But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she cries after us.
All Commentaries on Matthew 15:23 Go To Matthew 15
Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
. Why did He not allow the disciples to go by way of the Gentiles (Mt. 10:5), while He Himself went to Tyre and Sidon, which were Gentile cities? Learn then, that He did not go there to preach, since, as Mark says, "He hid Himself" (Mk. 7:24). But rather, when He saw that the Pharisees had not accepted His words about food, He went to the Gentiles. The woman said, "Have mercy, not on my daughter, who is unconscious, but on me who am suffering and experiencing these terrible things." And she did not say, "Come and heal," but "Have mercy." He did not answer her a word, not out of contempt, but to show that He had come, in the first place, for the Jews, and to shut the mouths of those Jews who might later slanderously accuse Him of doing good to Gentiles. He also did not answer her so that He might reveal the persevering faith of the woman.
