The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

“The Faith of the Canaanite Woman”
Mark 7:24-30

Notes:

(MULTILINE)

A. SOME SUGGESTIONS:

1. Jesus’ tone was KIND .

2. Jesus was being PLAYFUL and calling her a PUPPY.

B. UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT:

1. Jesus was heading into HOSTILE territory.

²⁴ Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre.^[i]He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret.

2. Jesus is approached by a GENTILE __ woman.

²⁵ Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil^[j] spirit, ²⁶ and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

3. Jesus makes a DISTINCTION __ between Jews and gentiles.

²⁷ Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews.^[k] It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.

4. The woman recognizes:

1. That she is UNWORTHY.
2. That God’s grace is for EVERYONE.

²⁸ She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.

5. Jesus grants her REQUEST.

²⁹ “Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

C. TWO OPTIONS:

Jesus is either:

1. Taken off guard by her response.

2. Jesus is being intentionally provocative an effort to DRAW OUT a response from her.

D. WHY WAS HER FAITH GREAT:

1. Her faith was great because it was UNLIKELY.

2. Her faith was great because it was HUMBLE.

3. Her faith was great because it was PERSISTENT.

Today’s Big Idea…

Approaching Jesus is not about CHANGING His mind.

But rather about him CHANGING us.