But He answered her not a word

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word.” – Matthew 15:21-23

This is a follow-up to my Blog post of July 1^st2020 – Jesus a Racist? Exposing the Heart of the Matter

In that Post, I confirmed what we already knew – Jesus was/is not a Racist. But, there is another element of the story I did not dive into that has continued to ‘stick in my craw’ as they say.

Was Jesus being rude?

The question is raised based on Jesus’ initial response to the Phoenecian woman crying out for help and Matthew writes “But He answered her not a word”. My reaction was that he is being rude and totally disregarding her.

Perhaps you have experienced something similar? Asking for help in a store and feeling like you are invisible. Or, having a conversation with someone but their attention is on looking for someone they’d really rather be talking to. Or, speaking to someone but they’re constantly scrolling their iPhone. It is just plain rude.

But, wow! This kind of takes it to another level. The poor woman is crying out in sheer desperation for help for her demon possessed daughter and he says nothing?

This requires taking a closer look: If Jesus was actually disregarding her, Matthew would more likely have used the Greek word Agnoeo meaning ‘being ignorant of’ or ‘ignoring’ her. An example of its use is found in the NIV translation of 1 Corinthians 14:38 – “But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.”

What did Jesus actually do?

In this scene, Matthew records that Jesus used the word ‘answered’ 4 times, meaning he positively responded to others requests 4 times. In this particular instance Matthew writes, “But He answered her not a word.” So, Mathew did not choose the word Agnoeo to say he ignored her, he records that Jesus did, in fact, answer her but answered her without saying anything.

How do you do that?

I’ve had plenty of experiences that I believe most people can relate to. It is about 1 person being in conversation with 2 others. The first person has been keeping a secret from the second person but the third does not know about the secret. Take a surprise party for instance. Let’s say I’m throwing a surprise party for person 1 and person 2 has heard about the party but missed the part about it being a surprise. (I’ve been each of these 3 persons at one time or another) While I’m standing next to person 1, person 2 comes up to me saying, “Hey what time is the party?” potentially ruining the surprise. What do you do?

You turn your back to Person 1 and through facial expressions and hand gestures you ‘answer without a word’. You might mouth the word “quiet” or put a finger to your lips or slash your fingers across your throat or simply put a finger or hand up. Any of these gestures would communicate “be quiet you knucklehead” without saying a word.

Was Jesus doing something similar? The imagery I get from Scripture sets the scene with the Disciples following behind Jesus and the woman coming around to be in front of Jesus. When she begs him, Jesus answers her without speaking a word but perhaps with some gesture that the disciples could not see.

Maybe it was Jesus giving her a nod or a wink or simply putting his index finger up to say, “Wait a moment. I will answer your request but I have something to teach my disciples.” I don’t know what gestures may have conveyed this message back in the 1st century Israel. Regardless, He certainly in some way responded to her request without speaking.

I’m satisfied and blessed that Jesus is still Jesus. He’s not rude and the full character of Christ stays intact. I am ready to move on.

• Personal note: I love when I get into scripture, looking for God’s leading and insight and he takes me down a path of understanding. It makes sense and I’m good with it but then I find if I’m willing to press in a little further he will expand upon my understanding. That is so good!

In this case, before I move on, I stop to wonder if there might be a hand gesture unique to Middle Eastern culture that could convey this kind of message. I go ahead and do a little google research. I find that in the Middle East there is a very common hand gesture referred to in Egypt as the “Osbor Shwaya”.

The hand gesture is when the fingers are cupped together pointing up and the hand is slowly swung up and down. What does it communicate? It says without a word . . . “hang on/ I’m working on it/be patient/just a minute.”

Is that what Jesus did? Did He, without a word, and by this hand gesture convey to the woman, “Hang on, it will be done, be patient.” If this gesture was common back in the day, it seems to me a legitimate possibility that this is what Jesus did.

Jesus conveyed a silent message to the woman that said:

• He was fully prepared to answer her request,
• while encouraging her to be patient,
• as they continued in a dialogue,
• that would teach a powerful lesson to His Disciples.

Also, if you read the subsequent dialogue exchange between the Phoenician woman and Jesus with the understanding that she is certain Jesus will do what she asked, it takes on a whole different tenor. I don’t know about you, but I love that.

Jesus does not ignore us when we speak to him

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” – Matthew 7:8

How many ways does God communicate to us? Are we listening and looking and being patient in the process? Are we trusting enough and patient enough to believe that he is working out the good for all involved even as he is planning to answer our prayers? It is all a part of God’s multi-tasking goodness.

Many are desperate to hear God’s voice. As for me, while I love hearing God’s voice, I’ll take an answer from God without a word anytime.

---

Extending to all a fresh start in the New Year of 2021. In the growing darkness I pray we Christ-followers even more so embrace Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”