Matthew 15:21-28

Matthew 15:21-28 NIV

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the childrenʼs bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masterʼs table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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I can appreciate setting priorities and keeping to them. It's easy to get derailed onto other worthy projects and make no progress toward your goals. But I have to admit I'm put off by Jesus' reaction to the Canaanite mother.

A mother's love is a powerful thing. The Hebrews have a word for it. Rachuwm is generally translated as compassion or full of mercy. It is related to the tender love of a mother for her child. Some scholars liken the meaning to the concept of womb pity, a deep connection that only mothers know when caring for a child that was once part of her own body. That's how God feels about you!

It's surprising then that Jesus ignores this woman at first. In fact it's insulting to my sensibilities the way He treats her. I understand His priority is with the Jews, that He was called to begin His church among the His own people, but I don't understand why He was so cold toward her. Jesus had already shown His willingness to relate to Gentiles. He was willing to walk to the home of a Roman centurian, Israel's current oppressors.

I suppose the issue is historical. The Canaanite race was repugnant to God. The history goes back to the time of Noah. Noah's son Ham was guilty of some sort of sexual indiscretion with his father when Noah was in a compromised position. Noah had drunk too much wine when Ham "saw his father's nakedness" and bragged about it to his brothers. When Noah found out about it, He cursed Ham and His son Canaan.

Genesis 9:25 NIV

He said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”

This curse upon Ham's lineage led to a list of descendant nations, all of which became hated enemies of Israel. The so called Table of Nations reveals the descendants of Canaan as a list of notorious bad boys from Israel's history.

Genesis 10:15-19 NIV

Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.

You can see in the list Sodom and Gomorrah, the most vile of cities. The stench of their sins reached the heavens and God utterly destroyed them. Also listed is Canaan's firstborn Sidon. The region of Tyre and Sidon is where our story occurs. The woman with the demon possessed daughter was likely a Sidonian. Another gospel account says she is Syro-Phoenician, which is a broad ethnic term which would include Sidonians of Canaanite descent. In every way she is connected to a race of people whose customs are detestable to God.

Consider these passages from the Law of Moses.

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 NIV

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.

Deuteronomy 9:4 NIV

After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you.

You can see the long-standing disdain the Jewish people had for the Canaanites. It's all over the Old Testament. They are known for child sacrifice, temple prostitution and even bestiality!

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 NIV

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord ; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.

Leviticus 18:23-25 NIV

“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. “ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.

Are you beginning to get the picture as to why Jesus may have had difficulty with welcoming the Canaanite woman? Jesus had biblical mandates for showing her no mercy. Plus He did not want to be distracted by her from His mission among the Jews. He was only there in the region to get away from the crowds for a while. Their needs were endless and the intense persecution from the Pharisees was enough for Jesus to need some time away.

Even still the Canaanite woman persisted. Jesus called her a dog, compared to the chosen people. Still she continued to intercede for her daughter.

Let's look at what the mother did. She surely had heard about Jesus and the healing power He was demonstrating in Galilee. Travelers and merchants had brought news of Him to Sidon. She approached Jesus and addressed Him as Lord (Master) and Son of David (a messianic title). She had no claim on Jesus for she was no Jew. For her to address Jesus as Son of David would be like me going to a New England Patriots game in Foxboro, Massachusetts, dressed in Indianapolis Colts attire, and asking Tom Brady for an autograph. I'd be lucky to walk out of the stadium without a pummeling.

She persued Jesus with such intensity, asking for mercy upon her daughter, that the disciples urged Jesus to send her away. She was annoying! She begged Jesus to have mercy on her, for her heart was pierced in agony over her daughter's suffering. She didn't let Jesus' cold shoulder stop her, nor the disciples' obvious annoyance. Nothing kept her from her goal, the liberation of her daughter.

When she said even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table, Jesus was struck by her faith. She believed Jesus could help her. She wasn't going to stop begging Him for help until she got it, for she knew Jesus was her only hope. Jesus relented and healed her daughter.

This troubling encounter has a larger purpose than yet another exorcism. Consider the story's placement. It lies after a discussion about what makes a person defiled and what doesn't. The heart makes one defiled, not dirty hands, cups and bowls. Jesus saw into her heart and found faith with a profound mother's love.

The story precedes a miraculous feeding of 4000 from 7 loaves of bread. 7 baskets of scraps were left over. The number 7 points to the Gentile. Traditionally speaking, God drove out of Canaan "seven nations". (Dt 7:1) The Canaanite woman functions as a symbol of what Matthew is trying to get across. There's plenty of grace and mercy in Christ to go around. Even the Gentiles may enter the kingdom of heaven.

The next time you feel like God isn't responding to your prayers remember the Canaanite woman who wouldn't give up. Keep on praying. Don't lose hope and don't stop believing! Who knows? Perhaps your tenacity will be rewarded. Perhaps your faith will bring about wonders in your life and the lives of those you care about.