Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 36:4 (Autumn 2022)
Article: Social Action And The Canaanite Woman Of Matthew 15
Author: Molly Tomashek

PP 36:4 (Autumn 2022) p. 23

Social Action And The Canaanite Woman Of Matthew 15

Molly Tomashek

Molly Tomashek is worship minister at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and is nearing completion of an MDiv at Fuller Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Scott, have four wonderful children. Read more from Molly at her blog, LifeInPracticeDotBlog.wordpress.com.

²¹ Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² 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.” ²³ 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.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ 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 NRSVue

Matthew 15:21–28 raises many questions for the modern reader—social questions regarding racism and sexism, theological questions about Jesus’s character and practice, and literary questions concerning imagery and context. Similarly, the worlds behind the text, within the text, and in front of the text reveal ambiguity and tension. Late first-century Syrian Antioch, the likely setting for the community that first encountered Matthew’s Gospel, found Jewish Christians in a liminal space religiously, politically, and culturally.1 Within the text itself, the “world within the text,” Jesus and the Canaanite woman meet outside of cultural norms and expected physical boundaries, in an enigmatic space.2 Many readers of this text find themselves in a similar interstice, as they lose the ability to remain apathetic toward injustice and, thus, move toward engagement in social reform. Interpreting Matt 15:21–28 from a socio-rhetorical approach informs the modern reader’s engagement for social change as seen in the text’s dialogue, characterization, Jewish perspective, and contextual significance.

The World Behind The Text: Historical Context

As mentio...