After Jesus encountered the pagan, Syrophoenician woman he left Tyre (in modern Lebanon) and went to the Greek speaking (mostly pagan) area of the Decapolis, modern day Golan Heights. It is almost as if he was testing the expanded mission beyond the “lost sheep of the house of Israel. There he was met by another supplicant seeking healing. But instead of just healing with a word or the touch of his garment this healing seemed like work. Jesus put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned. This very physical encounter reminds us that at times our dealings with the Lord are arduous as well. We often must wrestle with God to find healing.
