Musing on Mark 7, 24 to the end
More outrageous behaviour from our saviour! Was Jesus really so rude?
This weeks reports tell of Jesus venturing north from Capernaum into the region of Tyre for a secret holiday. The people of this area were formerly bitter enemies of Israel. It seems there is nowhere he can escape from the publics’ attention, though, for He is sought out by a non-Israelite/non-Jewish woman who comes to him seeking healing for her daughter. No Jewish rabbi would allow himself to talk to any women other than a close relative let alone a woman who is 100% Gentile, a foreigner, a pagan, a worshiper of idols (Matthew describes her as a Canaanite, which is a description of her religious beliefs, not her ethnicity). Outrageous behaviour at the time. And pretty brave of the woman to approach a foreigner, a Jew, a former enemy, of a different religion, too. She must have been desperate.
(So many come to...