The Healing of a Canaanite Woman.

(Mat. 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30).

Leaving Galilee, the Lord departed to “the region of Tyre and Sidon” (Mat. 15:21; Mark 7:24), i.e. to the heathen land of Phoenicia, to the northwest of Galilee, and their major towns of Tyre and Sidon. From the words of Saint Mark “and wanted no one to know it” (Mark 7:24), it can be assumed that the Lord’s aim in departing into a land of different faiths and different tribes, was to be alone for a while; to rest from the ubiquitous crowds in Galilee, and perhaps from the implacable hatred of the Pharisees. “but He could not be hidden” (Mark 7:24), because a woman heard about Him, who Saint Matthew calls Canaanite, while Saint Mark — Syro-Phoenician. According to Saint Mark’s words, an evil spirit possessed this heathen woman’s daughter and she began asking Him to drive out this demon. Having been made aware by the Jews of the coming of the Messiah, she called Him “Son of David” (Mat. 15:22), thereby professing her faith in His Messianic worthiness. In testing her faith, the Lord “answered her not a word” (Mat. 15:23), so that even the disciples began to ask on her behalf. Jesus replied: “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat. 15:24); after all, the Jews were God’s chosen people and it was to them that God’s Redeemer was promised — nobody else, and it was to them specifically, that He had to come in the first instance; to save them and perform miracles among them.

In wishing to discover the full extent of the woman’s faith in front of His Apostles, and to let them learn from this, perhaps the Lord adapted His words in such a manner as to reflect the Jews’ outlook on heathens. Gradually getting closer to Jesus, the woman finally — in the words of Saint Mark — fell at His feet, pleading for her daughter to be healed. Although knowing her faith, but continuing to test her, the Lord refuses the woman with words that may seem cruel, if they were not expressed by the Lord — filled with love for the suffering humanity. “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (Mat. 15:26; Mark 7:27). The meaning of these words are that, the Lord did not withdraw from the chosen people, so as to take away His grace-filled miraculous power and dissipate it in the land of the heathens. Of course, these words were uttered so as to reveal before everyone, the power of this woman’s faith, and also to show plainly that even heathens, when they believe, are worthy of God’s mercy — contrary to the contempt that the Jews nurtured toward them. Through her response to the Lord, the woman truly displayed the full stature of her faith, together with an extraordinarily deep sense of humility, by accepting the hurtful likening of a heathen to a dog: “Yes Lord, yet even little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table” (Mat. 15:27; Mark 7:28). This great faith and deep humility were rewarded immediately: “O woman” — said the Lord — “great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire” (Mat. 15:28; Mark 7:29). And at that moment, the daughter of the Canaan woman was healed. This miracle is noteworthy in that it was performed at a distance from the ill person, just as the healing of the Centurion’s servant at Capernaum (Mat. 8:13), also a heathen, yet whose faith also earned God’s praise.