1. How easily do you give up?
2. Why do you think that Jesus did not want anyone to know that he was there?
3. Jesus is God, isn't he? Why then could he not keep his presence secret? (verse 24)
4. What nationality is the woman, and what is the importance of that to Jesus? (verse 26)
5. Does Jesus prohibit driving demons from non-Jewish people? (verse 27, see also Mark 5:1-20. Compare Romans 1:16)
6. Why do you think Jesus speaks to her in such an abrupt way? (verse 27, and compare 3:34-35, 6:4-6)
7. What do you think of her answer? (verse 29, compare verse 18)
8. What is it about the woman that shows her utter dependance on Jesus? (verses 25, 26, 28, 29, 30)
9. In what way is this woman an example for us to follow? (see also Luke 11:7-8, 13)
Notes: ‘Tyre’—Rather than going to the city of Tyre on the Mediterranean coast, Jesus crossed from Galilee into the region or vicinity of Tyre. People from the region had earlier crossed into Galilee, having heard about Jesus (Mark 3:8).
Jesus moves from Galilee to the vicinity of Tyre, that is, into non-Jewish territory. Tyre is in modern Lebanon. It was a city by the sea, a place where pagan worship was the native religion. But Jesus doesn’t go there to do mission and preach the kingdom, because Mark tells us that "he did not want anyone to know" that he was there (v. 24). No, it seems that Jesus’ is going for other reasons. Perhaps it was for a holiday, a bit of necessary rest and relaxation. Perhaps he wanted to spend time with his disciples, to teach them.
But sometimes, even Jesus doesn’t get what he wanted, like when he died on the cross. In this case, :"He could noty keep his presence secret" (v. 24). It’s part of being human, and Jesus was fully human. Though he was God, stuff he planned or hoped for didn't turn out for him. It’s good for us to remember this when things don’t turn out our way.
Jesus’ plan for happy seclusion is foiled, for a woman comes out to meet him. This woman is like a heat seeking missile, for "as soon as she heard about him" (v. 25), she goes straight to Jesus in the house to which he has gone, and falls at his feet. She is desperate. It might even be that she is something of an embarrassment as she draws unwanted attention to Jesus, the disciples, and herself.
Mark describes her as "a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia" (v. 26). Matthew describes her as a “Canaanite”, in other words, a descendant of the ancient enemies of Israel. Both are true. She is from a pagan culture, a religion full of idolatry and evil. She speaks Greek, the lingua franca of the Roman world since Alexander the Great took it wherever he went.
But this woman knows something about Jesus, and so she comes to him. Undoubtedly, Jesus' fame has gone before him. She has a problem. Her daughter is possessed by an "impure Spirit" (v. 25). She begs Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter (v. 26).
What do you expect Jesus to say? What do you expect Jesus to do? Is not Jesus merciful and compassionate? Did he not come to drive out demons and heal the sick? Is this not Jesus, who went around doing good? Then let's allow ourselves to be at least a little surprised by his response to her desperate pleas in verse 27. The first part of Jesus' initial answer is: “First let the children eat all they want.”
Jesus’ reticence to help her can especially be contrasted with his actions recounted in verse 31, where Jesus is more than happy to help the people of the Decapolis. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says that he “was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The "children" are the people of Israel, the Jews. Jesus was sent to Israel in a special and unique way.
Sure, Jesus was sent to a lost world. The Jews were lost. The Non-Jews were lost. But since Israel was lost, and they were God’s special Old Testament people, there was more than enough work among the Jews. The Father did not send the Son to Tyre. He came to his own people, Galileans, and Judeans, the Jewish people, to his own race, the descendants of Abraham. Jesus doesn’t just do things for convenience, to get someone off his back. Jesus is making an important point, that he has good boundaries. He knows what was his job, and what wasn’t his job. And this woman’s request, from one point of view, falls outside his job description. Jesus’ earthly ministry was limited to Israel.
The second part of the answer is abrupt, sharp, and from our perspective even insulting. You are I wouldn't get away with it, for it would be considered racist. Verse 27 again, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (NIV). "
It is not nice to be called a dog in any culture. I said once to a lady who was particularly determined to get something to happen that she wanted done: “you are like a dog with a bone with this”. She was not happy. “How dare you call me a dog.” In vain did I protest, “I didn’t call you a dog, I said you were like a dog with a bone with this.” “No, you called me a dog!” You risk great offense likening someone to a dog. And Jesus’ words do exactly that. The Jews are the children, this Greek Syro-Phoenician woman of Tyre is a a dog. That is, it is Israel’s privilege to receive the ministry of the Messiah. It is wrong to then give those benefits to non-Israelites.
My father-in-law used to come over on Wednesday nights for tea with Jazz, his little lap dog. That made Jazz my dog-in-law. And Jazz loved ice cream. However, once I gave Jazz his ice cream before I gave the humans ice cream. And my father-in-law said, “No, he must remember his place. He gets it second. He mustn’t think he is top dog”. The dog eats after the children.
This is a parable. The children are the people of Israel. Jesus was offering them the bread. And the bread was the news of the kingdom of God. Jesus limited his own and his disciples’ personal ministry to the Jewish people.
But this woman is a careful listener. She doesn’t deny what Jesus says. She is happy to think of herself as a dog. “Yes, I am a gentile. I understand that I am on the B list”. But she realizes that even the dogs have a rightful place around the table. Verse 28: "Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (NIV).
There used to be a meat pie ad, where the dog hangs around waiting hopefully for the scraps, hoping that a family member will have had enough to eat. “Yes, that’s me”, thinks the woman, “Come on, do you have something spare for me—a crust, a crumb, a bit of gristle—the crumbs will be enough for me. Even your crumbs will satisfy.”
Jesus is impressed with this reply, verse 29, and he performs a long distance healing on her daughter. “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” Jesus has seen that she has taken him at his word, but has answered him according to the parable he gave her. She listened, and thought, and gave a fitting answer.
But she wasn't just smart, quick witted. She was persistent. She does not give up making the request, even when Jesus seems to be unwilling. She forced her way through the barriers that the Lord himself put up against her. She overcame even the Lord. She wrestled with God, like Jacob, and overcame. She persists and is rewarded with the liberation of her daughter from the evil spirit..
That is faith. Her careful listening and knowledge combined with persistent application on the basis of what she knew is faith. And we can learn from both her listening to Jesus and thinking about what he said, and her persistence with him, not being put off by the barriers that he himself errected. .
Let's pray.