About two or three times a year I'll have a question in Sunday School that nobody seems to be able to answer, or I get an answer I feel is a blow-off. Today was one of those days, and I thought I'd pose the question here. This could be a lengthy blog post. The lesson started by discussing Matthew 15:22-28, which is about a Canaanite woman who wants Christ to heal her daughter. Christ has what appears to be some harsh words for her. I don't understand why. The initial answer was that Christ was sent to minister to the Jews, not the Gentiles. Yes, that's true, but wouldn't it be just as easy as to help her the first time? To me, comparing her to a house dog is insulting. And while it may have been the Jewish culture to refer to gentiles as dogs, I would have expected Christ to not follow that. I also pointed out that in John 4, Christ goes to a Samaritan woman and teaches her. So why did he not help the woman in Matthew initially? The answer I got to this is that Christ was probably distracted, preparing for the mount of Transfiguration. That was the end of that discussion, and it doesn't gel with me. I've done a little research and can't find a satisfactory answer. So, I pose the question to all of you. I understand that it was necessary to test her faith, but why compare her to a dog?

Comments

Cambrienelson said…
good question. My thoughts on the subject are that maybe being compared to as a dog wasn't an insult back then. maybe it was just like saying "it is not meet to take bessie's meat and give it to betty".
Good question-- anything in the JST?
Marilyn said…
You know, I have wondered about that scripture many times also, so it was with interest that I got the answer about 3 weeks ago, and now I can't remember it!!! Really. I often will turn on Channel 21 (KBYU) to watch/listen to when I walk on the treadmill. Frequently, what is on are about 4 BYU religion professors discussing various chapters of scripture. And that scripture was in the many that they talked about that day. Now, don't you wish I didn't have half-heimers so I could tell you the answer too? It was really good, I remember. I just don't remember what they said! They say alot of good stuff, so call KBYU and find out when they are going to play that one again and watch it!
Gramps said…
He probably knew her heart and was probing her faith, which as it says in verse 28, she found.

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