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 7:24
Mark 7:24
Background:
Tyre and Sidon are two cities to the Northwest of Bethsaida (Mark 6:45). The modern name for these cities is Sour and Saida respectively, in Lebanon. They were Phoenician cities that had been gradually Hellenized by Greek culture after Alexander the Great took Tyre in 332 B.C. These cities were worshipers of the mythological goddess by the name of Astarte; goddess of war and sexual love. This is where our story takes off,
But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by 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. Mark 7:25-26
We have talked a little on this matter before, remember, no self-respecting Jew associated with gentiles, they were unclean worshippers of their pagan gods. However, we must always remember that we are not encountering the life of an ordinary Jew, this is Jesus; God in the flesh. With that in mind consider now how His story with this woman continues.
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." 7:27
WHAT? Is He telling her to go away? It would seem like this is the case, in Matthew’s account of this dialogue, Jesus, does not even answer her (at first). Then His disciples ask Him to send her away because she was bothering them (a), finally He turns to her and says, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (b)" Saying then what was in verse 27…. She answers Him.
"Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs." 7:28
By the way, the word translated dog here is kynarion it means little dog; a house pet. This is far different than the typical term dog used by Jews when speaking of gentiles, which is the Greek word kyōn, meaning; A dog. Metaphorically, A man of impure mind; an impudent man.
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. 7:29
She came to Him with nothing to offer, she poured out her anxieties and her problems before Him, she gave up what ever pride and self suffiency she might have otherwise had, this was the end of her ropes, her last hope...
He did not dissapoint her, He will not dissapoint you.
(a) Matthew 15:23 (b) Matthew 15:24 (c) Matthew 20:28
Tyre and Sidon are two cities to the Northwest of Bethsaida (Mark 6:45). The modern name for these cities is Sour and Saida respectively, in Lebanon. They were Phoenician cities that had been gradually Hellenized by Greek culture after Alexander the Great took Tyre in 332 B.C. These cities were worshipers of the mythological goddess by the name of Astarte; goddess of war and sexual love. This is where our story takes off,
But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by 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. Mark 7:25-26
We have talked a little on this matter before, remember, no self-respecting Jew associated with gentiles, they were unclean worshippers of their pagan gods. However, we must always remember that we are not encountering the life of an ordinary Jew, this is Jesus; God in the flesh. With that in mind consider now how His story with this woman continues.
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." 7:27
WHAT? Is He telling her to go away? It would seem like this is the case, in Matthew’s account of this dialogue, Jesus, does not even answer her (at first). Then His disciples ask Him to send her away because she was bothering them (a), finally He turns to her and says, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (b)" Saying then what was in verse 27…. She answers Him.
"Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs." 7:28
By the way, the word translated dog here is kynarion it means little dog; a house pet. This is far different than the typical term dog used by Jews when speaking of gentiles, which is the Greek word kyōn, meaning; A dog. Metaphorically, A man of impure mind; an impudent man.
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. 7:29
She came to Him with nothing to offer, she poured out her anxieties and her problems before Him, she gave up what ever pride and self suffiency she might have otherwise had, this was the end of her ropes, her last hope...
He did not dissapoint her, He will not dissapoint you.
(a) Matthew 15:23 (b) Matthew 15:24 (c) Matthew 20:28
No comments:
Post a Comment