The Syrophoenician Woman: a desperate mother and a humble faith

The Syrophoenician Woman was a woman in desperate need. Her daughter was possessed by a demon or evil spirit and nothing was working. She must have heard the stories of this man that travels from village to village, healing and teaching. She may have hesitated as Gentiles and the Jews usually avoid dealing with each other if they could. But desperate times call for desperate measures. She turned to the one man who knew could help. He may not listen to her but she had to try. When she called out to Jesus, she called him, “Lord, Son of David.” Did she call him Lord because she heard others say it or did she truly believe she was Lord? Her faith in Jesus resulted in her daughter’s healing. Why is her story important? How does Jesus use an insult to test her faith? What are our protections against spiritual attacks? 

A little girl thrashes, jerks and twists on the bed. She images her mother could not see. The little girl also went through a cycle of fear, surprise and bouts of crazy laughter. To say her mother was completely helpless would be an understatement. She was at her wit’s end and desperate to help her daughter. One day, she hears about a healer named Jesus. Would a Jew even talk to her? Despite being a Gentile, she sets out to meet him. To beg, to plead, to throw herself at his feet in order to help her child. When she approaches him, she calls out “Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 21:22). At first, he doesn’t reply and the disciples urge Jesus to send her away. Jesus then says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 21:24) and she begs again. This begins an exchange about dogs and crumbs. Her response, her willingness to take whatever is left after the Jews get their rightful share, shows her faith and her sincerity. Jesus stated, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Matthew 21:28). When she returned home, her daughter had been healed. 

The exchange about dogs and crumbs has caused many people to believe that Jesus was insulting the woman and being incredibly rude. While sounding harsh, it is not being used as harshly as we may think. While Jews at the time would call Gentiles “dogs” as an insult, here the word “dogs” is referring to a pet. Jesus was making it clear that his main mission was for Israel; however, his mission would include Gentiles. He was just waiting for God the Father’s timing. The woman would not know why Jesus hesitated and perhaps she didn’t care. Her goal was to get her daughter healed and if being called a dog would be required, then she would take it. She used wit and used Jesus’s words to reveal a deep humility and a tenacious faith. In her response, she tells Jesus that even a dog would be blessed by God. She knew Jesus could heal her daughter. It was a combination Jesus couldn’t resist. This woman was fertile soil to grow a miracle and faith for others. I can imagine her joy at Jesus’s words as she walked home. Did she still have a seed of doubt as Jesus didn’t physically see or touch her daughter? Imagine her immense joy when she returned home to find her daughter safe, sane and completely healed. I would imagine she would spend the rest of her life grateful for the crumb of bread from the Master’s table.

Demons and demonic possessions were abundant during Jesus’s ministry. Demons are fallen angels and emissaries of Satan. They were sent to earth to oppress humans and lead them astray. They are supernatural powers on earth with supernatural knowledge. They know and try to hide the truth (1 John 4:1-3). There were two demonic possessions mentioned in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalm 106:37). It is possible that with Jesus’s coming to earth, Satan knew the power Jesus would have, he expanded his strength and power on earth in order to keep his hold. Because demons recognize Jesus as God’s Son (Mark 5:7). They even had a supernatural strength. In Luke 8:29, a possessed man was able to break the chains that bound him. However, despite this strength, they are not stronger than God and Jesus. When they came face to face with Christ or his disciples, they trembled with fear and did his bidding (Luke 10:17). The question many people have is “do demonic possessions happen today?” It’s possible. While on one hand, the New Testament describes events as demonic possessions, we would recognize today as mental illness (Mark 5:15) or a physical ailment (Matthew 9:32, 12:22 and Mark 9:20). 

Spiritual warfare is a deeper topic than I want to get into for this post. While spiritual attacks can happen, I am hesitant to say that all bad things that happen to an individual are due to a demonic attack. It could be consequences from a poor decision or fall out from sin. In terms of demonic possession, as believers, we received the Holy Spirit as our defense against the forces of evil. We may suffer from physical, emotional and psychological issues that it may seem that it is a demonic possession. However, the power of God within us gives a hedge of protection around and within us. Therefore, I do not believe believers can be demonically possessed. As we maintain a close relationship with God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit is our strength, comfort and protection. 2 Thessalonians 3 teaches us that when we reach out in prayer (verse 2), the Lord is faithful to strengthen and protect us (verse 3). If you feel attacked whether it's demonic or not, pray. There is a meme that floats around social media that states Satan knows your name but he calls you by your sin. But on the flip side, God knows your sin but he calls us by your name. He knows how bad and horrible we’ve been but calls out to us in love anyway. 

In conclusion, the Syrophoenician Woman had heard enough about Jesus that she had faith he could heal her daughter. He tested her faith. He used an insult and attitude of the day to test her. Spiritual attacks are very real. However, we cannot and should assume every bad thing is the result of a spiritual attack. When bad things are happening to us, we need to pray and seek God to reveal the source of the attack and help us in its defeat. God has the power to deliver us from every form of evil (Psalm 46, Psalm 91). Satan and demons are very real and they will use every device to turn believers away from Jesus and back to sin as well as keep non-believers from turning to Jesus in the first place. We aren’t alone to battle these powers. God has provided his Holy Spirit to help us.