FAQ

Various interpretations are possible here. For instance, the following. The Canaanite woman belongs to a pagan people, and it is characteristic of pagans to try to "use" higher powers for their own interests. Jesus enters into a dialogue with her, during which she is given the opportunity to walk a certain spiritual path (He acted similarly in His conversation with the Samaritan woman — Joh 4), in this case, from "using" the power of Jesus to receiving His mercy. The God of the Canaanites is fearsome and punishing; the God of the Jews manifests His mercy. As a result of her conversation with Jesus, this woman acknowledges the primacy of the Jews over the Canaanites — not in a political sense, as they are all occupied by the Romans, but in a religious sense, because their God gives not out of obligation, but out of mercy. Thereby, she embraces and demonstrates faith in the goodness of God revealed in Jesus Christ, and it is precisely for this faith that Jesus commends her. It is not that Jesus "failed to see" her faith from the very beginning, but rather that He helped her ascend to this faith — through His initial severity.