Mark 24 Let the children be fed first?

[mystic]

Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

How is that statement related to the child's demonic issue please?

[alon]

Feb 11, 2021 5:09:44 GMT -8 mystic said:

..., “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.” ...
How is that statement related to the child's demonic issue please?

To understand the relationship of the children and the dogs, it helps to know the background, or context of what is happening. Context, context, context; always read in context, and the more the better!

Tyre itself is a city built originally on an island in the Mediterranean in present day Lebanon. By Yeshua’s time it was a peninsula due to the causeway built by Alexander some 500 yrs earlier collecting silt. The region of Tyre would be the coastal plain from the Galil in the south to Sidon in the north.

In the 1st cen CE Tyre was a civitas foederata, the status of an "allied state,” the most elevated type of autonomous region under Roman rule. So likely there were few regional pressures here to cause discord between peoples. However Jews have always been disliked because they practice their own religion, refusing to pay homage to local gods. As a major trading city, Tyre itself would have attracted a large international community. The history of Tyre is extremely pagan and usually licentious.

Tyre is mentioned a few times in the Bible: in the TNK in Isaiah 23:15-17 and Ezekiel 26:3; and in the NT in Mark 3:8 in Luke 6:17 and Matthew 11:21-23. Our text is from:

Mark 7:24-30 (ESV) And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon [Some manuscripts omit and Sidon]. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

A companion text helps us understand better:

Matthew 15:21-28 (ESV)  And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly [Greek from that hour]

Note Yeshua withdrew to the region, or district of Tyre, not to the city itself. So probably He was somewhere on the border of the Galil and Tyre. Apparently He was needing some quiet time to rest. However He had a lot of followers from Tyre if you read some of those references, so it didn’t work. There were probably many Jews in Tyre, as they were already dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, and Yeshua’s fame would have spread to many Gentiles there as well, and so He was accosted there by a Gentile woman. In Mark’s account He rebukes her saying “Let the children be fed first.” However in Matthew it says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” So the “children” is a metaphor for the Jewish people. They were the ones He had come to minister to. The “dogs” of course were the Gentiles.

Because of the history of Tyre, and human nature being to hate those who call out their lower status or worse, by their example showing them to be lower: amoral and self indulgent. So Yeshua’s remarks comparing the Gentiles of Tyre to dogs couldn’t have went over well with the local citizens.

Matthew focuses on her faith, however Mark’s account says “For this statement you may go your way.” That she trusted Yeshua to be able to heal from a distance did show great faith. But also she showed great humility before the God of Israel in not only accepting the metaphor of being compared to a dog, but using that metaphor in an even more humbling manner. She and her daughter were dogs eating the scraps that fall from the table. Abraham was justified by his faith long before there was a Jew (Rom 4:1-3). Likewise this woman’s faith and trust in Yeshua caused Him to relent and grant her request.

This is my opinion; what I get reading this and drawing from biblical, historical, geographical, political, and cultural context. Not being a scholar I could be wrong about any of it, so research it for yourself. But this is what I get from this passage. Hope it helps.

Dan C