Matthew 15:21-28
A. INTRODUCTION
It’s a story of prejudice of race, culture, and gender. It’s a story of a man who was single minded in the pursuit of his task; and it’s the story of a woman who held strong beliefs and showed great determination. No! It’s not the latest film released for the cinema. Neither is it a blockbuster about to appear on our TV screens. This is the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman that can be read about in Matthew’s gospel.
B. THE FAITH OF A CANAANITE WOMAN
1. A Story of Prejudice
It’s a story of prejudice . . . Because underlying the story is a Jewish attitude towards gentiles. Being a Canaanite, the woman was a member of a race that had a history dating back to about 3,000 BC. They were a cultured race, and Tyre and Sidon were noted for being great trading centres. From there the Canaanites travelled far and wide. But from a Jewish perspective they were still gentiles and they were to be treated with contempt.
The disciples, for example, very quickly picked up that the woman was not a Jew. She was a gentile; she was female; and her daughter may have been demon-possessed but, as far as they were concerned, she was just a nuisance. If she’d been a Jew, they would have been far more sympathetic. However, all they wanted to do, was to get rid of her. But they didn’t tell her to go away themselves. No! They asked Jesus to do that. In fact, they told Jesus to do anything, even grant her wish, just so that she would go away.
Jesus, on the other hand, was not ignorant of her background or of Jewish attitudes either. Because when the woman finally came close enough for him to talk to, he used the derogatory term ‘dogs’, used by Jews to describe gentiles. A term, which the woman acknowledged, and used, in her argument for help.
2. A Story of a Man on a Mission
It’s a story of a man on a mission . . . Because in the story we see that Jesus had his mind very much set on his task. Yes! He may have withdrawn into gentile territory—presumably to have time to think, and pray, and be alone with his disciples. But when faced with the woman, shouting from a distance, he refused to be diverted from his task. And when confronted by the disciples to get rid of her at any cost, he reminded them of his mission: being sent by God, only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Indeed, it was only when confronted, face to face, with the Canaanite woman—who argued her case well, that even the dogs have a place in the house—that Jesus was persuaded to help.
3. A Story of a Woman of Great Faith & Determination
And it’s a story of a woman of faith . . . Because even though she was not a Jew, she knew who Jesus was. Her daughter was sick, possessed by a demon, and as soon as she had become aware of Jesus’s presence she came running (and screaming) towards him.
She called him, ‘Lord’, a sign of, at least, great respect. She identified him as the Jewish Messiah: ‘Have mercy on me, Son of David!’ And she was not going to be easily fobbed off by either the dismissive disciples or a silent Jesus.
When she came close, she knelt at Jesus’s feet—an expression of deep reverence. She even acknowledged her position as a gentile. However, she also accepted that she still had a place in the plans of God, even if it was only to eat the scraps that fell from the table.
4. Summary
The story of the faith of a Canaanite woman, then, providing all the ingredients of a modern-day film: a story of prejudice; a story of a man on a mission; and a story of a woman of great faith and determination.
C. THE ATTITUDE OF JESUS
However, from a Christian point of view, this story has provided many a Christian with a problem. After all, how could Jesus possibly treat anyone like that? How could he, of all people, get so tied up in the prejudices of the day? How could he be so uncaring?
And, I think, to answer these criticisms we need to dig a bit deeper.
1. Regarding Prejudice
Because regarding prejudice . . . Even though Jesus implied that the woman was a ‘dog’, I don’t get the impression of any prejudice in Jesus’s bones.
After all, didn’t Jesus (with the disciples) deliberately enter the land of Tyre and Sidon, knowing who the occupants were—Canaanites—but with the hope of spending time alone? Wasn’t Jesus’s initial refusal to help the woman out of concern for his mission, rather than the result of any prejudice towards the gentile peoples? And, isn’t it just possible that we haven’t been given all the facts that are relevant to this story? Because we are not given any description of the expressions on Jesus’s face. Nor are we told the manner in which he made his remarks.
However, we do have a clue. Because when Jesus implied that she was a ‘dog’, the woman gave back as good as she got. And she would not have done that if she had thought that it would harm her chances of a cure for her daughter.
What it seems to me, then, is what we have here is a piece of harmless banter. Jesus would have had a smile on his face, and the woman was obviously happy to respond in like manner.
The kind of picture we get then is far from showing any prejudice. We have an instance of the same kind of acceptance that Jesus gave others, regardless of the person being either a Jew or a gentile. Indeed, his acceptance is consistent with what he have recorded elsewhere in the four gospels.
After all, doesn’t John’s gospel (4:1-38) describe another incident, this time in Samaria, where Jesus did not only stopped on his way through, but he actually initiated a conversation with a Samaritan woman. And, more than that, in asking her to get some water for him to drink, he even went to the extent of making himself (in Jewish eyes) ceremonially unclean.
2. Regarding His Mission
And regarding his mission . . . Is it any wonder that he was concerned to keep it on track. God had given him a specific task: to bring the kingdom of God to his people. His whole life had been given to its fulfilment. It was why he was born, and why he would die.
In his short period of ministry, he had been tempted to divert from his purpose many times. And perhaps the two most notable events being: at the start of his ministry, with the temptation by the devil in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13); and then, later, the suggestion of Peter that maybe he could take a different path, one that didn’t lead to death (Matthew 16:22).
Jesus, therefore, knew that he could not afford to be diverted from his task. And that is why he was so focussed on his ministry.
In general terms, however, Jesus’s contact with gentiles was limited—most of his time he spent in Galilee and Judea. And even when he sent his own disciples off, his preachers were only sent to the people of Israel. No wonder he seemed like a man on a mission. He took his task very seriously indeed.
3. Regarding Her Faith
And regarding the Canaanite woman’s faith . . . Well, in the end, it was the depth of faith that the Canaanite woman showed that eventuated in her request being fulfilled.
As far as Jesus was concerned, she might not have been a Jew, but she had acknowledged who he was. At the same time, she indicated that she had no intention to divert him from his mission. Furthermore, she showed great insight—insight that had understood that even the had a place within God’s scheme. A place that Jesus could hardly deny.
As a consequence, in the end, Jesus was able to give her one of the highest accolades he gave anyone recorded in the Gospels: ‘Woman, great is your faith’. An accolade he gave, second only to that of another gentile: a Centurion.
And regarding her persistence? Well, there’s no comment on this specific angle to her faith in this story. But wasn’t it Jesus who encouraged his disciples that, when praying, to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking? (Luke 11:9). A practice the Canaanite woman was persistent in doing.
4. Summary
So, Jesus wasn’t subject to the prejudices of his day. He wasn’t about to be diverted from his task. But he wasn’t uncaring either. Indeed, he was happy to reward a gentile woman of great faith.
D. IMPLICATIONS
So where does all this leave us? Well, there are a number of things that we would do well to note.
1. Prejudice
Because, firstly, just as in Jesus’s day we live in a world of prejudice. Now prejudice, these days comes in terms of race, religion, politics, gender, disability, economic circumstance, and a number of other things besides.
But the example of Jesus is that he did not accept any barriers—not even the social attitudes of his day—to affect the way that he treated people. And neither should we. Jesus’s example was, in fact, that he went out of his way to help those who were at the receiving end of the prejudices in his society. And as a consequence, he has given us a perfect example to copy.
The implication is therefore, that we should not only steer clear of the prejudices of our day, but by the way we live, we should be actively involved in supporting those who take the brunt of such community attitudes.
2. Devotion to Mission
Secondly, just as Jesus was very focussed on the job in hand, so we should be too. Now Jesus, after his death, gave all his disciples a job to carry out: to tell the world about him, to make disciples, and to baptise in his name (Matthew 28:19-20). So now the onus is on us to carry out the task. And just as Jesus was determined not to be diverted from the path, so we should be determined not to be diverted too.
Of course, sometimes it’s easy to get distracted. There’s a lack of time, there are family distractions, there are so many other interesting things going on, and there are so many people influencing us (just like Peter tried to do with Jesus) to steer us on a different path. However, the message is, that we need to be strong and focussed; we need to constantly remind ourselves of what our mission is; and we need to make sure that (even in our own little way) we are doing our part.
3. Faith
And thirdly, the example of the Canaanite woman gives us quite a challenge. Because when we consider the faith of the disciples, in terms of the shallowness of their faith, the example of the Canaanite woman shines out like a beacon.
For example: in the story of the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples were seen to be thinking only in worldly terms. Because the only solution they could see to the people’s hunger was to send the crowd away to buy some food. They just couldn’t see there was any other way. And with the story of Jesus walking on the water, Peter demonstrated the shallowness of his faith, when he got out of the boat, took a few steps, and then began to sink.
In contrast to the disciples, then, the Canaanite woman’s faith was amazing. She showed such outstanding and unexpected trust that it put the attitude of the disciples to shame. She had faith, she was persistent, and she didn’t ask for anything for herself. (Only that her daughter be healed.) And how many of us can claim to have faith like that? And yet that is the kind of faith to which we should all aspire.
E. CONCLUSION
Today we have a story of prejudice, a story of a man on a mission, and a story of a woman of great faith and determination. But it’s not a new film, and it’s not a something about to be screened on TV either. It’s a story from the Bible. And although it can seem on the surface, at least, to be a rather odd story, it’s one that has much to teach us about ourselves, about how we treat others, and about the depth of our faith in Jesus Christ.
So where do we stand today? Well, we need to answer three questions.
Where do we stand regarding the prejudices of our society? Do we embrace them, or are we actively involved in breaking them down? Are we truly single minded in our mission to share the kingdom of God, or do we find ourselves constantly diverted on our way? And can we claim to have faith like that of the Canaanite woman, or is our faith as shallow as the disciple’s faith often appeared to be?
Posted: 2nd November 2022
© 2022, Brian A Curtis
www.brianacurtis.com.au
