Always read the passage for context. I will comment on content, not verse by verse.

Mark 7:24-30 The Greek woman in this passage brings each of us great hope. Let’s focus on the statement that she had for a moment. She was bringing to Yeshua a request to have her daughter delivered from a demon. The reply to His statement reveals that this woman understood either the general facts of life, or had a very good understanding of the instructions found in the Old Testament. She quotes the concept found in Psalms where God sustains all people and every living thing (Psalm 145:14-16). The idea is also found in the last chapter of Jonah. God reprimands Jonah for his attitude toward the people. Also noted is God’s concern for the animals in the land (Jonah 4:11).

I think that her belief or trust in Yeshua goes a lot deeper than that though. Mark sets it up well. The word that Yeshua was in the area went out even though He was trying to escape notice. This woman found out and sought out Yeshua. She asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. There is a particular nuance that is easily missed. She did not bring the daughter with her!  She knew that Yeshua had power over demons. She also knew that He did not need to be present to cast out a demon. This woman understood the spiritual better than most. She understood that she was dealing with a spiritual realm and not with a sickness. When she went to Jesus, she was not seeking a healer. She was petitioning God. She understood that He had came to the children of Israel. Her appeal to Him was as a servant asking for a simple crumb from the bread of the children. The Hebrews missed the simple truth that she was placing her faith in. They missed that Jesus was God in the flesh. They missed that Yeshua was the YHVH in the flesh of man. This woman did not miss it and appealed to the mercy of God. He granted her request.

Mark 7:31-37  Read this passage carefully. Who’s faith was involved in bringing this man to the place where he could be healed? He had a speech impediment and was deaf. He was not lame. The faith demonstrated in this situation was by those who loved the man. They put out the effort to get him to the healer. We have no indication that this man had any faith at all.

When I originally commented on this in previous years, I thought that the touching of the ears and spitting on the tongue was sign language that helped the deaf man understand what was going on. Several commentaries hold this position. I do not believe that is what happened here.

Yeshua did two things here that are important for understanding faith healing. First, He may have performed medical procedures. We do not know the effect of putting his fingers in the ears or spitting and touching the tongue with saliva. This is an unknown and could fall under either sign language or under the aspect of a medical procedure.

Secondly, He touched the man. Yeshua set the example for us and teaches us through this passage how to pray for and deliver people from different physical problems. These problems were probably not sicknesses, but rather physical conditions. Deafness is an organic problem that medicine cannot reverse. The same for the tongue impediment. The word from the Greek for impediment is “bond”. It specifically speaks of a ligament that was attached to the tongue. Today this condition is corrected with a minor surgery when a child is born, it is called a frenulotomy. Yeshua healed the man without surgery and restored his ability to speak without any therapy. The second amazing thing about this healing is that once his deafness was removed, and the tongue was released, he spoke clearly. Hearing is important to speech since we are repeating sounds that we have heard. It could be though that the man went deaf later in life.

Third, an observation: Over the last two years, I have had the opportunity to take part in a Medical/healing mission to the Philippines. One reason that I became involved originally was to understand how spiritual healing takes place. I also wanted to know if the healings were just hype. I quickly discovered that if I prayed for people, often they were healed. If I laid hands on the area that was broken or sick, it almost always was healed. I placed my hands on deaf ears, blind eyes, arthritic knees, large tumors, and other maladies. I watched God heal them completely. There is something about physical touch and spiritual healing that works together. During my learning curve, I was afraid to touch some people. It is frightening to touch someone who has a highly contagious disease or really bad flu. Others with me did touch these people and pray for them. Healing took place. Just a thought…

Contrast between the healings: Yeshua asked the people to keep quiet and not tell anyone. Notice again that He told the people, not the man to be quiet (Mark 7:36). The people brought the man to be healed. They did not keep quiet and boldly spoke out about the healing. Then we have the woman who asked for her daughter to be delivered from the demon. She fades into the story and fades out of the story in complete silence.  She recognized that she had appealed to God and was answered. The people built up Jesus as a great man who does all things well. They do not credit God with the healing… Since Yeshua is God, He accepted the statement. It is sad though that the correlation was not made by the Hebrew people at the time when we have evidence that the Greek people understood that God had become flesh.