Matthew 15:21–39

Jesus’ Compassion and Authority to Feed and Heal

Big Idea Matthew demonstrates Jesus’ compassion and authority in a miraculous feeding and in healing that extends even to a Gentile, indicating that trust is the right response to Jesus.

Key Themes of Matthew 15:21–39

• Jesus withdraws from confrontation with Jewish leaders.
• Gentiles are included in the kingdom.
• Faith in Jesus is the right response to his compassion and authority.

Understanding the Text

The Text in Context

For a third time in Matthew, Jesus withdraws from controversy (15:21; see also 12:15; 14:13) to minister with healing to the crowds (15:22, 30–31). Given that Matthew focuses almost exclusively on Jesus’ ministry to Israel (10:5–6), it is significant that the story of the healing of a Canaanite woman’s daughter is included (15:21–28; note 15:24). This is only the second encounter between Jesus and a Gentile supplicant; the first is the centurion in 8:5–13. In both cases Jesus responds to the “great faith” that these Gentiles exhibit (8:10; 15:28). The feeding of the four thousand follows just one chapter after the feeding of the five thousand (14:13–21) and reiterates Jesus’ compassion and authority as well as motifs of a new exodus (15:32, 36–37).

Interpretive Insights

15:21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. This is the last of three times that Matthew narrates Jesus’ withdrawing (anachōreō) from controversy to focus on compassionate healing (12:15; 14:13; 15:21). Tyre and Sidon are on the coast of the Mediterranean immediately northwest of Galilee. It is unclear whether Jesus enters these predominantly Gentile cities or remains in their general vicinity, which, as with much of this part of Galilee, was predominantly Jewish in makeup.1

Jesus travels from Galilee to the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon and then heads back toward the Sea of Galilee.

15:22 A Canaanite woman. The use of “Canaanite” (cf. “born in Syrian Phoenicia” in Mark 7:26) evokes the story of Israel and Canaan and particularly the enmity between the two in Israel’s early history.2 This heightens the power of the theme of Gentile inclusion that emerges from 15:21–28.

Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! Interestingly, this Gentile woman appears to know enough about Jesus to call him “Son of David,” a favorite Matthean term to signal Jesus’ messianic identity (1:1–17).

My daughter is demon-possessed. Jesus’ ministry of exorcism is introduced in the summary in 4:24 (also 8:16) and illustrated in 8:28–34; 9:32–33; 12:22; 17:14–20.

15:23 Jesus did not answer a word. In spite of the woman’s plea and her apparent recognition of his messianic identity, Matthew narrates that Jesus gives no response to her.3 Commentators and other readers are prone to rescue Jesus at this point by attributing altruistic intentions (e.g., he is testing the woman to draw out her faith). Yet unless we provide motives for the characters, the story reads as if Jesus expresses hesitation in granting healing to a Gentile (15:24, 26), as in 8:5–7 (see comments there). The problem with importing such motives is that the text gives no particular clues for doing so. This fits the practices of ancient characterization, which tended to avoid providing the thoughts and motives of its characters.

15:24 I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The scope of Jesus’ ministry has been indicated from the start as focusing on Israel: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues” (4:23). Jesus has indicated to his disciples that they are to confine their ministry (which is an extension of his) to “the lost sheep of Israel” and avoid going “among the Gentiles” or entering “any town of the Samaritans” (10:5–6). Here Jesus makes it clear that the people of Israel are the God-given focus of his Galilean ministry. After the resurrection Matthew will narrate a dramatic shift to include “all nations” (28:19). The latter emerges from (1) the isolated instances of Gentile ministry by Jesus (here and in 8:5–13); and (2) the theme of Gentile inclusion across Matthew that points ahead to this postresurrection expansion (e.g., 1:3–6; 2:1–2; 4:15–16; 12:18–21; 21:43; 24:14).

One interesting feature of this part of the dialogue is that Jesus makes this statement not directly to the woman but rather in response to the disciples’ request that Jesus send her away from them. This may indicate that Jesus is unwilling to send the woman away, while also affirming that her request sits outside the scope of his God-given mission at present. As such, his comment invites further conversation.

15:26 It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. In their second exchange Jesus responds to the Canaanite woman’s “Lord, help me!” with a picture of the Jews as the children eating at a table and Gentiles as the dogs waiting to catch a dropped morsel. He makes the point that it would not be right to throw the bread intended for the children to the dogs. It is difficult to attribute these words to Jesus if we view him as one who agrees to every request for healing that comes to him. It seems significant that both occasions in Matthew where Jesus initially demurs to heal involve a Gentile seeker (here and 8:5–13).

Yet in this particular story Jesus hesitates not just once (as at 8:7), but first through silence (15:23), then for reasons related to his mission (15:24), and now with what seems to be a derogatory statement: Jesus portrays the woman in his analogy as one of the dogs. Jews did use the term kyōn (“dog”), a ceremonially unclean animal, as an invective for Gentiles (e.g., ironically in Phil. 3:2). Here the diminutive form, kynarion, is used, possibly to indicate a smaller, domestic dog (though it can also be used without diminutive force [BDAG 575]). While reading kynarion as indicating the family pet offers a softer reading of Jesus’ words here, it does not remove their sting fully. Yet the woman does not take the words as a sign of defeat; instead, she pushes back one more time.

15:27 Yes it is, Lord. The woman’s response to Jesus’ qualifier that his ministry is limited to Israel can be read two ways. The “yes” (nai) might indicate agreement with Jesus’ statement about bread to the dogs, in which case her next words qualify her agreement (“yet even the dogs eat the crumbs”). The NIV’s rendering interprets the nai as a contradiction of Jesus’ words “It is not right to . . . toss it to the dogs.” The women disagrees, “Yes, it is [right].” This interpretation fits well the use of gar (“for, because”), quite seldom contrastive, which follows the “yes.” Her reasoning follows: “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” In her ingenuity, she is like the centurion who works around Jesus’ initial hesitation (“Shall I come and heal him?” [8:7]) by recognizing that Jesus is able to heal even without accompanying him home (8:8–9).

15:28 Woman, you have great faith! The passage concludes with Jesus’ exclamation of this woman’s great faith and his healing of her daughter. The only other occurrence of “great faith” in Matthew describes the one other Gentile supplicant coming to Jesus for healing, the centurion in 8:10, again tying these two stories together thematically as well as in a number of their narrative details.

15:29 went along the Sea of Galilee. Matthew omits reference to the Decapolis (cf. Mark 7:31), thereby showing Jesus to be in Jewish territory (along the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee) for the following feeding miracle.

15:30 Great crowds came to him . . . and he healed them. Matthew provides another summary of Jesus’ healing activity (see 4:23–25; 9:35; 12:15; 14:34–36).

15:31 The people were amazed . . . And they praised the God of Israel. While some have taken the inclusion of the phrase “God of Israel” to signal that these crowds are made up of Gentiles, the phrase is used across the Old Testament in the mouth of Israelites (e.g., Deborah in Judges 5:3; Jonathan in 1 Kings 1:48; the psalmist in Ps. 41:13; see also Luke 1:68).4 Matthew mutes any indication in his Markan source that the feeding of the four thousand focuses on Gentiles (e.g., Mark 7:31; 8:10).

15:32 I have compassion for these people. The Matthean theme of Jesus as compassionate Messiah is again reiterated (see 8:3; 9:36; 14:14; 20:34).

15:33 Where could we get enough bread in this remote place? The disciples continue to evidence “little faith,” since they have just recently witnessed Jesus feeding over five thousand people (14:21). Getting enough bread is not a problem! “The deliberate parallels between this episode and the first feeding account render the disciples’ continued lack of insight into the mighty power of Jesus all the more incomprehensible.”5

15:36 when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples. For the linguistic parallels between this verse, the first feeding miracle, and Jesus’ Passover celebration with his disciples, see comments on 14:19. Matthew makes these parallels in order to highlight the theme of new exodus.

Matthew 15:29–39 records that Jesus miraculously feeds a hungry crowd for a second time. This tenth-century AD ivory plaque from the Magdeburg Cathedral, Germany, illustrates the multiplication of the loaves and fish.

15:39 went to the vicinity of Magadan. If Magadan is to be identified with Magdala (as some scribes seem to have assumed by substituting “Magdala[n]” for “Magadan”), then it is located on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, southwest of Capernaum. Unlike Mark’s related accounts, Matthew’s narrative portrays Jesus’ ministry focused in Galilee and on the people of Israel (see 15:21).

Theological Insights: Gentile Inclusion—New Testament Trajectories

Matthew portrays Jesus as ministering to Gentiles only twice in his Gospel (here and 8:5–13). Yet Matthew highlights the theme of Gentile inclusion at the beginning and end of his Gospel, with the inclusion of Gentiles in Jesus’ genealogy and at his birth (1:3, 5, 6; 2:1) and when Jesus commissions his followers to disciple all nations (28:18–20). This Gentile mission becomes a central issue in other New Testament writings. In Acts the Holy Spirit falls upon Gentiles prior to their conversion to Judaism, signaling the inclusion of Gentiles in the messianic community on full terms with Jewish believers (10:1–11:18; 15:1–35). In Galatians Paul argues vigorously that Gentile believers must not be compelled to be circumcised and obey the Torah in order to be full members of the messianic community; they are already fully included through Jesus and by the Spirit (2:14–3:29; cf. Rom. 3:21–26).

Teaching the Text

Matthew portrays Jesus following his God-given mission to announce the kingdom’s arrival to Israel and moving outside these missional parameters only when observing great faith. This passage often provokes in its readers a need to explain away various details of the story that seem to cast Jesus in a bad light. Interpreters often state quite categorically that Jesus is testing the Canaanite woman (or his disciples) and intends all along to heal her daughter, although there are no textual clues that point in this direction. Sometimes readers focus on the distinction between kyōn and kynarion (“dog” and its diminutive form) to indicate that Jesus compares Gentiles to the family pet versus a wild dog. Yet even if this diminutive is meant to soften the comparison, the comparison still seems less than complimentary.

Jesus commends the Canaanite woman’s great faith after she answers his objection to healing her daughter by saying, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table” (15:27). Shown here is a Greek funerary relief in which a dog investigates the floor underneath a table in this banquet or symposium scene (fourth century BC).

If it is the case that Matthew here offers a portrait of Jesus being hesitant to cross the missional boundary from Jew to Gentile, how do we preach this Jesus, especially when the tendency in much preaching is to emphasize Jesus as a maverick who transgresses social and cultural boundaries without a thought? This passage reminds us that the priority of Israel’s restoration was a fundamental expectation arising from the Old Testament itself. God’s return to and restoration of exiled Israel from among the nations would then set in motion a redemptive harvest of the nations (e.g., Isa. 2:2–5; 60:1–3; 66:18–21; Mic. 4:1–5). It was Israel’s privilege and responsibility as God’s chosen people to be a light to the nations. Matthew highlights this temporal priority of Jesus’ messianic ministry in 10:5–6; 15:24 (see also 8:5–7; this priority is evident in Acts as well). So we can draw from the Old Testament to frame Jesus’ own ministry, in which mission to Israel matters and remains the focus of his ministry until after the resurrection. He truly is the one who will “save his people from their sins” (1:21). The powerful inclusivity of salvation available to all nations (28:18–20) is accented when we acknowledge, with Matthew, that it comes as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And the corresponding truth is that we who follow Jesus have the privilege and responsibility to be a light to the nations today.

In the end, we do not need to domesticate Jesus in these particular moments where he does not quite fit our stereotypes or to make him more palatable to our audiences. In this story Jesus does provide healing for a Gentile in spite of missional constraints. And he does so because he sees an amazing display of faith from this Canaanite woman. And that is the message of the passage. Trust in this Jewish Jesus. Trust in him and bring your needs to the one who is Israel’s Messiah, and you will not be disappointed.

Illustrating the Text

Matthew portrays Jesus following his God-given mission to announce the kingdom’s arrival to Israel and moving outside these missional parameters only when observing great faith.

Literature: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis. In our attempts to domesticate Jesus we risk losing the power of his distinctive identity as a Jew and the priority of his mission to restore Israel. In C. S. Lewis’s famous book, the rightful ruler of Narnia, Aslan (a lion), is described in terms that seem relevant to attempts to domesticate Jesus. Lucy, a child who has recently arrived in Narnia, asks Mr. and Mrs. Beaver about Aslan.

“Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than me or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” asked Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”6