15:21       Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  Jesus traveled about thirty miles to the region of Tyre and Sidon. These were port cities on the Mediterranean Sea north of Israel. Both cities had flourishing trade and were very wealthy. They were proud, historic Canaanite cities. Jesus withdrew to Gentile territory to evade the opposition of the Pharisees. In David’s day, Tyre had been on friendly terms with Israel (2 Samuel 5:11), but soon afterward the city had become known for its wickedness. Its king even had claimed to be a god (Ezekiel 28:1ff.). Tyre had rejoiced when Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 b.c. because without Israel’s competition, Tyre’s trade and profits would increase.

15:22       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.” ^N Apparently, a woman had heard about Jesus’ miracle-working power and how he could cast out demons, so she wasn’t going to miss a chance to see him. Mark records that she “fell at his feet” (Mark 7:25; see below 15:25). Matthew called her a Canaanite; Mark described her as a Gentile, a Syrophoenician. Both descriptions are correct. Mark’s designation refers to her political background. His Roman audience would easily identify her by the part of the Empire that was her home. Matthew’s description was designed for his Jewish audience; they remembered the Canaanites as bitter enemies when Israel was settling the Promised Land. Matthew’s Jewish audience would have immediately understood the significance of Jesus helping this woman. Some Bible translations identify her as a Greek. This is also correct because she was a Greek-speaking native of the Phoenician area which had been converted to Greek language and culture after the conquest by Alexander the Great in the fourth century b.c.

The woman called Jesus, Lord, Son of David, showing her acceptance of Jesus’ identity as the Jewish Messiah. She may have been a Greek proselyte. Sometimes Gentiles would convert to Judaism, drawn by the strong moral qualities. This woman came to Jesus on behalf of her daughter, who was tormented by a demon. Obviously this woman was greatly distressed over her daughter’s suffering.

15:23       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.” ^N Jesus’ silence seems difficult to understand until we read the lesson of faith that he taught both the woman and his disciples (15:24–28). The woman continued to follow after them, and she continued to shout. Finally, the disciples urged Jesus to send her away. This may have meant to get rid of the woman because she was bothering them with her nagging persistence. Or it may have been a request for Jesus to do as she requested, so she would go away and leave them alone. Jesus, always compassionate, would heal the woman’s daughter, but not just to make her stop following them. He had a lesson about faith that he needed to teach this woman. In so doing, he would teach the disciples a lesson as well.

It is possible to become so occupied with spiritual matters that we miss real needs right around us, especially if we are prejudiced against needy people or if they cause us inconvenience. Instead of being bothered, be aware of the opportunities that surround you. Be open to the beauty of God’s message for all people, and make an effort not to shut out those who are different from you.

15:24       He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”  Jesus’ words do not contradict the truth that God’s message is for all kinds of people (Psalm 22:27; Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 28:19; Romans 15:9–12). After all, when Jesus said these words, he was in Gentile territory. He ministered to Gentiles on many other occasions also, but always in Jewish territory (4:24–25; 8:5–13). Jesus was simply telling the woman that Jews were to have the first opportunity to accept him as the Messiah because God wanted them to present the message of salvation to the rest of the world (see Genesis 12:3). While on earth, Jesus restricted his mission to Jewish people. In doing so, he was doing his Father’s will (11:27) and fulfilling the promise God made to Jews in the Old Testament. The restricted mission of Jesus and the disciples echoes the principle recorded in 10:5–6. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” does not mean Jesus came to the Jews alone; rather, it means that he would go to them first (Mark 7:27). “Sheep” was an affectionate term used often for God’s people in the Old Testament.

Jesus was not rejecting the Canaanite woman. Instead, he was explaining that his activities were limited (in his humanity); thus, he had to focus on his goal. Jesus had only a short time on earth. His mission focused on (but was not limited to) the Jews. Jesus tested (in the sense of “probed, challenged, encouraged”) this woman’s faith and used the situation to teach that faith is available to all people. Matthew alone recorded this interchange. His Jewish audience would have been very interested in Jesus’ miracle to help this Gentile woman.

15:25–26 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”  Undaunted by Jesus’ apparent unwillingness to respond to her request, the woman came and knelt before him, begging for help.

The answer comes in the language of a parable; therefore, we must not press the details too far. Jesus probably spoke Greek to this woman, for she would not have known Aramaic. He used the word kunarion, referring to a little dog, a household pet. The simple parable meant that the children at the table should be fed before the pets; it would not be right to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs. While it is true that in Jewish tradition Gentiles at times were referred to derogatorily as “dogs,” that probably does not apply here. The Greek word used as a derogatory nickname applied to wild dogs or scavenger dogs, not household pets.

By these words, Jesus may have meant that his first priority was to spend time feeding his children (teaching his disciples), not to take food away from them and throw it to the pets. Jesus was not insulting the woman; instead, he was saying that she must not demand what God had ordained for the Jews. She should wait until God’s appointed time when the Gentiles would receive the Good News of the gospel. The point of Jesus’ parable is “precedence”—who gets fed first? The children do.

He is not a mere teacher of the way, as some vainly imagine—a teacher of a system of morality, by the observance of which we may be saved. But Christ is truly the Way. He is Himself the Way. The soul is saved by Christ Himself. – Charles G. Finney

15:27       She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ^N Unlike many of the Jewish listeners, this Gentile woman understood Jesus’ parable. Her answer was wise, for she explained to Jesus, by extending his parable, that the children who love the pets often drop morsels of food to them. Not all the Jews accepted Jesus, while some Gentiles chose to follow him. Why couldn’t she have some of those crumbs that the Jews didn’t want? She adroitly pointed out that even the dogs ate with (not after) the children. She did not ask for the entire meal; she was perfectly willing to take second place behind the Jews. All she wanted right then was a few crumbs—or one “crumb” in particular—one miracle of healing for her daughter.

Ironically, many Jews would miss out on God’s spiritual healing because they rejected Jesus, while many Gentiles, whom the Jews rejected, would find salvation because they recognized Jesus.

15:28       Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.  Jesus was delighted by the faith of the woman. He granted her request because of her humility and persistence. She had made her request in faith that Jesus could perform the healing. His words had been meant to challenge her to greater faith, and she had responded. She understood Christ’s lordship, and she understood the priorities of his mission. No wonder Jesus exclaimed, Great is your faith! On that basis, Jesus healed the woman’s daughter. With his words, her daughter was healed from that very hour. This miracle showed that Jesus’ power over demons was so great that he didn’t need to be present physically, or even to speak any word to the demon, in order to free someone. His power transcended distance.