This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder Mark 7:24-37. The English Standard Version divides the passage into two parts and supplies them with the headings “The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith,” and “Jesus Heals a Deaf Man.”
A year ago, I wrote about the parallel account in Matthew 15, about the Syrophoenician woman’s faith. I titled it “Was Jesus incredibly rude to a desperate mother?” You can click the link to read it.
Today, I’ll make three observations about the passage for this Sunday. First, the weirdness of the route Mark tells us Jesus took. Second, the sharpness of the Syrophoenician mother. Third, the deaf-mute man and his friends. Then, I’ll comment on how Mark tells the story of Jesus.
My first observation is about Jesus’ route. It seems weird to us with our maps [1] and our knowledge of the ethnic compositions of the towns of his day.
Perhaps the weirdness is especially stark for Malaysian readers, because we’re so used to race-based politics, policies, groups, and behaviours.
Mark tells us where Jesus’ meetings with the mother and the deaf-mute man took place.
The mother came to Jesus while he was in a house in the mostly Gentile city of Tyre. He was hiding from the masses who were looking for him. [2] Mark then shifts the scene to “the Decapolis”. He tells us that Jesus healed the deaf-mute man in the Decapolis. [3]
If you look at a map, [4] you’ll see that Tyre and Sidon were coastal cities in Phoenicia. The Decapolis is way inland, past the Sea of Galilee, which is actually an inland lake.
It would take some days to travel from Tyre to the Decapolis, which is southeast of Tyre. But Jesus took longer. Because, in Mark’s account, he went north to Sidon before turning south and heading for the Decapolis.
We know from the gospels that crowds flocked from all over to find Jesus and be healed. This tells us many others must’ve been healed in between the woman’s daughter and the deaf-mute man. So, why did Mark put the two healings side-by-side? I’ll leave the answer till the end of this column.
My second observation is that the woman was “sharp.”
I say this because she saw that Jesus was testing her. First, he “reminded” her that as a Canaanite, as a non-Jew, she was “inferior” to Jews. And second, he suggested she was like a dog. He insulted her.
Jesus was testing her to see if she would argue with him about the presumed racial superiority of Jews, instead of campaigning for her child. Like a sharp dog, she knew not to bite the hand that feeds.
My third observation is about the deaf-mute man and the people who brought him to Jesus. Curiously, Mark doesn’t say his “friends” or “family” brought him to Jesus. We’re left wondering who brought him, and why.
From the context, we can safely assume that the deaf-mute man was a Jew. I note in passing that I think Mark deliberately chose not to use the word “mute” to describe the effect of the man’s “speech impediment.” Instead, Mark puts the word in the mouths of the people, in verse 37.
Mark deliberately says four other things. First, Jesus took the man aside and worked on him privately. Second, Jesus didn’t just speak and heal. To work this miracle of healing, he used his saliva and his fingers in addition to speaking a command. Third, Jesus told the man and those who brought him “to tell no one.” Fourth, they didn’t obey Jesus. Mark emphasizes this. In verse 36, we read:
“And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.”
I return now to why Mark put the two healings side-by-side, though they were far apart, in time and in geography. The clue lies in verse 37,
“And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’”
John ended his gospel with the remark that Jesus did so many things that it was physically impossible to record them all. [5] Because of this, John used theology to organize his gospel, not time or chronology.
On the face of it, the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke seem to be organized according to chronology. But they’re not. These gospels are also organized according to theology. This is why there’s no time gap between the accounts of the devoted mother and the deaf-mute man.
What is the theology? I believe Mark wants us to hear echoes of the prophecies of Isaiah about the Messiah. The Messiah whom Christians say is Jesus. Centuries before Jesus did his miracles, Isaiah prophesied:
“In that day the deaf shall hear …” (Isaiah 29:18)
“The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.” (Isaiah 32:4)
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; … and the tongue of the mute sing for joy …” (Isaiah 35:5-6) [6]
That’s completely in-line with the words from Prophet Isaiah with which Luke says Jesus announced the beginning his public ministry:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” [7]
I was struck by this observation made by a Muslim writer:
“Unlike other Prophets who performed miracles, Jesus himself was a miracle, as he was born of a virgin mother, and God describes him and his mother Mary as such …” [8]
Is there any other person in history whose renown is built on his miracles, whose coming was foretold by prophets, who’s acknowledged as a great teacher, and who called people to “follow him”? [9] I don’t think so.
Peace be with you.
[1] The J B Phillips New Testament website has a fascinating page titled “An Outline of the Story of Jesus Using Maps.” In a simplified way, the maps show the relative locations of biblical sites, and their heights above or below sea-level. The page also lists Jesus’ trips and stops and suggests dates (years) for them. Look and be mesmerized!
[2] Verse 24.
[3] Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis had many pigs. This made them haram places, impure places.
[4] The accompanying map is adapted from https://revmerle.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/no-business-being-there-mark-724-37/.
[6] For these insights, I’m indebted to Adela Yarbro Collins, Mark: A Commentary (2007).
[8] The author references the Quran Sura 21 (Al-Anbiya, “The Prophets), verse 91.
[9] Matthew 16:24-28.
To learn more about Rama, click here.
Because I included a Muslim’s opinion about Jesus and his miracles, someone asked me whether Muslims believe Jesus was resurrected.
They do not.
There are differences among Muslims about whether the Quran says Jesus died.
I found this very brief article, The Meaning of the Cross in Islam and Christianity, very helpful. You cn read it by clicking this link:
https://kenyaconnection.org/the-meaning-of-the-cross-in-islam-and-christianity/