Big Idea: Salvation and the kingdom blessings, heretofore experienced primarily by the Jews, are now extended to the Gentiles. A Gentile woman of Tyre shows remarkable faith and humility, and a deaf mute in the Decapolis experiences messianic healing.

Understanding the Text

Mark now turns to examples of faith, as the Syrophoenician woman is one of the “little people” in Mark, characters who appear only once but carry the theme of what a true disciple should be. As such, she gives a lesson to the disciples of the humility and Christ-centeredness that must characterize a true follower of Jesus and provides the centerpiece of the section on failure-faith-failure in 6:30–8:21 (see “The Text in Context” on 6:31–44), contrasting especially with the disciples’ hardness in 6:52; 8:17. The healin…