The Gospel according to Mark 7:24-37
24[Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, 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. 36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Yes, a day at the beach! Jesus liked the beach, or at least he went there. Who knows exactly where Jesus stayed, but Tyre was a vacation spot for centuries and has the Roman ruins to prove it.
Tyre is about 50-60 miles away from Capernaum so that would be week or so journey by foot. Tyre is in Phoenicia, a long-time nemesis of Israel. Chances are that the Roman occupation of both nations put their grievances on hold, so that an Israelite could safely travel to Tyre to enjoy the beaches. So, Jesus and his disciples took a break and headed that way.
Now imagine you go on vacation to, let’s say, Hawaii. You had a long flight and you are ready to relax on Coco Beach. Ah, what a life. Your second day there, you get a call form the front desk, your boss is calling you. You get on the phone with him and he wants you to work on a project for a new customer—a customer who has been a loyal supporter of your competition. He needs two hours work right away. How many times would you remind your boss that you are on vacation?
Jesus faces the same situation. A Syrophoenician woman wants her child healed. Jesus’ reaction is a little curt. Not to mention that this person’s feeling towards Israel is about the same as a native Lebanese person today. At the start, there is not much love here as this woman barges into Jesus’s vacation begging him to cast out her daughter’s demon.
The cool thing about this story is that Jesus changed. Because of her faith (the measure of connection with God) Jesus changes his mind and helps her. This story shows that Jesus has a pecking order of priority. It was to Israel first. But now we see it shift to faith first, no matter who you are or where you are from. That is Jesus changing from human to divine.
Pastor Gerry
