And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Tyre and Sidon - Along the coast northwest of the Sea of Galilee — outside Herod’s jurisdiction. This is the only recorded instance during His ministry when the Lord left Palastine.
a Canaanite woman - Mark (7:26) says she was Greek (meaning Gentile), a Syro-Phoenician by birth.
send her away - Based on the way Jesus responds (in v 24), it is probable that the disciples were urging Him to give her what she wanted so she would go away.
dogs - little dogs, pets
"Children ('the lost sheep of the house of Israel,' v 24) must be fed before dogs. This Gentile woman, like the centurion, showed great faith (v 28) and was rewarded for it." (Ryrie)
"Most of my commentaries explain this passage with some ideas that make sense to me, but none of them paint the whole picture, so I’ll summarized in my own words.
Jesus came as the Messiah of Israel. His ministry was only to the Jews. When this Gentile woman approached Him as the Son of David, she had no claim on Him. She was one of those who were … without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). On this basis, He said nothing.
When the disciples asked Him (probably) to give her what she wanted so they could be rid of her, He explained, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.24).
She asked Him again to help her daughter, this time dropping her claim. He again explained the higher position of Israel, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (v.26).
She then asked a third time, and this time she worded her request in such a way that Jesus could grant her request. “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
The word “masters’” is plural. She wasn’t referring to Him as her master but to those who were fed at the table — the Jews. She had come to the understanding that her blessing could only come through Israel.
This is where my commentaries miss the point, in my opinion. This experience wasn’t given to us to show that salvation was about to be taken from Israel and given to the Gentiles. The Lord was still teaching the kingdom message. A major point of that message is that the nations will be blessed through Israel. This passage underlines that point exactly."
a Canaanite woman - Mark (7:26) says she was Greek (meaning Gentile), a Syro-Phoenician by birth.
send her away - Based on the way Jesus responds (in v 24), it is probable that the disciples were urging Him to give her what she wanted so she would go away.
dogs - little dogs, pets
"Children ('the lost sheep of the house of Israel,' v 24) must be fed before dogs. This Gentile woman, like the centurion, showed great faith (v 28) and was rewarded for it." (Ryrie)
"Most of my commentaries explain this passage with some ideas that make sense to me, but none of them paint the whole picture, so I’ll summarized in my own words.
Jesus came as the Messiah of Israel. His ministry was only to the Jews. When this Gentile woman approached Him as the Son of David, she had no claim on Him. She was one of those who were … without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). On this basis, He said nothing.
When the disciples asked Him (probably) to give her what she wanted so they could be rid of her, He explained, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.24).
She asked Him again to help her daughter, this time dropping her claim. He again explained the higher position of Israel, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (v.26).
She then asked a third time, and this time she worded her request in such a way that Jesus could grant her request. “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
The word “masters’” is plural. She wasn’t referring to Him as her master but to those who were fed at the table — the Jews. She had come to the understanding that her blessing could only come through Israel.
This is where my commentaries miss the point, in my opinion. This experience wasn’t given to us to show that salvation was about to be taken from Israel and given to the Gentiles. The Lord was still teaching the kingdom message. A major point of that message is that the nations will be blessed through Israel. This passage underlines that point exactly."
No comments:
Post a Comment