special presence of Christ, either at times of public worship, or in the influence of His Spirit in private, furnish opportunity for prayer. It was the presence of the Saviour in the immediate neighbourhood of the Canaanitish woman that induced her to come to Him.
II. Prayer is its objects.
1. It ought to be personal. Lord, help me, is the language of true prayer.
2. It ought to be intercessory.
III. Prayer is its discouragements.
IV. Prayer in its success. Prayer to be successful-
1. Must be persevering.
2. Must be offered in faith. O woman, great is thy faith. (Anon.)
This womans nationality
Is emphasized by the Evangelists with a variety of expressions. She is characterized vaguely as a Greek, not in the limited sense with which we are most familiar, but as a genuine term for non-Jewish people, very much as the Turks and Asiatics adopt the designation of Frank for any European. Her personal name has come down through tradition as Justs, and that of her daughter as Bernice. She is called by St. Matthew a woman of Canaan-an inhabitant of the region into which those who escaped extermination had been shut up; and the title may have been selected to enhance the loving kindness of the Lord, not without reference to her inheritance of the ancient malediction, Cursed be Canaan. She is also called here a Syro-Phoenician by descent, probably to distinguish her from those Libyo-Phoenicians in the northern coasts of Africa, whom the fame of Carthage had made so widely known. She was, no doubt, in religion a heathen, but was possessed by principles which, when called into active exercise by the Great Teacher, served her in better stead than the orthodox creed did not a few of its professors. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
She was a heathen in religion, an alien in race, a dweller in a city hardly surpassable for antiquity, enterprise, wealth, or wickedness. She had been doubtless a worshipper of the Syrian goddess whose worship covered the Levant; the deity who personified the fulness of Divine life which fills the world; who was loved by the purest because they deemed her the giver of their children; and yet worshipped with loathsome devotion by the vilest because she was supposed to sanction all action of human lust. A Hindoo mother, worshipping Doorga, in her brighter aspect, reproduces exactly the sort of feeling and devotion in which this woman had been reared. She was thus ill placed, for the favourite deity corrupted the morals of the people exactly in the degree they worshipped her. Yet her faith receives a tribute of highest praise from her Saviour, and she is, I suppose, the first heathen converted to the faith and the salvation of the Son of God. (R. Glover.)
The action of faith
Faith is a great mystery. To doubt, nothing is needed but weakness; to believe, requires great energy or great necessity. Observe the creed which has grown in this woman and now shows itself.
1. She believes in miracles. The lukewarm, who are rich and increased in goods, are unbelieving; for, needing nothing, they cannot believe in what they see no need for. But the needy, whose case is desperate, have other thoughts. All the afflicted tend to settle in this creed, that there must be somewhere a cure for every trouble. So the miracle of healing a demoniac child seems quite possible to her.
2. She believes, in some measure, in the Divinity of Jesus-viz., that he can do what mere man cannot do; that He is omnipotent to save.
3. She believes in the love of Christ. Her mother love has given her a new idea of Gods love. If she were God, she thinks, she would succour the wretched and bind up the broken heart. And she feels that Christs heart must be full of love-even to a helpless heathen. (R. Glover.)
The Syro-Phoenician woman
This story places before us a pattern of meekness and perseverance rarely equalled.
1. How many, even with privileges of teaching and education to which she was a stranger, would have taken offence at the apparent insult of such a reception as she met with. But with all the forbearance of the meek and quiet spirit, which disarms opposition, she discerned a smile beneath His frown, and won her petition.
2. How many, if not offended and full of resentment, would have turned away discouraged. To have hoped, as she had done, against hope, and then to have heard that there was One who could give her relief, and to have flung herself at His feet in the agony of supplication, and to be so received! Could we have been surprised if despair had taken possession of her, and she had hurried from His presence?
3. But faith triumphed over all disappointment, and her desire was granted. Whether it was given to her to understand it we cannot tell; but the seeming harshness of her Saviours conduct was but a new revelation of his unfailing love. The same love which, when faith was weak, prompted Him to go forth to meet it, led Him to hold Himself back when faith was strong, that it might be yet further purified and made perfect through trial. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
The dogs
She had often heard her people characterized as dogs. It was a title by which the Jews, whose first care it was to hate, to mock, and to curse all besides themselves, disgraced the Gentiles. The noble nature of the dog finds no recognition in the history of the Old or New Testaments. Among Jews dogs were regarded as wild, savage, undomesticated animals, which prowled about cities as the scavengers of the streets, with no masters and no homes. But Jesus, by the use of a diminutive not to be expressed in English, softened not a little the harshness of the comparison, implying that the dogs to which He likened this woman were not excluded from the house. And the woman with the instincts of a Gentile, with whom the dog was not only a favourite but an almost necessary companion, having its place at the domestic hearth, turned it at once into an argument in her favour, and replied, Yes, Lord, I accept the position; for the dogs under the table eat of the childrens crumbs. What she meant to convey must have been something like this: I do not deny that the Jews are the first object of your care and ministration. They are the true children, and I am far from asking that they should ever be superseded in their rightful prerogative; but the very fact that you should speak of their being first fed seems to imply that our turn will come after them, and your mitigation of the harsh unfeeling byword which the Jews adopt, encourages me to persevere in my petition. Let the full board, then-the plentiful bread of grace-be reserved for the Jewish children; but only let me be as the dog under the table, to partake of the crumbs of mercy and comfort that fall from it. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
Faith improved by trial
Compare with the testing of the Syrophenician womans faith, Gods trial of Abraham (Gen 22:1-19), and note the rich reward which triumphant faith won in both instances. Pure gold loses nothing in the testing for alloys; the diamond shines all the more clearly for being rid of the rough surface which hid its light.
Dogs
Duff, the African missionary, was about to begin a gospel service in a Boer farmers house, when he noticed that none of the Kaffir servants were present. To his request that they might be brought in, the Boer replied roughly: What have Kaffirs to do with the gospel? Kaffirs, sir, are dogs. Duff made no reply, but opened his Bible, and read his text: Yes, Lord; yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrens crumbs. Stop, cried the farmer, youve broken my head. Let the Kaffirs come in.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. A certain woman] See this account of the Syrophoenician woman explained at large, Mt 15:21-28.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
25. For a certain woman, whose youngdaughter had an unclean spiritor, as in Matthew (Mt15:22), “was badly demonized.”
heard of himOnewonders how; but distress is quick of hearing.
and fell at his feet:
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For a certain woman,…. One way and means by which he came to be more openly discovered who he was, was this; a woman in those parts,
whose young daughter had an unclean spirit; a devil, with which she was possessed; hearing of some miracles he had wrought in healing the sick, and casting out devils;
heard of him, and came; and understanding that he was in such a place made all haste to him;
and fell at his feet; and with great respect and reverence to so venerable a person, threw herself at his feet, and earnestly entreated mercy for her child; believing he had power to cast the devil out of her, though at a distance from her.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Whose little daughter ( ). Diminutive with tender touch. Note “whose” and “her” like vernacular today.
Having heard of him ( ). Even in this heathen territory the fame of Jesus was known. When the Sermon on the Mount was preached people were there from “the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon” (Lu 6:17).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Daughter [] . Diminutive. Rev., little daughter. See on chapter Mr 5:23.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) ”For a certain woman,” (all’ euthus gune) ”But immediately a woman,” as soon as she heard of Jesus.
2) “Whose young daughter had an unclean spirit,” (hes eichen to thugatrion autes pneuma akatharton) “Whose young daughter was possessed of an unclean spirit,” emotionally and mentally deranged, or had an imbalance, caused by a demon spirit, Mar 7:26. Except for Jesus her whole life would have been lived in torments.
3) “Heard of Him,” (akousasa peri autou) “Upon hearing about Him,” concerning His whereabouts, and who He was and what He was able to do,
4) “And came and fell at His feet:” (elthousa proespesen pros tous podas autou) “Came of her own choice and fell prone at His feet,” on behalf of both her personal need, and more specifically that need of her daughter, whose body was inhabited or the constant habitat of an unclean (demon) spirit, Mar 7:26; Mat 15:22. This is another example of parental love.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
Ver. 25. For a certain woman ] Of a heroical faith, felt her want of Christ, and laid out for him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25. ] The woman ( , a Gentile ) had been following Him and His disciples before , Matt.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 7:25 . : does not imply that the woman heard of Christ’s arrival as soon as it happened, but that, after hearing, she lost no time in coming = as soon as she heard. Yet sorrow, like the demoniacs, was quick to learn of His presence. : another of Mk.’s diminutives.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
For, &c. Connect this with Mar 7:24, as being an evidence why He could not be hid.
young daughter. Greek. thugatrion = little daughter (Dim.) See Ch. Mar 5:23.
spirit. Greek. pneuma. See App-101. Compare Mar 7:26.
at = towards. Greek. pros. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25.] The woman (, a Gentile) had been following Him and His disciples before, Matt.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 7:25. , having heard) If faith could thus be originated by a mere rumour, how much more ought it to be by a text of Scripture, even though but a short one!-, for) Referring to the words, He could not be hid, Mar 7:24. Jesus put Himself in her way, along with the help He meant to give her: but He so controlled the affair, that He seemed to have acted as He did towards this Grecian woman, as it were fortuitously, whereas He had undertaken this whole journey for her sake. Comp. Mat 18:12.- , young daughter) Boys also are capable of being the subjects of demoniacal possession, ch. Mar 9:21; Mar 9:24 : as also heathens.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
a: Mat 15:22
whose: Mar 9:17-23
at: Mar 1:40, Mar 5:22, Mar 5:23, Mar 5:33, Luk 17:16, Act 10:25, Act 10:26, Rev 22:8, Rev 22:9
Reciprocal: Mar 1:23 – a man Rev 19:10 – I fell
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Chapter 8.
The Syro-Phnician Woman
“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 children’s 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 children’s 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 7:25-30.
The Unexpected
The story that follows is a story full of difficulties, difficulties arising mainly from our Lord’s conduct. Dr. Vaughan, of Kensington, had a sermon on the Cursing of the Barren Fig Tree, and this is how he always began it: “Curse a fig-tree! My Master curse a fig-tree! ‘Tisn’t like Him.” And so, when I read of our Lord’s treatment of this Canaanitish woman, I am tempted to say, “What! Turn a deaf ear to a cry for help? What! Mock at sorrow’s appeal? What! My Master speak roughly to a woman? ‘Tisn’t like Him.” No, it isn’t like Him. And that is exactly the difficulty.
For at first sight His treatment of this poor woman seems absolutely contrary to His custom. So much so, that some have found no incident in our Lord’s earthly ministry more puzzling than this.
-And its Difficulties.
The difficulty is twofold. There is, first of all, the difficulty of His reluctance to take any notice of the woman at all; and there is, secondly, the difficulty of His seeming harshness and cruelty.
The Difficulty of Christ’s Reluctance.
Let us deal with the matter of our Lord’s reluctance first. It is the lesser of the two difficulties, and can, I think, easily be explained. Mark does not refer to it. It is in the fuller account of Matthew that we find it recorded. Let me give it you as Matthew narrates it. “And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, 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 was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (xv. 22-24). Now that isn’t like Him, is it?-to turn a deaf ear to a cry for help? It is a strange thing to find the disciples more forward than the Master. The Jesus we read about in the other pages of the Gospel never needed to be begged and urged and entreated to do a kindness. He was “swift to bless.” Did the leper cry to Him, and say, “If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean?” His answer came swift as a flash. “I will; be thou clean.” Indeed, in case after case, Our Lord never needed to be asked at all. He did not need to be asked to feed the 5000 in the wilderness. He had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. He broke the bread for them of His own accord. He did not need to be asked to heal the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda. The sight of the man in his misery was enough for Jesus, and He Himself made the offer of healing, “Wilt thou be made whole?” He did not need to be asked to raise the dead son of the widow of Nam to life again. He was so moved with pity for her sorrow that of His own accord He bade the bearers be still, and summoned the dead man back to life. That is the Jesus we most often read about in the Gospels-a Jesus who never needed to be asked twice, who turned away from nobody’s call, who often anticipated men’s prayers and appeals, who was “swift to bless.”
He did not deny Gentiles.
It staggers one, therefore, to read that, when this Canaanitish woman came with her piteous plea, He answered her not a word; that even His disciples showed more compassion and pity than He. How was it? Most commentators explain it all on the ground that Christ’s mission was first of all to the Jews, and that He was not called upon to confer His gifts upon the Gentiles. But the explanation is not satisfactory; for, as a matter of fact, Christ never hesitated to confer blessing upon Gentiles when they crossed His path, as, e.g., in the case of the Roman centurion. No, I think the explanation is a much simpler one. I believe that Jesus was genuinely reluctant to perform any wonder in these borders of Tyre and Sidon.
But He sought Retirement
But it was not at all because the woman who entreated Him was a Gentile. It was because the performance of a great work of healing would defeat the very object for which He had journeyed thither. He had left Galilee and made His way to pagan Phnicia for quietness and rest,-quietness to teach His disciples, and to give them that training which they needed, in view of His coming departure. To perform a miracle would make impossible the quietness He and they so sorely needed. So, to quote Mr. David Smith, it was with a feeling of dismay that He observed the approach of a suppliant. He foresaw the consequences of granting her petition. The fame of the miracle would go abroad, and He would soon be surrounded by a crowd-sufferers craving relief, and others who came only to gaze and admire. And that is exactly the result this miracle brought about. The report of it was spread abroad, and Jesus had to seek elsewhere the seclusion denied to Him in the borders of Tyre and Sidon.
The Difficulty of Christ’s Words.
But the difficulty of our Lord’s reluctance is not nearly so great as the difficulty caused by our Lord’s seemingly harsh and even cruel speech. Let me remind you of the conversation that took place between Him and this broken-hearted woman. No doubt the woman overheard our Lord’s answer to the disciples, that He was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That in itself was enough to quench the woman’s hope. But love for her daughter lent her importunity, and she followed the Master and His disciples until they came into the house. When they took their places at table she fell at Christ’s feet with the pathetic prayer, “Lord, help me.” He took notice of her now, and answered her-But what an answer! “It is not meet,” He said, “to take the children’s bread, and cast it to the dogs” (Mar 7:26). It was not only refusal. It looked like refusal with insult. That is not like Him, is it?
A Strange Contrast.
When I turn over the pages of the Gospels, and read of His dealings with other grief-stricken souls, it is the Lord’s tenderness and gentleness that strike me. He comforted the woman who was a sinner with the gift of peace. He called the timid woman who had got her blessing by stealth, “Daughter.” Even for the woman who was detected in sin and shame, He had only a solemn but infinitely tender rebuke. “A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench” (Isa 42:3). All the more staggering is it, therefore, to read of Him giving an answer like this: “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to the dogs” (Mar 7:27). What explanation can we give of it? For it is impossible that our Lord could be really harsh or cruel.
-Explained.
The common, favourite explanation is to say that our Lord’s roughness was all assumed. It was designed only to try the woman’s faith, and possibly to show His disciples what even a heathen woman was capable of. And perhaps there is truth in all this, and we must judge the whole episode in the light of the boon bestowed and the blessing pronounced at the end. But, in addition to that broad and general explanation, a closer study of our Lord’s words will mitigate somewhat their first impression of harshness. “Let the children first be filled,” He said. It looks at first like a blank refusal. But a closer scrutiny reveals hope in what seems at first a flat denial. Look at that word “first.” “Let the children first be filled.” Surely there was a world of encouragement in it-encouragement which this quick-witted woman would not fail to grasp. First, it implied that her time would come, and that it was only a question of time. And that very word “dog” in the original is not nearly so harsh as it is in our English version. The form of the word which our Lord uses is the diminutive-and it may well be a diminutive of endearment. “Doggies,” our Lord’s word might be rendered. He does not use a word which would be suitable for those fierce and unclean beasts that prowl the streets and act as scavengers. He uses rather a term that would be applicable to little house-dogs, the household pets which played about the table at meal-time, and got occasional scraps from their masters. And so this very word which at first looks like mere and sheer insult, may itself have kindled hope in the woman’s heart. There is no edge of cruelty; and, as Dr. Chadwick says, “It domesticated the Gentile world.” It gave this woman a place, even though a humble and lowly place, in the household of God.
A Contest of Wits.
Then Mr. David Smith suggests that both the answer of our Lord and the retort of the woman are proverbial-that it was something like a contest of wits between them, and that in dealing thus with this Gentile woman Jesus only showed His incomparable insight into the human character. With a nimble and quick-witted Greek it was the very way to deal. “Truth, Lord. I am not better than a poor pet-dog; but then I am not asking much. I wish not more than scraps.” Then I like to think that these words are to be always read, taking Christ’s tone and look into account. A difference of tone will make all the difference between ugly insult and innocent raillery.
It depends upon the “look” whether an answer is to be taken as a refusal, or as a challenge to bolder confidence. This woman saw the looks and heard the tones of the Lord. And that took all the harshness and cruelty out of the words. There was a gentleness in His voice, and when she looked into His face she saw there such pity and grace, that this answer which we are so apt to regard as harsh, became to her just an encouragement to hope on, and so she returned her great answer, “Yea, Lord: even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs” (Mar 7:28).
Sorrow and the Saviour.
But now as to some of the main truths taught by this story. And first, of the way in which sorrow brings people to the Saviour. “He could not be hid,” says Mark. “But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of Him, came and fell at His feet” (Mar 7:24-25). You notice who it was that discovered Christ-it was a woman in trouble. Do you ask me how it was she found Him out? I cannot tell. How does the bee discover the flower in which the honey is hidden? Instinct, you say. Well, I say it was the instinct of need that discovered where help could be found. The comfortable and prosperous people of Tyre would never have discovered Jesus. He might have spent His days in their borders undisturbed and unrecognised, as far as they were concerned. But misery has a keen scent and sure instinct for a helper. Probably this woman had heard reports of Christ’s healing power. She had heard how He healed the sick, gave cleansing to the leper, and sight to the blind, and cast out devils. I can believe that again and again she had wished the Lord would come her way-for she had a little daughter plagued with an unclean spirit. And when she heard of this Jewish Stranger, accompanied by a band of disciples, who had come to sojourn at a neighbour’s house; when she heard the description of Him her neighbours gave, with that wonderful intuition that women often possess-and especially women whose characters have been refined by trouble-she jumped to the conclusion that the great Healer of whom she had so often heard was at her very doors. And this was the result, “straightway… having heard of Him,” she “came and fell down at His feet.”
The Ministry of Trouble.
I find here an illustration of the ministry of trouble. “By these things,” i.e. by troubles and difficulties, says the prophet, “men live, and wholly therein is the life of my spirit” (Isa 38:16). There is no truth that human experience more fully and richly verifies. Affliction and trouble have been the means of bringing to men some of their very choicest gifts.
The Sorely-tried Mother.
See what they did for the woman of this story. When epilepsy or insanity-whichever it was-claimed the little child as its victim, this mother’s heart well-nigh broke. I should gather from the tone of the narrative that this little daughter was the woman’s only child. And, from the absence of all reference to a husband and father, I should conclude also that she was a widow. This little child was all she had in the world; so that her grief when the little one was stricken down was all the more bitter. You remember how Luke, to emphasize the sadness of that funeral which Christ met coming out of the gates of Nain, says of the young man who was being carried out to burial that he was “the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” This Syro-Phnician woman’s trouble was every whit as deep and bitter. For this little girl was also the only child of her mother, and she a widow. And though it was not a case of death, I am not at all sure it was not something worse than death. For reason had been dethroned, and her innocent little child had become possessed of an “unclean spirit.” In face of all this you can understand that it was a heart-breaking sorrow, and that the poor woman’s soul often rebelled and grew bitter whenever she gazed upon her daughter. And yet the greatest blessing of her life came to her through the ministry of this sorrow.
-Tried and Refined.
I will say nothing at this point about what the sorrow did in softening and refining her own character. Though I can well believe that through the sickness of her little daughter she gained a new tenderness and sympathy. There was an old Scottish saint who had for a crest a palm-tree with weights depending from its branches, and beneath the crest these words written: Sub pondere cresco-“I grow beneath a burden.” There was a belief that the weighted palm grew straightest and fairest, and the old saint had discovered that character grows most fair when it too has loads to bear and griefs to carry. And I can readily believe that this woman’s character developed and grew beneath her heavy burden of her daughter’s sickness.
-Wounded and brought to the Healer
I pass that by with the bare mention, because one might fairly object that it is all a matter of conjecture and imagination. But there is one blessing this sorrow conferred upon her-and it is the greatest blessing of all, which is no matter of guess or conjecture, but is plain, historic fact-it brought her to Jesus Christ. Had she had no little daughter ill, Jesus might have come and gone, and she would never have sought His face. It was trouble that brought her to the Lord’s feet. And in after days, when she found out Who and what Jesus was, when she found out that He met every need and craving of her soul, when she found out, as Paul did, that having Him she had all things and abounded, I think she would come to thank God for the great sorrow that crushed and embittered her life. For her sorrow brought her to her Saviour, and gave her rest to her soul. This is almost a parable of life. When men are in trouble-at their wits’ end, as the Psalmist puts it-then they cry unto the Lord. God has many angels who do His errands and summon men to Him, says Archer Butler; but the angel that has gathered most to the Saviour’s feet is the Angel of Sorrow. And that is literally true.
-As Others were.
Think of the people who came to Jesus in the days of His flesh. What brought the lepers crowding to Jesus? Sorrow brought them. What brought the blind and the lame and the dumb wherever men said He was? Sorrow brought them. What brought the woman with the issue of blood to touch His garment, and the woman who was a sinner to wash His feet? Sorrow brought them. What brought the father of the demoniac lad to seek His help? What brought the proud Jairus as a suppliant to His feet? Sorrow brought them. I question very much whether any of these would have sought Christ out, had all been well with them, but the Angel of Sorrow gathered them all in. And it is so still.
-As Others are.
In our days of health and happiness and prosperity we have no sense of want or need, and therefore we do not seek our Lord’s help. But when health fails or the home is darkened, we want help and sympathy. When the strong waters come up against our souls, we need a mighty Arm to save us, and then we cry as this woman did, “Have mercy on me, Thou Son of David.” It is perfectly true still that, “The hungry He hath filled with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away” (Luk 1:53). And when the man impoverished by sorrow and trouble finds himself enriched with all the comfort and grace of Christ, he will learn to bless God, even for the sorrow that drove him into the Lord’s arms. And so there are compensations for sorrow, and there are great enrichments in trouble.
“Is it raining, little flower?
Be glad of rain;
Too much sun would wither thee,
‘Twill shine again;
The sky is very black, ’tis true,
But just behind it shines the blue.
Art thou weary, tender heart?
Be glad of pain;
In sorrow sweetest things will grow,
As flowers in rain.
God watches, and thou wilt have sun,
When clouds their perfect work have done.”
Any trouble is worth bearing if it brings us into the arms of our blessed Lord, for He is all we need.
The Saviour and the Alien.
Again, this story is a story of Christ’s compassion to a heathen and an alien. Mark is careful to emphasize this fact about the woman, she “was a Greek, a Syro-Phnician by race,” he says (Mar 7:26). She was not only a Gentile, but she belonged to that race which was held in peculiar abhorrence by the Jews, not simply because they were the descendants of their ancient enemies, but also because of the loathsome character of their idolatries. It was upon a woman of this abhorrent and accursed race that Christ exercised His compassion. Is there no significance in that? Is not the universal mission of Christianity here, in symbol and figure? There is no race outside the love and compassion of that Christ Who stooped to heal and bless and save the most outcast and degraded races in the world.
A Great Precedent and a Glorious Promise.
“The history of the Acts of the Apostles is here in spirit,” is Bishop Chadwick’s last word on this incident. So it is. Peter, when he went to preach the Gospel to Cornelius, the Latin centurion, thought he was doing an unheard-of thing, that he was introducing a serious innovation, and so he made an elaborate defence of his conduct. He might have spared himself the trouble. All the defence he needed to make was to point to his Master going to the borders of Tyre and Sidon and there extending His mercy to a Canaanitish woman. Peter’s preaching to Cornelius, Philip’s preaching to the eunuch, the preaching of those unknown missionaries to the Greeks at Antioch, Paul’s superb and world-embracing missionary labours, they are all here in spirit. Christ broke down all distinction of class and race. His love embraces the world. His propitiation avails for the world. There are multitudes which no man can number around the throne clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands, of all people and tribes and kindreds and tongues, and of that vast multitude this alien woman is the sign and the pledge. She was the “first-fruit of the Gentiles.” And Christ’s compassion still runs out towards the circle of the earth. His face is still set towards the borders of the Tyre and Sidon of our own times-to the outcast, alien, degraded, sunken folk of the world. And amongst these alien, sunken, degraded folk there are many like this woman, who have sorrows and griefs to bear that only the Great Physician can heal. There are the multitudes of stricken souls longing for the Saviour-here is the Saviour longing to heal and bless them. Shall we not bring the sufferers and the Healer together?
The Triumph of Faith.
But the central thing in the whole incident is the woman’s strong, persistent and ultimately triumphant faith-faith in the sense of trust in the goodness of God and His willingness to bless. It was “faith” of some sort that brought this woman in the first instance to Jesus. The story tells us how her faith was tried. The seemingly harsh answers and refusal of our Lord put that faith of hers to the test. And it showed itself a strong faith-a faith that could persist and hold on, a faith that would not let the Lord go until He had blessed her. You and I-have we got faith? Probably most of us have, of a sort. But what sort of a faith is it? Is it a faith that will stand the test of trial? For often our Lord deals with us as He dealt with this woman. We come to Him with our troubles and appeals, and He seems to take no notice. “Lord,” was the message the sisters of Bethany sent to Jesus, “he whom Thou lovest is sick.” It was an appeal, a cry, an urgent entreaty. “Hurry to our help,” it said, in effect. And Jesus seemed to take no notice of it. For, instead of hurrying off to Bethany, “He abode at that [time two days in the place where He was” (Joh 11:6). I wonder what became of the sisters’ faith in that interval? Judging by the way they greeted our Lord when at last He did come, I should say there was not much faith left. And that is how the Lord often treats us. He delays His coming; He answers us not a word.
Is the Trial Ours?
The faith of many is being tried in this way. Does the faith hold out? Does it persist, in spite of trials like this woman’s? Let me remind you of a passage in St Peter about faith and its trials. “Wherein,” he says, referring to the hope of salvation, “ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold temptations, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, might be found unto praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ: whom not having seen, ye love; on whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1Pe 1:6-9). That is a passage about faith in the trial. And the Apostle says practically two things about faith in the trial. He says that a faith that endures and persists through trial brings glory and honour to Christ. And he says, further, that a faith that so endures shall win its great reward in the blessing of salvation.
The Glory of Faith’s Endurance.
Consider those two points for a moment-a faith that persists through trial and difficulty brings honour and praise to Christ. It is-shall I say?-a compliment to the Lord. What a splendid tribute this woman paid to Jesus! She believed in His power. She believed in His love. Nothing could shake her belief that Jesus both could and would. And there was gratitude as well as admiration in our Lord’s comment, “O woman, great is thy faith.” Nothing exalts our Master like an unshaken trust in Him. What a compliment it was that David Livingstone paid to Jesus! He was in a position of great difficulty, but he never lost heart, because he knew he was in his Master’s hands. And he had faith in his Master. “My Master,” he said, “is a perfect gentleman. He will never break His word.” Does our unshaken faith in times of difficulty and trial bring glory and honour to our Master? Or do we by our complaints and murmurs at the first onset of trial lead the world to believe that we are disappointed in our Master, and that He is not to be trusted? Nothing would sooner beget a belief in Christ than a persistent and cheerful faith on our part.
The Reward of Faith’s Endurance.
In the second place, not only does faith bring glory to Christ, but in the long run it always brings blessing to ourselves. Faith is never finally disappointed. It is always richly justified and rewarded. Look at this woman. Faith persisted, and what a blessing it brought her. “O woman,” said our Lord (Mat 15:28), “great is thy faith; be it done unto thee even as thou wilt.” And she went away, and found her child laid upon the bed, and the devil gone out. “He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved,” said Jesus. And the faith that endures and persists shall win the blessing. I am tempted to tell you a story of the mission field-it illustrates my point. The American Board established a mission among one of the many tribes of India. And for years and years the missionaries laboured without result. Ten, twenty years passed, and no convert was made, and by and by this mission came to be known throughout the States as the Lone Star Mission. The Board at home took the case of the mission into consideration. Many thought it ought to be abandoned. They determined at last to write, and ask the missionaries in this trying field what they thought ought to be done. This was the reply that came back to the Board: “We are going on. With God nothing is impossible.” Not long after their faith was abundantly justified. The blessing came. Thousands upon thousands accepted Christ; five thousand were baptised in one year, and the Lone Star Mission is quoted now, not as an example of missionary failure, but as a shining illustration of the triumph of faith. That is the kind of faith we want. Persistent faith is always in the long run triumphant faith.
-A Sure Reward.
Spite of all the delays and disappointments, the blessing will come. I do not say that the blessing will come in the exact form you ask; but it will always so come as to reveal to you the wealth of God’s goodness and grace, for the end of your faith will be the salvation of your souls. And where shall you gain this faith? Where shall you gain this “Courage, your fainting heart to keep, and trust Him, though He slay”? I know of no place where faith can be gained save at the cross of our Lord. There we can believe that all things must work together for good; there we can believe that God who did not keep back His only Son, but freely gave Him up for us all, will also with Him freely give us all things. There we can believe that God is Love, and believing that, we can rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him, assured that He will fulfil our heart’s desires.
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
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This woman’s daughter had an unclean spirit which means was possessed with a devil. This daughter was young and ordinarily would not be unrighteous in her man- er of life, but the possession of a devil was an affliction and not a fault.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 7:25. Having heard of him, came. Probably into the house.
Fell at his feet. In her final entreaty also she worshipped Him (Mat 15:25).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
"Syrophoenician" combines the terms Syrian and Phoenician. Phoenicia was a part of the larger Roman province of Syria. Other Phoenicians lived elsewhere since they were a great seafaring and commercial people. For example, the Libyo-Phoenicians lived in North Africa. [Note: Wessel, p. 682.]
The woman who heard about Jesus and sought Him out was a Gentile. Demons were afflicting her young daughter (cf. Mar 7:30). Her persistent request for help demonstrated her faith in Jesus. She believed Jesus could heal her if He would do so.