And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. (Mark 7:24–26, ESV)
The Woman's Credentials
There are many details to this story that, though they might not immediately jump out at us, would've jumped out to the original audience. Think of it, Jesus has just been talking to the religious leaders about religious ceremonies designed to keep them religiously pure. And many of those ceremonies were designed with people like this woman in mind. To the scribes and Pharisees, even accidental interaction with someone like this woman would make one unclean.
Mark is careful to detail how she was an outsider in every way. She approaches Jesus, and Mark lists her lack of credentials to do so. She lived in the region of Tyre and Sidon (24). This is northwest of Capernaum, modern-day Lebanon. It was a place that, to the Jewish population, represented the most extreme versions of paganism. She was a woman in a culture that did not value women highly (25). She was a Gentile—outside the covenant of Israel (26). And she was a Syrophoenician by birth, meaning she had come from that non-Jewish, Gentile, outsider culture (26).
And she isn't the first woman in Scripture to have come from this region. Historically, some of Israel's darkest hours were caused by a woman from there. King Ahab had married the daughter of the Sidonian king, a woman named Jezebel, who became infamous for her aggressive introduction of idolatry to Israel and her persecution of the Israelite prophets. So women from this region would've been regarded with suspicion.
And the reason she came is heartbreaking. Her daughter had an unclean spirit (25). We don't know the details, but as a mother, she was finely tuned to her daughter's pains. Parenting can be a heart-rending experience, and this woman had been torn asunder by the pain her daughter endured. She begged Jesus to cast the demon out (26).
All of this might have programmed the disciples to expect this kind of stuff in Tyre and Sidon, though I don't know how often they'd—if ever—ventured into this Gentile region. I'm sure they were shocked by Jesus' desire to go into a territory widely regarded as filled with great darkness. So when they heard this woman had a daughter with an unclean spirit, they might have thought, Just as we suspected. These people up here—just terrible.
A Shocking Preview
For Peter, the source of Mark's material, this story was emblazoned on his heart, and I'm sure it came to his mind when, years later, he also went north into the home of a non-Jew to preach the gospel of Jesus.
Jesus' interaction with this woman was a sneak peek into his desire to be a blessing to all nations. God had promised Abraham, centuries earlier, that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed, and Jesus came to bring that multi-national blessing by his blood (Genesis 12:3). Our episodes today were a foretaste of his plan. Though the disciples didn't yet understand it, the Jewish Messiah is for everyone!
Who Might You Imagine Is Far From the Kingdom?
This should cause us to ask ourselves: who might I imagine is far from the kingdom? Who might you think is beyond the grace of God? Is it the person with political leanings opposite yours? Is it the person entrenched in a worldview dominated by the teaching of evolution? Is it the person walking in confusion regarding sexuality? Is it a person who looks unlike you?
Is it the person who, like this woman, lives in lands that are mysterious to you? Don't think that way, because God is on the move throughout the whole world.
In the Middle East, which is home to our oldest churches, God is doing major work, even in countries closed off to the gospel. Some of our fastest-growing and most persecuted churches can be found in the Middle East.
In the first couple of centuries of the church, Christianity took root in places like Ethiopia, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, and other parts of Africa. Today, over 60 percent of sub-Saharan Africa identifies as Christian. Some have estimated that by 2050, 40 percent of the world's Christians will be from that part of the world.
In India, Christianity is a religious minority but has appealed to a growing number, partly because it insists on the equal value and dignity of all humans. The gospel, which exalts human life, is a powerful message which confronts the caste system's vestiges, where untouchables are considered less than human.
In China, conservative estimates from 2010 put the Christian population at 68 million. Some predict there will be more Christians in China than in the US by the year 2030.[^1]
Don't allow yourself to have a view of Christianity that confuses nationalism with biblical faith. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for the whole world. And the apocalyptic vision of Revelation is beautiful. We will sing a new song to Jesus:
Revelation 5:9 (ESV) — 9 "...You were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..."
[^1]: McLaughlin, Rebecca. 2019. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
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For the entire Mark series, go here. Thank you.
