The Life of Christ

At that time this district extended north of Galilee. The event about to occur, however, appears to have happened not within the territory of Tyre and Sidon, but on the borders, and still within the limits of the land of Israel. 30

• The woman “came out from that region,” meaning she came out from the district of Tyre and Sidon and crossed the border into Israel.

• We don’t know how far she had to travel, but it may have been some distance.

• Mk. 7:24 indicates that He was in a house and didn’t want anyone to know of it.

• We assume the purpose of His visit was to retreat from all the activity of recent days; Jesus needed a rest which was the purpose of Him going so far north.

The woman about to approach Jesus to request a miracle for her daughter is a Gentile, a woman outside the covenant of Israel.

• Because of her not being Jewish, she faces a major obstacle; up until now Jesus has only ministered to the house of Israel.

• The closest He came to breach this policy was to heal the Roman Centurion’s servant, but even he was Jewish.

Mt. 15:22 And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region, and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon- possessed.”

"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David."

• As a Gentile, the phrase “Son of David” was not part of her tradition; she had little interest in David and certainly was not aware of the Messianic connection between the two.

• Someone knowledgeable of Jewish heritage must have advised her to use this phrase when approaching this Jewish Messiah.

• This phrase, “the Son of David,” was considered the most distinctively Jewish announcement of Israel’s coming Messiah. 31 By using this term, she had hoped to disguise herself as being Jewish.

• She is willing to do anything, even deceive and manipulate, if it would better her chances of Jesus healing her daughter.

She claims her daughter is “cruelly” demon possessed.

• This Greek word only appears this one time in the New Testament; it can also be translated “fiercely.”

• It seems that this was one of the worst demonic possessions found in all the Bible.

• We can only imagine the constant torment associated with rearing a young daughter possessed by strong demonic personalities.

• There was no cure to be found in all her searching.

• Word had it, however, that the famous teacher from Galilee, who had cast out evil spirits, was only a short distance away.

30 Ibid, 37. 31 Ibid, 29-30.

183