Lent Day 33 [4.11.2025] / Radical Grace

Matthew 15:21-28 / 마태복음 15:21-28

Zechariah - Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Overview:

Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. There He would meet a Canaanite woman most famously referred to as the Syrophoenician woman who would come to Jesus crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Despite being ignored, she persisted until Jesus’ disciples urged Him to send her away. Jesus would answer the disciples’ statement by reiterating that He was send only for the lost sheep of Israel. The woman would come to kneel before Jesus and beg for her daughter’s life to which Jesus would respond:

“It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

Yet despite this seemingly offensive response, the woman continues in her desperation and exclaims that even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table and in response to this, Jesus would express His astonishment of her faith and heal her daughter at that moment.

The Offense:

In our 21st century lens, we would have a difficult time understanding why Jesus would treat this woman so poorly and may even doubt the character of God when it comes to dealing with people in need. We are always taught that God’s love is unconditional and unrestricted but Jesus’ reiteration that He had only come to save the lost sheep of Israel, referring to the Jews, and His poor treatment of this Canaanite woman would be a great obstacle to that truth. So much so that many liberal and “woke” churches today would use this passage to show Jesus’ humanity and limitation, but such a view on this scripture would be false and distorted.

Tyre and Sidon:

We know firstly that Jesus had intentionally withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon for a specific reason. Historically, despite being Canaanite cities, Tyre and Sidon had great significance in Israel’s history. In Judges 1:31, Israel fails to obey God’s command and do not conquer Sidon in the conquest for the Promised Land. Instead, Israel would adopt the worship of Sidonian gods, depend on these cities for provisions, and become a constant reminder of Israel’s failures to trust in God. Yet, despite all of this, there were examples of how God would still bless some within these pagan cities such as the widow who took care of Elijah. In 1 Kings 17:8-24, God provided oil and flour for her in a time of famine, and when her son became ill and died, Elijah raised him from the dead. Later on, God’s prophecies against Tyre and Sidon would come true and they would become provinces of Rome.

For the Jews who had been waiting for the coming Messiah, they would have expected the coming Messiah under two prophecies: Firstly, that the coming Messiah would Himself be a Jew, and secondly, that the coming Messiah would come to save the Jews. Not only this, but a great cultural tension during Jesus’ time existed in how the Jews viewed non-Jews (Gentiles). Jews would refer to Gentiles as “kuon”, which meant “wild cur” or “wild dogs.” According to John 18:28, Jews would even consider even the presence of a Gentile as unspiritual and ceremonially unclean. So why did Jesus purposefully go into a region that the Jews despised?

Overturning Culture with Grace:

Jesus did not just overturn tables in the marketplace of Jerusalem, but in everything He said and in who He is, He overturned cultural expectations and prejudices with determination. The Jews expected Jesus Himself to be a Jew and to come and save the Jews, but they had missed the reason why God had created the Israelites in the first place. So many of the Jews believed that God was for them only, and they were therefore the chosen and the blessed; however, God’s original plan and His purpose to this day was to create a peoples who would represent His light, power, and story to all the world so that through the Israelites ALL the world would come to know and believe in God. Jesus did not withdraw to the region of Tyre and Sidon to mistreat a Canaanite, but rather would set the stage for the Jewish sentiment against the Gentiles to appear so that He could annihilate it.

Setting the Stage:

From the beginning, Jesus would have heard this woman crying out to Him for mercy upon her demon-possessed daughter. Yet, Jesus would ignore her cries just like a Jew would have. No matter the offense, this action would have been quite normal to the Gentiles and to the Jews since there was enmity between the two peoples. However, when we look at this scripture properly, Jesus was not ignoring her but waiting. He was waiting for His disciples to become annoyed by this Gentile woman and ask Him to send her away. When they did, Jesus would respond with the Jewish sentiment that the Messiah had come only to save the lost sheep of Israel, not the Gentiles. Even when she knelt before Him, He would tell her that it would not be right to give to dogs what was meant for children, referring to the JEWISH belief that they were children of God because of their blood line and that the Gentiles were like wild dogs. At this, every Jew would have been in adamant agreement with Jesus and thought to themselves that their Messiah had finally come to save them.

The True Intention:

However, the woman would persevere and declare that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table, showing an astonishing level of humility and faith that Jesus would use to show the world that even in all of Israel, He has not seen such faith. To this, Jesus would not only heal the woman’s daughter, but reveal the hypocrisy and fault of the Jews and their religious leaders who thought they had a seat at the table of Jesus simply because they were Jews. Jesus declares through this that the woman, whom the world had looked down on, was given a seat at the table of Jesus by her faith and the lost sheep of Israel (Jews) are being denied a seat because of their misguided beliefs. In fact, Jesus knew that the Jews had been given the task of representing and revealing God to the world and so God created the Jews to have compassion and love for those around them. It was the Jews who were not fulfilling their calling and disobeying God by treating Gentiles in such a manner.

Conclusion:

The Jews referred to the Gentiles as “kuon” but when Jesus reiterates this sentiment by claiming that it would be wrong to give the bread meant for the children to the dogs, Jesus chooses not to use the word “kuon” but the word “kunarion” instead. This small change in choice of wording would have made all the difference because “kuon” was used to describe an unclean animal, while “kunarion” was used to describe a small or pet dog. In other words, the Jews who had described Gentiles as unwelcome just like a wild dog would be in a home, Jesus flips into a message of invitation just a pet dog is welcome into the home. Yet, would this still mean that Jews are children and non-Jews are their dogs? The answer is no. Jesus’ brilliant word choice actually takes what the Jews meant as an insult to mean something endearing. Moreover, He exclaims throughout His ministry that the Gentiles often show a greater level of faith than that of the Jews who grew up learning about God. In this way, Jesus crushes the cultural divide and reminds us today of His heart for all people; we too are accepted fully as children of God and have a seat at His table by faith alone. The grace of Jesus Christ overcomes and collapses any worldly divide that would keep us away or separate us from His love. Nobody has been excluded and rejected by Jesus, rather we are to approach Him with the same persistence and humility as the Syrophoenician woman. In doing so, Jesus will exalt us to sit with Him at His table of eternal life.

Reflection:

1. Do we have the same humility and persistence as the Syrophoenician woman in our faith?

2. Are there any barriers that keep us from knowing and experiencing the true love of Jesus for us and for others?

   
   

Prayer:

1. God, thank you for revealing the truth of your heart for all the world, not just for one peoples.

2. Jesus, help me to understand your true intent and message of this scripture.

3. Holy Spirit, help me to have the faith like the Syrophoenician woman who was persistent and humble before you.

   
   

개요:

예수께서는 두로와 시돈 지방으로 물러가셨습니다. 그곳에서 예수는 가나안 여인, 즉 수로보니게 여인으로 가장 널리 알려진 여인을 만나게 됩니다. 그녀는 “주 다윗의 자손이여, 나를 불쌍히 여기소서! 내 딸이 귀신 들려 심히 괴로워하고 있습니다”라고 외치며 예수께 나아왔습니다. 예수께서 그녀를 무시하셨음에도 그녀는 끈질기게 매달렸고, 제자들까지도 그녀를 보내버리라고 예수께 요청했습니다. 이에 예수는 자신이 오직 이스라엘의 잃어버린 양들에게 보내심을 받았다고 말씀하십니다.여인은 예수께 나아와 절하며 딸을 위해 간청했고, 예수께서는 다음과 같이 말씀하십니다:“자녀의 떡을 취하여 개들에게 던짐이 마땅하지 아니하니라.”이 모욕적인 말처럼 들릴 수 있는 말씀에도 불구하고, 여인은 절박하게 말합니다. “주여, 올소이다마는 개들도 제 주인의 상에서 떨어지는 부스러기를 먹나이다.” 이에 예수께서는 그녀의 믿음에 놀라움을 표현하시며 즉시 그녀의 딸을 고쳐 주십니다.

도전이 되는 말씀:

21세기를 살아가는 우리는 예수님께서 이 여인을 이렇게 냉대하신 것을 이해하기 어려울 수 있으며, 하나님의 성품에 대해 의심을 품게 될 수도 있습니다. 우리는 하나님의 사랑이 조건 없고 누구에게나 열려 있다고 배웠습니다. 그러나 예수께서 유대인, 즉 이스라엘의 잃어버린 양들만을 위해 오셨다고 반복하신 것과 이 가나안 여인에게 하신 말씀이 이러한 진리를 부정하는 것처럼 보일 수 있습니다. 오늘날 일부 자유주의 혹은 ‘깨어있는(woke)’ 교회에서는 이 본문을 통해 예수님의 인성과 한계를 강조하기도 하지만, 그러한 해석은 왜곡되고 잘못된 것입니다.

두로와 시돈:

우선 예수께서는 의도적으로 두로와 시돈 지방으로 물러가셨습니다. 역사적으로 이 지역은 가나안 도시였지만 이스라엘 역사에 중요한 의미를 가지고 있습니다. 사사기 1장 31절에 따르면, 이스라엘은 하나님의 명령에 불순종하고 시돈을 정복하지 못했습니다. 오히려 이스라엘은 시돈의 신들을 숭배하게 되었고, 물자를 공급받으며 하나님을 신뢰하지 못한 실패의 상징이 되었습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 하나님께서는 이러한 이방 도시에서도 몇몇 사람들을 축복하셨습니다. 예를 들어 열왕기상 17장 8~24절에서, 엘리야 선지자를 돌본 과부에게 하나님께서 기근 중에도 기름과 밀가루를 공급하셨고, 죽은 그녀의 아들을 다시 살리기도 하셨습니다. 훗날, 하나님의 두로와 시돈에 대한 심판의 예언은 이루어졌고 이 지역은 로마의 속주가 되었습니다.

예수님 당시 유대인들은 메시야를 기다리며 두 가지 예언을 믿고 있었습니다. 첫째, 메시야는 유대인이어야 하며, 둘째, 메시야는 유대인을 구원하기 위해 오신다는 것입니다. 또한, 유대인과 이방인 사이에는 극심한 문화적 갈등이 있었습니다. 유대인들은 이방인을 “쿠온(kuon)”이라 불렀는데, 이는 ‘야생의 개’라는 뜻입니다. 요한복음 18장 28절에 따르면, 유대인들은 이방인의 존재조차 부정하고 부정하다고 여겼습니다. 그런데 왜 예수께서는 유대인들이 경멸하는 이방 땅으로 들어가셨을까요?

은혜로 문화를 전복하시다:

예수께서는 단지 예루살렘 성전의 시장에서 상을 뒤엎으신 분이 아니라, 그분의 모든 말씀과 존재 자체로 당시의 문화적 기대와 편견을 뒤엎으셨습니다. 유대인들은 메시야가 유대인을 위해 오셨다고 믿었지만, 하나님께서 이스라엘을 선택하신 참된 이유를 간과했습니다. 하나님은 이스라엘을 통해 모든 민족이 하나님의 능력과 빛, 그리고 이야기를 알 수 있도록 하기를 원하셨습니다. 예수께서는 이방 여인을 냉대하기 위해 두로와 시돈에 가신 것이 아니라, 유대인의 편견을 무대 위로 드러내어 그것을 철저히 무너뜨리기 위함이었습니다.

무대 설정:

예수님은 처음부터 이 여인의 외침을 들으셨을 것입니다. 그녀가 외치는데도 아무 반응이 없으셨던 것은 당시의 유대인들처럼 행동하신 것처럼 보입니다. 당시의 유대인과 이방인 사이의 적대감을 고려하면, 이는 아주 평범한 반응이었을 수 있습니다. 그러나 본문을 자세히 보면 예수님은 단순히 무시하신 것이 아니라 기다리고 계셨던 것입니다. 제자들이 이 이방 여인에게 짜증을 내고 그녀를 쫓아내 달라고 요청할 때까지 말입니다. 그 요청이 있자, 예수께서는 메시야가 이스라엘의 잃어버린 양에게만 보내졌다고 말씀하셨습니다. 여인이 예수 앞에 무릎 꿇고 간청했을 때조차도, 예수께서는 자녀의 떡을 개들에게 주는 것이 옳지 않다고 말씀하십니다. 이는 유대인들이 자신들만이 하나님의 자녀이며, 이방인은 개에 불과하다고 여겼던 그들의 믿음을 반영한 것입니다. 많은 유대인들은 이 말씀을 들으며 자신들의 메시야가 드디어 오셨다고 확신했을 것입니다.

참된 의도:

그러나 여인은 포기하지 않았고, 주인의 상에서 떨어지는 부스러기라도 먹는 개와 같다고 고백합니다. 이 말 속에는 놀라운 겸손과 믿음이 담겨 있었고, 예수님께서는 이를 통해 전 이스라엘에서 이만한 믿음을 본 적이 없다고 하셨습니다. 이로써 예수님은 그녀의 딸을 치유하셨고, 동시에 단지 유대인이라는 이유로 하나님 앞에 자격이 있다고 여겼던 유대인들의 위선을 드러내셨습니다. 오히려 이방 여인, 세상으로부터 무시받던 여인이 예수님의 식탁에 초대받게 되었고, 혈통에만 의지했던 유대인들은 그 자리에서 거절당하는 것입니다. 하나님은 처음부터 이스라엘을 통해 열방을 축복하려 하셨고, 그들을 통해 하나님의 자비와 사랑을 전하고자 하셨습니다. 그러나 유대인들은 이방인을 정죄하며 오히려 하나님의 명령을 어기고 있었습니다.

결론:

유대인들은 이방인을 “쿠온(kuon)”이라 불렀습니다. 그러나 예수님은 이 여인에게 말씀하실 때 “쿠온”이 아닌 “쿠나리온(kunarion)”이라는 단어를 사용하십니다. 이 작은 단어의 차이는 엄청난 의미의 차이를 가져옵니다. “쿠온”은 부정하고 더러운 짐승을 의미하는 반면, “쿠나리온”은 집에서 기르는 작은 개, 즉 애완견을 의미합니다. 유대인들이 이방인을 집에 들일 수 없는 개로 본 것을, 예수께서는 초대받은 존재로 바꾸신 것입니다. 하지만 그렇다고 해서 여전히 유대인은 자녀이고 이방인은 개라는 의미일까요? 그렇지 않습니다. 예수님의 말씀은 유대인의 조롱을 오히려 다정하고 소망 있는 메시지로 전환시키셨습니다. 예수님은 사역 내내, 하나님의 말씀을 듣고 자란 유대인들보다 이방인들이 더 큰 믿음을 보인다고 말씀하십니다. 이렇게 예수님은 세상의 모든 장벽을 허무시며, 오늘날에도 우리 모두가 그분의 식탁에 믿음으로 나아갈 수 있는 자녀임을 선포하십니다. 예수 그리스도의 은혜는 우리를 그분의 사랑에서 멀어지게 할 어떠한 장벽도 무너뜨리십니다. 우리는 결코 예수님께 버림받은 존재가 아니며, 수로보니게 여인처럼 끈질기고 겸손한 믿음으로 주님께 나아갈 때, 주님은 우리를 영원한 생명의 식탁으로 초대하십니다.

묵상 질문:

1. 나는 수로보니게 여인처럼 겸손하고 끈질긴 믿음을 가지고 있는가?

2. 나와 다른 사람들을 하나님의 사랑으로부터 멀어지게 하는 장벽은 무엇인가?

   
   

기도:

1. 하나님, 한 민족만이 아닌 온 세상을 향한 주님의 마음을 드러내 주셔서 감사합니다.

2. 예수님, 이 말씀의 참된 의도와 메시지를 바르게 이해할 수 있도록 도와주세요.

3. 성령님, 수로보니게 여인처럼 주님 앞에서 겸손하고 끈질긴 믿음을 가지게 하소서.