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In Mark 7:24, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, where a woman came to him, asking Jesus to cure her daughter, who was vexed with a devil. Jesus at first refused, saying that it is not meet to give the children's bread to dogs, meaning that his mission was to help the Jews, not gentiles whom he was likening to dogs. She persisted, saying that even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table.

It seems strange that a gentile woman in faraway Tyre and Sidon would know of Jesus and be so confident that he could help her. It seems strange that Jesus would travel to an exclusively gentile region and then be so offensively racist, particularly as we also know that Paul would become an apostle to the gentiles. Perhaps there is more to this passage, and it should not be read literally. It is one of several consecutive events and discourses in which the common element is food, even metaphorically.

If this passage ought not be read literally, we should establish what the author intended by the passage and howhe intended this to symbolise the mission of Jesus. Mark 6:33-8:21 form an integrated set of passages with ten references or allusions to food, including a summary by Jesus of the two feasts in 8:19-21, maintaining a consistent theme of food, plus a minor theme of not understanding. Much of this is also found in Matthew's Gospel, copied from Mark but without the elegant structure of Mark's Gospel:

  • Jesus and the disciples had no leisure so much as to eat, so they went into a desert place
  • Feeding the 5000
  • When Jesus walked on water the disciples were amazed, for they considered not the miracle of the loaves
  • Pharisees complain about the disciples eating with unwashed hands
  • Discourse - what goes into a man goes into his belly and does not defile
  • Greek woman metaphorically begs for crumbs from the table
  • Feeding the 4000
  • Disciples are hungry and have only one loaf of bread
  • Jesus warns the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and they reason, "It is because we have no bread," showing they do not understand
  • Summary by Jesus of the two feasts
Mark's Gospel is based around a parallel structure, an ancient literary form that creates emphasis or develops themes that would otherwise not be apparent. The above group of passages is matched in that structure by the Last Supper, theologically one of the most important events in the entire gospel. The parallel structure emphasises the importance of that event. So although we should not look for literal meaning in the account of the Greek woman asking Jesus to cure her daughter and Jesus at first refusing her, we can see that it contributed to Mark's literary development.
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Q: Why did the Syrophoenician woman in Mark ask Jesus to heal her daughter?
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Was the mother of the sick young daughter that Jesus healed 'a woman of Canaan' Matthew 15 ver22 or 'The woman was a Greek' Mark 7 ver26?

Yes, both references are about the same incident where Jesus healed the daughter of a woman. In Matthew 15:22, she is referred to as a "Canaanite woman," while in Mark 7:26, she is called a "Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth." Both accounts describe her as a Gentile seeking help for her daughter.


Was Jesus denial of the Canaanite woman's request based on her ethnicity?

Yes. According to chapter 7 of Mark's Gospel, Jesus declined to help a woman who sought his help for her daughter, because she was a Canaanite, referring to them as 'dogs'. The gospel account says he only agreed to help when she meekly accepted his description.


Who was jairus?

The Biblical character of Jairus was a patron or ruler of a synagogue in Galilee, who had asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter, who, according to the varying accounts of the Bible, was dying (Mark; Luke) or had already died (Matthew).


What event was taking place when Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood?

A:The separate stories of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood are integrated in Mark's Gospel. This is an example an ancient literary device known as an intercalation. This is a structure that contains an event that interrupts anotherapparently unrelatedevent in such a way as to emphasise both passages, symbolised by the form A1-B-A2.Thecombination of literary structure and theological import makes Mark's intercalations peculiarly if not uniquely Markan. In Mark 5:21-24, Jairus begged Jesus to come with him and heal his daughter - this is symbolised as event A1 in the above form. In Mark 5:25-34, Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood (event B). Returning to Jairus with event A2 in Mark 5:35-43, a messenger came to say that Jairus' daughter was dead, but Jesus said to believe. He took Peter, James and John to the house where the daughter lay, and commanded her to arise. The integration of the two passages creates dramatic tension, avoids an awkward pause between Jairus' request and the arrival of the messenger, and emphasises the healing power of Jesus.


Where in the bible do you find reference to healing and the children's bread?

The reference to healing being the children's bread can be found in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30. In these passages, Jesus uses this metaphor to emphasize God's provision for healing and deliverance to all who believe in Him.


Which three disciples did Jesus take when he went to heal Jairus' daughter?

Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him when he went to heal Jairus' daughter. These three disciples often accompanied Jesus on important occasions, such as the Transfiguration and Gethsemane.


How many times in the Bible did Jesus call a woman daughter?

He used the word ´daughter´ 4 times when talking to women: Matthew 9, 22 - But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, Daughter, take heart; your faith has made you well. And the woman was made well from that hour. Mark 5,34 - And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be free from your disease. Luke 8,48 - And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace. Luke 23, 28 - But Jesus, turning to them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, let not your weeping be for me, but for yourselves and for your children. I did not take under consideration if any of these were the same situation. He used the word ´daughter´ several times more when talking about Zion or the people of Israel.


What miracle did Jesus perform on the woman with the issue of blood?

A:A woman, with heavy, prolonged menstrual bleeding for twelve years, merely touched Jesus' garment and was healed. Jesus felt that someone had been healed by touching him and so asked those around him who had done so. The woman with the issue of blood admitted that it was she, and Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole (Mark 5:25-34). Actually, there seem to be at least three miracles here:The miracle of the woman being healed of her illness. She even realised immediately that she was cured!The miracle of Jesus being aware that someone had been healed, although he knew not who.The miracle that the author of Mark knew the woman's inner thoughts, and that she had been healed as soon as she touched Jesus.The first two of these miracles are readily explained by Jesus' divinity. The third is a puzzle that could perhaps most readily be explained if the entire episode was actually a literary creation. In Mark's Gospel, this forms the central idea in a literary device known as a 'Markan intercalation', sandwiched by the two parts of the story of Jairus' daughter.


Why did the Canaanite woman in Matthew ask Jesus to heal her daughter?

The Canaanite woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter because her daughter was suffering from demon possession and she believed Jesus could help. Despite being initially rebuffed by Jesus, she showed great faith and persistence, which ultimately led to her daughter's healing.


Why did Jesus heal people?

Opinion Jesus healed people because people asked him to heal them. He had the power and authority so he did. OpinionJesus healed people because he had authority over all sickness and disease. he had power over all demons. He had compassion.


What does it mean when Jesus says it is not right to take the childrens food and throw it to the dogs?

The children's food is healing for God's people who are the children of Israel, and the Gentiles, who are the remainder of mankind, are the dogs, so called. And Jesus said that he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, so he should not listen to the 'dogs'. However, the Syro-phenician woman, by her persistence, got from Jesus what she wanted - the healing of her daughter. (Mark 7.24 to 30)


Who did Jesus raises from the dead?

Jesus raised Jairus' daughter (Matt. 9:23, Mark 5:22, Luke 8:41), Jesus raised a widow's son (Luke 7:11), and Lazarus (John 11:38).