Mark 7:24-30 comments, part 1; A Gentile seeks His help

 

Mark 7:24 ¶  And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25  For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28  And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. 29  And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30  And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

 

24 ¶ And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

A “Greek” is merely someone who is not a Jew in almost every case but for exceptions like Romans 1:14 where the learned, science loving Greeks are contrasted with the presumably ignorant barbarians; those who were not of that culture. A Greek is a Gentile.

Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Acts 19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

In these verses the Greek, as representative of the Gentile nations, is contrasted to the Jew, as Greek was the predominant language and scholarship and represented the religious affiliations of the world of the Roman Empire.

Finally, for confirmation of the difference between the Jews, who came into existence through signs and miracles, and the Gentiles, who respected science, learning, and wisdom more so, see;

1Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

But, here in her desperation, ironically, is a Gentile seeking a miracle. Bible commentators refer to her as a Gentile born in the Phoenician part of Syria, present day Lebanon. She is a Greek, in that she is a Gentile of the greater Greek world, but she is a Syro-Phoenician by nation or ethnicity.

The physical act of worship is to fall at one’s feet, prostrating themselves before the one worshipped.

Revelation 19:10a And I fell at his feet to worship him……

When was the last time you fell at His feet to worship Him? We have sung praises and prayed and many have done that often, but when did you come to Christ and prostrate yourself physically before Him? Does God have to visit you and bring you low in spirit and despair for you to do that? Would it were that we would of our own free will cast ourselves at our Saviour’s feet and plead for His mercy and grace in time of trouble rather than haughtily assuming by virtue of our standing as saved, born again people that Christ owes us something.

We were created, as everything else was, for God’s pleasure.

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

We need to get beyond our petty pride and realize that “it” is not about us, but about Him, without whom there would be no existence, and without whose sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead there would be no hope.

Fall at His feet. His words in His Bible can lead you there or life’s troubles and anguish can drive you there. You choose. Come expectantly like this Gentile woman did.