Mark 7:24-37 contain two healing stories that illustrate our need for honesty about our condition, humility regarding our abilities, and faith in Jesus. Yet, each story disturbs most readers. It will call upon the use of some imagination to face that which disturbs us.
Mark 7:24-30 is the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman and the healing of her daughter. We will see a pattern of honesty as to her condition, humility regarding her ability to change it, and faith in the power of Jesus. The story assumes the cure. Mark often has cures associated with contact or a commanding word, so the procedure here is unusual. The story easily rubs readers in the wrong way. The primary interest of the story is the attitude of Jesus toward Gentiles. The way it approaches this theme is disturbing to us. Healing stories are supposed to impress as the divine power reveals itself. This story does not measure up. Jesus is outside his usual Galilean haunts. The attitude of Jesus seems as discordant as is his new location. Though Mark’s gospel may preserve what seems like a harsh statement of Jewish primacy in God’s favor, Mark also records the good news going to the Gentiles. Interestingly, this shortest gospel includes two feeding narratives. In 6:32-44, Jesus feeds 5,000 Jews, and in 8:1-10 (immediately after our text) he feeds 4,000 Gentiles. Even if Mark wants to slip in a reminder of God’s grace toward the children of God, he does not shy away from showing the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles.
Peter, then later James, led the Palestinian branch of the early church. Paul, on the other hand, understood the focus of his missionary work on gentiles. Paul was closer to Jesus on this point than Peter or James. Yet, for us to reach this conclusion, we have some difficult sayings of Jesus to consider. Jesus leaves Galilee and goes to Lebanon, biblical Phoenicia, foreign and unclean territory for Torah.
24From there he set out and went away to the defiled region of Tyre.[1] Mark’s recording of the regions is not incidental. The movement from Jewish Galilee to Gentile Tyre occurs with the background of socioeconomic tension involving food grown in Galilee and disbursed in the markets of Tyre.[2] If much of scholarship is right about the dating of this gospel during the Jewish War (66-73), tension between Jew and Gentile is even higher. Tyrian Gentiles killed and imprisoned many Galilean Jews.[3] In any case, Jesus seems to want to get away from the place is well known. We can identify with him in that desire. Being in a place where people do not recognize you can be restful. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. The first thing he does here is to enter a private house in order to keep his presence in that place from public knowledge. He seems to want rest.
I hope you do not mind if we pause for a moment and consider this desire for rest. Sabbath is rest. What if we give up, even for a just a few moments, on trying to make the world different than it is? If we can do that, no matter how briefly, we might find genuine rest. Rest should equal restoration in seven key areas of your life. The first type of rest we need is physical rest, which can be passive (napping, sleeping) or active (yoga, stretching). The second type of rest is mental rest, which involves slowing down the mind from racing from one thought to the next. The third type of rest we need is sensory rest, such as bright lights or noise that can make us feel overwhelmed. The fourth type of rest is creative rest that reawakens the awe and wonder that resides within us all. The fifth type of rest is emotional rest, which means having the time and space to freely express your feelings and cut back on people pleasing. A sixth type of rest is social, which occurs when we fail to differentiate between those relationships that revive us from those relationships that exhaust us. We may need some time to surround ourselves with positive and supportive people. The final type of rest is spiritual rest, which is the ability to connect beyond the physical and mental and feel a deep sense of belonging, love, acceptance and purpose.[4]
The attempt by Jesus to find rest quickly fails. Has that ever happened to you? Yet, even in this culturally distant region, he could not escape notice, 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean (ἀκάθαρτον) spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet as a sign of respect as well as grief. Note how from her very first appearance in this text, the woman exudes faith. Those begging Jesus for healing personally know how great the need for healing is and feel called to seek relief for the other. Occasional readjustments in one’s trajectory are necessary. Her first approach to Jesus exhibits honesty. There has to be the understanding that we have a manifest need for Jesus to do his work in our lives. Jesus always attracted messy people. These are not people in denial. They need help, and they need it right away. They have genuine, honest clarity about their condition and situation. They have evident needs, they are willing to admit it, and these needs are the very thing that makes them attracted to Jesus. The lesson many learn in life is to hide their weaknesses. They put their best foot forward. Yet, no one can meet our hidden needs. Our pride may stiffen our knees so that we will not bow down. Our pride may muzzle our voices so that we do not call out in honesty and humility. 26Now the woman was a Gentile (Ἑλληνίς, feminine for Greek person, a functional synonym for "Gentile," as it is used elsewhere in the NT: Acts 14:1; Romans 1:16; 2:9-10; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 10:32; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11),of Syrophoenician origin. Suddenly the focus of this story shifts from her faith to her identity. No longer is this story about what this woman believes. It is obsessed with who she is. She is a Gentile, a pagan, a non‑Jew. Yet, his concern was not so much with ritual purity. He was open to the non-conforming elements of Israel. He would have had regular contact with Gentiles in Galilee. Jesus did not view himself as forming a remnant in contrast with Israel. His movement was open to Israel as a whole.[5] In this case, if we think of the context, the exterior matters, such as her being Canaanite and a woman, do not make the encounter ritually unclean. The danger is that this encounter will lead to moral uncleanness. Zeal for ritual purity here, in the guise of doing what is right, could lead to much that would be wrong. She begged him to cast the demon (δαιμόνιον, suggesting unclean spirit and demon are the same phenomenon here) out of her daughter. 27He said to her, “Let the children receive their food first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the little house dogs (κυναρίοις, diminutive).” In response to her begging on bended knee for healing, not for herself, but for her daughter, the response of Jesus seems curt, cold and cutting. Here is the heart of the difficulty we have in reading in this story. In the back of our minds, the Jesus we know who ate with tax collectors and sinners and told the parable of the Good Samaritan would not seem likely to make such a statement seriously. True, the story may show the precedence of the Jewish people in the plan of salvation.[6] True, the story may even reflect a tension in the mind of Jesus about the scope of his ministry. Jesus seems as concerned about the success of his mission as this brave and persistent mother is of hers. He seems unresponsive to anything besides this woman's ethnic and religious identity. However, I invite a little imagination into our reflection. We have an intriguing possibility. I can imagine Jesus wanting to teach a lesson to his disciples. Jews often referred to Gentiles as dogs[7] and themselves as children of God.[8] The statement may well be ironic rather than dismissive. Is she really just a dog? In that case, the statement becomes a direct invitation to the woman to engage him in some intellectual banter. Jesus will soon express frustration at a “faithless generation” and awaits a response of faith before casting out the demon (Mark 9:14-29). Jesus may want to see a response of faith in this woman. Maybe Jesus had a smile, as if chiding those in the room to consider whether the woman really is what Jewish attitudes say she is. Maybe he looked at his Jewish disciples as he referred to offering food to the children (of Israel) before offering food to (Gentile) dogs. Maybe he looked at the woman and said it in a way that made her feel acknowledged as a person. Thus, if Jesus is engaging in teasing banter or sparring, then his comment that she is like a puppy is an invitation to be his sparring partner. He is honoring her with this invitation, for rabbinical sparring is a role explicitly denied to women in that time. 28 However, she answered him, “Sir, even the domestic (rather than savage and wild) dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” She accepts the invitation to engage Jesus in a sparring match. The woman is in a long line of biblical examples of those who engage God in a debate. I think of Hannah (I Samuel 1), Abraham (Genesis 18), Jacob (Genesis 32), Moses (Exodus 3-4), Gideon (Judges 6), and the book of Habakkuk, as part of the biblical background for such an interpretation of this exchange. It makes one wonder what would have happened had Noah had the argumentative spirit of this woman and the other biblical cases. That she would not only speak out but also cleverly and incautiously talk back to this man Jesus while asking for his help is even more outrageous. If this is the case, then the woman is not beating Jesus in this verbal contest of wits so much as rising to the challenge Jesus has given her.[9] Jesus teasingly insulted her by calling her a dog, and she twisted the reference to place herself among those who would be part of God’s eschatological banquet. Thus, the second quality we see in the woman is humility. She had a humble spirit. Perhaps Jesus is testing her faith. Perhaps Jesus is setting up a chance to level the playing field between the Jews and Gentiles, similar to the way he eliminated clean and unclean food items earlier in chapter 7. Either way, the woman responds with a humble spirit, and instead of being defensive, she is contrite. She might be a cultural dog, but she will gladly accept that position if it means receiving the food she seeks. Such humility opens the door for the reception of great gifts and graces. Even if Jesus humiliated her, her humble response meant that grace and honor were on the way.[10]29Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” When Jesus relents and offers a long-distance healing, we experience some relief. Yet even Jesus' final reasoning seems somehow off. He finally grants the Syrophoenician woman's desperate request not because she has shown great faith, but because of the cleverness of her words. His specific mission may have the focus of the Jewish people, but Jesus has also used irony and intellectual banter to show the disciples that the healing power of the God of Israel could move beyond the borders of the Jewish people. 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. The woman responds in faith. The bravado of the woman’s response to Jesus proves that she knows whom she is encountering. Jesus heals, and nothing will stop her from being faithful to that knowledge. Her faith is an act of trust, engagement, and risking everything. Her faith invites Jesus to see the situation in a different way. This new perspective allows Jesus to respond, heal, and become a channel of the redeeming presence of God. Our culture values faith in self, science, technology, money, and security. Yet, Jesus works with messy people who have the honesty to admit their need, the humility to reach out, and the faith that Jesus can act on their behalf.
For one thing, this story is a reminder that questioning, pushing back, expressing doubt, showing irreverence and arguing are not out of bounds. We need not fear that we will offend God. God will have the final word, but we may receive insight, inspiration, understanding, and blessing -- or if not those things, at least the comfort that comes from having aired our grievances, even if the answer is not that for which we had hoped.
For another thing, this story tells us that speaking plainly to God about the things that nag us about God and the will of God is still an act of faith. Why else would we be talking to God at all? Our faith may be thin or weak, but even in an attenuated condition, it is a route to truth. What is more, our faith, weak or strong, becomes a channel through which God can work.
Mark 7:31-37 is a story of healing of the deaf man. The story easily rubs readers the wrong way. It has a disturbing aspect for us. Healing stories usually impress us with their display of divine power. This story does not quite measure up. His earthy familiarity with the deaf-mute man disturbs our sensibilities. Further, Jesus cannot maintain secrecy in Mark’s gospel. People must share the power of Jesus they have experienced. We will see a pattern of honesty regarding his condition, humility in acknowledging his weakness to change his condition, and his faith Jesus to deliver him.
31Then he returned from the foreign region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards familiar territory near the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. He moves about openly, and is easily accessible to the crowds that approach him. 32They (the crowd) brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him on behalf of the deaf man to lay his hand on him. The first approach by the deaf man is with the help of the crowd. It demonstrates honesty. There has to be the understanding that we have a manifest need for Jesus to do his work in our lives. Jesus always attracted messy people. These are not people in denial. They need help, and they need it right away. They have genuine, honest clarity about their condition and situation. They have evident needs, they are willing to admit it, and these needs are the very thing that makes them attracted to Jesus. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, isolating the man in order to focus fully upon the ills plaguing this man, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.[11] Jesus performs most of his healings by merely a spoken word and the acknowledgment of the faithfulness of the one seeking healing. This healing is definitely a hands‑on affair. In fact, the healing techniques practiced by Jesus in this case seem unnecessarily graphic, even gross. An honest rendering of these verses clearly makes Jesus the poker, the spatter, the toucher, the sigher, the speaker. Why, we ask, if Jesus can exorcize demons long‑distance with a simple word, does it take such extreme physical measures to cure this man's deafness and give him the gift of speech? We take offense, due to our hygienic aesthetics, at the thought of Jesus' using spit to effect a cure. The text does not make it clear whether Jesus spat on the ground, spat on his fingers, or spat directly onto the man's tongue. None of the options is very appealing. However, the results are what ultimately matter.34Then looking up to heaven, demonstrating the source of his power, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. The second response of the man is one of humility. He allowed Jesus to do what most would consider humiliating things. 36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one. True, the messianic secret was part of the post-Easter knowledge of the majesty of Jesus. However, it was easy to take offense at Jesus. This theme of Jesus ordering silence contains traces of a traditional realization that Jesus was aware of the ambivalence into which his message thrust him and that he tried to counteract it.[12] However, the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. The formerly dumb man and the crowd could be silent no longer. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” They recognize the power of Jesus and articulate their faith. Wonder and zeal move the crowds who witnessed this cure. Even when Jesus told them to keep quiet, they were unable to contain their exuberance and eagerly proclaimed the news of this miracle all about. The third response of the deaf man is one of faith. The healed tongue will not stop running! Ironically, their disobedience to Jesus’ request shows how much faith they have in him. Our culture values faith in self, science, technology, money and its security. This man exhibited the honesty, humility, and faith of a child. Jesus still picks messy people who have the honesty to admit their need, the humility to admit they do not have the resources to meet their need, and the faith to look to Jesus as the one who can address their need.
The reputation of Jesus spread: He has done everything well.
I wonder about the reputation of the Christian community.
Christian PACs and lobbyists exist on the liberal left and the conservative right, each one committed to polishing Jesus’ reputation in the halls of Congress to advance their own agendas. Millions of dollars spent arguing against the political positions of other Christians. It is not so much that they differ, but the way they differ. Is it any different from the divisiveness we find in the culture?
Sanctimonious Christians, people with an aura of narcissistic self-righteousness, that is, people who used to be described as those who had a “holier-than-thou” complex. Perhaps it is this group to whom theologian Karl Rahner was referring when he said that “the number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim him with their mouths and deny him with their actions is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.”
“He has done everything well.” This needs to be our reputation as well. There is no Jesus in this sorry world, unless it is us.
[1] Paul Actemeier says that the rather jumbled geography we have here “cannot have referred to an actual journey. It is best explained as an attempt to construct an itinerary for Jesus in a non-Jewish area, a construction attempted by one whose knowledge of that part of the eastern Mediterranean world is less than exact.” However, Willimon wants to take it as part of Mark’s theology. Jesus takes a detour from his expected itinerary and ends up out in gentile territory.
[2] Gerd Theissen (The Gospels in Context [Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991], 72-80).
[3] Josephus (Jewish War 2.478).
[4] —Saundra Dalton-Smith, “The 7 types of rest that every person needs,” adapted from her TEDxAtlanta Talk, January 6, 2021.
[5] Systematic Theology Volume 2, 310.
[6] Joel Marcus (Mark 1-8 [Anchor Bible; Doubleday: New York, 2000], 471).
[7] Jewish writers referred to Gentiles as dogs in relation to their vices. The word Jesus uses is more properly “puppy.” Dogs in the ancient world certainly did not have the status of “man’s best friend” as they do today (Consider Exodus 22:31; 2 Kings 8:13; Revelation 22:15). To call someone a dog was usually an insult. Jesus may refer to the movement of Diogenes Sinope, the Cynics, who because of their aggressive style took on the name “dogs.”
[8] A common interpretation of the passage is that “children” refers to the children of Israel and “dogs” being a reference to Gentiles. Interestingly, rabbinic writings contain a tradition of Gentiles as dogs at an eschatological banquet where God would allow them to eat, but not as well as the children of the household.
[9] As the banter between the two continues, we may find it disturbing as readers that not only is Jesus overtly callous, but this woman is soundly beating him in this verbal contest of wit and quick parries.
[10] Bernard of Clairvaux says that “it is only when humility warrants it that great graces can be obtained … and so when you perceive that you are being humiliated, look on it as the sign of a sure guarantee that grace is on the way. Just as the heart is puffed up with pride before its destruction, so it is humiliated before being honored.”
[11] Some translators have been so squeamish at the thought of Jesus' poking his fingers into this man's deaf ears, spreading his saliva about and actually touching the mute tongue with it, that they have tried to finesse the text into something more acceptable. Some translations have the deaf man poking at his own ears ‑‑ ostensibly to demonstrate his deafness to Jesus. He supposedly spits before opening his own mouth to show Jesus his muted tongue. The sigh, in this translation, is the mute man's inarticulate way of expressing his plight.
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