The Canaanite Woman

 

MATTHEW 15 VERSES 21 TO 28

Then Jesus went thence and departed in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.  But he answered her not a word.  And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord help me.  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs.  And she said Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt.  And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. 

 

MARK 7 VERSES 24 TO 30

 

And from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon and entered into an house, and would have no man know it, but he could not be hid.  For a certain woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled for it is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it unto the dogs.  And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord; yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.  And he said unto her, For the saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.  And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Matthew 15 verse 21 to 28 The Canaanite Woman

 

Background to the story

Matthew was writing to Jews tracing god’s lineage from Abraham stressing that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and king of Israel.  Mark was written in Rome and his book focuses on Roman believers particularly Gentiles.

In Matthew 14 John the Baptist had been beheaded, there was clear opposition to Jesus’ ministry.  This was followed by Jesus feeding the 5000, showing he could meet the needs of Israel.  Then Jesus walked on water to his disciples in the boat showing he is Lord of creation.  At the beginning of Matthew chapter 15 Jesus challenged the teachings of the elders.  Following that confrontation Jesus went out of the country to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  It was there he met a Canaanite woman.  Jesus was not simply withdrawing but going to this area to meet this particular woman.  Jesus was trying to convince the people he was the Messiah of Israel and was being challenged to prove it with a sign.  But here in this Gentile territory he met a woman who was convinced of who he was and Jesus couldn’t discourage her efforts.  His attempts to put her off was therefore a test and her faith must have been gratifying to the Saviour.

 

Verse 21 The circumstances

Jesus came into a house and didn’t want anyone to know it.  The woman came because she heard he was there.  She was a Greek, born in Syria Phoenica the northern country ruled by Greeks.  In this area there were mixed nationalities.  Jesus had healed Gentiles before this story but always in Jewish territory.

Tyre and Sidon were 2 main Phoenician cities just north of Mount Carmel on the coast.  In Old Testament times this was all the region of the Phoenicians better known as Canaanite tribes - Matthew 15 verse 22 "a woman of Canaan”. 

The Canaanites were in the land before Abraham and they became the dominant power of third millennium BC.  They provided a formidable military challenge for Joshua and later the Judges but they were corrupt and pagan.  Their presence in the land was a threat to the purity of Israel’s religion and morality.  David and his successors managed to control them.  Solomon did business with them when building the temple.  Over the years the Canaanites were defeated and most fled the land.  They settled in North Africa and met their doom in 146 BC which ended the curse on Canaan and any threat from the Canaanites.  This area was 50 miles north from where Jesus was previously.

There were 2 reasons why Jesus withdraw – he didn’t want to be made king and didn’t want confrontation with his enemies to come to a head too soon.  We find Jesus withdrew quite a lot in the Gospel stories – to let conflict to settle a bit and on this occasion to turn his attention to the Gentiles. 

The timing is significant – the Jewish leaders were rejecting him and this Gentile woman who hardly knew him was seeking mercy.

 

Verses 22 – 28 The conversation

Remember – Jesus often put stumbling blocks in people’s way to see if they had faith to step over them!

Notice how this woman addressed Jesus – “Lord, Son of David have mercy on me. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.”

She is well aware of ancient rivalry between the Jews and the Canaanites.

She believes Jesus is the promised Messiah but if that is true then he is a Jewish King.  As such he is sovereign over her and her land and all she can do is cry for mercy.  Her words open up old wounds.  But she was desperate for her daughter and so would cry out for mercy from visiting this Jewish king.

It is the setting and her words that prompt the disciples and then Jesus to respond the way they do.  At first Jesus was silent – no doubt to see if she would persevere and she did, following him down the street crying out.  The disciples said “send her away”.

Jesus told her “I am only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  This was his reason for not healing her – he had come to save the Jews and she was a Gentile.  Jesus was making the point about the priorities he had been given by God.

The woman would not be put off so she fell down before him and begged “Lord help me.”  Jesus was testing her.  She knew the historic distinction between the cursed Canaanites and the blessed Israelites.  The response from Jesus “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs.”  The reference to “children” are the Jews and “dogs” are the Gentiles.  This woman put herself in the role of a dog showing she knew Jesus had come to the Jews first.  She may not be able to sit down at the Messiah’s table and eat with the “children” but she should be allowed to pick up some of the crumbs they drop.  She wants some of the uncovenanted mercy of God, his general saving grace to all people.

The reference to “dogs” is to small pets, specifically children’s pet dogs.  They are harmless and helpless.  This woman accepted Israel’s historical privileges over the Gentiles especially the powerful ancient Canaanites but she is no threat to that in her request for grace that is freely given to the Gentiles.  Beside she will take what the Jews do not want. 

The idea behind these words – it is the picture of a father taking food from his children in order to throw it to their pets.  The exact word Jesus used here is the Greek word “kunaron” meaning small dog or pet dog.

This woman’s persistence is similar to the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18.  Her response to Jesus proved that she understood fully what Jesus was saying yet had enough conviction to ask any way.  Jesus acknowledged her faith calling it great.

 

Verse 28 The conclusion

Jesus honours faith that seeks mercy.  She had no resentment, no anger about her situation.  She only knew that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah who came to heal people and for some reason he was in her town.  She sought mercy from him  And this time Jesus responded with emotion – “O woman”.  Her faith was rewarded.  And she became one of the early Gentiles to enter the kingdom.  When she returned home she found her daughter had been delivered from the demon.

 

APPLICATION

Firstly be humble – this woman was rejected but she didn’t become defensive.  She remained respectful even when initially told no.  She recognised who Jesus was.  We need to remain humble when we come to God in prayer.

Secondly be bold in faith – this woman continued to ask for what she needed even after being rejected by Jesus.  She knew she needed help and she knew that Jesus could provide that help so she persisted.  She was desperate so she asked until she received an answer.  We also need to keep asking as long as our motives are pure.

Thirdly don’t judge by exteriors.  Jesus doesn’t judge people by their nationality, race or religious criteria.  At the beginning of his conversation with this woman Jesus was simply sticking to the main purpose for which he came.  He wasn’t judging her for being a Gentile.  We have a natural tendency to judge by exteriors which we need to fight daily.  Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.  We should too.

Fourthly faith should be applauded.  When Jesus saw the woman’s great faith he applauded her and granted her request.  We need to have and show faith even when we are far out of our comfort zone.  We should do what’s right even if people give us judgmental and haughty looks.  In this way we are showing God’s opinion is more important than other people’s.

 

Sometimes in the bible, Gentiles showed more faith than the Jews.  This story shows us that God was about to reveal his full plan of bringing both Jews and Gentiles into the sheepfold of his kingdom.  The cross of Christ revealed the mystery that both Gentiles and Jews can become a part of God’s kingdom.  God created one humanity out of 2 groups of people so that anyone that repents can find peace with Christ no mater what nationality they are born into.  We all have the chance to be one of God’s children when we repent.  We are all born sinners – Romans 3 verse 23.  God’s grace came at a very high price.  Hebrews 4 verse 16 says we are to come boldly to the throne of God where we will receive mercy and find grace to help us when we need it met.  We have the ability to draw near to God’s throne as long as we admit we have fallen far from God’s standard.  We all need to be reconciled to God through the atoning blood of Christ.  There is no other way to be saved.