Mark 7:24-30 - The Syro-Phoenician Woman's Faith

The placement of this story is impeccable. It would be good right now for us to be reminded that Mark did not write the events of Jesus’ ministry in chronological order. Neither did the other gospel writers. Chronicling someone’s life in that way is more of a modern thing, a part of the way we do biographies. But the gospels aren't biographies and thinking of them in those terms doesn't help. Mark is painting a picture. He's telling a story intended to convince us that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God--and that we should be willing to leave all, if necessary, to follow him. So while his telling of the story leads more or less from beginning to end, it is told in a way to convey certain things that Mark deemed important. He gathers his stories, his pericopes, together in a purposeful way to convey truth in a more powerful way.

The story we have before us this morning is an example of this. He places it right after the episode of Jesus correcting the scribes because it is a perfect illustration of what we are supposed to have learned from that incident. There are no unclean foods. And, by the way, there are no unclean people either--not in Christ.

At some point after the argument of the last 23 verses Jesus leaves and takes his disciples into Phoenicia. And while it is not stated explicitly, Jesus is essentially done now with his Galilean ministry. For the rest of this chapter and the next he will be ministering among predominantly Gentile and pagan peoples. 

There is also a great contrast here between this story and the last. In the last story Jesus is essentially rejected by Jewish men who consider themselves the keepers and guardians of sacred Torah, from which they believe they earn God’s favor, and which they guard zealously by adding to it their own traditions. In this story we have a Gentile woman, someone who would have no status whatsoever with those men in the previous story, someone who finds in Jesus the favor of God.

When we remember that Mark is writing his gospel for a predominantly Gentile church, his placement of this story makes perfect sense. What hope could Gentile pagans possibly find in the God of Israel? As it turns out, great hope--for that very God, when he came down, had in a sense sought them out. This turning now to the Gentiles after being rejected by the Jewish religious leaders is a perfect picture also of what took place in the first century church. 

None of this, however, is the theme of this story. The theme of this story is the contrast between this woman's faith and the blindness of everyone else we have come across. The scribes and Pharisees are blinded by their own self-righteousness. The crowds see before them only someone who might provide a need or a spectacle. Even the disciples, who are given the benefit of extra revelation in the form of private instruction and explanations, still do not get it. But this woman, this Gentile woman, understands. She gets it. She believes. That is the contrast.

Below you will find a link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this text. It's just a little over 20 minutes long and I hope you will take the time to listen to it. On the spectrum of rejection (the scribes and Pharisees) to full faith (the Syro-Phoenician woman) where are you? Have you believed yet? Have you committed your all to him?


Click here: Mark 7:24-30 - The Syro-Phoenician Woman's Faith


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