Man on a Mission: A 5-Day Journey With Jesus Through Mark 5–7Sýnishorn

Jesus Blesses a Foreign Woman

Jesus is getting close to the end of his Galilean tour, and, just as he did at the beginning (Mark 5:1), he takes an unexpected little detour out of mainly Jewish territory into a region with many more Gentiles. He goes north into Tyre and accepts lodging in someone’s home, presumably in the company of his disciples. Despite trying to keep his location a secret, Jesus is immediately met with a request for help from a desperate mother. This petition launches one of the most interesting missional conversations in the Gospels!

In this encounter characterized by “otherness,” Jesus demonstrates two key missional attitudes. First, he boldly EXPOSES PREJUDICE within his own community. This woman who begs Jesus to cast an evil spirit out of her daughter is clearly identified as a Gentile (non-Jew), an outsider born in Syro-Phoenicia. It was a bold move for her—a woman and a foreigner—to approach a respected and sought-after Jewish teacher for a favor. Jesus’ initial response to her request sounds rather cruel, probably because he is quoting conventional Jewish wisdom about foreigners: “First, I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs” (v. 27, NLT). This likely is precisely what Jesus’ disciples and host are thinking silently to themselves in response to the woman’s request—and so Jesus lays it out there in all its ugly harshness. Jesus’ mission has no space for hidden biases that demean and reject outsiders.

The woman is undeterred by Jesus’ words. She responds to him with quick, bold wit: “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates” (v. 28). I can almost picture Jesus throwing back his head in a gust of laughter, as he WELCOMES and TAKES DELIGHT in this dialogue with an outsider! “Good answer!” he exclaims (v. 29). He admires her insight into the generous, expansive nature of God’s gracious mission to the world, and he meets her request with healing and liberation for her little girl.

Jesus leaves Tyre for Sidon as soon as he has granted her request. Just as in the case of the Gerasene demoniac at the beginning of Jesus’ travels (Mark 5:1), the encounter with this foreign woman seems to have been the primary reason for Jesus’ jaunt into Tyre. Perhaps this woman heard about Jesus from that other outsider-become-insider as he went about the region, telling what God had done for him. Maybe the witness of this bold woman and her restored daughter is part of what brings four thousand people out to meet Jesus on his last “outsider stop” on the Galilean tour. The silent disciples accompanying Jesus along this journey are invited to expose the prejudices against outsiders that lurk in their hearts and welcome and delight in Gospel openness in unexpected places and people.

What boundary-crossing, missional journey is Jesus inviting you to take with him? One Mission Society can help you explore that adventure!