You can almost hear, “The Kingdom of God is a foreign woman teaching the Son of God about mercy” Much more consistent w the Gospel themes of role reversal, faith in the unexpected places Role reversal - the teacher is taught by the most unlikely of students (a foreign, idol-worshiping woman) Jesus is “caught with his compassion down” Jesus falls victim to his major critique of the Pharisees- mercy over sacrifice “‘Little bitch’ is no nicer than ‘bitch’”, Amy-Jill LevineĪ Dog was a scavenger, unwelcomed, persistent pest. Even the diminutive “Doggy” is not supposed to mean “cute puppy” Is it a test? Seems like a strained effort to read into the story. Third time is undeterred and demands mercy Not fair for Jesus to help out non-Jews - the food/ grace is only for the children of Israel The woman is undeterred by his indifference and disciples rejectionĪgain undeterred repeats her plea - “Lord have mercy”
“Squawking” ( Mark Davis, Left Behind and Loving It) The woman whose daughter is.being tormented by a demon She persisted! She didn’t go away she won’t be dismissed.” Mitzi J Smith, But so many anonymous women like the Canaanite woman have persisted as lone minority voices among a majority of authoritative and powerful men. Like Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Oprah Winfrey, Senator Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senator Kamala Harris, the Canaanite woman persisted. Amy-Jill Levine, Women’s Bible Commentary Her identification “recalls the original struggle between the Hebrews and the indigenous population of the land, and it also recollects the Canaanite woman of the genealogy: Rahab and (probably) Tamar”.
While nameless - like most receiving healing - she is traditionally known as “Justa” She is one of only two people in Matthew described as having “Great Faith”, the other was the centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 - the only two gentiles explicitly to received healing from Jesus This is a rhetorical battle story, and here’s the shocking thing: Jesus loses.
Within earshot of Jesus teaching about what is unclean, comes an unclean woman challenging him. Purity and faithfulness are shown ultimately by how the church speaks and lives out the radical hospitality and love of Christ.” Gary Charles, Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) For Jesus, religious purity and faithful discipleship are not measured ultimately by how many perfect attendance badges one earns for Sunday school or worship, how often one has read the Bible from cover to cover, or how much money one contributes to the church treasury. “The argument between Jesus and the religious authorities is no obscure theological fight over how many angels can dance on the head of a needle. Sets up the following passage - Even Jesus should not be bound/guided by tradition but by love. Fecal matter was not considered unclean, whereas the words coming out of a person's mouth “are morally defiling because they promote social disorder, revenge, and violence.” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Undermining the word of God through traditionsįurthermore - he does not equate their actions to fecal matter, but alludes to it being worse than fecal matter. Michael Joseph Brown, Jesus condemns the condemners for: Jesus rejects the traditional notions of what it means to be faithful/clean Some of those good boys and girls have grown up into biblical commentators and still will not accept the starkness of this story, insisting that Jesus is merely testing this desperate woman’s faith.” ( Mark Davis, Left Behind and Loving It) “The challenge of reading this story is that it presents Jesus in a non-flattering light and good boys and girls throughout Christendom have been taught never to consider Jesus in a non-flattering light.
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