Unfair
Mark 7:24-30
We Christians claim that Jesus is perfect. Our theology and doctrine claim that Jesus is God—all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful. This makes the story of the Syrophoenician woman in Mark chapter 7 (or the Canaanite woman in Matthew) surprising to read! On a surface level, it is hard not to interpret the story of Jesus’ interaction and his behavior with a gentile woman in the Gospel of Mark as an example of Jesus being bigoted.
Whoa, whoa, whoa now! Them’s fightin’ words.
This, of course, is an incredibly myopic and “prooftext-y” way to read this text. There is probably something deeper to this story. But what is in front of us in scripture here is that Jesus treated this woman differently than anyone else in scripture who asked for his help. And so perhaps the word “bigot” needs to enter this conversation, at least so we can wonder about it and ask questions of scripture.
Because as Christians, we should always ask questions of scripture!
Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman used to be a story that didn’t have that much attention, but recently there is much scholarship making a big deal about Jesus’ treatment of this desperate woman who is asking for her child to be exorcised from demons.
I’ve read people talk about how this was a moment that highlighted Jesus’ humanity and constituted a moral mistake on his part that he then learned from. I’ve read other strong opinions about how such readings are illegitimate, and that Jesus’ actions are being misinterpreted because, at the end of the day, he healed the woman’s daughter—and it’s impossible for Jesus, the second person of the Trinity and the Son of God to be imperfect.
But I am still wondering why Jesus, for lack of a better word, argued against healing this woman’s daughter. Whether or not we take the whole story out of its context or keep it there—this is the only instance in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus resists a request for healing.
Jesus’ words were “First let the children (of Israel) eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” (Mark 7:27) Before Jesus said this, the author of Mark made sure to let us know that “the woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia.” (Mark 7:26 NRSVUE)
Jews and Gentiles were not friends. Jews distrusted people who were not jewish. Gentiles were considered “unclean.” But Jesus healed gentiles throughout Mark. And yet, he treated this woman differently!
The question is a challenging one: how can Jesus be morally perfect, and yet interact with a woman seeking healing for her child unjustly? What do you think?
