P ♰ C

by Jean Allen

The Gospel of the Canaanite woman begging Jesus to heal her daughter, arguing that even dogs eat the crumbs from the table, is a tough one to digest. However, I fully believe Jesus knew he was going to heal the daughter and his resistance to the woman was an object lesson to his disciples.

What Jesus said, that he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel and that it wasn’t fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs, was Jesus regurgitating what every good Jew, including his disciples at that point, would have presumed was the correct answer. He stated the prophetic law that he was only sent to Israel and he stated the common prejudice of the time that anyone not a Jew was a dog not fit to eat from the table. The disciples were probably watching the whole interaction thinking, “That’s right! You tell her, Jesus.”

And then Jesus shows his true nature and his true mission, catching everybody off guard. “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish,” instantly healing the daughter. 

What Jesus was showing his disciples was that he came to supersede traditional prophetic law and that he wasn’t a Messiah just for the Jews. He came for anyone who needed him and accepted him. I think the disciples came away from that interaction with their set in stone foundations crumbling. That day they learned that love and compassion is the highest prophetic law and that Jesus came for everyone, not just them.

We need to learn that too.