THE SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN & THE DEAF MAN

Series: Expositions in Mark

Text: Mark 7:24-37

Topic: Strange Healing Methods

Introduction/Three Dangerous Layers to watch out for in our Modern age

Information and Choice overload

a. We have too much coming at us from all directions: Phones/Emails/videos/pictures/self-asserted professors/work/Church/School

2. Accessibility Overload

a. We are too accessible; The real issue here is one of the people-pleasing. We are too afraid to hurt others’ feelings or let them down, mostly because we want to be liked___ so we do more and more and enjoy it less and less

3. Responsibility Overload

a. The general posture of over-responsibility; people cannot simply say no.

We seem to have abandoned common sense and have lost the art of pacing our lives. This compulsive drive to do more and more leaves little room for rest, relaxation, or renewal.

Observing the Text

Mark 7:24–30 (ESV)

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (7:24)

Jesus left that place, probably Capernaum and went to the vicinity of Tyre, a Mediterranean seaport city in Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) about 40 miles northwest of Capernaum. Because of excellent, early Greek manuscript support, the words “and Sidon” (cf. NIV marg.) should be included (cf. v. 31).

Jesus went there not to minister publicly to the people but to secure privacy, previously interrupted (cf. 6:32–34, 53–56), in order to instruct His disciples. That is why He did not want anyone to know He was there. But He could not conceal His presence since news of His healing power had preceded Him (cf. 3:8).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (7:25–26)

Mark stressed the woman’s non-Jewish identity: she was a Greek, not from Greece, but a Gentile by culture and religion. She was a Syrophoenician born in Phoenicia, part of the province of Syria. Matthew called her a “Canaanite woman” (Matt. 15:22).

This same woman got the chance to have an audience with Jesus somehow 29-30 tells us that;

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (7:29–30)

When she returned home, she found that her child was resting peacefully and the demon was gone. This is the only miracle recorded in Mark that Jesus performed at a distance without giving any vocal command.

The Grace New Testament Commentary, Revised Edition (D. The Servant Heals a Gentile Woman’s Daughter (7:24–30))

1. His response to her appears harsh and offensive. Children refers generally to Israel and therefore poses a Jew-Gentile contrast in the subsequent story.

2. “Let them be filled first” indicates that His ministry to Jews was a priority and that it is not good to take bread (i.e., time) away from them to feed the little dogs.

3. This word for dog refers to a house dog or to a lap dog in contrast to a street or farm dog. The Jews called Gentiles dogs (cf. 2 Sam 16:9).

The Grace New Testament Commentary, Revised Edition (D. The Servant Heals a Gentile Woman’s Daughter (7:24–30))

1. Rather than taking offense, the woman heard Jesus’ parable and understood what He meant.

2. She took His parable and crafted a response of humility and faith.

3. She said, “Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

4. She wanted just a little scrap so that her daughter could be delivered from demon possession.

5. Matthew recorded that she recognized Him as the “Son of David” (Matt 15:22) while He acknowledged her “great faith” (Matt 15:28).

6. When she arrived home, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Barry K Mershon Jr., “Mark,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin, Revised Edition. (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2019), 90.

The Healing of the Deaf Man with defective Speech

Mark 7:31–37 (ESV)

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (6. The Healing of the Deaf Man with Defective Speech (7:31–37))

This miracle is recorded only by Mark. It concludes a narrative cycle, 6:32–7:37, with the people’s confession about Jesus (7:37). This event prefigured the opening of the disciples’ “ears” (cf. 8:18, 27–30). A second narrative cycle begins in 8:1 and climaxes in the disciples’ confession (8:27–30).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (7:31–32)

Jesus left … Tyre (cf. v. 24) and went north 20 miles through Sidon, a coastal city, and then turned southeastward, avoiding Galilee, to a place on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee within the region of the Decapolis (cf. 5:20).

20 Miles = 32 Kilometers

Some people there begged Jesus to place His hand (cf. 5:23) on a man who was deaf and could hardly talk (mogilalon, “speaking with difficulty”). This rare word occurs only here and in the Septuagint of Isaiah 35:6, a passage promising the coming of God’s rule on earth. This promised intervention was already taking place in Jesus’ ministry (cf. Mark 7:37; 1:15).

The Method of Jesus

Usages: According to the KJV - occurs three times in three verses; Two verses are in Mark, and one in John

Mark 8:23 (ESV)

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

John 9:6 (ESV)

Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud

Probably the same story.

This is one of those texts where we have more questions than answers: but it is Ok_ Jesus is God, and he had his reasons for using this method. We may not like the way he administered healing here, but we are all happy that the two individuals received something far more valuable (Healing).

But let’s observe some important thoughts about the methods by;

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (7:33–35)

1. In healing this man, Jesus used sign language and symbolic acts (which Mark did not explain) that uniquely suited the man’s needs and caused him to exercise faith.

2. Jesus took him aside privately (cf. 6:32) in order to communicate one-to-one with him apart from the crowd.

3. By touching his ears and tongue, spitting (on the ground) and looking up to heaven (to God; cf. 6:41), Jesus conveyed what He was going to do.

4. His deep sigh may have reflected compassion for the man but it was likely Jesus’ strong emotion as He battled the satanic powers that enslaved the suffering man.

5. Then Jesus gave the Aramaic command Ephphatha! meaning Be opened! (lit., “be completely opened”) This word could easily be lip-read by a deaf person. This Aramaic word may indicate that the man was not a Gentile.

What Lessons are we drawing?

In both cases we notice strange things

In the case of the woman, there is strange language:

a. Jesus calls the Jews as Children

b. He likens the Gentiles to little dogs

In the case of the deaf man, there is a strange demonstration (Action)

He uses spit - and we do not know exactly why - at least we know that it could have been done that way to help the man believe. (Sign acts).

and for the woman the language shows us her maturity in knowing Christ even though she was not a Jew.

Praying for the other.

From both instances we see that the beneficiaries of the miracles did not make the initiative

2. The woman was asking Jesus to heal her daughter: there was a distance between the mother and the daughter, But to Jesus distance is not a barrier.

3. In case of the deaf man - Mark tells us who made the efforts

Mark 7:32 (ESV)

And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

It looks like these people knew Jesus in a similar way the woman knew him; And Jesus did not reject the request of those who truly believed in him and what he could do.

Jesus answers prayer when we pray for one another

We must be praying for one another everyday

Connected to praying for one another is the lesson that we can draw from the compassion of Jesus Christ.

1. Mark 7:24:

Mark 7:24 (ESV)

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.

He went to this place to rest but he made a little adjustment for the woman who begged him (Are we flexible with our schedules, especially here at AIU a busy place).

Matthew 15:22–28 (ESV)

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Persistence in prayer works: But there is a distinction between persistence and manipulation.

1. Our persistence must be driven by Genuine requests.

2. Requests that demonstrate our knowledge of who Jesus really is.

3. And this knowledge of God must be accurate according to scripture.

1. I remember going to the mountains, and letting the rains for on us because we wanted God to answer

2. We would starve to make God act. (PUSH PRAYER)

3. In contrast, the woman knew who Jesus really was and she had great faith

4. What does it mean that she had great faith?

5. She trusted in Jesus so much that she was not going to let him go. (Be radical in prayer sometimes, do not be too casual, kumelela mata pepmpelo)

6. The text tells us that she knew him as Lord, the Son of David: In other words, she knew his mission was primarily to the Jews, but he was Lord over all creation. “For she says O Lord” Which means Master

7. Faith is the organ of knowledge: knowing the substance of who Jesus is.