The Book of Mark
Food from the Master’s Table
Mark 7:24-30
One of the goals of Mark seems to be making sure his hearers understand that salvation extends to the whole world. You wouldn’t get that message if you just talked to the Jews of New Testament times. To borrow some of the language of the Apostle Paul, Gentiles were outcasts, aliens from the covenants of God, separated from the life of God and the purposes of God. They saw the Gentile world as cursed, under divine judgment and they alone were the ones who would receive the great benedictions and benefits of salvation.
But that only reflected their misunderstanding of the Old Testament. That was not the attitude of our Lord and nor was that what the Old Testament promised. And to make sure that message is clear, Mark is writing to a primarily Gentile audience.
The good news of the Gospel is that salvation is for the whole world. No doubt, salvation comes to the world through a Savior named Jesus Who is Himself a Jew. Converted Jews are integral to the ministry. The Twelve Apostles are all Jewish. They are the original missionaries. But salvation is for the whole world. And what we have here in Mark 7:24-30 is a preview of that ministry to the rest of the world.
Verse 24-30
This woman and her experience with Christ give us a little microcosm look at the ministry beyond the Jews.
We know from verse 24 He is in the region of Phoenicia. Phoenicia had two famous cities, Tyre and Sidon. They are the main Gentile cities in the region.
We aren’t given many details about why the Lord is there, but we do have an indication that this is a private trip.
Most likely He is traveling with the Twelve and the goal is going to be on making sure they understand their responsibilities in the ministry. However, He couldn’t escape notice.
Verse 25
The focus is placed on this one particular woman.
No doubt, she is familiar with Jesus. She not only knows what He’s capable of doing, she even knows who He is. My guess is that she had been watching and observing and waiting for an opportunity to get to Him.
Now this woman was a Gentile. Matthew says she was a Canaanite. It’s bad enough to be a Gentile, but even worse to a Canaanite cause the Canaanites were cursed by God and they were supposed to be exterminated. There shouldn’t even be any Canaanites left.
To make matters worse, verse 26 tells us she is a Syro-Phoenician by birth.
So what does that mean? Under Ptolemy, who was a Roman general, Phoenicia had been annexed to Syria. So Syria and Phoenicia became one and she was apparently born or was alive during that time, thus she was a Syro-Phoenician.
So everything about her was an offense to the Jews. First of all, she was a woman. That was bad enough. Then she was a Canaanite, the general category of Gentiles. And being a Syro-Phoenician affiliated her with the Romans.
So she was a Gentile Canaanite woman corrupted by Baal worship and influenced by Roman culture. By the way, Tyre was where Jezebel lived and where Baal worship originated, so she was guilty by association, if nothing else.
So this woman had everything going against her. She was an outcast, a reject. She would have been lower than a Jewish tax collector. And for her to come to Jesus would not only be unforgivable, if Jesus allowed it, it would discredit Him also.
But there she is and she has a problem. She fell at His feet and notice what we read in
Verse 26
She kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Let’s stop for just a moment and think about her faith.
She has such confidence that Jesus can help her, she, a rejected, despised Gentile woman makes her woman to a Jewish teacher and won’t leave Him alone. She just keeps asking. That’s faith!
In fact, her faith is so amazing that in Matthew’s account, Matthew 15: 28, Jesus says her faith is “great” faith. It’s not just faith, it’s mega faith, big faith, strong faith, great faith.
And her faith is placed in the right object. She recognizes Him as Lord. It’s not just a hope that things will work out ok. Her faith has an object and it is rightly placed in Jesus.
So why did she keep having to ask Jesus to heal her daughter? He didn’t respond. Why didn’t He respond? We haven’t seen this response before. The man filled with demons by the lake got an immediate response. Even the demons themselves got an answer. Throughout our study we’ve seen that time and time again.
So why does He not offer an immediate response to this need? We know it isn’t a lack of compassion or sympathy. And eventually He does respond, so why the delay?
Matthew’s account helps to fill in the blanks. IT’s found in
Matthew 15:22
She knew her standing and knew her need for mercy. So she comes in the right attitude, understanding who she is and Who He is as well.
Mercy is different from justice. She’s not saying, “I’m worthy of this” or “I deserve this” or “I should receive this.”
She’s saying just the opposite. “I’m not worthy and I need mercy, Lord, on behalf of little demon-possessed girl and myself. Please be merciful to me.”
So this woman’s theology is pretty sound, at that point. She comes to the right object and she comes with the right attitude.
But notice what happens in
verse 23
Now remember, Mark tells us she just kept asking. The idea is of pleading and begging, and yet here we read, “He didn’t answer her a word.” He didn’t give her the time of day.
Now that’s a little bit startling, isn’t it? And as you can imagine there is all kinds of speculation as to why. Some say it’s because He was Jewish and He only came for the Jews. Others say He was occupied with other more important things with regard to the disciples, and He was seeking seclusion and didn’t want the interruption. I don’t think those things are the reason.
I think the reason that He didn’t answer her was to illustrate to her and everybody else what saving faith looks like. It involves the object of faith, “Lord”. It involves attitude, “have mercy”. And it is desperate, “kept asking”.
You don’t just sort of loaf your way into the Kingdom, thinking you’re not that bad of a person and Jesus is fortunate to have you. It’s a narrow road and a narrow gate that lead to life. It is those who persevere to the end who are saved. It causes you, like Isaiah, to realize you are nothing but a rattling bag of bones in the presence of God. And understanding you are outside of God’s grace is a desperate situation, and if need be, you’ll beg until He accepts you.
Obviously He had compassion on her. He is the merciful High Priest. He’s the One Who said, “Whoever comes to Me, I will not turn away.” He was just letting that saving faith be displayed.
And maybe more than anyone else, this lesson was for the disciples.
Look at the rest of
Verse 23b
“Send her away, she keeps screaming at us.” They’re about as sensitive as a rock! They wouldn’t know what saving faith looked like. But Jesus says, “No this is why I came!
In so many words, He is telling them, “You need to learn something here. You’re going to be out there ministering and you need to know what saving faith looks like. It is humble, it is broken, it is desperate, it is penitent, it is reverent, it is respectful and it is persistent.”
All they wanted to do was be rid of the aggravation. After all, they were trying to be alone. “If she keeps screaming, the whole town will be out here and then what happens to our privacy?”
So they needed some lessons. So He turns to talk to them before He responds to her. That’s why He delayed.
Verse 24
This verse is why some say He only came for the Jews. I think what He is saying, and history bears me out, is that the door to salvation for the Gentiles is still future. Right now the focus is Israel. After all, the Jews were supposed to be the messengers to the world. God’s plan was to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. The Jews were not the end. They were the means to the end.
And this woman and her need will be His tool to help the disciples understand that. So here’s this humble, begging, desperate Gentile, Syro-Phoenician woman acknowledging His lordship.
Verse 25, still in Matthew 15, says she worshipped Him and asked for His help.
Now let’s go back to Mark and finish up.
Mark 7:27
What in the world does that mean? Well, obviously it’s an analogy or parable, and what it means is you make sure the family is fed before you give the leftovers to the dogs. Children didn’t eat first; they ate last in those days. And Jesus is saying, “Here’s the way it works. Family first, then the dogs eat.”
That explains the story, but what is the application? Well, it’s going to sound offensive to our way of hearing, but it must be seen in the context of Biblical history and God’s sovereignty.
Remember, He said the gospel would come to the Jew first and then the Gentiles. So He uses this little story to illustrate that. The Jews are the children and the little dogs are the Gentiles.
And He is simply following the Father’s plan to being salvation to the world,, and in that sense, she’s a dog. Now as I said, we wouldn’t phrase it like that. Sharon and Jimmy and I deal with lots of folks who are looking for help, and I don’t think under any circumstances would I ever use this word to describe anybody, and certainly not a lady with a sick child who comes in the right attitude and right spirit looking for help.
But Jesus used it and by using it He is simply saying, “This is not the time for the bread of salvation truth to go to the Gentiles.”
And notice her response in verse 28
First of all, she was not offended. That tells me she understood what He was saying. She still calls Him “Lord”.
But she is still tenacious. She’s not giving up. And notice her insight into His teaching. She says, “That may be true, but after the children eat, the dogs get the crumbs.”
That’s a great response, isn’t it? In other words, she says, “You’re not going to get rid of me with that analogy. I get it. I’m a dog. I don’t have a right to the covenant promises of Israel. I’m a Gentile. I’m a Canaanite. I come from a pagan idol-worshiping people. We should have been exterminated, but I’m here and my daughter is still sick. So isn’t it ok for me to have whatever falls off the table?”
By the way, whether it is the loaf on the table or the crumbs under the table, it’s the same bread, right?
The message that saves the Gentiles is the message that saves the Jews. It’s not a different message or different bread from a different table. God has forever and always only had one plan of salvation.
Notice His answer in verses 29-30
It’s a beautiful picture of faith, isn’t it? Faith rejects all the man-made labels and division and makes its way to the right person. There it humbles itself and in respectful, reverent attitude confesses its need. And it doesn’t give up. It will not let go.
These few verses are a beautiful story of saving faith. This Gentile lady living in an idolatrous place gave honor to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in response to her simple plea, “Help me Lord”, her little girl was healed.
Let’s pray.
