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Text -- Matthew 15:21-28 (NET)

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Context
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith
15:21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 15:22 A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 15:24 So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” 15:26 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said. said. 15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Canaanite residents of the region of Canaan
 · David a son of Jesse of Judah; king of Israel,son of Jesse of Judah; king of Israel
 · Israel a citizen of Israel.,a member of the nation of Israel
 · Sidon residents of the town of Sidon
 · Tyre a resident of the town of Tyre


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Zidon | Woman | Syrophenician | Matthew, Gospel according to | Marriage-feasts | MEET | MASTER | JESUS CHRIST, 4C2 | HELP | HEAL | GRIEVOUS; GRIEVOUSLY; GREIEVOUSNESS | GREAT; GREATNESS | GOOD | Faith | DIVORCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT | CRY, CRYING | CRUMB | CANAAN; CANAANITES | Banquet | ADORATION | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Robertson , Vincent , Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Lightfoot , PBC , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , Maclaren , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Barclay , Constable , College , McGarvey , Lapide

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Mat 15:22 - -- A Canaanitish woman ( gunē Chananaia ). The Phoenicians were descended from the Canaanites, the original inhabitants of Palestine. They were of Sem...

A Canaanitish woman ( gunē Chananaia ).

The Phoenicians were descended from the Canaanites, the original inhabitants of Palestine. They were of Semitic race, therefore, though pagan.

Robertson: Mat 15:22 - -- Have pity on me ( eleēson me ). She made her daughter’ s case her own, "badly demonized."

Have pity on me ( eleēson me ).

She made her daughter’ s case her own, "badly demonized."

Robertson: Mat 15:23 - -- For she crieth after us ( hoti krazei opisthen hēmōn ). The disciples greatly disliked this form of public attention, a strange woman crying afte...

For she crieth after us ( hoti krazei opisthen hēmōn ).

The disciples greatly disliked this form of public attention, a strange woman crying after them. They disliked a sensation. Did they wish the woman sent away with her daughter healed or unhealed?

Robertson: Mat 15:24 - -- I was not sent ( ouk apestalēn ). Second aorist passive indicative of apostellō . Jesus takes a new turn with this woman in Phoenicia. He makes a...

I was not sent ( ouk apestalēn ).

Second aorist passive indicative of apostellō . Jesus takes a new turn with this woman in Phoenicia. He makes a test case of her request. In a way she represented the problem of the Gentile world. He calls the Jews "the lost sheep of the house of Israel"in spite of the conduct of the Pharisees.

Robertson: Mat 15:27 - -- Even the dogs ( kai ta kunaria ). She took no offence at the implication of being a Gentile dog. The rather she with quick wit took Christ’ s ve...

Even the dogs ( kai ta kunaria ).

She took no offence at the implication of being a Gentile dog. The rather she with quick wit took Christ’ s very word for little dogs (kunaria ) and deftly turned it to her own advantage, for the little dogs eat of the crumbs (psichiōn , little morsels, diminutive again) that fall from the table of their masters (kuriōn ), the children.

Robertson: Mat 15:28 - -- As thou wilt ( hōs theleis ). Her great faith and her keen rejoinder won her case.

As thou wilt ( hōs theleis ).

Her great faith and her keen rejoinder won her case.

Vincent: Mat 15:21 - -- Coasts ( μέρη ) Lit., and better, as Rev., parts .

Coasts ( μέρη )

Lit., and better, as Rev., parts .

Vincent: Mat 15:22 - -- Out of the same coasts ( ἀπὸ τῶν δρίων ἐκείνων ) Lit., as Rev., from those borders; i.e., she crossed from Phoeni...

Out of the same coasts ( ἀπὸ τῶν δρίων ἐκείνων )

Lit., as Rev., from those borders; i.e., she crossed from Phoenicia into Galilee.

Vincent: Mat 15:22 - -- Cried ( ἐκραύγασεν ) With a loud, importunate cry: from behind. Compare after, Mat 15:23.

Cried ( ἐκραύγασεν )

With a loud, importunate cry: from behind. Compare after, Mat 15:23.

Vincent: Mat 15:22 - -- Me Making her daughter's misery her own.

Me

Making her daughter's misery her own.

Vincent: Mat 15:22 - -- Grievously vexed with a devil ( κακῶς δαιμονίζεται ) Lit., is badly demonized. Sir J. Cheke, very evil devilled.

Grievously vexed with a devil ( κακῶς δαιμονίζεται )

Lit., is badly demonized. Sir J. Cheke, very evil devilled.

Vincent: Mat 15:23 - -- Send her away With her request granted; for, as Bengel exquisitely remarks, " Thus Christ was accustomed to send away."

Send her away

With her request granted; for, as Bengel exquisitely remarks, " Thus Christ was accustomed to send away."

Vincent: Mat 15:26 - -- Children's ( τῶν τέκνων ) Bengel observes that while Christ spoke severely to the Jews, he spoke honorably of them to those without....

Children's ( τῶν τέκνων )

Bengel observes that while Christ spoke severely to the Jews, he spoke honorably of them to those without. Compare Joh 4:22.

Vincent: Mat 15:26 - -- Dogs ( κυναρίοις ) Diminutive: little dogs. In Mat 15:27, Wyc. renders the little whelps, and Tynd., in both verses, whelPsalms ...

Dogs ( κυναρίοις )

Diminutive: little dogs. In Mat 15:27, Wyc. renders the little whelps, and Tynd., in both verses, whelPsalms The picture is of a family meal, with the pet house-dogs running round the table.

Vincent: Mat 15:26 - -- Their masters The children are the masters of the little dogs. Compare Mar 7:28, " the children's crumbs."

Their masters

The children are the masters of the little dogs. Compare Mar 7:28, " the children's crumbs."

Wesley: Mat 15:21 - -- Mar 7:24.

Wesley: Mat 15:22 - -- Canaan was also called Syrophenicia, as lying between Syria properly so called, and Phenicia, by the sea side.

Canaan was also called Syrophenicia, as lying between Syria properly so called, and Phenicia, by the sea side.

Wesley: Mat 15:22 - -- From afar, Thou Son of David - So she had some knowledge of the promised Messiah.

From afar, Thou Son of David - So she had some knowledge of the promised Messiah.

Wesley: Mat 15:23 - -- He sometimes tries our faith in like manner.

He sometimes tries our faith in like manner.

Wesley: Mat 15:24 - -- Not primarily; not yet.

Not primarily; not yet.

Wesley: Mat 15:25 - -- Into the house where he now was.

Into the house where he now was.

Wesley: Mat 15:28 - -- Thy reliance on the power and goodness of God.

Thy reliance on the power and goodness of God.

JFB: Mat 15:23 - -- (Also see on Mar 7:26.)

(Also see on Mar 7:26.)

JFB: Mat 15:24 - -- (Also see on Mar 7:26.)

(Also see on Mar 7:26.)

JFB: Mat 15:25 - -- (Also see on Mar 7:26.)

(Also see on Mar 7:26.)

Clarke: Mat 15:21 - -- Departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon - Εις τα μερη, towards the coasts or confines. It is not clear that our Lord ever left the land...

Departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon - Εις τα μερη, towards the coasts or confines. It is not clear that our Lord ever left the land of the Hebrews; he was, as the apostle observes, Rom 15:8, the minister of the circumcision according to the truth of God. Tyre and Sidon are usually joined together, principally because they are but a few miles distant from each other.

Clarke: Mat 15:22 - -- A woman of Canaan - Matthew gives her this name because of the people from whom she sprung - the descendants of Canaan, Jdg 1:31, Jdg 1:32; but Mark...

A woman of Canaan - Matthew gives her this name because of the people from whom she sprung - the descendants of Canaan, Jdg 1:31, Jdg 1:32; but Mark calls her a Syrophenician, because of the country where she dwelt. The Canaanites and Phoenicians have been often confounded. This is frequently the case in the Septuagint. Compare Gen 46:10, with Exo 6:15, where the same person is called a Phoenician in the one place, and a Canaanite in the other. See also the same version in Exo 16:35; Jos 5:12

The state of this woman is a proper emblem of the state of a sinner, deeply conscious of the misery of his soul

Clarke: Mat 15:22 - -- Have mercy on me, etc. - How proper is this prayer for a penitent! There are many excellencies contained in it 1.    It is short 2.&n...

Have mercy on me, etc. - How proper is this prayer for a penitent! There are many excellencies contained in it

1.    It is short

2.    humble

3.    full of faith

4.    fervent

5.    modest

6.    respectful

7.    rational

8.    relying only on the mercy of God

9.    persevering

Can one who sees himself a slave of the devil, beg with too much earnestness to be delivered from his thraldom

Clarke: Mat 15:22 - -- Son of David - An essential character of the true Messiah.

Son of David - An essential character of the true Messiah.

Clarke: Mat 15:23 - -- He answered her not a word - Seemed to take time to consider her request, and to give her the opportunity of exercising her faith, and manifesting h...

He answered her not a word - Seemed to take time to consider her request, and to give her the opportunity of exercising her faith, and manifesting her fervor.

Clarke: Mat 15:24 - -- I am not sent but unto the lost sheep - By the Divine appointment, I am come to preach the Gospel to the Jews only. There are certain preachers who ...

I am not sent but unto the lost sheep - By the Divine appointment, I am come to preach the Gospel to the Jews only. There are certain preachers who should learn a lesson of important instruction from this part of our Lord’ s conduct. As soon as they hear of a lost sheep being found by other ministers, they give all diligence to get that one into their fold: but display little earnestness in seeking in the wilderness for those that are lost. This conduct, perhaps, proceeds from a consciousness of their inability to perform the work of an evangelist; and leads them to sit down in the labors of others, rather than submit to the reproach of presiding over empty chapels. Such persons should either dig or beg immediately, as they are a reproach to the pastoral office; for, not being sent of God, they cannot profit the people

The wilderness of this world is sufficiently wide and uncultivated. Sinners abound every where; and there is ample room for all truly religious people, who have zeal for God, and love for their perishing follow creatures, to put forth all their strength, employ all their time, and exercise all their talents, in proclaiming the Gospel of God; not only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but to a lost World. Nor can such exertions be unsuccessful. There the pure truth of God is preached, many will be converted. Where that truth is preached, though with a mixture of error, some will be converted, for God will bless his own truth. But where nothing but false doctrine is preached, no soul is converted: for God will never sanction error by a miracle of his mercy.

Clarke: Mat 15:25 - -- Lord, help me - Let me also share in the deliverance afforded to Israel.

Lord, help me - Let me also share in the deliverance afforded to Israel.

Clarke: Mat 15:26 - -- The children’ s bread - The salvation provided for the Jews, who were termed the children of the kingdom. And cast it to the κυναριοι...

The children’ s bread - The salvation provided for the Jews, who were termed the children of the kingdom. And cast it to the κυναριοις, little dogs - to the curs; such the Gentiles were reputed by the Jewish people, and our Lord uses that form of speech which was common among his countrymen. What terrible repulses! and yet she still perseveres!

Clarke: Mat 15:27 - -- Truth, Lord - Ναι κυριε, Yes, Lord. This appears to be not so much an assent, as a bold reply to our Lord’ s reason for apparently rej...

Truth, Lord - Ναι κυριε, Yes, Lord. This appears to be not so much an assent, as a bold reply to our Lord’ s reason for apparently rejecting her suit

The little dogs share with the children, for they eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. I do not desire what is provided for these highly favored children, only what they leave: a single exertion of thy almighty power, in the healing of my afflicted daughter, is all that I wish for; and this the highly favored Jews can well spare, without lessening the provision made for themselves. Is not this the sense of this noble woman’ s reply?

Clarke: Mat 15:28 - -- O woman, great is thy faith - The hinderances thrown in this woman’ s way only tended to increase her faith. Her faith resembles a river, which...

O woman, great is thy faith - The hinderances thrown in this woman’ s way only tended to increase her faith. Her faith resembles a river, which becomes enlarged by the dykes opposed to it, till at last it sweeps them entirely away with it

Clarke: Mat 15:28 - -- Her daughter was made whole - Persevering faith and prayer are next to omnipotent. No person can thus pray and believe, without receiving all his so...

Her daughter was made whole - Persevering faith and prayer are next to omnipotent. No person can thus pray and believe, without receiving all his soul requires. This is one of the finest lessons in the book of God for a penitent, or for a discouraged believer. Look to Jesus! As sure as God is in heaven, so surely will he hear and answer thee to the eternal salvation of thy soul! Be not discouraged at a little delay: when thou art properly prepared to receive the blessing, then thou shalt have it. Look up; thy salvation is at hand. Jesus admires this faith, to the end that we may admire and imitate it, and may reap the same fruits and advantages from it.

Calvin: Mat 15:21 - -- In this miracle we are informed in what manner the grace of Christ began to flow to the Gentiles; for, though the full time was not yet come when Chr...

In this miracle we are informed in what manner the grace of Christ began to flow to the Gentiles; for, though the full time was not yet come when Christ would make himself known to the whole world, yet he intended to give some early manifestations of the common mercy which was at length offered indiscriminately to Jews and Gentiles after his resurrection. A remarkable picture of faith is presented to us in the woman of Canaan, for the purpose of instructing us by means of comparison, that the Jews were justly deprived of the promised redemption, since their impiety was so shameful.

The woman, whom Matthew describes as of Canaan, is said by Mark to have been a Greek, and a Syrophenician by birth But there is no contradiction here; for we know that it was the prevailing custom among the Jews to call all foreign nations Greeks, and hence that contrast between Greeks and Jews, which occurs so frequently in the writings of Paul. As she was a native of the territories of Tyre and Sidon, we need not wonder that she is called a Syrophenician; for that country was called Syria, and formed part of Phenicia. The Jews disdainfully gave the name of Canaanites to all the inhabitants of that district; and it is probable that the majority of them were descended from the tribes of Canaan, who when banished from their native country, fled to a sort of retreat in the neighborhood. Both agree in this point, that the woman was a native of a heathen nation, that she had not been instructed in the doctrine of the law, and that she came of her own accord to Christ, humbly to entreat his aid.

Calvin: Mat 15:22 - -- Mat 15:22.Have compassion on me, O Lord Though this woman was an alien, and did not belong to the Lord’s flock, yet she had acquired some taste of p...

Mat 15:22.Have compassion on me, O Lord Though this woman was an alien, and did not belong to the Lord’s flock, yet she had acquired some taste of piety; 416 for, without some knowledge of the promises, she would not have called Christ the Son of David. The Jews indeed had almost entirely departed, or at least had greatly turned aside, from the pure and sound doctrine of the Gospel; but a report of the promised redemption was extensively prevalent. As the restoration of the Church depended on the reign of David, whenever they spoke of the Messiah, it was customary for them to employ the name, Son of David; and indeed this confession was heard from the lips of all. But when the true faith had died out amongst them, it was an amazing and incredible display of the goodness of God that the sweet savor of the promises reached the neighboring nations. Though this woman had not been regularly educated by any teacher, yet her faith in Christ was not a notion adopted by her at random, but was formed out of the law and the prophets. It was therefore not less absurd than wicked in that dog, Servetus, to abuse this example for the purpose of proving that faith may exist without promises. I do not deny that, in this sense, there may sometimes be a sort of implicit faith, that is, a faith which is not accompanied by a full and distinct knowledge of sound doctrine; provided we also hold that faith always springs from the word of God, and takes its origin from true principles, and therefore is always found in connection with some light of knowledge.

Calvin: Mat 15:23 - -- 23.But he made no reply to her In various ways the Evangelists bestow commendation on the faith of this woman. Here they bring before us her unshaken...

23.But he made no reply to her In various ways the Evangelists bestow commendation on the faith of this woman. Here they bring before us her unshaken constancy; for the silence of Christ was a sort of refusal, and there is reason to wonder that she was not cast down by this trial, but her continuance in prayer was a proof of her perseverance. This appears, however, to be inconsistent with the nature of faith and of calling upon God, as it is described by Paul, who assures us that no man can pray aright till he has heard the word of God.

How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
(Rom 10:14.)

Who then will say that this woman had faith, who takes courage from her own feelings, though Christ is silent? But as Christ has two ways of speaking and of being silent, it must be observed, that though he withheld at that time the words of his mouth, yet he spoke within to the mind of the woman, and so this secret inspiration was a substitute for the outward preaching. Besides, her prayer arose out of the hearing of faith, (Rom 10:17;) and, therefore, though Christ does not immediately reply, she continually hears the sound of that doctrine 417 which she had already learned, that Christ came as a Redeemer. In this way the Lord often acts towards those who believe in him; he speaks to them, and yet is silent. Relying on the testimonies of Scripture, where they hear him speaking, they firmly believe that he will be gracious to them; and yet he does not immediately reply to their wishes and prayers, but, on the contrary, seems as if he did not hear. We see then that the design of Christ’s silence was not to extinguish the woman’s faith, but rather to whet her zeal and inflame her ardor. But if a small seed of doctrine in a woman of Canaan yielded such abundant fruit, it ill becomes us to be dejected, if at any time he delays and does not immediately grant a favorable answer.

Send her away The disciples present no request in favor of the woman, but as they are annoyed by her importunity, they desire that, in some way or other, she may be dismissed. It is a childish contrivance, which the Papists have endeavored to support by means of this passage, that departed saints are allowed to plead for us; for, granting that this woman solicited the disciples to give her some favor or assistance — which, however, cannot be proved from the passage — still there is a wide difference between the dead and living. It must be also observed, that, if they really intended to aid her by their advocacy, they obtain nothing.

Calvin: Mat 15:24 - -- 24.I am not sent He informs the Apostles that his reason for refusing the woman of Canaan arises out of his desire to devote himself entirely to the ...

24.I am not sent He informs the Apostles that his reason for refusing the woman of Canaan arises out of his desire to devote himself entirely to the Jews to whom alone he was appointed to be a minister of the grace of God. He argues from the call and the command of the Father, that he must not yield any assistance to strangers; not that the power of Christ was always confined within so narrow limits, but because present circumstances rendered it necessary that he should begin with the Jews, and at that time devote himself to them in a peculiar manner. For as I have said in expounding Mat 10:5 , the middle wall of partition (Eph 2:14) was not thrown down till after Christ’s resurrection that he might proclaim peace to the nations which were aliens from the kingdom of God: and therefore he prohibited the Apostles, at that time, from scattering anywhere but in Judea the first seed of doctrine. Justly therefore, does he affirm that, on this occasion, he was sent to the Jews only, till the Gentiles also followed in the proper order.

To the lost sheep of the house of Israel He bestows the designation of sheep of the house of Israel not on the elect only, but on all who were descended from the holy fathers; for the Lord had included all in the covenant, and was promised indiscriminately to all as a Redeemer, as he also revealed and offered himself to all without exception. It is worthy of observation, that he declares himself to have been sent to LOST sheep, as he assures us in another passage that he came to save that which was lost, (Mat 18:11.) Now as we enjoy this favor, at the present day, in common with the Jews, we learn what our condition is till he appear as our Savior.

Calvin: Mat 15:25 - -- 25.And she came and worshipped him We might be apt to think that this woman contends with some measure of obstinacy, as if she would extort something...

25.And she came and worshipped him We might be apt to think that this woman contends with some measure of obstinacy, as if she would extort something from Christ in spite of him; but there is no reason to doubt that she was animated by the conviction which she entertained as to the kindness of the Messiah. When Christ expressly declared that it did not belong to his office, she was not intimidated by that refusal, and did not desist from her purpose. The reason was, that she adhered firmly to that previous sentiment of faith which I have mentioned, and admitted nothing that was opposed to her hope. And this is the sure test of faith, that we do not suffer that general commencement of our salvation, which is founded on the word of God, to be in any way torn from us.

Calvin: Mat 15:26 - -- 26.It is not seemly Christ’s reply is harsher than ever, and one would think that he intended by it to cut off all hope; for not only does he decla...

26.It is not seemly Christ’s reply is harsher than ever, and one would think that he intended by it to cut off all hope; for not only does he declare that all the grace which he has received from the Father belongs to the Jews, and must be bestowed on them, otherwise they will be defrauded of their just rights; but he disdainfully compares the woman herself to a dog, thus implying that she is unworthy of being a partaker of his grace. To make the meaning plain to us, it must be understood that the appellation of the children’s bread is here given, not to the gifts of God of whatever description, but only to those which were bestowed in a peculiar manner on Abraham and his posterity. For since the beginning of the world, the goodness of God was everywhere diffused—nay, filled heaven and earth—so that all mortal men felt that God was their Father. But as the children of Abraham had been more highly honored than the rest of mankind, the children’s bread is a name given to everything that, relates peculiarly to the adoption by which the Jews alone were elected to be children The light of the sun, the breath of life, and the productions of the soil, were enjoyed by the Gentiles equally with the Jews; but the blessing which was to be expected in Christ dwelt exclusively in the family of Abraham. To lay open without distinction that which God had conferred as a peculiar privilege on a single nation, was nothing short of setting aside the covenant of God; for in this way the Jews, who ought to have the preference, were placed on a level with the Gentiles.

And to throw it to the dogs By using the word throw, Christ intimates that what is taken from the Church of God and given to heathens is not well bestowed. But this must be restricted to that time when it was in Judea only that men called on God; for, since the Gentiles were admitted to partake of the same salvations—which took place when Christ diffused everywhere the light of his Gospel—the distinction was removed, and those who were formerly dogs are now reckoned among the children. The pride of the flesh must fall down, when we learn that by nature we are dogs At first, no doubt, human nature, in which the image of God brightly shone, occupied so high a station that this opprobrious epithet did not apply to all nations, and even to kings, on whom God confers the honor of bearing his name. 418 But the treachery and revolt of Adam made it proper that the Lord should send to the stable, along with dogs, those who through the guilt of our first parent became bastards; more especially when a comparison is made between the Jews, who were exempted from the common lot, and the Gentiles, who were banished from the kingdom of God.

Christ’s meaning is more fully unfolded by Mark, who gives these words, Allow the children first to be satisfied He tells the woman of Canaan that she acts presumptuously in proceeding — as it were, in the midst of the supper — to seize on what was on the table. 419 His chief design was, to make trial of the woman’s faith; but he also pointed out the dreadful vengeance that would overtake the Jews, who rejected an inestimable benefit which was freely offered to them, and which they refused to those who sought it with warmth and earnestness.

Calvin: Mat 15:27 - -- 27.Certainly, Lord The woman’s reply showed that she was not hurried along by a blind or thoughtless impulse to offer a flat contradiction 420 to w...

27.Certainly, Lord The woman’s reply showed that she was not hurried along by a blind or thoughtless impulse to offer a flat contradiction 420 to what Christ had said. As God preferred the Jews to other nations, she does not dispute with them the honor of adoption, and declares, that she has no objection whatever that Christ should satisfy them according to the order which God had prescribed. She only asks that some crumbs — falling, as it were, accidentally — should come within the reach of the dogs And at no time, certainly, did God shut up his grace among the Jews in such a manner as not to bestow a small taste of them on the Gentiles. No terms could have been employed that would have described more appropriately, or more justly, that dispensation of the grace of God which was at that time in full operation.

Calvin: Mat 15:28 - -- 28.Great is thy faith He first applauds the woman’s faith, and next declares, that on account of her faith he grants her prayer. The greatness o...

28.Great is thy faith He first applauds the woman’s faith, and next declares, that on account of her faith he grants her prayer. The greatness of her faith appeared chiefly in this respect, that by the aid of nothing more than a feeble spark of doctrine, she not only recognized the actual office of Christ, and ascribed to him heavenly power, but pursued her course steadily through formidable opposition; suffered herself to be annihilated, provided that she held by her conviction that she would not fail to obtain Christ’s assistance; and, in a word, so tempered her confidence with humility, that, while she advanced no unfounded claim, neither did she shut against her the fountain of the grace of Christ, by a sense of her own unworthiness. This commendation, bestowed on a woman who had been a heathen, 421 condemns the ingratitude of that nation which boasted that it was consecrated to God.

But how can the woman be said to believe aright, who not only receives no promise from Christ, but is driven back by his declaration to the contrary? On that point I have already spoken. Though he appears to give a harsh refusal to her prayers, yet, convinced that God would grant the salvation which he had promised through the Messiah, she ceases not to entertain favorable hopes; and therefore she concludes, that the door is shut against her, not for the purpose of excluding her altogether, but that, by a more strenuous effort of faith, she may force her way, as it were, through the chinks. Be it unto thee as thou desirest. This latter clause contains a useful doctrine, that faith will obtain anything from the Lord; for so highly does he value it, that he is always prepared to comply with our wishes, so far as it may be for our advantage.

Defender: Mat 15:24 - -- The Lord Jesus had come into the world to die for the sin of the whole world, but He had also come as Israel's promised Messiah. His seeming harshness...

The Lord Jesus had come into the world to die for the sin of the whole world, but He had also come as Israel's promised Messiah. His seeming harshness to the Canaanite woman is best understood as not only a test of her faith in the God of Israel, but also as a means to show His disciples that Gentiles also were included in God's plan, and that they too could have saving faith."

TSK: Mat 15:21 - -- and departed : Mar 7:24 Tyre : Mat 10:5, Mat 10:6, Mat 11:21-23; Gen 49:13; Jos 11:8, Jos 13:6, Jos 19:28, Jos 19:29; Jdg 1:31

TSK: Mat 15:22 - -- a woman : Mat 3:8, Mat 3:9; Psa 45:12; Eze 3:6; Mar 7:26 Have : Mat 9:27, Mat 17:15; Psa 4:1, Psa 6:2; Luk 17:13, Luk 18:13 son : Mat 1:1, Mat 20:30,M...

TSK: Mat 15:23 - -- Gen 42:7; Deu 8:2; Psa 28:1; Lam 3:8 Send : Mat 14:15; Mar 10:47, Mar 10:48

TSK: Mat 15:24 - -- I am not : Mat 9:36, Mat 10:5, Mat 10:6; Isa 53:6; Jer 50:6, Jer 50:7; Eze 34:5, Eze 34:6, Eze 34:16, Eze 34:23; Luk 15:4-6; Act 3:25, Act 3:26, Act 1...

TSK: Mat 15:25 - -- came : Mat 20:31; Gen 32:26; Hos 12:4; Luk 11:8-10, Luk 18:1-8 worshipped : Mat 14:33 Lord : Mar 9:22, Mar 9:24

TSK: Mat 15:26 - -- It is not : Mat 7:6; Mar 7:27, Mar 7:28; Act 22:21, Act 22:22; Rom 9:4; Gal 2:15; Eph 2:12; Phi 3:2; Rev 22:15 dogs : Τοις κυναριοις ...

It is not : Mat 7:6; Mar 7:27, Mar 7:28; Act 22:21, Act 22:22; Rom 9:4; Gal 2:15; Eph 2:12; Phi 3:2; Rev 22:15

dogs : Τοις κυναριοις [Strong’ s G2952], ""to the little dogs,""lap dogs, etc., the diminutive of κυων [Strong’ s G2965], a dog. The Jews, while they boasted of being the children of God, gave the name of dogs to the heathen, for their idolatry, etc.

TSK: Mat 15:27 - -- Truth : Mat 8:8; Gen 32:10; Job 40:4, Job 40:5, Job 42:2-6; Psa 51:4, Psa 51:5; Eze 16:63; Dan 9:18; Luk 7:6, Luk 7:7, Luk 15:18, Luk 15:19, Luk 18:13...

TSK: Mat 15:28 - -- Jesus : Job 13:15, Job 23:10; Lam 3:32 O woman : Our Lord’ s purpose being now answered, he openly commended her faith, and assured her that her ...

Jesus : Job 13:15, Job 23:10; Lam 3:32

O woman : Our Lord’ s purpose being now answered, he openly commended her faith, and assured her that her daughter was healed.

great : Mat 8:10, Mat 14:31; 1Sa 2:30; Luk 17:5; Rom 4:19, Rom 4:20; 2Th 1:3

be it : Mat 8:13, Mat 9:29, Mat 9:30; Psa 145:19; Mar 5:34, Mar 7:29, Mar 7:30, Mar 9:23, Mar 9:24; Luk 7:9, Luk 7:50; Luk 18:42, Luk 18:43; Joh 4:50-53

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Mat 15:21-28 - -- This narrative is also found in Mar 7:24-30. The coasts of Tyre and Sidon - These cities were on the seacoast or shore of the Mediterranean. S...

This narrative is also found in Mar 7:24-30.

The coasts of Tyre and Sidon - These cities were on the seacoast or shore of the Mediterranean. See the notes at Mat 11:21. Jesus went there for the purpose of concealment Mar 7:24, perhaps still to avoid Herod.

Mat 15:22

A woman of Canaan - This woman is called, also, a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, Mar 7:26

In ancient times, the whole land, including Tyre and Sidon, was in the possession of the Canaanites, and called Canaan. The Phoenicians were descended from the Canaanites. The country, including Tyre and Sidon, was called Phoenicia, or Syro-Phoenicia. That country was taken by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, and those cities, in the time of Christ, were Greek cities. This woman was therefore a Gentile, living under the Greek government, and probably speaking the Greek language. She was by birth a Syro-Phoenician, born in that country, and descended, therefore, from the ancient Canaanites. All these names might, with propriety, be given to her.

Coasts - Regions or countries.

Thou son of David - Descendant of David. See the notes at Mat 1:1. The phrase here means the Messiah.

Is grievously vexed with a devil - See the notes at Mat 4:24. The woman showed great earnestness. She cried unto him, and fell at his feet, Mar 7:25.

Mat 15:23

But he answered her not a word - This was done to test her faith, and that there might be exhibited to the apostles an example of the effect of persevering supplication.

The result shows that it was not unwillingness to aid her, or neglect of her. It was proper that the strength of her faith should be fully tried.

Mat 15:24

But he answered and said, I am not sent ... - This answer was made to the woman, not to the disciples.

The "lost sheep of the house of Israel"were the Jews. He came first to them. He came as their expected Messiah. He came to preach the gospel himself to the Jews only. Afterward it was preached to the Gentiles, but the ministry of Jesus was confined almost entirely to the Jews.

Mat 15:25

She came and worshipped - That is, bowed down to him or did him reverence.

See the notes at Mat 8:2.

Lord, help me! - A proper cry for a poor sinner, who needs the help of the Lord Jesus.

Mat 15:26

But he answered and said, It is not meet ... - That is, it is not appropriate or proper.

Children’ s bread - The Jews considered themselves as the special children of God.

To all other nations they were accustomed to apply terms of contempt, of which dogs was the most common. The Muslims still apply the term "dogs"to Christians, and Christians and Jews to each other. The term is designed as an expression of the highest contempt. The Saviour means to say that he was sent to the Jews. The woman was a Gentile. He meant merely using a term in common use, and designed to test her faith in the strongest manner - that it did not comport with the design of his personal ministry to apply benefits intended for the Jews to others. Evidently he cannot be understood as intending to justify or sanction the use of such terms, or calling names. He meant to try her faith. As if he had said, "You are a Gentile; I am a Jew. The Jews call themselves children of God. You they vilify and abuse, calling you a dog. Are you willing to receive of a Jew, then, a favor? Are you willing to submit to these appellations to receive a favor of one of that nation, and to acknowledge your dependence on a people that so despise you?"It was, therefore, a trial of her faith, and was not a lending of his sanction to the propriety of the abusive term. He regarded her with a different feeling.

Mat 15:27

And she said, Truth, Lord ... - What you say is true.

Let it be that the best food should be given to the children - let the Jews have the chief benefit of thy ministry; but the dogs beneath the table eat the crumbs. So let me be regarded as a dog, a pagan, as unworthy of everything. Yet grant one exertion of that almighty power displayed so signally among the Jews, and heal the despised daughter of a despised heathen mother."

Mat 15:28

Great is thy faith - That is, thy trust, confidence.

The word here seems to include, also, the humility and perseverance manifested in pressing her suit. The daughter was healed then. Going home, she found her well and composed, Mar 7:30.

Poole: Mat 15:21 - -- Mark addeth, Mar 7:24 , and entered into an house, and would have no man know it; but he could not be hid. Some here make a question, whether our ...

Mark addeth, Mar 7:24 , and entered into an house, and would have no man know it; but he could not be hid. Some here make a question, whether our Saviour did go into Phoenicia, (of which Tyre and Sidon were the principal cities), or only into the coasts of Palestine, next to it: those that think he did not go into Phoenicia, are guided by his prohibition of his disciples to go into the way of the Gentiles, Mat 10:5 , and the consideration that the time was not yet come for his manifestation to the Gentiles. I rather incline to think that he went into Tyre and Sidon; and that this was a kind of a praeludium to the calling of the Gentiles, and a prediction of what should be done more fully afterwards. It is manifest he did not go with a design to make himself public there, for Mark saith, he would have no man know it. But for privacy withdrew himself thither, and showed some of his miraculous operations there; and Mat 15:22 saith the woman that came to him was a Canaanite. Mark saith she was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation. Nor is here any contradiction, for ever since the Grecian monarchy prevailed over so great a part of the world, the name of Greeks had obtained, so as they called all Greeks who were not Jews, Rom 1:14,16 10:12 .

A Syrophenician, saith Mark, by nation; that is, one that was a native of that part of Phoenicia which is joined to Tyre and Sidon. Matthew calls her a Canaanite, or a woman of Canaan, by which though some would understand one of Cana, yet as the orthography will not agree, so Mark calling her a Greek, and a Syrophenician, inclines us rather to judge her of the stock of the old Canaanites.

Poole: Mat 15:22-23 - -- Ver. 22,23. Mark saith, A certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: the woman was a Gr...

Ver. 22,23. Mark saith, A certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’ s bread and cast it unto the dogs, Mat 7:25-27 . Though the woman appears to have been a pagan, yet living so near Galilee, she had doubtless heard of Christ, both what he had done in casting out devils, and also that he was looked upon as the Son of David, and usually called by that name by those who went to him for any cures; she therefore gives him that title. Others think her to have been more specially enlightened, and to have called him the Son of David, not as a usual compellation given him, but as believing him to have been the true Messias promised to the Jews: nor is that impossible, for though the gospel at this time had not shined out upon any considerable number of the heathen, yet God in all times had his number amongst them; and this woman living so near to the Jews, and so near to Galilee, where our Saviour hitherto had most conversed and preached, it is not improbable that she might have received the grace as well as the sound of the gospel, so God might have kindled in her heart a true faith in the Messias. Our Saviour’ s commendation of her faith in the following discourse maketh this very probable. Matthew saith that

he answered her not a word Mark saith that he said to her, Let the children first be filled, & c. To the observing reader this will appear no contradiction. For by Mark it should appear, that she first came to our Saviour into the house, into which he went that he might be private, and there fell at his feet. Here Christ answered her not a word, took no notice of her at all. But it appeareth by Matthew that Christ soon left the home, and she followed after him upon the way. The disciples said, Send her away; for she crieth after us. Then it was that our Saviour said to her,

Let the children first be filled his disciples first interposing, saying,

Send her away; for she crieth after us How many of the papists think that this text patronizes their invocation of saints departed I cannot tell, for these disciples were alive, and we do not read that she spake to any of them to intercede for her. It is certain they did move Christ on her behalf.

Poole: Mat 15:24 - -- Our Lord by these words doth not deny but that he was sent as a Redeemer to more, but not as a minister, or as an apostle, as he is called, Heb 3...

Our Lord by these words doth not deny but that he was sent as a Redeemer to more, but not as a minister, or as an apostle, as he is called, Heb 3:1 . The apostle, Rom 15:8 , saith, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. Our Lord’ s ministry was confined to the Jews; so was the apostles’ , Mat 10:5 . Till some time after our Saviour’ s ascension the gospel was not preached generally to the Gentiles, though some particular persons might and did, both in Christ’ s time and in the time of the apostles, before they did go to the Gentiles, hear, receive and embrace the gospel, as we shall hear this woman did.

Poole: Mat 15:25 - -- She here acknowledgeth his Divine power, and implores his help; thus showing that she believed him to be the Son of God, and a rewarder of those tha...

She here acknowledgeth his Divine power, and implores his help; thus showing that she believed him to be the Son of God, and a rewarder of those that sought him; and continues her request after two repulses.

Poole: Mat 15:26 - -- Mark saith, Mar 7:27 , Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled; for it is not meet, &c. By the children here he means the Jews, by...

Mark saith, Mar 7:27 , Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled; for it is not meet, &c. By the children here he means the Jews, by the dogs he means the heathen. The Jews are called the children of the kingdom. Israel is called God’ s son, his firstborn, Exo 4:22 . The apostle, Rom 9:4 , saith, to them belonged the the adoption . By bread here our Saviour means the publication of the gospel, and the miracles by which the truth of the doctrine of it was confirmed; by dogs he means the heathen, whom the Jews did count as dogs, no members of the household of God: it was a term of contempt, 2Sa 3:8 2Sa 16:9 2Ki 8:13 . When our Saviour saith,

It is not meet he means it is not just, nor equal.

Objection: How came it then that the gospel was ever carried to the Gentiles?

Mark expounds our Saviour’ s meaning, or rather gives us an account of our Saviour’ s words, more perfectly: Let the children first be filled; for it is not meet, &c. The Jews are God’ s children, a people whom he chose out of all the nations of the earth, to whom he gave many privileges; it is his will the gospel should be first preached to them, and then to the Gentiles. Gentiles are as dogs, of whom God hath not taken such a care; but they shall have their time. Only it is not consonant to my Father’ s will that the gospel, and the miracles by which it is confirmed, should be exhibited unto you Gentiles, till it hath been fully preached to the Jews, and they be first filled with the sound, and with the confirmations of it.

Poole: Mat 15:27 - -- Mark reports it to the same sense, Mar 7:28 . She goeth on after three repulses, the last of which was not without a reproach, for our Lord had impl...

Mark reports it to the same sense, Mar 7:28 . She goeth on after three repulses, the last of which was not without a reproach, for our Lord had implicitly called her a dog. These words are as much as if she had said, Lord, I confess the Jews are children; I am a dog, a poor heathen, no proper member of the household of God; and it is truth that it seemeth unreasonable that I, being a dog, should be served before all the children are filled. Lord, I do not beg such a full manifestation of thy power and goodness for the Gentiles. I beg but a crumb of mercy for myself and poor child; and, Lord, though we do not use to give our loaves prepared for our children to the dogs that feed under our table, crumbs of our children’ s bread, as Mark expresses it, yet we suffer our dogs to gather them up. Lord, I know thou hast a plenty of grace and blessing, the children may be filled, and yet I may have some crumbs. Three things are remarkable in her answer, besides her faith so eminently expressed.

1. Her humility; she owneth herself a dog.

2. Her modesty; she begs no more than a crumb.

3. Her fervency and importunity after three repulses.

By this we learn our duty in prayer, to go to God humbly, to implore him modestly, and to be instant in prayer, going on in our duty, though we have not presently such an answer as we desire. These things, conjoined with faith, make an acceptable prayer.

Poole: Mat 15:28 - -- Mark saith, Mar 7:29 , And he said unto her. For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house,...

Mark saith, Mar 7:29 , And he said unto her. For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. O woman! For this saying, showing the greatness of thy faith, be it unto thee as thou wilt. Go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

And her daughter was made whole from that very hour as she understood when she came home to her house, for she found the devil was gone out of her daughter, and her daughter was laid upon the bed. Thus the words of both the evangelists compounded make but one entire and perfect sense. The greatness of her faith appeared in two things:

1. In that she had so little means, so small a revelation; being a pagan, she ordinarily had not heard the gospel, nor seen so many of Christ’ s mighty works, confirming the truth of the doctrine of it. Hence it is observed, that Christ admired the faith of none but pagans, Mat 8:10 .

2. In that she would not give over, though he gave her three repulses. So as she said, like Jacob, I will not let thee go, until thou bless me. And as he, like a prince, so she, like a princess, prevailed with God, and obtained the thing which she desired.

But will some say. Where was her faith? What promise, what word of God, had she to assent to? God doth not speak to us outwardly, but inwardly, as undoubtedly he had to this woman, giving her some inward assurance that he was the Son of God, and both able and willing to grant her the thing she asked. Now a firm and fixed assent to any Divine revelation is faith, whether the revelation be internal or external. We from hence learn the mighty power of true faith and fervent prayer.

Lightfoot: Mat 15:22 - -- And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daug...

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.   

[A woman of Canaan.] In Mark it is, A Greek woman, a Syrophoenician by nation; Mat 7:26.   

I. Of Canaan. It is worthy observing, that the Holy Bible, reckoning up the seven nations; which were to be destroyed by the Israelites, names the Perizzites, who were not at all recited among the sons of Canaan, Genesis_10; and the Canaanites as a particular nation, when all the seven, indeed, were Canaanites. See Deu 7:1; Jos 9:1; Jos 11:3; Jdg 3:5; etc.   

The reason of the latter (with which our business is) is to be fetched thence, that Canaan himself inhabited a peculiar part of that (northern) country, with his first-born sons, Sidon and Heth: and thence the name of Canaanites was put upon that particular progeny, distinguished from all his other sons; and that country was peculiarly called by the name of 'Canaan,' distinctly from all the rest of the land of Canaan. Hence Jabin, the king of Hazor, is called the 'king of Canaan,' Jdg 4:2; and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, if I mistake not, are called 'the kings of the Hittites,' 1Ki 10:29.   

II. A Greek woman, a Syrophoenician Although Judea, and almost the whole world, had now a long while stooped under the yoke of the Romans, yet the memory of the Syro-Grecian kingdom, and the name of the nation, was not yet vanished. And that is worthy to be noted, In the captivity, they compute the years only from the kingdom of the Greeks. They said before, "That the Romans, for a hundred and fourscore years, ruled over the Jews before the destruction of the Temple"; and yet they do not compute the times to that destruction by the years of the Romans, but by the years of the Greeks. Let the Jews themselves well consider this, and the Christians with them, who reckon the Roman for the fourth monarchy in Daniel.   

Therefore that woman that is here spoken of (to reduce all into a short conclusion) was a Syro-Grecian by nation, a Phoenician in respect of her habitation, and from thence called a woman of Canaan.

Lightfoot: Mat 15:26 - -- But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs.   [To the dogs.] By this title the Jews, ou...

But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs.   

[To the dogs.] By this title the Jews, out of spite and contempt, disgraced the Gentiles, whose first care it was to hate, to mock, and to curse, all beside themselves. The nations of the world [that is, the heathen] are likened to dogs. From the common speech of the nation, rather than from his own sense, our Saviour uses this expression, to whom 'the Gentiles' were not so hateful, and whose custom was to speak with the vulgar.   

This ignominious name, like a stone cast at the heathen, at length fell upon their own heads; and that by the hand and justice of God directing it: for although they out of pride and contempt fixed that disgraceful name upon the Gentiles, according to their very just desert, the Holy Spirit recoiled it upon themselves. See Psa 59:6; Phi 3:2; Rev 22:15; etc.

PBC: Mat 15:25 - -- See WebbSr: LORD, HELP ME

See WebbSr: LORD, HELP ME

Haydock: Mat 15:21 - -- Confines of Tyre. It perhaps may be asked, why Jesus went among the Gentiles, when he had commanded his apostles to avoid those countries? One reas...

Confines of Tyre. It perhaps may be asked, why Jesus went among the Gentiles, when he had commanded his apostles to avoid those countries? One reason may be, that our Saviour was not subject to the same rules he gave his disciples; another reason may be brought, that he did not go then to preach; hence St. Matthew observes that he kept himself retired. (St. John Chrysostom) ---

Tyre and Sidon were both situated on the Mediterranean sea, about 20 miles distant from each other, and the adjoining country to the west and north of Galilee was called the coast or territories of Tyre and Sidon. The old inhabitants of this tract were descendants of Chanaan, (for Sidon was his eldest son) and continued in possession of it much longer than they did of any other part of the country. The Greeks called it Phœnicia; and when, by right of conquest, it became a province of Syria, it took the name of Syrophœnician and Gentile; as being both by religion and language a Greek.

Haydock: Mat 15:22 - -- It is probable that woman first cried out before the door, and assembled a crowd, and then went into the house. Have mercy on me. The great faith ...

It is probable that woman first cried out before the door, and assembled a crowd, and then went into the house. Have mercy on me. The great faith of the Chanaanæan woman is justly extolled. She believed him to be God, whom she calls her Lord, and him a man, whom she styles the Son of David. She lays no stress upon her own merits, but supplicates for the mercy of God; neither does she say, have mercy on my daughter, but have mercy on me. ... To move him to compassion, she lays all her grief and sorrow before him in thee afflicting words: my daughter is grievously afflicted by a devil. (Glossa.)

Haydock: Mat 15:23 - -- He answered her not. It must not be supposed that our Saviour refused to hear the woman through any contempt, but only to shew that his mission was ...

He answered her not. It must not be supposed that our Saviour refused to hear the woman through any contempt, but only to shew that his mission was in the first instance to the Jews; or to induce her to ask with greater earnestness, so as to deserve more ample assistance. (Denis the Carthusian)

Haydock: Mat 15:26-27 - -- And to cast it to the dogs; i.e. to Gentiles, sometimes so called by the Jews. (Witham) --- The diminutive word Greek: Kunarios, or whelp, is used...

And to cast it to the dogs; i.e. to Gentiles, sometimes so called by the Jews. (Witham) ---

The diminutive word Greek: Kunarios, or whelp, is used in both these verses in the Septuagint. Our Lord crosses the wishes of the Chanaanæan, not that he intended to reject her, but that he might bring to light the hidden and secret treasure of her virtue. Let us admire not only the greatness of her faith, but likewise the profoundness of her humility; for when our Saviour called the Jews children, so far from being envious or another's praise, she readily answers, and gives them the title of lords; and when Christ likened her to a dog, she presently acknowledges the meanness of her condition. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. liii.) He refused at first to listen to her petition, says the same saint, to instruct us with what faith, humility, and perseverance we ought to pray. To make his servants more sensible of his mercy, and more eager to obtain it, he often appears to pay no attention to their prayers, till he had exercised them in the virtues of humility and patience. Ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened to you. (Haydock)

Haydock: Mat 15:28 - -- Be it done. Inn the beginning God said, Let there be light, and there was light; here Jesus Christ says, let it be done, &c. and her daughter wa...

Be it done. Inn the beginning God said, Let there be light, and there was light; here Jesus Christ says, let it be done, &c. and her daughter was healed from that hour. So powerful with God is earnest and fervent prayer. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. liii.)

Gill: Mat 15:21 - -- Then Jesus went thence,.... From the land of Gennesaret, after he had silenced the Pharisees, as to the charge brought by them against his disciples; ...

Then Jesus went thence,.... From the land of Gennesaret, after he had silenced the Pharisees, as to the charge brought by them against his disciples; and when he had reproved them for their hypocrisy and wickedness, in making void the commands of God by their traditions; and had explained some difficult and parabolical sayings he had made use of to his disciples, he then left that country, and departed very privately: either to shun the multitude, for the sake of retirement; or to avoid any snares the Scribes and Pharisees might be laying for him, who must be greatly galled with his free discourse, and strong arguments:

and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon; two principal cities of Phoenicia: not that he went into these places themselves, but into some places that bordered upon them; for as he ordered his disciples not to go in the way of the Gentiles, so neither did he himself.

Gill: Mat 15:22 - -- And behold a woman of Canaan,.... That is, of Phoenicia, which was called Canaan; so Shaul, the son of a Canaanitish woman, is, by the Septuagint in E...

And behold a woman of Canaan,.... That is, of Phoenicia, which was called Canaan; so Shaul, the son of a Canaanitish woman, is, by the Septuagint in Exo 6:15 called the son of a Phoenician; and the kings of Canaan are, by the same interpreters in Jos 5:1 called kings of Phoenicia: hence this woman is by Mark said to be a Greek, that is, a Gentile, as the Jews used to call all of another nation, and a Syrophenician, being a native of Phoenicia, called Syrophenician; because it bordered upon Syria, and had been formerly a part of it, by conquest: so Cadmus, who is reported to have first brought letters from Phoenicia to Greece, is called i a Syrophenician merchant.

Came out of the same coasts; being an inhabitant, it is very likely, either of Tyre or Sidon: this shows that Christ did not go into these places, but only to the borders of them, since she is said to come out of them to him; who, having heard of him, and the miraculous cures wrought by him, and being informed that he was near, at such a place, as the Persic version says, "suddenly came forth out of a corner"; and the Ethiopic reads it, "out of the mountains thereof"; and made to the house where he was privately retired, and would have hid himself, as Mark suggests,

and cried unto him; with a loud voice, with much vehemency, being in great distress,

saying, have mercy on me; meaning, by curing her daughter, with whose case she was so much affected, that she made it, as it were, her own:

O Lord, thou son of David. The first of these characters expresses her faith in his power, dominion, and government, that all persons and things, and so all diseases were at his command, and control; and that being Lord of all, he could remove them at his pleasure: the other shows her knowledge and belief of him, as the Messiah, that being a name by which he was usually known by the Jews; See Gill on Mat 1:1 and which she, though a Gentile, might come at the knowledge of, either through being a proselyte to the Jewish religion, or through a general report which might reach, especially the neighbouring nations, that the Jews expected a wonderful deliverer to arise among them, under this character of the son of David; and from what she had heard of him, she concluded he must be the person.

My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil, which had took possession of her, and most grievously afflicted her: and her request to him was, that he would cast him out of her: believing he had power so to do, without seeing or touching her, only by a word speaking: her faith was like that of the centurion's.

Gill: Mat 15:23 - -- But he answered her not a word,.... Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it;...

But he answered her not a word,.... Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her, carried in it a tacit repulse of her, and a denial of assistance to her; and it seems as if she did for a while desist from her application to him, and betook herself to his disciples to plead with him for her:

and his disciples came; to the house where he was; who, it seems by this, had been elsewhere;

and besought him, saying, send her away; not in any shape, with any sort of answer, without curing her daughter, or without a promise of a cure; no, they desired she might be dismissed, with a grant of her request, to her entire satisfaction, as appears from Christ's answer: the reason they give is,

for she crieth after us; not only because she was troublesome to them, was importunate with them, and would take no denial from them: she followed them wherever they went; there was no getting rid of her: but also, because her case was so moving, was delivered in such an affecting manner, and her cries were piercing, that they could not bear them; and therefore entreat him, that he would relieve, and dismiss her.

Gill: Mat 15:24 - -- But he answered, and said,.... To his disciples, who knew how limited their commission was, that they were not to go into the way of the Gentiles, not...

But he answered, and said,.... To his disciples, who knew how limited their commission was, that they were not to go into the way of the Gentiles, not to preach to them, nor perform miracles among them; and therefore could not reasonably expect that either the woman, or they, on her behalf, should succeed in this matter.

I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; as a priest, or as a Saviour and Redeemer, he was sent to make satisfaction and atonement for the sins of all God's elect, and to obtain eternal redemption and salvation for all of them, whether Jews or Gentiles; but as a prophet, in the discharge of his own personal ministry, he was sent by his Father only to the Jews; he was the "minister of the circumcision", Rom 15:8 that is, a minister to the circumcised Jews; he was sent only to preach the Gospel to them, and work miracles among them, in proof of his Messiahship; and upon their rejection of him, then his apostles were to be sent among the Gentiles; but he himself was sent only to the Jews, here styled "the lost sheep of the house of Israel": by "the house of Israel", is meant the whole body of the Jewish nation, so called from Israel, the name of Jacob their father, from whom they sprung; and by the "lost sheep" of that house, are more especially designed the elect of God among them: for though all the individuals of that house were "lost" persons, considered in Adam, and in themselves, as the rest of mankind, and Christ, in the external ministry of the word, was sent to preach to them all; yet the elect of God are only "sheep": they are the sheep of Christ, of his pasture, and of his hand, whom he has the particular care and charge of; and who, in their natural state, are lost and straying, and could never find their way, or recover themselves from their lost state in Adam, and by their own transgressions; but he came to seek, and to save them, and to these his ministry was powerful and efficacious.

Gill: Mat 15:25 - -- Then came she and worshipped him,.... She followed the disciples into the house; and perceiving another repulse by Christ's answer to them, she pushes...

Then came she and worshipped him,.... She followed the disciples into the house; and perceiving another repulse by Christ's answer to them, she pushes on, through all discouragements; her faith grows stronger, and her importunity greater: she had called Christ Lord, and the son of David before, but now she worships him as God:

Saying, Lord help me; a short petition, but what fully and fitly expressed her case: the object she prays unto is the Lord, by which she owns his sovereignty, dominion, and power: the request she makes is for "help", signifying that her case required it; that it was such, that she could not help herself, nor any creature help her, only he, which she firmly believed; and though it was her daughter, and not she herself, that was so miserably afflicted; yet such was her sympathy, love, and affection to her, that she makes the case her own, and calls helping her daughter, helping herself; for her daughter being relieved, she would be made easy.

Gill: Mat 15:26 - -- But he answered, and said,.... To the woman, as the Persic version reads it, and the sense requires: it is not meet to take the children's bread, a...

But he answered, and said,.... To the woman, as the Persic version reads it, and the sense requires:

it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs; which he said, to try her faith the more, and make it the more illustrious; and that not so much from his own sense of things, as in the language of the Jewish people, and which she might not be a stranger to. By "the children", are meant the Jews, to whom the adoption belonged; who, as a nation and people, were the children of God in a large sense; being distinguished by many blessings and favours, which others had not, and being under the more peculiar care and notice of God; not that all of them were the children of God by special grace: by "the bread"; which belonged to them, is meant the external ministry of the word, and the miracles of Christ wrought among them: and particularly such outward favours which related to the good of the bodies of men, by healing their diseases, and dispossessing them of devils: and by "the dogs" are designed the Gentiles, so called by the Jews in a way of contempt, because of their ignorance, idolatry, and impurity. Christ here speaks not his own mind, as if he reproached the Gentiles, and held them in scorn and contempt, but uses the common dialect of the people; and which, this woman, living upon the borders of the Israelitish nation, was acquainted with; so that it was not so shocking and surprising, or quite so discouraging, as it would otherwise have been. The Jewish doctors say k, that the idolatrous Gentiles are not called men, that they are comparable to the beasts or the field l, to oxen, rams, goats m, and asses n: the foetus in the bowels of a Canaanitish servant, they say o,

"ymd hmhb yemb dlwk, "is like the foetus in the bowels of a beast".''

Take the following passage, as an illustration of this, and as a further proof of the Jews calling the Gentiles dogs p.

"A king provides a dinner for the children of his house; whilst they do his will they eat their meat with the king, and he gives to the dogs the part of bones to gnaw; but when the children of the house do not do the king's pleasure, he gives the dogs the dinner, and the bones to them: even so: while the Israelites do the will of their Lord, they eat at the king's table, and the feast is provided for them, and they of their own will give the bones to the Gentiles; but when they do not do the will of their Lord, lo! the feast is לכלבי, "for the dogs", and the bones are their's.''

And a little after,

""thou preparest a table before me"; this is the feast of the king; "in the presence of mine enemies"; אינון כלבי, "these are the dogs" that sit before the table, looking for their part of the bones.''

In which may be clearly discerned the distinction between children and dogs, and the application of the one to the Jews, and the other to the Gentiles, and the different food that belongs to each: and hence it is easy to see from whom Christ borrowed this expression, and with what view he made use of it.

Gill: Mat 15:27 - -- And she saith, truth, Lord,.... She owns all that he had said to be true, that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: that she was...

And she saith, truth, Lord,.... She owns all that he had said to be true, that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: that she was indeed but a dog, a poor sinful creature, and unworthy of any favour; and that it was not right and fitting that all the children's bread should be taken from them and given to dogs:

yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. The Syriac and Persic versions add "and live": thus she wisely lays hold upon and improves in a very beautiful manner, in her own favour, what seemed to be so much against her. It is observed q of the Syrophoenicians in general, that they have all, in their common talk, something ηδυ και κεχαρισμενον "pleasant and graceful", as there is indeed in this smart reply of her's, who was one of that people. She suggests that though the Gentiles were but dogs, and she one of them; yet their common Lord and Master had a propriety in them, and they in him; and were to be maintained and fed, and ought to live, though not in such fulness of favours and blessings, as the Jews, the children of God: nor did she desire their affluence, only that a crumb of mercy might be given her, that her poor daughter might be healed; which was but a small favour, in comparison of the numerous ones he heaped upon the children, the Jews: nor would this be any more detrimental to them, than it is to the children, for the dogs, under the table, to eat of the crumbs that fall.

Gill: Mat 15:28 - -- Then Jesus answered, and said unto her,.... As one surprised at the strength of her faith, and the clearness and justness of her pious reasoning; and ...

Then Jesus answered, and said unto her,.... As one surprised at the strength of her faith, and the clearness and justness of her pious reasoning; and not concealing himself, and the designs of grace, any longer from her, breaks out in great admiration of her, saying,

O woman, great is thy faith! He seems surprised, that she, a woman, and a poor Gentile, should express such strong faith in him; calling him Lord, owning him to be the Messiah, worshipping him as God, believing him able to do what could not be done by human art; and though she met with such repulses, and even called a dog, yet still continued importunate with him, believing she should succeed:

be it unto thee even as thou wilt; let thy daughter be healed, as thou desirest, and in the way, and at the very time thou wouldst have it:

and her daughter was made whole from that very hour: power went forth from Christ, and dispossessed the devil; so that when she came home, as Mark observes, she found her daughter lying on the bed, quiet, and easy, and perfectly well. The conduct of our Lord towards this woman, and her behaviour under it, do, in a very lively manner, represent the methods which God sometimes takes with his people, when they apply to him in their distress; and the nature and actings of their faith upon him: as she, when she first applied to Christ for mercy and help, had not sword of answer given her; so sometimes they cry, and the Lord turns a deaf ear, or seems not to hear, and, in their apprehension of things, has covered himself with a cloud, that their prayer should not pass through; however, an immediate answer is not returned; yea, when others interpose on their behalf, and entreat for them, yet no favourable answer is returned, as was not by Christ to his disciples, when they besought him on this woman's account: and yet, notwithstanding all this, as she, they are not discouraged, but ply the throne of grace with fresh suits, acknowledge that the worst of names and characters belong to them: that they are unworthy of the least of mercies, and should be content with the crumbs of divine favour, but cannot go away without a blessing; they lay hold on every word of God, and hastily catch at it, and improve everything in their own favour, that faith can come at, and so, in the issue, succeed in their requests: effectual, fervent, and importunate prayer, the prayer of faith availeth much with God.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mat 15:21 For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

NET Notes: Mat 15:22 Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and...

NET Notes: Mat 15:23 Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary Engl...

NET Notes: Mat 15:24 Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ...

NET Notes: Mat 15:25 Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:26 Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and h...

NET Notes: Mat 15:27 Grk “she said.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:28 Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used...

Geneva Bible: Mat 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the ( e ) coasts of Tyre and Sidon. ( e ) Coasts which were next to Tyre and Sidon, that is in that region ...

Geneva Bible: Mat 15:22 And, behold, a woman of ( f ) Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, [thou] Son of David; my daught...

Geneva Bible: Mat 15:23 ( 5 ) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. ( 5 ) In that Christ s...

Geneva Bible: Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the ( g ) house of Israel. ( g ) Of the people of Israel, who were divided into tr...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Mat 15:1-39 - --1 Christ reproves the Scribes and Pharisees for transgressing God's commandments through their own traditions;10 teaches how that which goes into the ...

Maclaren: Mat 15:21-31 - --The Crumbs And The Bread Them Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyro and Sidon. 22. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the s...

MHCC: Mat 15:21-28 - --The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distr...

Matthew Henry: Mat 15:21-28 - -- We have here that famous story of Christ's casting the devil out of the woman of Canaan's daughter; it has something in it singular and very surpr...

Barclay: Mat 15:21-28 - --There are tremendous implications in this passage. Apart from anything else, it describes the only occasion on which Jesus was ever outside of Jewis...

Barclay: Mat 15:21-28 - --There are certain things about this woman which we must note. (i) First and foremost, she had love. As Bengel said of her, "She made the misery of ...

Constable: Mat 13:54--19:3 - --V. The reactions of the King 13:54--19:2 Matthew recorded increasing polarization in this section. Jesus expande...

Constable: Mat 15:21-28 - --5. The withdrawal to Tyre and Sidon 15:21-28 (cf. Mark 7:24-30) As previously, opposition led Jesus to withdraw to train His disciples (cf. 14:13-33)....

College: Mat 15:1-39 - --MATTHEW 15 D. JESUS AND THE TEACHINGS OF THE PHARISEES (15:1-20) As noted earlier, the section comprising 14:13-16:20 has two conflict scenes which ...

McGarvey: Mat 15:21 - -- LXVI. SECOND WITHDRAWAL FROM HEROD'S TERRITORY. aMATT. XV. 21; bMARK VII. 24.    b24 And from thence aJesus barose, and went aout baw...

McGarvey: Mat 15:22-28 - -- LXVII. HEALING A PHOENICIAN WOMAN'S DAUGHTER. (Region of Tyre and Sidon.) aMATT. XV. 22-28; bMARK VII. 24-30.    bAnd he entered into...

Lapide: Mat 15:1-39 - --CHAPTER 15 Then there came to Him, &c. The Scribes of Jerusalem, as being at the very fountain head of faith and religion, arrogated to them selves t...

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Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Matthew (Book Introduction) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW By Way of Introduction The passing years do not make it any plainer who actually wrote our Greek Matthew. Papias r...

JFB: Matthew (Book Introduction) THE author of this Gospel was a publican or tax gatherer, residing at Capernaum, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. As to his identity with t...

JFB: Matthew (Outline) GENEALOGY OF CHRIST. ( = Luke 3:23-38). (Mat. 1:1-17) BIRTH OF CHRIST. (Mat 1:18-25) VISIT OF THE MAGI TO JERUSALEM AND BETHLEHEM. (Mat 2:1-12) THE F...

TSK: Matthew (Book Introduction) Matthew, being one of the twelve apostles, and early called to the apostleship, and from the time of his call a constant attendant on our Saviour, was...

TSK: Matthew 15 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Mat 15:1, Christ reproves the Scribes and Pharisees for transgressing God’s commandments through their own traditions; Mat 15:10, teach...

Poole: Matthew 15 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 15

MHCC: Matthew (Book Introduction) Matthew, surnamed Levi, before his conversion was a publican, or tax-gatherer under the Romans at Capernaum. He is generally allowed to have written h...

MHCC: Matthew 15 (Chapter Introduction) (Mat 15:1-9) Jesus discourses about human traditions. (Mat 15:10-20) He warns against things which really defile. (Mat 15:21-28) He heals the daught...

Matthew Henry: Matthew (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Gospel According to St. Matthew We have now before us, I. The New Testament of our Lord and Savior...

Matthew Henry: Matthew 15 (Chapter Introduction) In this chapter, we have our Lord Jesus, as the great Prophet teaching, as the great Physician healing, and as the great Shepherd of the sheep feed...

Barclay: Matthew (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SAINT MATTHEW The Synoptic Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke are usually known as the Synoptic Gospels. Synopt...

Barclay: Matthew 15 (Chapter Introduction) Clean And Unclean (Mat_15:1-9) The Foods Which Enter Into A Man (Mat_15:1-9 Continued) The Ways Of Cleansing (Mat_15:1-9 Continued) Breaking God...

Constable: Matthew (Book Introduction) Introduction The Synoptic Problem The synoptic problem is intrinsic to all study of th...

Constable: Matthew (Outline) Outline I. The introduction of the King 1:1-4:11 A. The King's genealogy 1:1-17 ...

Constable: Matthew Matthew Bibliography Abbott-Smith, G. A. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Cl...

Haydock: Matthew (Book Introduction) THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW INTRODUCTION. THIS and other titles, with the names of those that wrote the Gospels,...

Gill: Matthew (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO MATTHEW The subject of this book, and indeed of all the writings of the New Testament, is the Gospel. The Greek word ευαγγελ...

College: Matthew (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION It may surprise the modern reader to realize that for the first two centuries of the Christian era, Matthew's...

College: Matthew (Outline) OUTLINE I. ESTABLISHING THE IDENTITY AND ROLE OF JESUS THE CHRIST - Matt 1:1-4:16 A. Genealogy of Jesus - 1:1-17 B. The Annunciation to Joseph...

Lapide: Matthew (Book Introduction) PREFACE. —————— IN presenting to the reader the Second Volume [Matt X to XXI] of this Translation of the great work of Cornelius à Lapi...

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