The Mother of a Daughter with an Unclean Spirit
The mother of a daughter with an unclean spirit is another woman of the New Testament who remains unnamed. She is identified as a Greek; this meant she was a Gentile woman and not a Jewess from Syrophenician by nation. She knew of Jesus and knew Jesus would have mercy on her and her child. Her persistence in seeking help from Jesus knowing He had the ability to heal her daughter is an attribute we should all hold on to.
Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30
Jesus and His disciple went into the borders of Thyre and Sidon. Thyre and Sidon were both Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean Sea. They were ancient, wealthy, large cities of Phoenicia, splendid, flourishing in commerce, and powerful by land and sea.
Jesus entered into a house secretly without anyone one being aware He would be there. The woman who lived there had a young daughter who had an unclean spirit. She had heard about the healing power of Jesus.
This woman was a Greek; this meant she was a Gentile woman and not a Jewess. She was also a Syrophenician by nation, this is a name given to those that are half Phoenicians and half Syrians. She was a Gentile; not one of the chosen people of the LORD God. She was a Gentile by birth and was a Canaanite living in Phoenicia who was the ancient enemies of Israel.
This woman went to Jesus crying “have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” (Matthew 15:22). She knew Jesus had the power to have mercy on her and to heal her daughter. The disciples tried to send her away because she was persistent in her request. Jesus was not answering his woman and explained to the disciples He was not to any except the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
This mother of the daughter who was vexed with a devil came and worshipped Jesus again asking for help from Him. Again the unrelenting insistent that Jesus could heal her daughter was strong. It is always shocking to hear the response from our Lord Jesus when he answered that it was not honorable to take the bread for children and cast it to dogs.
This did not stop the mother she answered Jesus by saying that it was true what Jesus said yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. We must remember that this woman knew of Jesus and knew He had the power to heal her daughter. She did not fear Him and had the faith in Jesus and His compassion to pursue her request for Jesus.
Jesus answered and said unto her, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:28). Mark 7: 29-30 reports that Jesus told the mother of the daughter with an unclean spirit to go her way; the devil is gone out of her daughter. Once she returned home she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. Jesus had done what the mother knew He would do and that was to heal her daughter.
Here is a woman with a daughter who had an unclean spirit; and was grievously vexed with a devil. There are very few mothers who do not feel the pain of their child when they are ill from anything. I am sure this mother felt the sorrow for her daughter. It is always hard when as a mother you do not know how to help. Once this mother heard about Jesus, and that Jesus was in her very neighborhood she knew she had to get to Him. She watched as Jesus entered this house, Mark reports, which no man knew. She follows him there.
The mother of the daughter did not pause when the disciples refused to allow her near Jesus. She came nearer to Jesus and worshipped Him. She persevered and continued to make her desire known to the Lord. Once the Lord did answer her it seemed very cold and stern it was definitely a refusal to this mother. Still this Gentile mother endured and persisted and made it very clear that she wanted Jesus to heal her daughter. It did not matter that the Gentiles were not the chosen people, the Jews, she would be happy to eat the scraps that the Jews were rejecting.
This mother was poor in spirit; she felt and acknowledged her spiritual poverty. She knew her unworthiness and none of it mattered because she knew the compassion of Jesus and His healing power. She knew He would heal her daughter. She was happy to accept her small portion of the kingdom of God. What a wonderful attribute that this mother knew the importance of even a scrap of nourishment from Jesus was worth more than a full meal from man. She did indeed have great faith.
The Jews had the whole of the bread of life which came down from heaven. All this mother wanted was a small portion of the bread of life that would heal her daughter. Basically what this mother was saying was that she knew she was not a Jew, the people that had been prepared for the ministry of Jesus. She made a suggestion that her request would not rob the Jews of anything. That just a small amount of His love and kindness toward her daughter would be enough. This Gentile mother trusted in the power and the Grace of the Lord for healing. Her persistence in seeking help from Jesus knowing He had the ability to heal her daughter is an attribute we should all hold on to.
What we can take away from this mother who had a daughter with an unclean spirit is that no matter how hard life gets, no matter how dark life gets just keep on praying. Just keep on knowing and trusting that Jesus Christ our Lord will be there for us in our time of hopelessness. The greatest attribute we can have is to be persistence when we believe that Jesus is silent. We need to be persistence and know that we are alone. We always need to remember we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Jesus has guaranteed we have obtained an inheritance through His blood. Ephesians 1:5 reminds us; “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-14).
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “The Mother of a Daughter with an Unclean Spirit:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1937,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, January) “The Mother of a Daughter with an Unclean Spirit:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1937,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “The Mother of a Daughter with an Unclean Spirit:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1937, (accessed).
