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.
Matthew 15: 22-23
It’s a hot summer morning and I’m reading the 15th chapter of Matthew. The first 20 verses, which focus on the consequences of obsessing over tradition, already pack a punch. The passage is a sobering reminder to honor God with a genuine heart, rather than with empty rituals and man-made rules. (As a former legalist, this one hits home.) However, when I reach verses 21 through 28, I am riddled with confusion.
At this point, Jesus is approached by a gentile—a Canaanite woman, to be exact—who pleads with him to heal her demon-possessed daughter, and He doesn’t respond. This already strikes me as odd and rather cold, but remarkably, His silence doesn’t deter her. The woman persists, even to the point of irritating the disciples, and they urge Jesus to “send her away” because she’s crying after them. I suppose they expected Him to immediately heal the woman’s daughter with a word and send her on her way, much like He did with the Centurian in chapter 8. Or maybe they just got so fed up with the woman that they wanted Jesus to do something.
But He gives an interesting response that no one could’ve predicted. He says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” In other words, His primary focus, or His mission, was to minister to the lost people of Israel and not the Gentiles. On the surface, it does seem like Jesus is giving this woman the cold shoulder, and as I read this first response, I struggled to comprehend why He would react this way. Why did He initially ignore her? And why did He respond by saying He only came for a specific group of people?
If I were this nameless Canaanite woman, I’d have felt the sting of rejection and I probably would’ve walked away. But this is not what she does. Instead, she worships Him. Even despite his apparent apathy, she “knelt before him” and said, “Lord, help me!” Surely, I figured, this would move Jesus to be compassionate and immediately grant her request. But in another twist, He says, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
Here is where I cringed, because it does seem like Jesus is being offensive. First, He chooses not to address her request. Then, He points out that she is not part of the special group He came to minister to. But, referring to her as a dog? Isn’t that a bit harsh? Why did Jesus call this Canaanite woman a dog?
My Initial Reaction
I’ll be the first to admit that I nearly fell into the trap of reading my own biases into the text. I was so quick to take offense. (And I have a theory that I’m prone to this because I live in a culture that trains people to have thin skin and get offended at everything, but I digress.) With this passage, it is very easy—too easy—to conclude that Jesus was being unfair to this woman. Some who are unfamiliar with the Bible may even go as far as labeling Him a sexist. But I’ve learned enough about God’s character to know that this can’t be true. I stared back at the text and thought, “Something isn’t adding up…This interaction doesn’t seem to align with God’s true qualities at all. What is the purpose of this encounter? Why did Jesus opt to put this desperate mother through the wringer before He finally healed her child?”
I was honest with the Lord about my confusion. And fortunately, through a few insightful commentaries and Pastor David Guzik‘s verse-by-verse teaching, I finally understood what this passage is really about.
A Powerful Lesson About Faith
As I did my research, I came across an incredible video where Guzik breaks down this passage with such clarity. He sets the scene and carefully walks through the text, explaining that Jesus already had a purpose for this unique encounter. It’s not that Jesus intended to be cruel. Rather, He wanted this woman to persevere and exercise her faith—and He gave her the ultimate test.
“[Jesus] had to draw out of her a greater measure of devotion and tenacity than even she knew that she had…He’s saying, ‘Woman, I know that you believe in me, but your faith needs to go deeper. I’m going to step back a little bit so that you can pursue me more. I’m going to make you feel like I’m pushing you away so that you’ll fight through it, so your faith will increase, so that your devotion will increase.’ And she responded perfectly.”
David Guzik
Suddenly, it all made sense and tears came to my eyes as I thought about instances where I felt like God was silent. Even now as I navigate a challenging season of transition, there are times when I worship and I plead with God and I press in, but it feels like the Lord is not responding. So I fret and I get anxious because seeking the Lord and hearing silence is such a scary place to be. Like David, I can’t help but think, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
After meditating on this passage, I felt prompted to pray for perseverance like this Canaanite woman. I admire her boldness and persistence, despite the circumstances. I love her humility and unwavering faith. Even when Jesus compares her to a little dog, she doesn’t take offense. Without missing a beat, she offers a clever response, noting that even dogs are entitled to the scraps left behind by children. In short, Jesus wasn’t going to get rid of her that easily. She knew of His power and His deeds. She knew that this was the true Messiah. I imagine the thought of giving up never even crossed her mind.
I want to build that kind of faith. Faith that is unshakable and so deeply rooted that nothing could make me waver. I want to be tenacious, yet humble and slow to offense. I want God to see me as someone who has great faith.
I pray that I will always respond like this Canaanite mother whenever it feels like Jesus is silent.
Nakeisha Campbell 