Healing the Syrophenician’s Daughter
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 11/6/2016 PM |
Text: | Mark 7:21-30 |
Psalters: | 258, 347, 104, 185 |
Preparatory to the Lord's Supper |
- Her request.
- The woman came out of her country to get help from Jesus (22) because her young daughter had “an unclean spirit” (25).
- The woman came believing that Jesus had authority and power over devils and could destroy them (“faith,” Matt. 15:28).
- She identified Jesus as the Messiah promised in the Bible of the Jews.
- She worshipped Him when she fell at His feet, a form of paying homage due to God (25).
- This explains why she traveled to find and to ask for His help when she hears that He is relatively near to her home.
- Initially it seems that Jesus refuses to help her.
- He first “answered her not a word” (Matt. 15:23) – paid her no attention, ignored her.
- Then He spoke negatively of her to His disciples that He was only sent to the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24).
- Finally, He directly refused her when He said to her that it was not “good” to take food from children to give to dogs (27).
- Why does Jesus express this refusal to her? Jesus explains that His Father sent Him to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not to Gentiles (Matt. 15:24; 10:5,6).
- Why did Jesus say “No” when He would be saying “Yes”? He said “No” in order say “Yes.”
- Jesus is trying her faith, strengthening it to be greater faith, by having her maintain her request and pressing it more.
- God’s “No” is not so we stop asking for help, but so we will persist in asking for help and do it with right motive.
- He first “answered her not a word” (Matt. 15:23) – paid her no attention, ignored her.
- She humbly persisted.
- She persisted over against every obstacle Jesus put in her way.
- She exhibited beautiful humility in her response to being called a dog (half-wild curs which took away the garbage).
- Her and our faith is rewarded (29,30): as then, so today Jesus declares, “the devil is gone out of” you.