Seek and Save XI The Syro-Phoenician Woman

Seek and Save XI

The Syro-Phoenician Woman 

Mark 7:24ff

This morning, in our study of the how Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, we come to Mark 7:24-37. Here we find two miracles: the first for the daughter of a persistent Syro-Phoenician woman, a woman outside of Israel; and the second towards an inhabitant of the region of Decapolis, east of the Sea of Galilee, a region with a mixture of Jews and Greeks.

Both of these miracles teach us about the Lord in different ways. The first, he tests the faith and desire of the woman coming to him. In the second, it is not the miracle that surprises us, but what I find intriguing is the instruction of Jesus that followed and the response of the multitude to Jesus’ command.

Let’s read the text of Mark 7 starting at Verse 24:

The Syro-Phoenician Woman

1. A Word of Direction and Desire

Mark 7:24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 

2. The Diversion

25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.

3. The Description

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 

4. The Challenging Reply

27 But Jesus said to her,  “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

5. A Response of Faith

28 And she answered and said to Him,  “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

6. The Act of Mercy

29 Then He said to her,  “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”  30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

The Healing in Decapolis and Instruction that followed

1. A Word of Setting

Mark 7:31 Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 

2. A Miracle Sought

32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 

3. A Miracle Granted

33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.  34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him,  “Ephphatha,” that is,  “Be opened.”  35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 

4. A Divine Desire

36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 

5. A Word of Wonder

37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying,  “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Let’s look a bit closer at the text:

The Syro-phoenician Woman

1. A Word of Direction and Desire

Mark 7:24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

Jesus was somewhere in Galilee. We know that because the scribes and Pharisees had traveled from Jerusalem to hear Jesus in Galilee earlier in this chapter.

Jesus had a mission. There was a particular need over by the Coast and a little north that needed his attention.

It was not a coincidence that Jesus traveled there from Galilee. There was something to do and this was the appointed time to do it. So, Jesus, the Disciples and maybe a small sampling of the multitude made the trek by foot to be near the borders of Tyre and Sidon. From the city of Capernaum, Tyre was about 33 miles and Sidon about 45. To reach the Southern stretch of their region, or borders, it would have been about a 30 mile journey, as the crow flies. But, the way to get there was over the rugged mountain complex. It would not have been an easy trip. However, there was work to do and an appointed time in which to do it.

When Jesus arrived, Mark tells us....

And He entered a house

This is the normal activity of one who has just traversed the mountains as he walked to this region.  His entrance to the house however, came with a desire of Jesus.

Mark tells us...

and wanted no one to know it,

For some unknown reason, Jesus did not want everyone or anyone to know that he was in the region and in the house. Jesus knew what he was doing, where he needed to go and why he did not want his presence disclosed. Jesus was staying mostly in Galilee now because the Jews sought to kill him?

The Pharisees and scribes were afraid to act against Jesus out of fear for the multitudes?

Tyre and Sidon were far away from both of these groups. He was away from the presence of the religious elite in Judea and far away from the protective function of the multitudes. Jesus was out of his normal element, humanly speaking, that is.

Perhaps the area of Tyre and Sidon presented a new danger or set of troublesome difficulties for the Lord Jesus Christ. He is out there by the Coast, in Roman ruled areas, where the natural protection of the crowd was gone. As Jesus had become cautious about preserving his life in Judea, perhaps also here.

But, Mark adds a curious phrase.

but He could not be hidden.  Apparently, not wanting anyone to know he was there was a desire to be hidden. To be in that place stealthily. But, the personal desire of Jesus according to his human nature was not to be. The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ was too great a thing for the region. He could not be hidden.

What does this entail?  Knowledge of Jesus had spread outside of the nation Israel. But, it was not just a mere knowledge of Jesus, but knowledge that made curiosity well up in the people even in the region of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus was well-known in the lands that were away from his ordinary places of ministry. Not only Israel was a buzz with what Jesus was doing and had done, the regions outside of Israel had heard of him too. This is important. Remember it. Because of....

2. The Diversion

25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.

How did this woman hear about Jesus? Verse 26 tells us of her ethnic origin--she was not an inhabitant of Israel. But, we will get there in a minute.  This only shows how thoroughly some outside of the boundaries of Israel had heard rightly of Jesus.

But, here we need to note what she had and then what she did. She had a daughter who had an unclean spirit. Even in Tyre and Sidon the spirits were stirred up and active during the ministry of Jesus. Yet, their presence on the fringe of Israel was not enough to keep them safe from the conquering power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This woman had heard of Jesus, knew of her daughter’s need and she came to Jesus and fell at his feet.

This may appear somewhat ordinary. But this woman would not have known about proper worship due to the Lord Jesus Christ. In an act of homage and worship she falls at his feet in submission seeking help as a subject would fall before their king seeking some grace from their monarch. She falls before Jesus as a subject before royalty. After all, Jesus was a king whether this woman knew it or not. She treats Him properly.

Let’s see ...

3. The Description of her identity

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth,

This woman was a non-Jew. That is basically what Greek means in the language of the New Testament. The Jewish view of the world at that time was Israel are Jews and everybody else is Greek. Everywhere else in the Mediterranean region people generally spoke common Greek, and some Latin in the upper levels of society. It was a Hellenistic or Greek-like civilization Jesus ministered to. Everyone outside of Israel was considered a Greek. There were two types of people in the world even then--the Jews and everybody who wished they were, were called Greeks or its synonym, Gentiles.

Mark goes on to tell us something further about this woman. She was Syro-Phoenician by birth. That means she was from the region North of Israel that went from the Mediterranean Sea East through Syria. She had a lineage and heritage that was not Jewish. Mark makes the non-Jewish nature and background of this woman explicit. Because it would not have been normal for her to act as she did.  Look at the text:

and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 

The original shows continuous action in the past up to the present. When we read, she kept asking Him, it has the force of she asked him constantly from the time she threw herself down at Jesus’ feet. She had not stopped asking Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. She was doing what a loving parent without hope should do--plead with the Lord Jesus for the needed grace believing the reports of his kindness and love for people.

To her continuous action, Jesus gives.....

4. The Challenging Reply

27 But Jesus said to her,  “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

This is a parabolic saying. Usually, people don't understand them because they do not have faith. But, unlike what Jesus met throughout Israel, this woman understood exactly what he meant and precisely as soon as he said it.

The children are Israel or perhaps a small remnant of the ever-present multitude who represent the Jews. To take the bread that belongs to them and to give it to the Gentile dogs would not be right. But, the woman had a comeback as a reasonable explanation of what Jesus could do while still feeding the children.  We have....

5. A Response of Faith

28 And she answered and said to Him,  “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

When you feed children they drop crumbs which the little dogs eat. She was willing to be viewed as one of those dogs if it would get what she sought for her daughter. She was happy with a little, not desiring a lot. She shows her understanding of who Jesus was, that she had no rightful claim to him and his work, she sees her only hope as being in table scraps from the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus, as the one who knows men’s hearts was duly impressed. Therefore we have recorded .... As the speed of life quickens again. We have the record of .....

6. The Act of Mercy

29 Then He said to her,  “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

She showed a little faith in a great messiah even though she was not Jewish.  Jesus isn’t concerned with only one race or ethnic group and their many needs and problems. He was concerned for all. Remember, he had an appointment with this woman that he was bound to keep in order to fulfill the plan and work of God.  Even from the house where he was ”hidden” we see his ability to heal those who were a distance away.

Mark’s concluding words focus on the continued response as the Syro-Phoenician woman returned home....

30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Then Mark moves quickly to the second miracle without comment or conjunction...We have ....

The Healing in Decapolis and Instruction that followed

1. A Word of Setting

Mark 7:31 Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 

Jesus headed Easterly and then dropped down southerly to Decapolis. He came into the region that is on the Eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. He was in the midst of that region keeping another divine appointment.

Some unidentified folk knew he was active and present in the region. So as many had in the past.....there was ....

2. A Miracle Sought for one by others

32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech,

They brought a hopeless case to Jesus. Not to Jude, or any other disciple. But to Jesus that others might learn his ways and see his power.

This man was unable to hear and spoke in a way that was virtually unrecognizable to the human ear. Those who brought the man acted as the Syro-Phoenician woman had.

The text says:

and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 

The constantly asked Jesus to just put his hand on him and heal him. But, much to our surprise, even though Jesus could heal at a distance without a word, for his own good reasons I am sure, did not do that here. But, he did something not yet recorded in the Gospels. This is how Mark records the .....

3. A Miracle Granted

33 And He took him aside from the multitude,

He moved him away from the multitude that is still present and likely growing. To....

and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 

Why? I do not know! But, Jesus always had good reason for what he did. He does these physical actions on the man: he put his fingers in his ears and Jesus spat on this man’s tongue. That’s right, he opened the man’s mouth and spat on his tongue. Its amazing isn’t it?

Do you know at the time of the Reformation there were still many Catholics who claimed to have vials or small bottles of Jesus’s saliva. And, there were some who sold it as a guaranteed healing potion. The power of Jesus cannot be packaged in a bottle nor in the greatest containers of this world. When he heals, it is complete--the malady is gone totally and finally.

But, before the spittle would take effect, we have another more expected action....

34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him,

Jesus looked to God and spoke to the deaf man--remember, He is speaking to a man who could not hear at all. And he says to the man in Aramaic....

“Ephphatha,” that is,  “Be opened.”

Jesus commands his ears to action.  Now think about that....Can you open and close your ears at will?  Neither could that man. The verb is passive. In order for the command to be obeyed, this poor man was absolutely dependant on something outside himself to open up his ears that he might hear. What he was dependant upon was the power of the one commanding. Jesus was to give the power needed to obey what he had said.

35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 

There were no half miracles with Jesus. He spoke, yea, commanded the man’s ears as only a creator could. His ears and his tongue were healed and those present could easily hear what he had to say.

It must have been a glorious miracle to see. But, being back near Galilee and the boundaries of Israel, Jesus showed due caution again. This was expressed in....

4. A Divine Desire

36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one;

The command to not tell a soul was no less a command than the command to the tongue and ears to be opened. Yet, Mark tells us....

.... but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  A wonder-filled thing can’t be contained for long. Yet, they were all guilty of disobedience. There is a time to tell and a time to be silent.

The multitudes hear about a great wonder, yet misuse it to make others curious and themselves guilty of telling others when they should have shown Jesus due respect in the silence he sought.

5. A Word of Wonder

37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying,  “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Look at the report: the multitudes who witnessed this miracle were amazed beyond description. They were thoroughly amazed. For a time there was nothing else they were aware of other than their amazement.

This wonder came upon them because of the external event. All they could do was to make a statement about the Lord Jesus Christ. They summarized him and his ministry in this way: He has done all things well. It was not just these two miracles, but his feeding of the 5,000, the way he handled his opposers, the way he taught the crowd, there was no offense, no sin, no trangression in all that they had observed Jesus do. His grace and mercy would eclipse any lingering doubt. They were stupified by these miracles. He did for this man what no other could do. There was something extremely special about this man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, in their astonishment and wonder, the experience they observed could not be kept to themselves.

Why did they continue to tell others? 

Two words: they were astonished, though remaining in unbelief. They were “wowed”, even “dazzled” but their hearts were not conquered to follow Jesus all of their days. Being wowed and dazzled at the Lord Jesus Christ and all he did so well is not the same as following him by faith.

Isn’t this a characteristic of a lot of what goes for modern day Christianity?

We have heard about two miracles Jesus performed. What is your response? A great big WOW as if Jesus was some sort of traveling magic act? Or, is it to fall in humble adoration because this same Jesus is the one who continues to save men’s souls?  He is in heaven at the right hand of God. Yet he is present with his people as they gather together. He can make men whole from wherever he is.

Have you sought him by faith to know the restoration he can bring to a sin-filled and wicked heart? He is still the one to whom all must turn for the forgiveness of sin and the salvation he alone offers.

He is merciful and kind and turns none away who earnestly come--knowing that all who come to him are drawn by His Father in heaven. Is God working on you to repent of your sins and to seek his mercy and Grace? Come while you still can. This is the day of salvation.

For those who are his, we find comfort in Jesus’ ability to act from a distance, in his merciful nature and concern for all and after seeing with the eyes of faith and knowing his grace, that indeed, He does all things well.

Let us take great consolation that this one, this savior and Lord full of wonder, is ours to love and we are his to be loved; He is ours to follow because of that love lavished on his own as we are guided by his word and the Spirit. May he help us to grasp on to him tightly as our only and greatest hope.

Amen!