Mark’s Gospel has us meet a remarkable Gentile woman, and a Jesus who seems uncaring and insulting. (7:24–30; she’s here in Matthew)
Jesus leaves the land of Israel, apparently needing a rest. You can’t do your work for your boss, never mind for God, if you never rest. So even the Son of God takes a break. Mark tells us he didn’t want anyone to know where he was, just like any celebrity. So he goes and hides in enemy territory, in the city of Tyre, founded by the Phoenicians and which still exists in what is now Lebanon.
If you’re a famous person, and need to get away from it all, hide where no one will look for you. For Jesus that is among the Gentiles. And no better hideaway than among Phoenicians, who once used to practice child sacrifice.
The “messianic secret” that no one keeps
One of Mark’s favorite themes is that the more Jesus tells people not to talk about him, the more they do so. And even hiding among the Gentiles, he’s found out.
A mother, deeply distressed by her daughter’s illness (we’re not told what it is other than demonic oppression), “outs” Jesus. She finds him and starts to beg him to heal her daughter. If you had a sick child and you knew that there was a famous doctor vacationing in town who could cure her, what would you do?
