The Syrophoenician Woman - Power of Humility
Hello and welcome to Wifey Wednesdays, a podcast for women who are seeking to be the best wives they can be. I’m your host, Emily Hatfield, and this is the show where the plan is always to do things God’s way, especially our marriages.
Today we get to talk about a woman whose name we don’t know, but whose example is one that I know we can all benefit from.
Let’s think back to last week for a moment. The woman of Thyatira was a woman who liked control - who liked to have people listen to her. The woman this week is mostly the opposite of that. We don’t know her name, and she’s not trying to make a name for herself. She’s not really interested in herself at all, actually. None of it is about her.
We are introduced to her in Mark 7, and what we learn about her first is that she has a little daughter with an unclean spirit. I cannot imagine how awful this was. I don’t know what all demon possession was doing in the first century, but none of it seems good. Throughout the New Testament, we’re told of demon possessed people crying out and cutting themselves, running naked and out of their mind, throwing themselves into the fire and other dangerous places….and here we have a mother with a little daughter, and that little girl has an unclean spirit. What has it been doing? How awful has their life been? No doubt this little girl has been tormented, and so has the mom.
If you have ever had a child that was sick and you can’t do anything about it, then you are maybe getting a small glimpse into how tired and scared this mother must have been.
But she isn’t the only one tired in this account. Mark 7 shows us that Jesus has been trying to find respite and solitude for a while, but His fame has been spreading and He is rarely left alone because everyone wants a sign or a miracle for themselves. So Jesus goes to the region of Tyre and Sidon. He didn’t want anyone to know where He was according to verse 24, but this woman finds out He’s there and she makes her way toward Him. Now, this woman, she’s not Jewish. She’s a Gentile. Keep that in mind as Jesus answers her request for healing her daughter with this: “Let the children be bed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Some argue that that’s a bit harsh, but most scholars agree that the word for dogs here is kind of like a pet. There’s an order to the feeding; it’s not that pets don’t get fed and are neglected and mistreated — instead, it’s that you don’t feed pets first and the children the leftovers. In a similar way, Jesus had come to preach to the house of Israel first. In God’s plan, the Gentiles were absolutely going to receive the blessing of having the good news preached to them, but there was an order based upon the past promises of God and His spiritual household.
But this woman, again - it’s not about her. It’s not about standing up for herself or demanding her rights or looking for a way to be offended. Instead, she says - “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
She doesn’t need the first portion. She doesn’t need notoriety or even for Jesus to go out of His way to go see the little girl. She just wants some of what the children left behind — she is eager for the crumbs.
And the Jews? They seemed content to let the crumbs fall. If they had treasured Jesus, then there wouldn’t have been any crumbs, right? If they had loved and honored and valued Jesus how He deserved to be loved and valued, they would have licked up the crumbs! But that isn’t the reception Jesus got from the Jews. And this woman, though she is a Gentile, has such amazing faith. She’s not asking to change Jesus’ plans. She just wants any part of Jesus she can get.
That is the faith I want. That is the stance I want in my life — the posture I want to have. Lord, I’m coming under the table. I just want the crumbs. I want any part of You I can get. I want it all. And I will not let any of Your goodness go to waste.
This woman’s faith made her daughter well. What a beautiful Savior we serve, and no doubt this woman and her daughter served Him for the remainder of their lives. How could you not? And how could I not?? When I experience Jesus - when I see His goodness and His love and His sacrifice — how can I let any crumbs fall? How can I not lick the plate clean, if you will?
Jesus is worthy of all effort, all the time. And it’s not about me, ever. It can’t be. If it’s all about me, I’m not getting down in the floor and begging under the table. But if it’s all about Jesus, then who cares! I am more than willing to stoop down, because He is the only one worthy to be sitting at the table.
May my life ever be about seeking Jesus, in every single place. When it requires effort to see Him and His goodness, may I make the effort. When it requires humbling myself, may I humble myself. When it requires humiliation or loss of dignity, oh well. Whatever it requires, Lord may I do it - if it means being close to You.
The Syrophoenician woman is an amazing example of humility. She just wanted her daughter to be made well, and she knew who could do it. She would not be deterred and she would not mind arranging herself in a way that might appear less than to others. All that mattered was Jesus, His power, and her submission to His will. That’s the exact pattern I want to follow. All that matters is Jesus. His power is all that matters, and I will submit to Him no matter what it costs me. Because nothing it costs me to be a follower of His could ever even start to repay the price He paid for me.
Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode; I hope you’ll join me next time as we discuss yet another powerful woman from scripture. Until next time, remember, love God, love your husband.
