The Dejected (Mark 7:24-30)

24 He got up and departed from there to the region of Tyre.
He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it,
but he could not escape notice.
25 Instead,
immediately after hearing about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit
came and fell at his feet.
26 The woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she was asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
27 He said to her,
“Let the children be fed first,
because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

28 But she replied to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “Because of this reply, you may go.
The demon has left your daughter.”
30 When she went back to her home,
she found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

Explain:

Note that it may seem that Jesus was insulting the woman.
However, he was actually explaining His mission.

Ask:

• What did the woman’s response say about her as a person?

Discuss:

Emphasize that this Gentile woman would have been seen as an outsider by most Jews
because of gender, race, and religion.

Ask:

• What groups might be outsiders today?
• What obstacles keep believers from sharing the gospel with them?

Transition:

Jesus could have ignored the woman, which would have been culturally acceptable.
Instead, He spoke with her and, ultimately, granted her request.