ChosenRebel's Blog

Sunday Evening Musings

A desperate woman. Jesus walked 50 miles one way (so, 100 miles total) to talk to one desperate woman.  His disciples in tow, all twelve of them, men designated as apostles, arrive in a surly mood.

• Maybe it was because they were tired.
• Maybe it was because Jesus had taken them into Gentile territory.
• Maybe it was because they knew it would be another 50 mile walk back to Capernaum.
• Maybe it was because there was a woman shouting about her need to see Jesus.

We don’t know what the bir in their britches was. We do know that they thought of her as a nuisance and wanted Jesus to send her away. All of this is clear from the Gospels of Mark (7:24-30) and (Matthew 15:21-28). 

Matthew calls her a “Canaanite woman” (Mt. 15:22). The disciples said she was shouting at them (15:23). Mark says she was “a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race.” (Mk. 7:26). She is desperate. She is concerned for her demon-possessed daughter. She is persistent. She is respectful. She is humble. She is filled with faith, faith so deep and profound that Jesus affirms her in verse 28, “O woman, your faith is great . . .”

Jesus walked 50 miles to make Himself available to her. He healed her daughter. This is the only record of anything said and done in Tyre. Apparently, Jesus left shortly after this encounter and returned Capernaum. He cared for her. He empathized with her sorrow and desperation. He healed her daughter.

Yet, she is never named.

You may think you are alone. You may think God doesn’t care. You may think that your pain or sorrow will never end. You may think that no one even knows your name. But Jesus has not forgotten you. Trust Him in your most desperate hour. Place all your hope in humbly bowing before Him and place your faith in a God who redeems all our afflictions. Be like this un-named woman.