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:

Discuss:

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

Ask:

Transition:

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

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