Member-only story
Even the Dogs Get Crumbs
Jesus refused the Gentile woman’s request twice, but she persisted until he gave her what she wanted. And he commended her faith.
Jesus had enough of nitpicky Pharisees, who complained that the disciples didn’t wash their hands the right way.
So he left town and traveled north into the area of Tyre and Sidon, in what is now Lebanon. Surely the all-too-proper Pharisees wouldn’t follow him into the land of the unclean.
Jesus went into Lebanon for a few days of quiet and rest, away from clamoring crowds and self-righteous critics.
What he hadn’t counted on was that waiting on him was the loud, obnoxious woman screaming at him for mercy.
Matthew identifies her as “a Canaanite woman” whose daughter suffered terribly from demonization. We do not know exactly how it affected her, but we can be sure it was severe enough to deeply trouble this desperate mother.
Jesus’ response was to completely ignore her.
The woman’s continual shouts were extremely annoying. The pagan religious practice of the area included obnoxious and relentless loud shrieks and calls. The woman’s persistent repetition and loud volume got on the disciples’ nerves. “Send her away, she keeps shouting…
