Mark 7:30

‘And she went her way to her house, and found the child laid on the bed and the devil gone out.’

Her faith was up to His test. Believing, she left Him, and found it was even as He had said. His authority had reached over the miles. For such faith compare Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10; John 4:46-53). That it was a genuine miracle comes out in that a demon would not leave the one it possessed of its own accord. But no wonder Jesus had then to leave the place where He was staying. The news would soon have meant great crowds of Gentiles gathered round Him and He was not ready for that yet. Everything had to move in God’s time. But from that time on He began to preach in Gentile country as Mark 8:1 demonstrates. There were of course many Jews there. But He also recognised that some Gentiles were ready to receive the bread of life as eagerly as the pet dogs received the crumbs. They too had a right to receive the bread of life.

There is a good case for seeing this case as a major turning point in His ministry, especially in Matthew. Up to and including this point he has stressed the mission of Jesus to Israel. After it the door gradually opened to the Gentiles, and He fed a crowd of both Jews and Gentiles as He had previously fed the crowd of Jews only, and the exclusiveness was not again mentioned, a changed situation already previously hinted at in the visit of the Magi to Jesus (Matthew 2:0). Matthew ends his Gospel with Jesus sending His disciples out into the whole world, to ‘all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19-20). Mark’s ending emphasises the same message (Mark 16:15). The Kingly Rule of God reaches out to the Gentiles.