Mark 7:24-30
The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman
24Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27"First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
28"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
29Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter."
30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
It seems in our world that some people label people...It seems we can put some people down who don't fit the criteria that is similar to us or our interests, beliefs, background, skin color, or who or what we follow...Jesus does not do this...He welcomed those who others considered outsiders in His heart...He welcomed sinners, Gentiles, Samaritans, Canaanites, Romans, taxpayers, and other outsiders to listen to Him speak about His Father...He treated them equally to His "regular" followers from Israel...But we can admit and recognize, that Jesus knew that labels and outsiders existed in His time and still does today...When you read the gospels and look at the people Jesus helped, you see He helps all without prejudiced, while recognizing that others were watching His every move as the Jewish Messiah...
One interesting thing about this story and others of Jesus, He many times does not want others to know where He is...He enters this house near the vicinity of Tyre, and it seems immediately (or it seems to me, at least) that soon the Greek-Gentile woman knows He is in her vicinity, and in a specific house...Jesus surely was popular at this time, for this to happen...
Here in Tyre, a Syrophoenician woman had a daughter who was sick...He daughter is possessed by a demon...Jesus knew others were watching, when He helped people that appeared to be outside the lines of the regular Jew and citizen of Israel...The Jewish people may have even wondered, how could this be the Messiah, if He is helping a Roman, or a Samaritan, a taxpayer, and the other groups outside of the Jewish lines (that had been drawn)?...After all, the Messiah would come from the line of King David, and be a branch of Jesse, a true Israeli...But He does help others, and does it often...He showed no partiality in His ministry, teachings, and healings...The woman, with the sick daughter, was bold...Normally the man of the house, the father would be making this plea to Jesus to help the daughter, in His time...But she was not just a woman, she was a Gentile woman...We are not told of the woman's husband, and what or where he is, but we might assume that he is not a part of the family anymore (for one reason or another), because the Gentile woman is making her plea to Jesus to help her daughter...
The woman has come to Jesus in faith, knowing that He can heal her daughter...She is willing to go through some public indignation because of her faith, and her daughter's health...She knows Jesus can heal her daughter...Jesus knows He wants to have some privacy, He knows that this woman has faith, and He sees her commitment to Him by her falling at His feet...He knows all things...The woman negotiates and deals with Jesus...Jesus, basically, says that she is not from Israel and that is why He came to earth, to help the people of Israel and teach them...She (and He) knows, that she is not an Israeli...She tells Him that even dogs get their children's bread crumbs, when they wait patiently near or under the table...Jesus tells her for such a reply that she may go, her daughter has been exorcised...She went home and found her daughter well lying on the bed, the demon gone...He sees and feels the faith in the Gentile woman...
The story speaks loud that our LORD is a Jew...He calls the lady basically a dog...Some Jewish people referred to pagans as dogs in His time...But our LORD is not being prejudice...He heals the woman's daughter...Jesus shows His compassion for the poor, the downtrodden, the one who needs mercy, the one who has a dogged-persistent faith...Jesus' compassion for the humbled outsider is shown very much in His healing of her daughter...