Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This is one of the most questionable verses concerning Jesus’s character. Here it seems like Jesus did not show mercy as He always does to people.

Why did Jesus respond to this woman in this manner?

This is a Gentile woman, who is not a Jew by blood yet she approached Jesus through the rights which she did not have.

She called Jesus the son of David which only Jews can speak with such rights.

She was trying to approach Jesus through rights that she did not have. Ancient Jews commonly referred to Gentiles as dogs.

Jesus simply told her that He could not bless her based on her heritage.

She realised that Jesus knew she was not a Jew and that she tried to be someone she was not. Therefore, she said that even the dogs can eat crumbs that fall from the master's table.

She decided to come clean as she is to Jesus which is a Gentile needing help, without pretension and religious words.

Jesus marvelled and said great is her faith for she had humbled herself to seek Jesus as one who needed His mercy.

If Jesus had healed her when she approached Jesus with her wrong standing, claiming rights that she did not have then it would be wrong for Jesus to respond to such a prideful and pretentious life.

Jesus was not harsh to this woman but just wanted her to come to Him as she really is.

Sometimes we think we can approach God because we fasted, we prayed more than others, and put on religious titles to prove our rights.

We don’t have any rights that we have earned ourselves. It is all a gift from God. He is the one who made us righteous and blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

We need to approach God just the way Jesus has made us to be. Not by our own works but by Jesus Christ, Son of the living God.

Let us approach God with sincerity of heart knowing that we are blessed with abundance because Jesus blessed us with His own life.

Blessings

Ps Ambrose