Mark 7:24–30 24And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. 29And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
Was Jesus Mean to A Mom?
At first reading Jesus seems cruel to this hurting Canaanite mother.
Matthew tell us that he ignores her initial cry for help.
Matthew 15:21–22
21Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
This poor lady continues to cry out until the disciples are so annoyed, they beg for Jesus to make her leave.
Matthew 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
I suppose that means she had been asking for help for a while and yet no response from Jesus.
When the Lord finally does speak to her, his response is far less than inviting.
Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
In spite of his apparent lack of interest to her requests, she does a most amazing thing, she falls at his feet and worships him and prays a powerful two word prayer.
Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
“Lord, help me”, she begs. Again, his response is not what she wanted to hear,
Mark 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
The term dog was a derogatory one the Jewish people of the day used in reference to non-Jews like her. There may have been a bit of hope even in this term because the word he used for “dogs” was not the same one typically used that way. He basically said, little dog, puppy, house pet.
This seemingly ignored and mistreated woman turns his phrase to her favor as she reminds him that even dogs eat the leftover crumbs from the family table.
Mark 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.
In the end she gets a compliment that no other person in all of the gospels ever received from Christ.
Matthew tells us that he spoke directly to her and gives a compliment that as far as we know from Scripture no other person had heard from the Lord's mouth.
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith..."
Sure, he had complimented someone’s great faith before, but he spoke about him, not to him. (Mt 8:10) She alone got to hear the Lord’s praise directly. I doubt she cared too much about the compliment at the time, this mother was on a mission on behalf of her child. It was his next words that words she had wanted to hear.
Mark 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
At first, he seemed uncaring and perhaps even a bit cruel, but he went that day to her city and no other miracle or teaching is recorded concerning his trip. It appears that he had gone there just for her.
Was Jesus mean to this Mom? No way!
Despite his apparent meanness, she was his mission.
Maybe today you feel ignored?
Possibly your prayers have been met with the opposite of the expected outcome?
Follow this faith filled example and go ahead and worship. Keep calling out. Forget the formality and just cry from your heart, “Lord, help me!”
Remember, faith is not the absence of doubt but giving God the benefit of the doubt.
Give him the benefit of the doubt and hold on to him in prayer.
The Lord magnified this mothers faith so forever so others could benefit from her example.
So learn from her, trust that Christ is not really cruel, your Master isn't mean. Follow this faithful mother's example and you may just discover that he had been planning the perfect response at the perfect time all along.