At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry shifts from primarily focusing on the Jewish community to including Gentiles. We are told that Jesus “set out and went to the region of Tyre (and then Sidon),” two areas that were predominantly non-Jewish.
The overall dynamic in Mark, whose audience was primarily Gentile, is God's
saving, healing, and liberating work expanding in scope from Jewish circles outward, eventually including all people. This Gospel text is a decisive turning point in this larger narrative of scandalous, widening inclusion.
It is also interesting to note that Jesus was trying to lay low, but even here in Gentile territory, his fame was spreading to the point where he was hunted down and approached. A Syrophoenician woman, desperate
because an unclean spirit possesses her young daughter, hears about where Jesus is and comes to see
him.
Interestingly, this woman does not wait and plead her case from outside on the street. She enters the house where Jesus is staying and throws herself at his feet. Her boldness is nothing short of scandalous. Not even known to Jesus, she enters the house and makes her plea. By her actions, she breaks
barriers set not only by cultural norms but also by religion and longstanding ethnic hatred. She is a Syrophoenician (a Gentile), and Jesus is a Jew.
Because of her boldness, this woman gains access to an opportunity to receive healing and a blessing from Jesus. Faith, modelled by the Syrophoenician woman, is not a type of certainty; instead, it is the courage to ask hard questions and confront complex issues. Faith is not
certainty versus doubt but rather courage versus timidity. As the Syrophoenician woman demonstrated, true faith is bold. It puts essential things first (such as a daughter’s health) and is unafraid to wrestle and struggle with God.
How do you approach Jesus with your desires? Does this woman’s boldness encourage you to approach Jesus similarly?
Reflections by Rev Joe Taylor
