Matthew 15: 21-28 After leaving, Jesus traveled to Tyre and Sidon. A woman from that area came to Him, pleading, “O Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But Jesus didn’t respond. His disciples then asked, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But Jesus replied, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But Jesus said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” She replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The story of Christ and the Syrophoenician Woman is told in both Matthew and Mark’s Gospels (Mark refers to her as a Syrophoenician). In Mark, just before she appears, Jesus is seen criticizing the Pharisees for their judgmentalism and hypocrisy against those who didn’t follow their interpretation of the law. He does so with a quote from Isaiah 29:13, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” 

In early Christian tradition, the woman is known as Justa (meaning “the just one”), and her daughter, Berenice, who was healed, is specifically mentioned in the Pseudo-Clementine sermons from the third century. This woman believed Jesus could help her daughter. Even though she was a Gentile (someone not Jewish), she went to see Jesus and begged him for mercy. But when she pleaded with Jesus to heal her daughter, he seemed to ignore her. Despite her persistent cries, which annoyed his disciples, Jesus said nothing, not a word. He was silent.

Jesus was silent because this episode with the Gentile woman was a test. It was a test primarily for the disciples. Jesus wanted to see what his disciples had learned from him and what they would do. Perhaps Jesus was testing their compassion and their understanding of the extent of God’s mercy and grace.

When Jesus did speak, he used the woman’s extraordinary faith, as well as her gender and race, to demonstrate to his disciples that God’s mercy is available to everyone who calls on him! It is interesting to note that this narrative in Matthew 15:21–28 is the only record of Jesus traveling beyond the borders of Israel. Jesus demonstrated that God’s mercy extends beyond Israel and the Jews.

Jesus may have come to the woman’s region especially to see this woman and to deliver her daughter and to test and teach the disciples. Perhaps Jesus was also testing the woman’s faith. It is delightful to see that she was undeterred by Jesus’ silence and his terse comments. Her faith was bold and tenacious, and she passed the test with flying colors!

Matthew 15:28 “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.