B-Side - Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28

In this passage, we're being introduced to the fact, by and large, that the gentiles will be the ones who accept Jesus as Lord.

Jesus withdrew from Tyre and Sidon because he felt he has to leave. In parallel with Elijah, he meets a Syrophoenician woman, then tests the woman (with the parable about bread), and he heals her child.

Tyre and Sidon were supposed to be part of the tribe of Asher, but were a stronghold the Israelites never conquered. Jesus walked in, converted gentiles, and cast out demons; he did more for these cities in his 3 1/2 years of ministry than the Israelites did in hundreds of years.

2 thoughts...

1. A bad look:

The Bible was written without chapter separations. Reading Mark straight through, it's account after account of people not understanding Jesus' teachings... then this gentile woman just gets it! Mark admits the apostles just don't get it, then writes that this gentile woman does.

2. Intercessory prayer:

This woman isn't coming to Jesus for herself, but for her daughter. This, in part, is meant to encourage us to pray for others! It's a call for faithfulness to petition the Lord boldly and persistently on behalf of our loved ones. The unsaved may not yet have eyes to see, but they have us to rely on. God hears us, and we are to persist in prayer!