As a real human being, Jesus belonged to the culture of his people and of his age. Moreover, Jesus appeared to some of his listeners as a Rabbi, even though they knew he had no such formal training. Similarly, as we have noted before in these reflections, he often spoke and acted like the Old Testament prophets. This background reminds us to get beyond the superficial appearance of what Jesus was doing and saying in this encounter with the woman pleading for her daughter. Our first impression may be that Jesus was very rude to her, but Jesus was never rude to women: rather, he was solicitous for them. As many other Gospel passages, so also this one challenges us to put aside our own immediate and often superficial ways of thinking and let all of Jesus' attitudes, words and actions open up new perspectives for us.

Jesus sought in his own prophetic way to elicit the woman's deeper faith so that she was not merely asking for the healing of her daughter but was drawn into the miracle where her faith, under Jesus' guidance, became a channel of healing grace for her daughter.