Mark 7:24-37

Driving Out a Demon

25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

27 And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

28 But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs."

29 And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter."

30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

31 Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.

32 They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him.

33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;

34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened!"

35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.

36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

37 They were utterly astonished, saying, "He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

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This is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change the way that we think, and the way that we live.

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Commentary by Bob Pardue

Understanding the Words of Jesus

Sometimes people (I am one of them) can read verses in the Scripture and, without background or the history behind them, completely miss the point. We need to dig deeper into the meaning of what Jesus was saying to the woman whose daughter was demon possessed.

First, the dogs referred to here were pretty much family pets in the wealthy land of Tyre. The people were materialistic, much as they are in our country today so had many such luxuries.

Jesus said to the woman to feed and care for her children first, and then worry about what the dogs would eat. This is the same way Christ treated His disciples - teaching (providing for) them first without being interrupted.

Acceptance or Rejection?

As with many other people Jesus healed during His ministry, the power came from a willingness to accept Him. God never forces people to believe or accept. It's always a choice. The woman's simple answer of "Yes, Lord" was her choice and it released the power of Jesus so that her daughter was set free of the unwanted spirit.

Jews and Gentiles

As did many gentiles, this woman accepted Christ and believed in His authority. She found a Savior. Many Jews would reject Him and lose their salvation. A bit of an irony.

What will We Do?

We are in the same situation right now. Granted, we do not have a daughter with a demon inside but we do have the same offer of salvation from Christ. He is willing to come into our hearts and guide us if we only believe and accept.

No matter how materialistic we are, we cannot find anything on this earth more valuable or powerful than the Spirit of Jesus. Let's pray and thank Him for coming to live within us. This is the greatest miracle of all!

Love in Christ

- Bob

Mark 6:1-6 - People of Nazareth Do Not Believe Jesus