Mark 7:24-30, CEB - Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn’t hide. In fact, a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter. He responded, “The children have to be fed first. It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
But she answered, “Lord, even the dogs under the table
eat the children’s crumbs.”
“Good answer!” he said. “Go on home. The demon has
already left your daughter.” When she
returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
This passage is uncomfortable to read for me. Only Matthew and Mark tell this story and I can certainly understand why a gospel writer might leave this story out. Jesus seems a bit snippy, if not even a bit cruel. Because of this, many commentators go through great mental gymnastics to try and show that Jesus is not really being unkind. I’ll just come out and say it. Jesus was mean to this desperate woman. He all but admits it. And that is precisely why I’m glad Mark (and Matthew) leave this story in their accounts.
The commentators I mentioned above
do make some valid points worth mentioning.
First, in Mark’s account. Jesus
is tired and was trying to hide from the crowds that constantly plagued Him. He needed a break, but He doesn’t get one
because this woman barges in and makes her plea for help. I am generally a person who takes interruptions
well, but I totally get Jesus wanting to “just chill” for a while before
re-engaging in His appointed mission.
Second, Jesus makes a statement that
compares this woman to a dog. There is
no getting around that. He did it and it
was an unkind thing to do. However, Jesus
does intentionally soften the comment in a way that is lost in the English
translation. Jews regularly referred to
Gentiles as dogs in a derogatory way, but the word most often used was a word that
specifically referred to wild dogs who were often dirty and a nuisance. The word that Jesus uses is the word for a dog
that is a loved family pet. It wasn’t
the racist slur that the other word would have connoted. Still, no one wants to be called a dog, even
a lovable family pet dog.
Though Jesus was unkind to the
woman, the woman persists. Her driving persistence
recalls that of the woman with the flow of blood. Then, even when tired Jesus tries to put her
off with an unkind comparison, she remains undeterred. She doesn’t care if
Jesus has equated her with a dog if she can get His help for her daughter. It is at this moment that her faith in Jesus
breaks through his exhaustion and crankiness.
Jesus realizes that he has forgotten Himself for a moment. He has been unkind and yet, this woman’s love
for her daughter and her faith in Him persists.
It’s important to note that Jesus
could have made a different choice at this moment. He has just been challenged and so it would
be understandable if He had acted defensively, maybe even doubling down on the
unkindness. He could have simply dismissed
her and had her removed from the house.
My guess is that, had Jesus done that, we would have never known this
story. But Mark and Matthew find it
important to tell this story because Jesus made a different and surprising choice. Instead of being defensive, Jesus chose to publicly
lose face and applaud the woman’s persistence and faith. Jesus changed His mind and granted this
nameless woman’s request. Her daughter
was delivered from demonic oppression.
I
understand the felt need for Jesus to act perfectly in every situation, because
I feel that too. I don’t want to admit
that God-in-human-flesh could falter even for a moment. At the same time, I am also comforted by
Jesus’s moment of unkindness in the same way I am comforted by the times he
shed tears of sadness and cried out that God had forsaken Him. I am sometimes unkind. I have so many moments of desperate sadness. I have times when I feel like God is no where
to be found. Because of that, I am drawn
to Jesus who experienced all those things AND shows me how to move through them
to a better place.
In this
case, it involved the humility that He was not kind to the woman and a willingness
to be corrected and change course. I see
in Jesus that I don’t have to be driven by defensiveness and a need to always
be right. He even lifts her up as a
shining example of faith at His own expense. Because I see that in Jesus, it gives me hope
that I can act similarly. I hope you can
see that too.
Question: How do you
normally react when being called out for a less-than-ideal choice?
Prayer: Jesus, thank you
for your humility. Help me to honor you
by willing to be corrected when necessary.
Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for all our newly elected and/or re-elected leaders as they prepare to begin their
term of public service.
Song: Make It Right –
Maverick City Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edaA71kMKgg
No comments:
Post a Comment