Mark 7:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.

NIV: In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.

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

CSB: Instead, immediately after hearing about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit came and fell at his feet.

NLT: Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit,

KJV: For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

NKJV: For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.

The account in Matthew 15 gives more flesh to Mark's bare-bones narrative. The woman cries out, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon" (Matthew 15:22). She falls at His feet, a humble act duplicated by only a few amongst the many jostling crowds. She enters a private residence to see Him, an act Jesus sees as bold and faithful (Mark 2:1–5; Matthew 15:28).

It's likely she heard of Jesus from early on in His ministry. At some point around the time He finalized His twelve disciples, Jesus was nearly crushed by a large crowd "from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon" (Mark 3:7–8). She would have heard that Jesus can both heal and exorcise demons (Mark 3:10–11).

Most striking, however, is that she calls Jesus "O Lord, Son of David." "Lord" could refer to an understanding that Jesus is God, but it more likely means she is submitting to Him as an authority. "Son of David" has only one meaning: Jesus is the promised descendent of David who will sit on the throne forever—He is the Jewish Messiah. How a Canaanite woman came to understand this about Jesus is unknown. How she understood it when the scribes and Pharisees, experts of the Jewish Scriptures, did not is mind-boggling.

Mark 7:24–30 follows a lengthy dissertation on what makes a person clean or unclean. Jesus takes His disciples to Gentile territory. There, He acts in strict contrast to the elders' traditions by interacting closely with Gentiles. First, He heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman. Mark's account of the faith of the Canaanite woman is relatively short. Matthew 15:21–28, written specifically to Jews, is fleshed out to better drive home the point. Through the end of chapter 7 and into chapter 8, He heals a deaf man and several of his neighbors (Matthew 15:24–30). Finally, He decisively dismisses any concern about clean or unclean food by providing a meal for four thousand, many of whom are undoubtedly Gentiles.

Jesus counters another traditional error from the scribes and Pharisees, explaining that food in and of itself does not make a person unclean. Rather, it is the intent of the heart that matters to God. He specifically condemns traditions which effectively undo the original intent of God's commands. Jesus heals the daughter of a persistent Gentile woman, and a man suffering from deafness and a speech impediment.

After showing His authority over demons, death, and physics, Jesus asserts His superiority over manmade traditions. For generations, Jewish religious leaders have added to the Law in an attempt to keep the nation holy. Such traditions, however, serve to make the leaders look good but unnecessarily burden the people. Jesus argues in word and action that any law that dismisses love is either misinterpreted or manmade.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.