“Jesus isn’t happy with the attitude of the disciples. They should know by now that He is not only willing, but also desires, to help anyone who comes to Him.”

The story of a Canaanite woman, who approached Jesus seeking healing for her daughter in Matthew 15 and Mark 7, is the only encounter in any gospel account where Jesus appears either rude or harsh to a needy person coming to Him for help. While there are many ways to explain this text, most ‘solutions’ either accuse Jesus of showing a rough edge to His humanity or make excuses for His treatment. This study will present a simple explanation that is both faithful to the text and seeks to decode these puzzling comments in a manner which makes sense.

Here, we start in the chapter beforehand, where Jesus has been ministering to a large crowd in northern Galilee. In Matthew 14, Jesus feeds 5,000 people, excluding women and children. Thereafter, Jesus appears tired, hungry and wants some time away from the crowds to pray, eat and relaxⁱ. He leads the disciples into the Gentile region of southern Syria and a Canaanite woman approaches Jesus, begging Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter. The position of most New Testament scholars is that the gospel of Mark was circulated first.

Is Jesus Talking to Her?

There is a further belief that Matthew had a copy of Mark’s gospel which he used as a template. This text in Matthew has significant additions or edits to Mark’s earlier account. Matthew, first, refers to the woman as a “Canaanite”, while Mark refers to her as a “Syro-Phoenician.” Second, Matthew has the woman calling out to Jesus: “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me…” Thirdly, in verse 23, Matthew adds: “Jesus did not answer a word”. It appears as if Jesus is ignoring her. Next, also in verse 23, the disciples urge Jesus to “send her away…”

The dialogue continues with Matthew recording Jesus as saying: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” At this crucial moment in Matthew, the woman kneels before Jesus and says: “Lord, help me.” Then, in verse 26, Jesus says: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” In both gospels, Jesus appears to refer to her as a “dog”, yet there is no feminine pronoun to preface His comment. The proper translation is “Jesus replied” as He utters this. Surely if Jesus was addressing her specifically, Matthew would capture this detail.

Compassion in Place of Caution

The theory presented here is that the harsh / rude comments made by Jesus in this encounter are not directed at the woman, but rather the disciples. However, missing feminine pronouns are not the only reason we can come to this conclusion. Jesus is tired and possibly hungry and wants some time away from the crowds. This is a common theme in the gospel material. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus ignores the woman when she first calls out to Him and the disciples appear agitated, telling Jesus to “send her away.”

Despite their attempt to deter her from getting to Jesus, He instead seizes an opportunity to teach them. He is not happy with the attitude of the disciples. They should know by now that He is not only willing, but also desires, to help when someone comes to Him. He did not push anyone away. For example, in chapters 8, 9 and 12 of Matthew’s gospel, there are 12 accounts

of Jesus healing people. Even in the chapter before this encounter, the disciples want to send the crowds away, like this woman, before Jesus feeds them.

A Message for Disinterested Disciples

Now, in the flow of Matthew’s account, the Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and the disciples want rid of her. After all these preceding examples of Jesus ministering to those in need, His initial silence is not to test a distressed woman, but rather to test disinterested disciples. Jesus, in verse 23, discovers what their response is to this needy woman. When they tell Him to dismiss her and make her go away, they fail the test and His response to them is pointed. The text makes sense if Jesus is addressing the last party that spoke – the disciples.

Jesus turns, in verse 24, to the disciples and sarcastically states to them: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” There is absolutely no indication in the text that this statement was directed at the woman. In fact, it not until the very end of this passage, in verse 28, that Jesus responds directly to her. She must have heard Jesus speaking to His disciples in a tone that gave her hope. There are also no question marks in ancient Greek manuscripts. However, a statement can become a rhetorical question with a certain tone of voice.

A Woman of Unrivalled Faith

At this point in Matthew’s gospel, the woman falls at the feet of Jesus and says: “Lord, help me.” Continuing the teaching, Jesus directs His next comment to the disciples. We know this, because the text does not portray Jesus directing His words at her – that is still to come. Once again, this time in verse 26, He uses sarcasm framed in a rhetorical question: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Again, the woman realises Jesus is not against her, but is defending her. Jesus may have even been looking at His disciples the whole time.

Nevertheless, she hears Jesus’ tone and persists by boldly responding to His rhetorical question directed toward the disciples, knowing full well it was not a direct challenge nor response to her. In verse 27, she says: “Yes it is, Lord… Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” At this point, for the first time in Matthew’s account, Jesus clearly addresses his comments “to her” [ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ] and His response to her is unequivocal in esteem. Jesus says to her: “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

What Can We Learn Here?

We learn several things in this approach to Jesus’ remarks. This study assumes the following:

• Jesus does not push needy people away. He ministers to ALL people: women, children, Gentiles, Jews, Roman soldiers, lepers and the demon-possessed.

• It was not uncommon for Jesus to scold His disciples. If you count duplicate passages in the gospel material, we have 37 clear examples of Him doing this.

• Jesus also regularly employed the use of irony, humour and sarcasm as teaching tools to disclose more of His character.

Six times in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus begins a comment directed at the Pharisees: “Have you not read…?” So, the peasant Galilean preacher is asking these highly studied leaders “Have you even read this text?” We can now read this text with fresh eyes and in the full understanding that Jesus always encourages us to reach out to the last, lost and least with indiscriminate love.

Rev. Dr. Al Baker | 31/01/2026

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ⁱ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2015%3A21&version=NIV (Accessed: 31 January 2026)