LXVII.
HEALING A PHOENICIAN WOMAN'S DAUGHTER.
(Region of Tyre and Sidon.)
aMATT. XV. 22-28; bMARK
VII. 24-30.
bAnd he entered into a
house, and would have no man know it [Jesus sought concealment for
the purposes noted in the last section. He also, no doubt, desired an opportunity
to impact private instruction to the twelve]; and he could not
be hid. [The fame of Jesus had spread far and wide, and he and his
disciples were too well known to escape the notice of any who had seen
them or heard them described.]
25 But {a22 And} behold, bstraightway aa
Canaanitish woman bwhose little daughter [the word for daughter
is a diminutive, such as often used to indicate affection] had [399] an
unclean spirit, having heard of him [having formerly heard of his power
and having recently heard of his arrival in her neighborhood], acame
out from those borders [this does not mean, as some construe it, that
she crossed over into Galilee from Phoenicia; it means that she came out
of the very region where Jesus then was], and cried, saying,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David [Sympathy so identified
her with her daughter that she asked mercy for herself. The title "son
of David" shows that the Jewish hopes had spread to surrounding nations
and that some, like this woman and the one at Jacob's well, expected to
share in the Messianic blessing]; my daughter is grievously vexed
with a demon. 23 But he answered her
not a word. [God's unanswering silence is a severe test of our faith.]
b26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by race.
[The Macedonian conquest had diffused Greek civilization throughout western
Asia till the word Greek among the Jews had become synonymous with Gentile.
The term Canaanite was narrower and indicated an inhabitant of Canaan--that
is, a non-Jewish inhabitant of Palestine. The term Syrophoenician
was narrower still. It meant a Syrian in Phoenicia, and distinguished the
Phoenicians from the other Syrians. Phoenicia was a narrow strip near the
northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. It was some twenty-eight miles
long with an average width of about one mile. Canaan means lowland; Phoenicia
means palmland. The Canaanites founded Sidon (Gen. x. 19), and the Phoenicians
were their descendants.] And she besought him that he would cast forth
the demon out of her daughter. aAnd his disciples
came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
[The woman by her loud entreaties was drawing to Jesus the very attention
which he sought to avoid. The disciples therefore counseled him to grant
her request for his own sake--not for mercy or compassion, but merely to
be rid of her.] 24 But he answered
[answered the disciples, not the woman] and said, I was not sent but
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [Jesus had not forborne
[400] answering her prayers through lack of
feeling, but from principle. It was part of the divine plan that his personal
ministry should be confined to the Jewish people. Divine wisdom approved
of this course as best, not only for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as
well. Variations from this plan were to be few and were to be granted only
as rewards to those of exceptional faith.]
25 But she came band fell down at his feet. aand
worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. [The narrative indicates that
Jesus had left the house and was moving on, and that the woman obtruded
herself upon his notice by falling in front of him and obstructing his
way.] 26 And
he answered and said, bunto her, Let the children first be filled:
for it is not meet [suitable, becoming] to take the children's bread
and to cast it to the dogs. [By the use of the word "first" Jesus suggested
that there would come a time of mercy for the Gentiles. He uses the diminutive
for the word dog, thus indicating a tame pet, and suggesting rather the
dependence and subordinate position than the uncleanness of the dog. By
so doing he gave the woman an argumentative handle which she was not slow
to grasp.] 28
But she answered and saith {asaid,} bunto him, Yea,
Lord; afor even the dogs bunder the table eat of
the children's crumbs. awhich fall from their masters' table.
[Jesus had suggested that domestic order by which dogs are required
to wait until the meal is over before they receive their portion; but with
a wit made keen by her necessity, she replies by alluding to the well-known
fact that dogs under the table are permitted to eat the crumbs even
while the meal is in progress; intimating thereby her hope to receive
and before all the needs of Israel had first been satisfied. By using the
word dogs Jesus did not mean to convey the impression that he shared the
Jewish prejudices against Gentiles; a construction which would be contrary
to Luke iv. 25, 26, and Matt. viii. 10-12.]
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith:
bFor this saying go thy way; abe it done unto thee
even as thou wilt. bthe demon is [401] gone
out of thy daughter. [Thus by its ending this little incident illustrates
the doctrine that men should pray and not faint (Luke xviii. 1-8). The
woman's experience has been often repeated by other parents who have prayed
for children which, if not demon-possessed, was certainly swayed by diabolical
influences. The woman's faith is shown in many ways: 1. She persisted when
he was silent. 2. She reasoned when he spoke. 3. She regarded this miracle,
though a priceless gift to her, as a mere crumb from the table of his abundant
powers. It is noteworthy that the two most notable for faith--this woman
and the centurion--were both Gentiles.] aAnd her daughter
was healed from that hour. b30
And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed,
and the demon gone out. [The posture of the daughter indicated the
physical exhaustion which would naturally succeed the intense nervous strain
of demoniacal possession--especially the last paroxysms produced by the
departing demon.]
[FFG 399-402]
