A friend of mine recently heard a sermon on Matthew 15:21-28 from another pastor.
In Matthew's retelling of the story, Jesus calls the Canaanite woman a dog. In some ways, the sermon's exegesis left him troubled. I just couldn’t envision Christ doing it out of frustration (seems very near to sin) or that he was taught anything by an earthly being.
Honestly, this has been an ongoing dialogue for me in understanding the humanity of Jesus. And, I have heard it said: "Historically, the church has struggled far more with the humanity of Jesus than we have with the divinity of Jesus."
Here is a brief account of some of my reflection on the story:
Some people take the position (an interpretation) that Jesus knew what he was doing and was putting the woman to the test to see how she would respond. My problem with this is that I do not see Jesus doing this. The Pharisees often put Jesus to the test. Jesus challenged people to do things that they might otherwise choose not to do; however, he never appears to put them to the test. In truth, he teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation…" which can also be translated, "Lead us not into the time of testing…" Even then, the testing comes from life and life circumstances rather than God recalling in Hebrews 12 that we are told to consider difficulties as God's discipline.
In Jesus, the Son of God, we see God's mercy and love. And, after Jesus, God gives the judgment over to Jesus, who, as Paul notes in Romans, "died for us and sits at God's right hand and prays for us." In relation to this passage, it is Jesus who leads us in the right paths as the good shepherd leads the sheep.
So, the question, what's going on in this passage that would result in Jesus calling this woman a dog? The Bible makes it clear that Jesus came as a human being, lived as a human being, died as a human being and faced life's trials as a human. The New Testament teaches us that Jesus emptied himself of his divinity so that he could become like us. This means that he had to "grow in wisdom and stature" as every human being. It means that he learned "obedience through what he suffered" (Hebrews) even though he was God's son.
The implication in this is that Jesus would "come to know" his mission through the scripture, his tradition and in his relationship with the Father of all. Or, to put it into plain terms: Jesus would "come to know" with tools that are available to every human being.
Assuming that Jesus was fully human, as the scripture teaches and that he would learn in the way of humans, I believe that this story was a turning point (again, as I understand the scripture).
God works in mysterious ways. God speaks to his people. And certainly, the relationship of the Son, while the same as ours, is unique at the same time. I expect that one of the most important questions is: How does God speak to us? How do we learn? All of us know that people learn in many different ways. And, in reality, most of us do not learn simply by study or even prayer. We learn in the experiences of life. And, sometimes, God speaks to us through the stranger or even through those who may come from very different places. Was this true for Jesus as well?
My friends observation about how Jesus response might be "very close to sin" is a question that cannot be ignored. This question requires that we examine again a definition of sin in the Bible. How do we define sin? In Romans, Paul gives a Jewish explanation. Paul explains that before the "law" (the Torah), sin did not exist. He goes on to say that the Torah was given so that we might recognize sin. In short: When we are enlightened by God, if we choose to make the light darkness, it is sin (my interpretation). This means for Paul that before the law was given to the people, sin did not exist -- although he says that there is a law given to every person that is literally written on our hearts -- but these laws are broad and non-specific about human actions -- rather they are the laws of the created world that allow us to know there is a God and to come to know this God. The specific law Paul speaks about is the Torah that God gave to Moses for the chosen people. About this he says that it was given to show us that we were sinners but it could not save us or make us righteousness (holy). The only thing he writes that can make us righteous is the righteousness of Christ.
Which brings us to your issue. If we follow some of this, does it mean that Jesus sinned? No. The difference between Jesus and us is that when the light comes on for Jesus, he never makes the light darkness. For this reason, we say with confidence, he was without sin. Consider what the gospel of John says about the light: the light (Christ) has come into the world but people preferred darkness to that light.
Someone might ask the question, did Jesus inherit the original sin from Adam if he was fully human? It depends on how we define original sin. For me, what we inherit from Adam is death. As in Adam, all die. It is this reality that Jesus comes to defeat -- in the flesh he will defeat death by dying.
Ok, this is deep. Back up. Look one more time at the story of Matthew 15.
What is the meaning of the story:
1. Jesus is seeking to be alone with his disciples and away from the constant probing of the scribes and Pharisees who argue about non-issues.
2. He goes to a non-Jewish region.
3. A non-Jewish woman approaches him with a Jewish plea (as if she is a Jew), "Son of David, help me."
4. He ignores her (if he is testing someone, it is his disciples).
5. The disciples say send her away.
6. She persists.
7. He reminds her that the "Son of David" (a messiah term) would be sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel -- save the Jews and they will save the world (Exodus 19 tells us that Israel is chosen to be a nation of priests and a light to the nations or gentiles)
8. She persists.
9. It is not right, Jesus says, to give bread prepared for children, to their dogs.* (Reminding her that she is not a Jew?). Perhaps this means, "Woman if you know about the Messiah, you will know this."
*As a Jew, you would expect Jesus to respond in this manner. What surprised everyone, was the woman's response.
10. The woman surprises all, even Jesus, with a declaration of faith that is bathed in humility. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs from their master's table." It is a statement that acknowledges the scripture (Salvation is from the Jews) and opens Jesus to the dreadful reality that will come. To be savior of the Jews, he must also be savior of the world and die a terrible death at the hands of some of the very people he came to save.
11. The question then comes, Did God use this woman to reveal this truth to Jesus? The transfiguration that takes place in chapter 17 of Matthew seems to put this forward. As Jesus tells his disciples that he must die, they reject it. In the transfiguration, God speaks to Peter, James and John and tells them: "This is my Son, the beloved. Listen to him." (LISTEN TO HIM). Could this also be affirmation for Jesus that he is on the right path. After this, Jesus steps beyond the hesitancy of his disciples and walks resolutely to Jerusalem. Even so, he must go through Gethsemane where he prays, Father if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. But if not, not my will, they will be done.
There is one other intermediate event worth noting that comes after the encounter with the woman: The second miracle of the loaves and fishes occurs after the encounter. And this time, seven (for the seven most mentioned Gentile nations?) baskets of bread are left over -- does this mean that the crowd is most likely all Gentile? Previously, there were twelve baskets left over for the 12 Tribes of Israel. Enough bread for Israel. Enough for the World.
Now the real question: What does this mean for us that Jesus might have experienced life as we do? Does it make Jesus less? Certainly not. It means that Jesus overcame the weakness of the flesh so that he could truly defeat sin in the flesh. If he overcame sin as God, we could not follow him. He overcame sin in his humanity. However, this does mean that he limited himself to knowing God's will in the same way that you and I may know the will of God. This is why he could entrust the gospel message to human beings.
If we pursue this, it can give us confidence to ask, seek and knock as Jesus taught us, so that we might also come to know God's will. Can we learn to tap into the same power that Jesus found through prayer, the support of the scripture, in learning to hear the voice of God and through knowing that God still send his messengers to watch over us (remember how the angels ministered to Jesus at times) in critical moments?
I offer this as dialogue as one who also seeks. Please feel free to raise issues and respond.
Sam
