What does Mark 7:29 mean?

The woman is a Canaanite, from a line whose patriarch disgraced Noah (Genesis 9:20–25), and which God had told the Israelites to eliminate (Deuteronomy 20:17). But Jesus says, "O woman, great is your faith!" (Matthew 15:28). The Pharisees with their extensive hand-washing traditions and their fear of ceremonial uncleanness are upstaged by a Gentile woman kneeling on the floor. They add rule upon rule because they don't have faith that God will keep them from being defiled. The woman humbles herself and asks, which is what God wants from all of us.

Jesus and the disciples have searched for a quiet place where they can rest and where Jesus can teach, but have been thwarted by demons (Mark 5:1–13) and unexpected mobs (Mark 6:30–34). In a private home in a Gentile district, a woman comes to demonstrate the greatest lesson of all. Salvation knows no traditions to follow, no boundaries to observe, no historical/cultural baggage to acknowledge. Just faith.

It's easy today to become overburdened by religious "shoulds." Traditions and social niceties can be expressions of our faith and a convenient way to maintain order and peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). But we must never put manmade convention above the needs of others or the worship of God. As C. S. Lewis said, unpleasant things are not interruptions of our lives; they are our lives, and many are God-sent.