Matthew rewrites the miracle story in Mark 7:24-30. Mark 7:24-37 is actualy a section that shows Jesus healing people in the region of Tyre ( and Sidon. In rewriting these stories, Matthew drops the blind man's healing, he describes the episode of the "Canaanite" woman, changing Mark's designation of "Syrophoenician", and makes the theme of this miracle as an extension of the previous discussion on clean and unclean (cf. Matthew 15:1-20, see Mark 7:1-23 1). He also rewrites the details of the story of the Syrophoenician woman iin such a way as to turn it into an episode that shows Jesus extending the scope of his mission beyond the borders of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
To see how Mark's and Matthew's versions differ, click on the above image. It should be immediately noted that while Mark simply writes that the woman is "Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth", Matthew describes her as "Canaanite" thereby evoking from his Palestine-based readers images of the idol worshippers that the Israelites encountered upon their entrance into the Promised Land. Secondly, Matthew turns Mark's "she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter", into a prayer: "Have mercy one me, O Lord, Son of David" and again "Lord, help me". The first of these statements, is introduced by the verb "cry out", which is also a verb for prayer. Third, Matthew inserts Jesus' silence to the woman's request and the part about the disciples asking him to give in to the woman's request and therefore to be freed from the embarrassment she is causing them. Fourth, Matthew rewrites the final words of Jesus to the woman into a word of praise for her faith and a statement that is general "let it be done as you desire." Finally, Matthew rewrites the conclusion of the story by stating simply that the woman's daughter was at the words of Jesus immediately healed.
The Theme of Uncleanness
Matthew lets the preceding theme of clean and unclean flow into the episode of the Canaanite woman. The Canaanites were the idolaters that Yahweh wanted the Israellites to exterminate upon their entrance into the Promised Land. They were also the ones who occasssioned the gradual profanation of the Holy People from the moment they possessed the land. In Mark's narration, the episode is a preview of the Gentile missions. In Matthew, this "preview" nuanced: it is similar to the presentation Luke makes about the the baptism of the first Gentiles performed by Peter in Acts 10. In Acts 10:44-49, Cornelius is baptized by Peter. This event however is preceded by a vision to Peter of unclean animals which a voice ordered him to slaughter and eat. When Peter refused, the voice replied "What God has made clean, you are not to call profane" (Acts 10:15). When Peter awakens, he meets with emissaries from Cornelius who bring him to the Gentile's house. It is there where Peter preaches to them and orders them baptized. Here, the vision of unclean animals and the voice that tells Peter that God has pronounced all clean (because of Jesus' death and resurrection perhaps?) brings Peter to understand his subsequent meeting with Cornelius as an opportunity to proclaim the Word and extend to the Gentile believers through baptism the grace that Christ has won by his death and resurrection.
The episode of the Canaanite follows that of Jesus' explanation that what makes a man unclean is not what enters the mouth but what comes out of the heart, (Mt. 10:15-20). When Matthew changes Mark's description to "Canaanite woman" and reports Jesus as justifying his silent refusal to help the woman with the statement "I have not been sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel", the clean and unclean thematic is brought to a different level: would Jesus' salvation be offered also to the unclean? In the end, Jesus gives in to the woman but Matthew is careful to show that if is the woman's great faith that defeats Jesus' resolution about the boundaries of His mission.
The Theme of Mission
2The theme of mission is prominent in Matthew's narrative. Mark's story shows Jesus retreating to Tyre and Sidon so as to escape the crowds. His growing fame however has reached those regions and therefore a woman, recognizing him, intrudes into his retreat. The dialogue between Jesus and the woman is brief. Jesus refuses at first by saying "Let the children be fed first" implying that dogs are fed later, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs" (Mk . 7:27). Matthew delays the dialogue between Jesus and the woman, inserting before it a dialogue he has with the disciples who tell him to give in to the woman's request.
Jesus' answer is a statement that is similar to an order he has given before to his apostles: "Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel". We have had the occassion to explain this saying of Jesus. We said that it is a record of Jesus' awareness that he has been sent to restore Israel and fulfill God's promises through the prophets of a new Israel. The restatement of that declared mission in Mt. 15:24 in the negative makes it clear that here we are dealing with that same awareness: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" Perhaps one of the sayings of Jesus was understood in this way too "Do not give what is holy to the dogs" (Mt. 7:6). In fact, in the dialogue between Jesus and the woman, Matthew suppresses the saying that implied dogs are fed after the children (Mk 7:27). By suppressing that statement, Jesus' argument in Matthew leaves no room for dogs eating at all. Thus the force of the woman's counter-argument of dogs eating the crumbs falling from the master's table (Mt. 15:27). She was in effect begging for the crumbs of grace Jesus' mercy would allow her. The woman's disarming humility and astuteness then plus her attitude of submission made Jesus see her as a woman of great faith.
We have also had the occassion of explaining the phrase "great faith" in the light of another phrase, "little faith". In Matthew's gospel, only two people are praised by Jesus for their faith and both are Gentiles: the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman. And in both these cases, Jesus grants their request with a remote and instantaneous healing. The boundaries of Jesus' mission open up to non-Jews precisely because of the faith of Gentiles. But it is in the glorification of Jesus that it takes on its universal scope.
The Theme of Prayer
In rewriting Mark's story, Matthew also turns the Canaanite woman into an example of humble and persevering prayer. We seen something similar in the Lucan parable of the widow and the unjust judge. In Matthew's narrative, the aspect of prayer is highlighted by the woman crying out, the words of her plea ("Have mercy on me, Lord" and "Lord, help me"), her constant cry as she followed Jesus (Mt. 15:23) and her act of prostrating ("kneeling", RSV) before Jesus. This aspect of the Matthaean narrative was not lost to Bede the Venerable who describes the woman thus:
The devotion of her heart is all the more worthy of admiration inasmuch as, although she was a pagan -- in fact, she was completely separated from the teachings of the divine words -- yet, she was not deprived of those virtues which are preached by these. Her faith, in fact, was truly perfect ... She possesses the virtue of patience in a measure that was not scarce, she who, while not responding to the first request of the Lord, did not cease to pray to him, but with more persistence, continues to implore the aid of his compassion.
(See context here.)
- 1. In Mark's schema, the healings at Tyre and Sidon emphasize the faith of the Gentile's faith, and are thematically distinguished from the previous section on the Jewish traditions regarding clean and unclean. This "Gentile-thematic" is carried over to the next section on the feeding of the four thousand (Mk. 8:1-10).
- 2. The 20th Sunday in OT (Year A) takes this as the theme of the gospel. The combination with Isaiah 56:1.6-7 focuses on the universal destination of God's saving works. The selection from Paul's letter to the Romans 11:13-15.29-32 expresses an implied hope that through the ministry of Paul to the Gentiles, he may render the Jews envious and therefore reclaim their irrevocable call.
