Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Now here’s an interesting narrative twist. Having just stretched Peter’s world in terms of forgiveness – inviting Peter to move to a more open, abundant, and relational sense of forgiveness – Jesus now has his own world stretched.
As Matthew narrates, Jesus has left the familiar environs in which much of his story has taken place so far and travelled to the region of Tyre and Sidon, lands that were populated mainly by non-Israelites. There he meets a woman. Matthew calls her a Canaanite woman, a phrase probably not used to describe the inhabitants of that region for centuries. Given that the Canaanites were ancient opponents of Israel, Matthew probably uses this name to reinforce just how foreign she would be been to Jesus and his disciples.
When she sees Jesus, she runs out to him, begging him to heal her daughter. She addresses him as both “Lord” and “Son of David” – both significant and authoritative titles – and beseeches him to have mercy on her. But while Jesus’ disciples urge him to send her away, he at least does her the honor of addressing her directly and giving her a reason why he intends not to grant her request.
Of course my use of the word “honor” is perhaps suspect, as in explaining his motives Jesus calls her a “dog” and refuses to do something that would be so easy for him and so important and life-changing for her. But refuses to give in, actually using his slur to her advantage, pressing him to do for this “dog” what kind masters regularly do, giving them at least the crumbs from the table.
And Jesus does. He immediately commends her faith and heals her daughter.
Some, I know, would argue that this whole scene was something of a test. That Jesus is only pretending to refuse her earnest plea to test or draw out her faith. Maybe that is the case. But it may also be that God used this foreign woman to draw Jesus out, to invite him to imagine his mission in broader terms, to pull him into the deeper significance of his mission and ministry. For Jesus comes to save not just Israel, but the world.
And so I regularly give thanks for this persistent, stubborn, and deeply faithful woman who would not take “no” from Jesus when it came to the well being of her daughter. For in pressing her desperate case, she may just have taught the Teacher, and we are all the better for it.
Prayer: Dear God, bless all those who persevere against significant odds to advocate for the weak, poor, and vulnerable. And teach us, too, of the depth and breadth of your love and compassion. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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