You Say

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 the 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” (Mt. 15:21-28).

Jesus’ words must have been offensive to the woman. Jesus’ comment, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs (v. 26)” implies (a) the Jews, not the Canaanites, are the rightful recipients of his help and miracles, and (b) she is equivalent to a dog in terms of her value. Look carefully and you will see Jesus does not appear to be merely “nice” in his initial words to the Canaanite woman. The original Greek language includes a diminutive form in both Jesus’ and the woman’s words, making the translation closer to “little dog.” In that sense, Jesus does seem to temper his words. However, the sting of his words cannot be reasoned away as merely the appearance of harshness. His words were harsh, but he was testing her and he knew her passing this test would be a marvelous lesson for his disciples (including us).

In the immediate moment after being the target of these offensive implications, the woman responds, “Yes, LORD, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Wow. We need to think carefully about the other possibilities for her words in order to perceive just how amazing the woman’s communication is. If someone implied that you do not deserve God’s miracle as much as others and that you are equivalent to a puppy-dog, would you respond as the Canaanite woman did? I confess, I doubt I would react with the same spiritual fortitude the woman demonstrates.

Recall that early in the same chapter of Matthew, Jesus admonishes the Pharisees and scribes for teaching others to say to one’s aging parents, “Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God” (Mt. 15:5). We illustrated how that communication is arrogant, other-harming, and God-using. In Jesus’ quest to teach his disciples the important idea that “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles” (Mt. 15:11) and “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart” (Mt. 15:18) he leaves Gennesaret and the Pharisees (Mt. 14:34), taking his disciples to Tyre and Sidon (Mt. 15:21), knowing the Canaanite woman, and her Godly communication, will be there for them to hear. The Pharisees and scribes’ communication positioned self as esteemed, others as not valued, and God as an instrument of the self’s manipulation in-formationally.

Conversely, the Canaanite woman’s words were humble, other-promoting, and God-fearing. Her communication positioned self as less valuable, others as more valuable, and God as above all. We might diagram the in-formational aspect of her message to Jesus like this:

Why? By saying, “Yes, LORD, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” the woman takes up the lowly position into which Jesus placed her (i.e., as a little dog), and she recognizes that others are more valuable by not disagreeing that the Jews—not her—are the children in the metaphor. Finally, the woman is God-fearing, which is apparent in her first words (i.e., “Yes, LORD”) as well as her willingness to take up and agree with the lowly and other-promoting positions into which Jesus was placing her. Clearly, Jesus was pleased with her communication. In fact, Mark’s account makes that explicit. It reads, “Then, he [Jesus] said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” Powerful. Oh, that Jesus might be that pleased with what we say.