TRANSLATION MATTHEW 15: 21

Going out from there, Jesus withdrew into the territory of Tyre and Sidon. And -see this- a Canaanite woman from that area came out, crying aloud, “A kindness for me, Master, Son of David! My daughter is sick, possessed by demons.” But he did not answer her, not a word.

Then his pupils came and asked him, “Get rid of her, for she keeps crying out behind us.”

And he said,” I am only sent out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

But she came and went on her knees to him and said, “Master, help me.”

Jesus replied, saying,”It’s not good to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

Then the woman said, Yes, it is, Master, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table!”

Then Jesus responded to her, “Dear woman, what great trust you have! Let it happen for you as you desire.”

And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Rembrandt The Canaanite Woman

Not only does Rembrandt follow precisely the words of the gospel, “She went on her knees to him” but he realises that in this posture she is playing at being a dog. She is humble, but not humiliated, able to mime Jesus’ insult.

This is a great story, because it is the only one in which Jesus becomes a pupil: he learns from the woman’s determined trust, that she cannot be outside the care of God; that he has been “sent out” for more than he imagined. The greatest magic is that this Jew is not just for Jews. The Jewish goodness of God is for all people.

There is something of the classic faith of Judaism in Jesus’ attitude. It is not an evangelical religion. God does not tell them to spread the faith. Rather, they are asked to mirror God’s goodness in their difficult and troubled history, which begins after God has abandoned the rest of humanity who cannot, even by a great flood, be bullied into doing his will. Rather, he chooses to work by persuasion starting with one family. This is the story Jesus inherited: one day, that is, in God’s New Day, the gentiles will come to Israel’s God, but that is God’s business, not Israel’s.

Unhappily, this special relationship could result in arrogance and denigration of gentiles as dogs. Modern scholars have protested that the Greek “kunarios” means little dogs, that is puppies, and that Jesus’ words are playful. That comes from our dog-loving cultures. In Jesus’ world most dogs were street dogs, not owned by anyone, but given scraps by many. The diminutive probably points to these animals.

We should take seriously that Jesus called a foreign woman a dog, expressing his Jewish prejudice. No amount of piety about his divine mission can excuse it. This is a very special instance of magical realism: Jesus can heal but he can also be taught reality by a foreign woman. In Greek Jesus responds to her finally by saying, “O gunai” which means “O woman.” This form of address was respectful and affectionate, and I have rendered it accordingly.