Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 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.” 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.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment. Matthew 15:21-28
“Can Jesus learn?”
It may seem like a strange question to ask. We tend to think of Jesus as perfect and complete, so what could Jesus possibly need to learn?
Yet that question lies at the heart of the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. Jesus initially tells her that his mission is exclusively to the people of Israel. When she persists in asking for help for her daughter, Jesus responds with the troubling image of taking the children’s food and throwing it to the dogs.
But the woman will not give up. “Yes, Lord,” she says, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
And Jesus responds, “Woman, great is your faith!”
The traditional interpretation of this story usually says that the Canaanite woman was being tested. He didn’t mean to insult the woman. He knew all along what he was going to do. He was simply drawing out the faith that was already in this woman. She passed the test, and Jesus rewarded her faith by healing her daughter.
There is another way to read the story, though. Perhaps Jesus actually meant what he says. Perhaps this encounter is more than a test of the woman’s faith. Perhaps she actually helps Jesus see something more clearly: God’s kingdom is bigger than the boundaries we imagine.
If Jesus could be stretched and challenged by an encounter with someone he did not expect, perhaps we should be willing to be stretched, too.
As a congregation, that means asking ourselves: What might God be teaching us through the people we have not yet heard? What assumptions, habits, or traditions might keep us from welcoming others? What could we learn from our neighbors about what they need from a community of faith?
The first step is often simply listening—really listening—and allowing relationships to change us.
The Canaanite woman reminds us that sometimes God speaks to us through the person we least expect.
So perhaps the question this week is not simply, “Can Jesus learn?”
It is: “Am I willing to learn?”
This is not an abstract question for us at Redeemer. This is right at the heart of who we say we are becoming. We have made a commitment to radical welcome for all marginalized people. We are expanding our evangelism and outreach into our community and beyond. We are seeking to renew and revitalize our ministry with youth and young adults.
And all of that requires us to be willing to learn.
The good news of this story is not simply that Jesus healed a little girl. It is that Jesus’ vision of the kingdom became bigger. And maybe that is the good news for us as well.
