Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
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 (Matthew 15:21-28 – NRSV).
Introductory notes
General
Matthew is dependent on Mark 7:24–30 for this story, though Matthew has made some interesting changes:
- He has changed Mark’s “the woman was a Gentile (literally Hellenis – a Greek), of Syrophoenician origin” to “a Canaanite (Chananaios) woman”;
- he has the woman cry out and address Jesus with the Messianic title: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon”, whereas Mark does not have this address;
- Jesus’ initial silence and the request of the disciples are omitted by Mark;
- after the woman’s retort, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”, Matthew has Jesus heal the woman’s daughter because of her “great faith” while Mark says the healing is simply because of what she said.
Jesus would have walked about 50-60kms from Gennesaret, on the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee, where he healed the sick man – see 14:34-36 –– to Tyre on the Mediterranean coast and about another 40kms north to Sidon. It is in this “district of Tyre and Sidon” that he encounters the Canaanite woman. For a map of Palestine in early 1st century showing where Tyre and Sidon are click here.
The scenario unfolds as a conversation. The woman addresses Jesus three times and Jesus responds twice. The disciples also address Jesus and he replies to them. This conversation grounds the event and makes it accessible to us. It is very immediate and concrete. We are drawn into the conversation.
Specific
a Canaanite woman: By saying the woman is “a Canaanite” Matthew calls to mind the ancient inhabitants of this land. This is a dramatic encounter. Jesus is here dealing with one of the traditional enemies of Israel. He not only performs the miracle for her, he acclaims her “great faith”. We should not underestimate the symbolic power of this action, radically expanding the Messianic vision beyond the boundaries of Israel – even to Israel’s enemies. One scholar notes: “It is significant that this narrative immediately follows the discussion of ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ in both Matthew and (Mark 7:24–30), because the woman is Canaanite and therefore ‘unclean’ from the Jewish perspective. The story solemnly declares that though she is a Gentile, her faith is sufficient to confirm her as ‘clean’ and therefore acceptable in God’s sight” (B M Newman & P C Stine, A handbook on the Gospel of Matthew, United Bible Societies, 1992, 492).
“Canaanite is found numerous times in the Old Testament, though it is used only here in the New Testament. The problem is that there was no longer a political country called ‘Canaan’ in New Testament times. Some scholars are of the opinion that this was the Semitic manner of referring to the people of Phoenicia at the time that Matthew’s Gospel was written” (B M Newman & P C Stine, op cit, 492-493).
Son of David: This is a messianic title. It is very significant that Matthew has the Gentile woman address Jesus with that title. This seems to confirm that Jesus himself is “radically expanding the Messianic vision beyond the boundaries of Israel” and the people beyond those boundaries are responding in “faith”. They in fact see what the religious authorities of Israel do not – or refuse to – believe.
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: This is unique to Matthew. It repeats Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 10:5-6 when he sends the disciples out: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Scholars are uncertain as to whether this statement is addressed to the woman or to the disciples.
she came and knelt: The Greek verb proskyneō – here translated as “knelt” – “is the verb most frequently used in the New Testament of worship in general, and it is found first in this Gospel in 2:2. The root meaning is ‘approach in dog-like fashion’, and it describes the manner in which a subject might approach a king or some other holy person or object. Consequently the meaning may be either ‘fall down and worship’ or ‘worship’. The present context suggests that the woman is either kneeling or, more likely, prostrating herself on the ground, pleading with Jesus to heal her child” (B M Newman & P C Stine, op cit, 496). It is entirely possible that all this happened while Jesus and the disciples were moving along. If so, it is not hard to imagine it being more than a little chaotic!
It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs: This is a statement of priority rather than a statement about Gentiles – the children of the household are fed before the pets. One scholar writes: “Commentators generally note the sayings of certain Jewish teachers who referred to Gentiles as dogs, but this does not support the argument that all Jews felt this way toward them. And there is no evidence from other New Testament sources that Jesus himself ever spoke of Gentiles in this manner. In fact, it is most probable that the saying is not intended to make a derogatory remark about Gentiles, but rather to differentiate order of priority: children (symbolizing the Jews) are fed before the household pets (dogs symbolizing the Gentiles). In a Palestinian household, which had children and household dogs, the children would be fed first, after which the dogs would be given the scraps from the table. The woman must have understood Jesus’ remark in this way, as her response in verse 27 intimates” (B M Newman & P C Stine, op cit, 497).
Boundaries
In today’s Gospel – Matthew 15:21-28 – we have one of the most significant encounters in any of the four Gospels. Firstly, Jesus and his disciples have walked about sixty kilometres north-west from Gennesaret, into Gentile territory. No explanation for this is given. Secondly, the very positive way the Gentile woman receives Jesus is in stark contrast to the way the Jewish authorities refuse to receive him. Thirdly, that Gentile woman brings about a change in Jesus.
Brendan Byrne SJ notes that Matthew, on a number of occasions, uses the Greek verb anachōreō – generally translated by the English, “withdraw,” – to show a pattern in the life and ministry of Jesus (cf Lifting the Burden: Reading Matthew’s Gospel in the Church Today, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004, 11-12). There is a twofold movement in this pattern, the one geographical and the other existential. The withdrawal typically involves movement to another place. But more importantly, it is a fulfilling of the prophesy of Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region of the shadow of death light has dawned” (Isaiah 8:23-91 cited by Matthew 4:15-16). This existential movement is a movement from “the People of God = only Israel” towards “the people of God = everyone.” It is beautifully portrayed in today’s Gospel.
The fact that Matthew refers to the Gentile woman as “Canaanite” is particularly poignant. Historically, the Canaanites were those dispossessed by the people of Israel. This is a moment of healing – potentially. Picture the scene: The dispossessed are represented in this lady on her knees asking for healing, her request represents not just the voice of the dispossessed Canaanites but the voice of humanity before the Messiah whom she explicitly acknowledges.
The ground is moving under the feet of the disciples but they do not recognize it. Thus, they advise Jesus to tell her to go back where she came from. Shockingly, Jesus seems to be moved by this advice. At least in the first instance. But as a result of the woman’s persistence, her wit and her faith, Jesus changes: “‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’”
Social, cultural, religious and other boundaries are necessary. In our professional lives, in fact, we regard them highly and rightly so. Violation of professional boundaries is to be avoided because right observance of those boundaries paradoxically makes for freedom and respect in our interactions. But boundaries can also be used to stifle freedom and respect. Today’s Gospel tells of a moment in which Jesus recognizes certain social, cultural and religious boundaries as obstacles to his very mission. The vision, the message and the very goal of his being in the world is to bring about a way of being that transcends boundaries.