He Does All Things Well
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Introduction:
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark. Our text this morning will be . This morning text provides us an important lesson about faith.
What comes to your mind when people say you need to have faith?
Now when people talk about faith today, that is a very vague term isn’t it. People will say, “I have faith that things will work out.” Or just have “faith in yourself”. Or just “believe”. When people talk about faith today, they are not definite or specific about what that actually means.
Even Christians can be vague about the word faith. Have faith in Jesus, although true and necessary, becomes a cliche where many even in the church do not not what that looks like.
In fact, there is a whole movement of heresy called the Word of Faith movement. If you just have faith, God can do the impossible, whether provide money for the bills, or miraculous healings, and cure all your ills and problems.
It is possible to have a profession of faith, but not a genuine possession of faith.
It is a possible to declare the faith, but not have the faith.
It is even possible to have faith in error or one’s own idea of God which is idolatry.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
And the passage we come to today fleshes out the type of faith that amazes Jesus. The type of faith that saves. The type of faith that Jesus is looking for.
And in today’s passage, we will look at two stories. Two stories about two people who were in need. And how Jesus performs two miracles that gives us two lessons. One lesson of faith, and one lesson on compassion. Our passage will show us that
I. Faith can Save (vv. 24-30)
II. Jesus is willing to Save (vv. 31-37)
In other words, we will see that Jesus responds to those who put their faith in him, and Jesus’ compassion reaches out to those in need and those who trust Him.
Recap
To remind you where we have been, we spent the last two weeks in chapter seven with the Pharisees confrontation with Jesus and the disciples.
Mark
The pharisees accused Jesus of eating with unwashed hands and not keeping the tradition of the elders.
Last week, Jesus taught us that corruption is not something that happens outside of us, but something that comes from within. Wickedness comes from a wicked heart.
Now Jesus turns from the Jews and travels deep into “unclean” “Gentile” territories to retreat from the hostility from the religious establishment, teach his disciples privately, and even preview the future missions of the disciples to all peoples.
And in the first story, Jesus meets a woman with great faith and the second story shows a man with great need.
And we will see in these stories the type of faith that saves and the type of faith that the Lord is pleased with.
Let’s read our Scripture this morning. I would encourage you to bring a Bible every Sunday if you don’t have one. I know you have your phone, but it’s nice to be able to flip easily with cross references and follow along with me as we hear, meditate, and listen to God’s Word.
Scripture Reading:
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.
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.”
This is the reading of God’s Holy Word. Praise be to God.
The first story we see in our passage is an unlikely character of great faith. This woman teaches us that:
I. Faith Can Save (vv. 24-30)
I. Faith Can Save (vv. 24-30)
Now when people talk about faith today, that is a very vague term. People will say, “I have faith that things will work out.” Or just have “faith in yourself”. When people talk about faith today, they are not definite or specific of what that actually means.
But we see that as Jesus travels to Gentile regions, the most unlikely person shows us what true faith looks like.
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.
Mark
Jesus now travels to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Tyre was a coastal city on the Meditarrean sea just about 20 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee. This would be the district of Phoenicia, where modern day Lebanon is.
Tyre was not a popular place among the Jews.
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
The region of Tyre (formerly Phoenicia) had been the home of Jezebel, who in Elijah’s day had nearly subverted the Northern Kingdom with her pagan prophets and practices (1 Kgs 16:31–32). During the Maccabean Revolt in the second century B.C., Tyre, along with Ptolemais and Sidon, fought on the side of the Seleucids against the Jews (1 Macc 5:15ff.). The prophets decried the wealth and terror of Tyre (Ezek 26:17; Zech 9:3). Josephus concluded opprobriously that the inhabitants of Tyre were “notoriously our bitterest enemies” (Ag. Ap. 1.13).
It would be like if an American traveled to the Middle East either into the heart of ISIS territory or into the heart of Taliban regions.
If you were a Jew, you just do not go there. Yet Jesus goes.
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.
Why did Jesus enter into a house?
Well, Jesus simply may have wanted to rest from the crowds. Jesus had long days of ministry with thousands of people flocking to him in Galilee. He just wanted to get away either to be in communion with His Father like he normally did or to have some personal time with the disciples because he was so busy ministering to others.
Yet he could not be hidden....even in Gentile territories.
But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.
And notice a woman approaches Jesus. The most unlikely person who is in desperate need hears about Jesus and comes to him. She had a lot of things going against her.
A. She is a woman
In our culture, there have been battles against sexism in the workplace and the demand for equal pay. Women at times are more qualified and have better credentials than men, yet still get paid lower than some men.
If it is bad today, then it was worst especially in the first century where women were treated basically as property in a patriarchal society. A woman’s job was just to bear children and maintain the household while in Greek and Roman culture a man could also have concubines and mistresses.
If a woman had no husband, she could be impoverished and utterly helpless in a male-dominated society.
Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
B. She is a Gentile
Jews regarded Gentiles or non-Jews as “unclean” because they were outside of the covenant people of God. They were the pagans. They were the unbelievers who did not believe in the true God of Israel and were steeped into idolatry.
C. She was a Syrophoencian by birth
Again the prophets of the OT condemned Tyre and these cities for their pride and idolatry. She must have been raised in a culture that worshipped idols and were enemies of the God of Isarel. In fact, Matthew’s gospel tells us that she was a “Canaanite”.
The Canaanites were the enemies of Israel and Israel was commanded to exterminate them and drive them out of the Promised Land. But they became a snare to the people because of their disobedience.
D. She had a demon-possessed daughter
And not only was she a woman, a unclean woman, who may have been an idolater, she had a demon possessed daughter.
And we learned some important lessons about a faith that can save and a faith that can heal.
Her faith was a desperate faith (v. 25)
But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.
She fell at his feet. Matthew tells us,
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
She was needy. People who come to Jesus come to Jesus with real needs and come to the end of themselves.
But if you think you have no needs, then you won’t think you need Jesus.
Application: I think sometimes we can be so comfortable and so familiar in our context, we fail to recognize in fact how needy we are as human beings. We can isolate ourselves from the needs around us by escaping into entertainment, food, or resting in our finances that we ignore true human pain and suffering.
We must be careful that our Christianity is so comfortable that it shuts its ears to the needs around us.
David Platt wrote a book called Something Needs to Change: A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need.
He talks about his experience traveling through the Himalayas where spiritual darkness and bankruptcy abound. Where little girls are sold and sextrafficked. Where children are not expected to live past 8. Where there is no gospel preaching church or even Christians to bring these people out of darkness into God’s light. Where they lack basic medical equipment and necessities of daily life. Where in a region of 9 million people, there is only about 100 Christians.
And we in the West can ignore needs by living comfortably in here while never responding to true needs. We can stay in our comfort zones and just ignore the suffering all around us drowning ourselves in our phones, in our games, in our netflixes, in whatever tries to distract us.
We don’t have to go to the Himalayas to see the urgent need of the world. We just have to go 20 miles to Skid Row.
Homelessness is reaching a emergency level in Los Angeles.
Because of higher rent, lower wages, and lack of affordable housing, this past year, almost 60,000 experienced homelessness just in Los Angeles alone.
918 died last year died on the street while they were homeless.
More than 130, 000 people are without shelther on any given night just in California nearly 3 people die daily being homeless.
I say this for myself, where my heart doesn’t feel anymore for the needs around us. Where we plead to God to move in our hearts to do something and ask God to do something.
This woman had a desperate and needy faith. And by the way, that is how many people come to know the Lord. They come desperate, needy, and completely to the end of themselves.
2. Her faith was a persistent faith (v. 26)
Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
She begged him to cast the demon of of her daughter. Matthew tells us she was crying out.
And Matthew tells us Jesus remained silent to the point where the disciples were telling Jesus get this woman out of here!
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.”
Matthew 15:
She was the embodied example of the persistent widow who kept asking and begging God to do something in .
Christian—Are you needy? Are you persistent in asking for God for things? Or do you give up? Do you because of unbelief believe that God can’t and won’t really do anything? This is an important lesson for us in persevering in prayer. And persevering in our faith.
And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
3. Her faith was a humble faith (vv. 27-28)
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.”
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.”
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.”
At first, this seems pretty shocking. Did Jesus just call this woman a dog? That is a pretty offensive thing to say. He says, “Let the children be fed first.” Israel was considered the children of God in the OT. And he said it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.
Now the term dog was offensive in the 1st century. Whereas some in American culture place a high value of dogs, often calling dog’s man’s best friend, dogs in the ancient world were regarded as filthy and dirty animals.
Very similar in the Philippines, where you see stray dogs roaming the streets. The stray dogs are in the garbage and in the dumpster, and you would never take the dog into your house. In fact, Rabbinic commentary said,
E.g. TB Ḥagigah 13a “As the sacred food was intended for men, but not for the dogs, the Torah was intended to be given to the Chosen People, but not to the Gentiles”; Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer 29, “Whoever eats with an idolater is like a man who eats with a dog”; Exodus Rabba IX. 2 on 7:9, “The ungodly are like dogs.”
A dog was a derogatory term. It is like calling someone “scum” or “filthy animal” or “rat.”
Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.”
1 Samuel
What is Jesus is saying?
Well the word that Jesus uses is actually the diminutive word of dog. “household pet.” Like saying the word “doggy” or “puppy.”
Yes, it does lessen the shock of what is being said. You get the picture. You have a household pet. And the children eat first, and then the household dog waits patiently at the table to get the leftovers.
But still, no one wants to be called a dog, whether a scavenger dog or a puppy dog.
Jesus was keeping in line with the Scriptures that Israel had the priority because they were the covenant people of God who were supposed to be a light to the Gentiles.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matthew
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
In other words, blessing for all the world was supposed to come through the Jews. They had the priority and seat at the table. Yet notice the response of the woman.
But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Or
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Matthew 15:
Yes Lord, I know the children have the priority. But I know that I can even get blessed with the scraps of blessings that come from the children. And Jesus, though seemed mean at first, was purposeful and drawing out her faith. To the point where he was amazed by her faith, which is only recorded one or two other times in the other gospels from Gentiles.
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Her faith was a humble faith. She was not coming to Jesus because of her privileges, because she had no privileges. She was not coming to Jesus because of her credentials, because she had no credentials. She was simply coming to him empty handed asking and pleading for mercy, and that even a crumb of mercy could change her whole live.
That is amazing faith. And Jesus was pleased with that.
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.
Mark 7:
When she got home, the demon left her daughter. Perfect tense. It had completely left her daughter and was not coming back again because of her faith.
Christian—Do you have that type of faith? A faith that is desperate, needy, persistent, and humble? Give me Jesus or I die?
Of you have a faith that is superficial? If Jesus doesn’t give me what I want, then I don’t need him, just like the crowds.
By the way, not a lot of people go to popeyes anymore because they ran out of chicken sandwiches. There is no more line. Because popeyes doesn’t give people what they want. So they are not true popeyes followers.
Or you have a faith that is gives up easily? If Jesus doesn’t answer, O well, it is what it is?
Or you have a faith that is just empty? Mere words, but not action.
This woman fleshes out faith for us. Desperate. Needy. Persistent. Humble.
Christian Parent—Keep pleading for your child. Maybe your child is not demon possessed, but maybe he is influenced by the world more than he is the things of God. Keep pleading and pressing and asking for God for mercy. Be like this woman.
Church—We must take people into our membership with the first kind of faith. A profession of faith with no evidence of faith shows no possession of faith. Has their been change in the person’s life? Has a person seen their need of Christ, and they persistent to have Christ, and thus be changed by Christ?
Church—We must go to needy people. We must not be so comfortable with one another, that we neglect real needs around us and suffering all around us.
Non-Christian—Jesus will never make sense to you if you think you are not needy. You must come to the end of yourself. You must come to the point in your life where you come to God empty handed. You cannot come to God on your own sufficiency, but only come to him when you are saying you have nothing to offer and you are begging God to be merciful to you a sinner.
Dogs
It’s been said we contribute nothing to our salvation except our sin.
People who think they deserve heaven, are the ones who end up being in hell. And the people who know they deserve Hell, are the ones who end up being in Heaven because they know only faith in Jesus can save.
This woman even accepted the phrase dog, but knew that she would not let go of Jesus until she was blessed even if it was a crumb that fell of the table of the children. Luther was so moved by this,
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
“She took Christ at his own words. He then treated her not as a dog but as a child of Israel.”
You must come to Jesus admitting you are unclean, dirty, defiled, and sinful and unable to save yourself by anything you do. Only Jesus can save.
Church—We should give the world a picture of heaven. The church should be composed of all peoples of all ethnic groups, because the gospel is for all people. We often say we are a Filipino church, but that is an oxymoron because the church by definition should be composed of all peoples. So I say we are a church, but we have a large Filipino congregation. But let us make sure that the gospel in this church is given freely to all.
Transition: Faith can save, but the greater news is that Jesus is willing to save. as we will see in our next miracle...
II. Jesus is Willing to Save (vv. 31-37)
II. Jesus is Willing to Save (vv. 31-37)
Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
The route that Jesus takes is really usual and long. So Jesus leaves Tyre goes even further north 20 miles into the region Sidon. And then he makes a U-Shaped turn back to the Sea of Galilee further in the Gentile regions into the Decapolis. Decapolis was also Gentile territory. Deca “Ten” Polis “City”. It was the ten cities. You remember this is where Jesus commanded the Demon possessed man who was no longer demon possessed to proclaim how much Jesus had done for him.
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Why the long journey?
Again Jesus is preparing the disciples for the Gentile Mission. The gospel is not only for the Jews, but for Gentiles as well.
And just like the friends who brought the paralytic, there were friends who brought a deaf and mute man to Jesus.
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.
The word that is used for speech impediment is an interesting word that is only used here in the NT. And it is also used 1x in the OT in Isaiah. This is the promise of restoration and blessing after God’s judgment and exile of his people as we read in our Scripture reading. The same word for speech impediment (mogilalos) is the same word we find in Isaiah.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
Prophecy Fulfilled.
In other words, the One who Isaiah predicted about, and how God would open the eyes of the blind, and make those who could not hear hear, and the lame leap, was in their midst!
And we learn several important about reaching out to others with the good news of Jesus.
Jesus was personal (v. 33)
And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.
He isolated him from the crowd. He gave personal attention to him and treated him as a individual with real human needs.
2. Jesus was relational (vv. 33-34)
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 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.”
Just like someone who puts their arm around your shoulder, or gives you a hug, to show compassion for you, so Jesus was showing compassion for this man.
Preaching the Word: Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior Christ’s Touch (v. 33)
True compassion doesn’t just feel. It reaches out.
He met the man where he was at.
I despise a one-size fits all approach evangelism. People are not robots. We cannot just give the gospel like a sales talk or one particular method of evangelism that is THE way to evangelize.
In the other stories, Jesus would simply speak and people were healed. Other times, such as in this case, he actually touched the deaf man.
He touched his ears, communicating sign language that he was going to heal his ears.
And then he spit, using his own saliva and touched his tongue.
This would be a picture of what Jesus would later do for us.
3. Jesus was dependent (v. 34)
Looking up to heaven..
He knew that only God can heal and only God can heal. So he pointed to the heavens, showing the man it would be God who could heal him.
4. Jesus was compassionate (v. 34)
And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
He signed. The word is groaned. Don’t you sigh with all the brokenness all around us?
Suicide of a recent pastor.
Homelessness just within our hometown.
Sickness and diseases.
Death of loved ones.
Miscarriages.
Murders. Rape. Theft. Poverty. Unbelief.
It is utterly overwhelming to be confronted with human suffering in the world.
It is the same word used in Romans
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Jesus knew what the world was supposed to be. He created the world and it was very good. And now, because of sin, God’s good creation was spoiled where not only death entered into the world, but disease and disaster and tragedies that take place every day.
We are utterly helpless.
5. Jesus was and is powerful
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.
Mark 7:
Be opened! Jesus simply speaks, and noticed his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and now he could speak again.
Just one word, and the man was made well.
Who does speaks things into existence except only God?
And Jesus again was demonstrating his deity through these miracles.
Christian—Do you understand the needs around us? Are we willing to be personal, relational, compassionate, dependent, and trusting in His Word to open deaf ears, to make sinners declare God’s praises.
Although Jesus is now in heaven, he has given us his Spirit and His Word that is able to do miracles and make ears hear and hearts open to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Christian—Do you open your mouth for Jesus? The crowds were commanded to be silent, but they spoke. We are commanded to speak, but we are silent.
And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
Jesus fame and reputation was being reported to all districts and cities.
Church—We are commanded to speak and open our mouths. God’s word is powerful and He can save and He can open ears and open hearts and give hope to the hurting.
And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
The phrase means they were utterly astonished. They were exceedingly astonished at what Jesus was doing.
Church—We must not only support missionaries, but we must send missionaries to difficult and hard places to reach hurting people.
He has done all things well.
Jesus was the One who the prophets predicted. He was the One who would crushed the Serpent’s Head. And He was the One who would restore God’s good creation.
The phrase has echoes of :
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
You see, these stories speak of our human condition, and God’s willing compassion.
Because of sin, we have a ruined environment. We have relationships that are ruined. We have bodies that ruined because of sin’s entrance into the world.
We are like the woman who represents the outsider and the outcast of soceity. We do not deserve to be at the table because of our sin and our uncleanliness.
We are like the deaf and mute man who are unable to speak because we are enslaved to our sin and have hardened hearts and ears that do not hear.
But Jesus is more than willing to save for those who place their faith in Him.
Jesus, is able to make an unclean dirty dog, into a cleansed, forgiven Child if you place your faith in Him.
Jesus, is able to take a deaf and mute man, and release him both physically and spiritually speaking, so that now he has ears to hear God’s voice, and a new heart and mouth to declare God’s praises.
Why can Jesus do this? And Why is He willing to do this?
Well, because at the cross, the Son of God, was treated as a unclean dog. He was treated as cast away. All of our sings and iniquities were placed on Jesus so that he can take dogs and make the children and have a seat at the table.
At the cross, Jesus was muted and silenced in his death, so that we can have ears to hear and proclaim that this man truly was the Son of God.
And because He rose again from the dead, he is more than willing to save those who come to him desperately, persistently, and humbly so they can have a seat at the table in the Kingdom of God.
If you haven’t trusted in Jesus yet, you can do that today. God can give you ears to hear, and a heart that feels, if his spirit is working in you. Just to Jesus. Place your faith in Jesus. And he will restore all things now and one day when He comes in His glory.
Conclusion:
The Book of Common Prayer
“We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy”
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
Indeed, she appears to understand the purpose of Israel’s Messiah better than Israel does. Her pluck and persistence are a testimony to her trust in the sufficiency and surplus of Jesus: his provision for the disciples and Israel will be abundant enough to provide for one such as herself.
“We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy”
This Gospel is for all people. Not for the Jews alone, but for all who will repent and trust in the Son who was treated like a dog at the cross. And was treated like a dirty dog, so that we can be cleansed children who have a seat at the table.
He truly Does All Things Well
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
Jesus is teaching us that faith can save. And Jesus is a more than willing savior.
He can make outsiders insiders.
He can make dogs children.
II. A lesson on compassion.
He can make what man ruined, restored because He is the prophesied Messiah who would come and restore God’s good creation.
Truly indeed, “He does all things well”. He is able to take what we have ruined, and restore it to be very good again.
The Book of Common Prayer
“We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy”
“On the cross, the Child of God was thrown away, cast away from the table without a crumb, so that those of us who are not children of God could be adopted and brought in. Put another way, the Child had to become a dog so that we could become sons and daughters at the table. And because Jesus identified like that with us, now we know why we can approach him. The Son became a dog so that we dogs could be brought to the table; he became mute so that our tongues can be loosed to call him King.” Tim Keller
“On the cross, the Child of God was thrown away, cast away from the table without a crumb, so that those of us who are not children of God could be adopted and brought in. Put another way, the Child had to become a dog so that we could become sons and daughters at the table. And because Jesus identified like that with us, now we know why we can approach him. The Son became a dog so that we dogs could be brought to the table; he became mute so that our tongues can be loosed to call him King.” Tim Keller
All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.
For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
Jesus heads north to the district of Phoenicia— what is today Lebanon— to the seaport city of Tyre.
Akin, Daniel L.. Exalting Jesus in Mark (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) (p. 159). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Preaching the Word: Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior Christ’s Touch (v. 33)
This is what we need if we are to reach our pagan, secular world for Christ: an upward look of prayer, a heartfelt sigh of compassion, a loving touch upon the hurting, and a bold pronouncement of the Good News. Then healing will come to our homes, our neighborhoods, our churches, and our world!
Akin, Daniel L.. Exalting Jesus in Mark (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) (p. 159). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Tyre was 20 miles northwest of Capernaum.
The Priority of Israel, yet the Salvation of All.
The Priority of Israel, yet the Salvation of All.
The Gospel for All People. The Gentiles Shares in the Blessings of the Jews.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Preaching the Word: Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior Christ’s Look (v. 34)
If I have any sense of where the Christian culture is today, I would say our Number One sin is not sensuality or materialism (though they are close behind), but prayerlessness.
Preaching the Word: Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior Christ’s Touch (v. 33)
True compassion doesn’t just feel. It reaches out.
Preaching the Word: Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior Christ’s Touch (v. 33)
This is what we need if we are to reach our pagan, secular world for Christ: an upward look of prayer, a heartfelt sigh of compassion, a loving touch upon the hurting, and a bold pronouncement of the Good News. Then healing will come to our homes, our neighborhoods, our churches, and our world!
E.g. TB Ḥagigah 13a “As the sacred food was intended for men, but not for the dogs, the Torah was intended to be given to the Chosen People, but not to the Gentiles”; Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer 29, “Whoever eats with an idolater is like a man who eats with a dog”; Exodus Rabba IX. 2 on 7:9, “The ungodly are like dogs.”
The Gospel of Mark 11. Healing in the Decapolis. Ch. 7:31–37
The Phoenician republic of Sidon was located on the coast some twenty miles north of Tyre.
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
The region of Tyre (formerly Phoenicia) had been the home of Jezebel, who in Elijah’s day had nearly subverted the Northern Kingdom with her pagan prophets and practices (1 Kgs 16:31–32). During the Maccabean Revolt in the second century B.C., Tyre, along with Ptolemais and Sidon, fought on the side of the Seleucids against the Jews (1 Macc 5:15ff.). The prophets decried the wealth and terror of Tyre (Ezek 26:17; Zech 9:3). Josephus concluded opprobriously that the inhabitants of Tyre were “notoriously our bitterest enemies” (Ag. Ap. 1.13).
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
Indeed, she appears to understand the purpose of Israel’s Messiah better than Israel does. Her pluck and persistence are a testimony to her trust in the sufficiency and surplus of Jesus: his provision for the disciples and Israel will be abundant enough to provide for one such as herself.
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
“She took Christ at his own words. He then treated her not as a dog but as a child of Israel.”
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark A Gentile Who Was a “True Israelite” (7:24–30)
This reminded Mark’s readers, as it does us today, that salvation is offered to the world, both to Jews and to estranged Gentiles like this woman, through Jesus who fulfills God’s revelation to Israel.
The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark A Gentile Woman (7:24–30)
But it was clearly foreign territory, and Josephus, Ap. 1.70, describes the Tyrians as ‘notoriously our bitterest enemies’.
We are commanded to speak, and we stay silent. They are commanded to stay silent, and they speak.
Diminutive