Jesus and the challenging gift of the other: An expository article on Mark 7:24–30

Abstract

Mark 7:24–30 tells the story of Jesus’ surprising encounter and sharp verbal exchange with a Syrophoenician woman who sought healing for her demon-oppressed daughter. The woman embodies otherness in many dimensions: religious, ethnic, status, and gender. Jesus’ initial response to her request, expressed in a harsh-sounding parabolic proverb, is resistance and reluctance. This article explores possible reasons for that reluctance and suggests that Jesus initially understood that the Reign of God would be realized first among Jews and only later among Gentiles. The woman’s clever response to Jesus, as well as her insistence on the inclusiveness of divine mercy, served to change Jesus’ mind about the order and timing of the fulfillment of God’s in-breaking rule and reign. This article takes the view that Jesus’ change of mind can serve as a model for contemporary followers of Jesus who sometimes struggle to receive the challenging gifts of otherness. It also affirms that “the others” often have both insights and courage which may be catalytic for the growth of those who encounter them.