Church Fathers Commentary Mark 7:24-30

"And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children`s bread and cast it to the dogs. But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children`s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out." — Mark 7:24-30 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: After the Lord had finished His teaching concerning food, seeing that the Jews were incredulous, He entered the country of the Gentiles; for with the Jews being unfaithful, salvation turns to the Gentiles.

This is why it is said, And from there He arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Tyre and Sidon were Canaanite places; therefore, the Lord came to them not as His own people, but as a people who had nothing in common with the fathers to whom the promise was made. And so He came in such a way that His arrival would not be known to the Tyrians and Sidonians.¹

This is why the text continues, and entered into a house, and wished for no one to know it. For the time had not yet come for Him to dwell with the Gentiles and bring them to the faith; this was not to happen until after His cross and resurrection.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Alternatively, His reason for coming in secret was so that the Jews would not find an occasion to blame Him, as if He had passed over to the unclean Gentiles.

It goes on: But He could not be hidden.

Pseudo-Augustine: But if He wished to be hidden and could not, it would appear as if His will was powerless. However, it is not possible that our Savior's will should not be fulfilled, nor can He will something that He knows should not happen.²

Therefore, when something has taken place, it can be asserted that He willed it. We should observe that this happened among the Gentiles, for whom it was not yet time to preach. Nevertheless, to refuse them when they came to the faith of their own accord would have been to begrudge them their faith.

So it happened that the Lord was not made known by His disciples. Others, however, who had seen Him entering the house, recognized Him, and it began to be known that He was there. His will, therefore, was that He should not be proclaimed by His own disciples, but that others should come to seek Him—and that is what happened.

The Venerable Bede: Having entered the house, He also commanded His disciples not to reveal who He was to anyone in this unknown region. He did this so that those on whom He had bestowed the grace of healing might learn from His example, as much as they could, to shrink from the glory of human praise in the display of their miracles.

Yet they were not to cease from the pious work of virtue when either the faith of the good justly deserved that miracles be performed, or the unfaithfulness of the wicked made them necessary. For He Himself made His entry into that place known to the Gentile woman, and to whomever else He wished.³

Pseudo-Augustine: Lastly, the Canaanite woman came in to Him on hearing of Him; if she had not first submitted herself to the God of the Jews, she would not have obtained His blessing. Concerning her, the text continues: For a woman, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, as soon as she heard of Him, came in and fell at His feet.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: By this, the Lord wished to show His disciples that He opened the door of faith even to the Gentiles. This is also why the woman's nationality is described when it adds, The woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by nation—that is, from Syria and Phoenicia.⁴

It goes on: and she pleaded with Him that He would cast the devil out of her daughter.

St. Augustine of Hippo: A question about a discrepancy may be raised, however, because it is said that the Lord was in the house when the woman came asking about her daughter. Yet when Matthew says that His disciples suggested to Him, Send her away; for she crieth after us (Matthew 15:23), he seems to imply that the woman was crying out her pleas after the Lord as He was walking.

How, then, do we infer that she was in the house, except from Mark, who says that she came in to Jesus after having already stated that He was in the house? But Matthew, because he says, He answered her not a word, leads us to understand that He went out from the house during that silence. In this way, the other events are connected, so that they no longer disagree in any way.⁵

It continues: But He said to her, Let the children be first filled.

The Venerable Bede: The time will come when even you Gentiles will obtain salvation. But it is right that first the Jews, who are deservedly and customarily called the children of God's ancient election, should be refreshed with heavenly bread, and so, at last, the food of life should be given to the Gentiles.

There follows: For it is not right to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He did not say these words because there is a deficiency of power in Him that would prevent Him from ministering to all. Rather, it was because His blessing, if given to both Jews and Gentiles who had no interaction with each other, might become a cause of jealousy.⁶

Theophylact of Ohrid: He calls the Gentiles "dogs," as they were considered wicked by the Jews. By "bread," He means the blessing which the Lord promised to the children, that is, the Jews. The meaning, therefore, is that it is not right for the Gentiles to be the first to partake of the blessing promised principally to the Jews.

Therefore, the reason the Lord does not answer immediately, but delays His grace, is so that He might also show that the woman's faith was firm. It is also so that we may learn not to grow weary in prayer at once, but to remain persistent until we receive what we ask.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Likewise, this was also to show the Jews that He did not bestow healing on foreigners to the same degree as on them, and that through the revelation of the woman's faith, the unfaithfulness of the Jews might be more fully exposed. For the woman was not offended, but with great reverence agreed with what the Lord had said.⁷

Therefore, it continues, And she answered and said to Him, Truth, Lord, but the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It is as if she said, "The Jews have the whole of that bread which comes down from heaven, and Your blessings also; I ask only for the crumbs—that is, a small portion of the blessing."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Her placing herself in the rank of dogs is therefore a sign of her reverence. It is as if she said, "I consider it a favor to be in the position of a dog, eating not from another table, but from the Master's own."⁸

Theophylact of Ohrid: Therefore, because the woman answered with great wisdom, she received what she wanted. This is why the text continues, And He said to her... He did not say, "My power has made you whole," but rather, For this saying—that is, for your faith, which is shown by this saying—go your way; the devil has gone out of your daughter.

It goes on: And when she came to her house, she found her daughter lying on the bed, and the devil gone out.

The Venerable Bede: On account of the mother's humble and faithful words, therefore, the devil left the daughter. A precedent is given here for catechizing and baptizing infants, since by the faith and confession of their parents, infants are freed from the devil in baptism, even though they themselves can neither have knowledge nor do good or evil.

Pseudo-Jerome: Mystically, however, the Gentile woman who prays for her daughter is our mother, the Church of Rome. Her daughter, afflicted with a devil, is the barbarian western race, which by faith has been turned from a dog into a sheep. She desires to take the crumbs of spiritual understanding, not the unbroken bread of the letter.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The soul of each of us, when it falls into sin, is also like this woman. This soul has a sick daughter, which represents our evil actions, and this daughter, in turn, has a devil, because evil actions arise from devils.

Likewise, sinners are called dogs, as they are filled with uncleanness. For this reason, we are not worthy to receive the bread of God or to partake in the immaculate mysteries of God. If, however, in humility we acknowledge that we are like dogs and confess our sins, then the daughter—that is, our evil life—will be healed.

1. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
2. Quaest e Vet. et N. Test. 77
3. in Marc., 2, 30
4. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
5. de Con. Evan., 2, 49
6. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
7. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
8. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.