Gospel of Mark Chapter 7:24-31 Summary

Adventures In Non-Jewish Territory

  • Jesus travels to the neighborhood of Tyre, a predominantly non-Jewish town.
  • He tries to stay at a house without anyone knowing, but a non-Jewish woman finds him.
  • She respectfully falls before Jesus and requests that he perform an exorcism for her possessed daughter.
  • Jesus denies her request, arguing that the children (presumably Jews) have first dibs to table-food long before the dogs (presumably non-Jews).
  • Ouch.
  • The woman won't take no for an answer and wittily replies that even dogs lap up the crumbs that fall from the children's table.
  • Jesus applauds her nicely argued comeback, which results in the demon's exit from her daughter. Proof? Upon returning home, the woman finds her daughter calmly in bed by herself with no demon.
  • Jesus heads farther north to the coastal city of Sidon before circling through the Decapolis back to the Sea of Galilee. These are all predominantly non-Jewish towns like Tyre.