Jesus set out for the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house there where he didn’t think he would be found, but he couldn’t escape notice. He was barely inside when a woman who had a disturbed daughter heard where he was. She came and knelt at his feet, begging for help. The woman was Greek, Syro-Phoenician by birth. She asked him to cure her daughter.

He said, “Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first. If there’s any left over, the dogs get it.”

She said, “Of course, Master. But don’t dogs under the table get scraps dropped by the children?”

Jesus was impressed. “You’re right! On your way! Your daughter is no longer disturbed. The demonic affliction is gone.” She went home and found her daughter relaxed on the bed, the torment gone for good. (Mark 7:24-30)

There is no pattern to how Jesus relieves people of demon possession. There isn’t a special ritual that must be performed in order for a demon to be successfully expelled. In fact, the only thing that all the demon expulsions of the New Testament have in common is one thing: the involvement of Jesus. The method of expelling demons, however, varied from situation to situation. Sometimes we see Jesus talking to the demon, getting its name. Other times we see him rebuking the demon. But with the Greek woman from Tyre, Jesus never even sees the little girl who was possessed, nor does he talk to the demon. Instead, all his attention is directed toward the little girl’s mother, with whom he has a discussion about whether he should even bother to help her at all.

He makes no gestures, he utters no words of rebuke to the demon. Instead, he simply granted the mother’s request. Jesus tells her that the demon is gone and her daughter is fine.

God is not limited in how he solves the problems facing people. He can do it with a word or with no words. The reality is that Jesus can do whatever he wants to do. He is not limited by his location, by his proximity to the problem. There is not a formula for solving the problems, either. Jesus isn’t waiting for us to utter a certain phrase before he acts. He isn’t waiting for us to get to a special place, to do or not do a special thing. When Jesus agrees—or more accurately, when we agree with Jesus—then Jesus will simply do what he wills.

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