Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, once said that “those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs” possess a state of mind that is not common, but essential for right thinking.(1) Right thinking, therefore, will allow us to lower our prejudices toward those who are different, in order to understand and address their unique needs; such as their cultural, physical and spiritual needs.
Right thinking, or rather correct moral thinking, occurs as we begin to develop the mind of Christ. We acquire the mind of Christ by first having a personal relationship with Jesus, and secondly by reading the Bible and observing the way that Jesus treated those around Him. In our message today, we will discover how Jesus had no social prejudice nor felt inconvenienced; therefore, He was able to meet the needs of a woman from another country and different culture.
Jesus Needed to Spend Time Alone (v. 24)
24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.
Jesus “went to the region of Tyre and Sidon” (v. 24). Tyre was “a celebrated commercial city of Phoenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean,”(2) and Sidon was a fishing town about twenty-five miles north of Tyre.(3) The King James Version states that Jesus “went into the borders.” A. T. Robertson comments that Jesus went “into distinctly heathen land. It was not merely the edge of Phoenicia, but into the parts of Tyre and Sidon.”(4) The reason why He journey so deep “into” the region is because, “Jesus wanted to be alone . . . after all the strain in Galilee. He craved a little privacy and rest. This was His purpose in going into Phoenicia.”(5)
Now, let me summarize the timeline, or sequence of events, up to this point. Back in Mark chapter six, we read how the disciples approached King Herod and requested the body of John the Baptist in order to give him a proper burial (Mark 6:29). When the disciples informed Jesus about their heart-wrenching experience (Mark 6:30), He told them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Mark then testifies, “But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him” (Mark 6:33). It is an understatement to say that their get-away plan was unraveled!
Jesus then began to teach the multitudes, for He was moved with compassion toward them (Mark 6:34). He and His disciples even fed five thousand men, plus women and children (Mark 6:35-44). They were no doubt exhausted by this point, and needed some rest and relaxation; therefore, next Jesus sent them across the sea to get away, while He went upon a mountain by Himself to pray (Mark 6:45-46). When He joined His disciples and they landed on the opposite shore, the people began demanding their attention once again (Mark 6:53-56); and if that were not enough, the Pharisees began criticizing Jesus and His disciples (Mark 7:1-13)!
Jesus then ducked into a house so He could have a moment away from the crowd to share something with the disciples (Mark 7:17), and then afterward, they departed to Tyre and Sidon (v. 24); which brings us to our primary text. We read that when they arrived, “He entered a house and wanted no one to know it” (v. 24). Jesus was still trying to find some down-time for Himself and His disciples, because no one was letting them have any rest.
Jesus’ primary mission was to the Jews (Matthew 15:24); therefore, He wanted to vacate the premises and get out of Jewish territory in the hope of things letting up. This was the reason why they headed to Tyre and Sidon. It’s important for us to understand that Jesus and His disciples were trying to get away, so we can see the significance of what takes place next!
Jesus Took Time Out for a Foreigner (vv. 25-27)
25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
So, Jesus had just entered a house, hoping that no one could find Him; but the text states back in verse 24, “He could not be hidden.” Why? “For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him” (v. 25). She had “heard about Him,” meaning that she was probably aware of how Jesus had healed all manner of diseases; about how He had opened the eyes of the blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf; and about how He had driven out demons from many other people. Mark earlier stated that “His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee” (Mark 1:28), and Galilee was right next to Phoenicia.
This woman came to Jesus because faith and hope had been aroused in her heart. She needed something that society had not been able to provide. She was looking for something that her dead religion had been powerless to give her. She needed a solution that she had not been able to provide by her own self-efforts. She was desperate and she saw Jesus as her only hope!(6)
The woman was a Syro-Phoenician, which was a Gentile born in Phoenicia.(7) “The word denoted perhaps a mixed race, half Phoenician and half Syrian . . . The Phoenicians in this region may have been called Syro-Phoenicians because they belonged to the Roman province of Syria.”(8) She was not a Jew, but a Gentile, and she was from a different cultural background.
We read that “she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter” (v. 26); and Jesus replied by saying, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (v. 27). At first, we must wonder if Jesus was being rude and degrading. He later told His disciples, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mark 10:5-6). In the parallel account found in Matthew, Jesus answered the woman, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). So, was Jesus being derogatory toward the Syro-Phoenician woman?
The word used here by the Lord meant little puppy, a beloved pet in a house. It refers to an animal that is looked on as a part of the family. The image here is of a beloved puppy sitting under the table while the family eats a meal. It sits there hoping and expecting that someone will slip it a morsel of food. The puppy can see the food. It can smell the food. It knows what it wants is within easy reach. It just needs someone to acknowledge it and give it a bite.(9)
Jesus could have chosen not to speak with her. She was a foreigner and a Gentile, and she was seen as unclean. In the parallel account found in Matthew, we read that “His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us’” (Matthew 15:23). I am sure that Jesus surprised His disciples when He acknowledged her existence and engaged her in dialogue. He reached out to the Syro-Phoenician woman because He identified her spiritual need, and He saw her as a valued and welcomed part of the family of God.
So, let me ask: Do we take the time to show compassion to individuals of other cultures? Or do we stereotype certain people as being lesser and unworthy of our time? Perhaps it is seen as too much of a hassle to learn about their background, and to understand their unique perspective and particular requirements. Jesus was more than exhausted, and yet He took time out of His busy schedule to meet this woman’s need.
Jesus Sought to Accommodate Her Need (vv. 28-30)
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs.” 29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
The woman basically said, “All I am asking, Lord, is for a miniscule crumb; a tiny amount of Your time; a small portion of Your anointing; and a petite little blessing. Jesus, I know it is no huge undertaking for You to heal my daughter, for all You have to do is say the word, and it will be so.” Jesus was tired, and yet He took the time to accommodate her spiritual need. “For this saying” (v. 29), or because of her faith (cf. Matthew 15:28), Jesus commanded the demon to depart from her daughter; and when she arrived home she found her lying on the bed completely restored.
The way that Jesus took time out for the Syro-Phoenician woman, in order to accommodate her “spiritual” need, can also be applied to meeting someone’s “physical” need. Whenever an individual who is different inconveniences us with some kind of problem, how do we typically respond? Do we say that we’ve had a busy week and need some time off, and that perhaps we will help out later? Do we get angry because a person has an unusual requirement, and we say they need to get over it? Do we look at an individual and see him or her as lesser, and feel that the person is unworthy of our time and attention?
The Syro-Phoenician woman was from a different cultural background than Jesus and His disciples; therefore, the first application is found by asking, “Are we willing to accommodate the cultural needs of others?”
Allow me to use eating customs as an example. While attending seminary my wife and I lived in the student housing. Each and every day around meal time, there would be an awful smell floating throughout the hallways. Some of the other residents informed me that what I was smelling was “kimchi” being cooked by the Korean students. Kimchi is made from cabbage that has been put into large pots, and then buried in the dirt in order to ferment.
The smell was so intense that many American students, when passing a Korean’s apartment, would speak as loudly as possible about how the smell of “rotten cabbage” was really gross. These students were demonstrating insensitivity toward another culture. They were also failing to recognize that these Korean students were in seminary because they had received Jesus as Savior and they were responding to His call on their life. It was especially sad, because these were future missionaries and preachers who were failing to demonstrate the love of Christ toward others.
When my wife and I went on a mission trip to Romania, we were advised to eat whatever food was offered to us, even if it seemed repulsive. If a missionary refuses to eat what is offered, then it can possibly offend the host family, and thereby result in losing one’s witness. Paul informed the believers in Rome, “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak” (Romans 14:21); and He told the believers in Corinth, “If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake” (1 Corinthians 10:27).
The Syro-Phoenician woman asked Jesus to help her daughter who displayed an ailment. In the Bible, physical and mental conditions were often viewed as demonic possession – and sometimes they really were. But at times, there could have been a natural physiological explanation. The second application is discovered by asking, “Are we willing to accommodate the health needs of others?” Health needs are not cultural, but they do represent huge differences that can lead to those who are healthy despising those with special needs.
Jesus was overly exhausted, but He still put up with numerous inconveniences for the sake of others. He allowed the Syro-Phoenician woman to speak with Him, thereby taking time out to accommodate someone from another culture. He also sought to heal her daughter, expending energy to accommodate a young girl’s spiritual and physical need. Jesus invested His time in the Syro-Phoenician woman because He identified her primary need. She needed a chance to exercise her faith, and that chance could only be obtained by seeing Jesus Christ face to face.
Time of Reflection
When you allow yourself to be inconvenienced by others, especially those with challenging circumstances or backgrounds, you become to them the face of Christ. You allow them to see Jesus in you, and to know that He is real, and that He loves them. If you provide people with a chance to see the face of Christ, then they have an opportunity to exercise their faith in Him. Perhaps they must exercise their faith for a healing miracle, or trust God during some difficult life circumstance. Maybe your demonstration of love will allow the person to exercise his or faith to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, in order to be forgiven of sin and receive eternal life.
I wish to encourage you to be caring to those of other cultures. I also want to ask, will you become the face of Christ to them? Will you allow people to see the true face of love through your willingness to care for and meet their needs, and to accommodate their unique differences? I wish to close by sharing the lyrics of a song by Sanctus Real entitled “The Face of Love.” The lyrics say:
I’ve seen Your face on stained glass, in colored lights;
In pictures of You looking to the sky.
You’ve been portrayed a thousand different ways;
But my heart can see You better than my eyes.
‘Cause it’s love that paints the portrait of Your life.
I’ve read Your words in the pages of Your life;
And I’ve imagined what You were like.
I may not know the shape of Your face;
But I can feel Your heart changing mine.
And Your love still proves that You’re alive.
You are the face that changed the whole world.
No one too lost for You to love; No one too low for You to serve.
So give us the grace to change the world!
No one too lost for me to love; No one too low for me to serve.
Let us see. Let us be Your face!
NOTES
(1) Leo Tolstoy, “Prejudice Quotes,” Great-Quotes: www.great-quotes.com/quotes/category/Prejudice (Accessed July 6, 2011)
(2) Smith’s Bible Dictionary, on Power Bible CD.
(3) M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary, on Power Bible CD.
(4) A. T. Robertson, Robertson N. T. Word Pictures, on Power Bible CD.
(5) Ibid.
(6) “Yet The Dog’s Under the Table Eat of the Children’s Crumbs,” Temple Baptist Church (Salem, Virginia): www.templebaptch.com/NEW%20WEB%20FILES/Printed%20Sermons/New%20Test/41%20Mark/07%20-%20Yet%20the%20Dogs%20Under%20the%20Table%20Eat%20of%20the%20Childrens%20Crumbs%20(06-13-10%20Sun%20AM).pdf (Accessed July 5, 2011).
(7) M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary, on Power Bible CD.
(8) Smith’s Bible Dictionary, on Power Bible CD.
(9) “Yet The Dog’s Under the Table Eat of the Children’s Crumbs,” Temple Baptist Church (Salem, Virginia): www.templebaptch.com/NEW%20WEB%20FILES/Printed%20Sermons/New%20Test/41%20Mark/07%20-%20Yet%20the%20Dogs%20Under%20the%20Table%20Eat%20of%20the%20Childrens%20Crumbs%20(06-13-10%20Sun%20AM).pdf (Accessed July 5, 2011).
