Who is Justa?

She is every Woman who has felt injustice. She is the namesake of my Blog and Podcast. She is the Syrophoenician woman of the New Testament, and everything about her resonates with me. There is a courage in her like no other, which stands the test of time. The more I get to know her in prayer, the more I realize she has something to teach the world. 'Even the dogs get to eat the scraps that fall from the master's table.'

Both Matthew and Mark write about this incredible Woman:

Matthew 15: 21-28

'Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have Mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ." But she came and knelt before, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that moment.'

Mark 7: 24-30

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him and came and bowed down at his feet. Now the Woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go--the demon has left your daughter." And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon was gone.'

Where do I begin? I could start with Jesus just calling that Woman a dog! I'm not going to do that; we need a little historical context of this Woman's origin and where Jesus and his disciples are. The District of Tyre and Sidon lies northwest of Galilee, and its population is predominantly gentile. This Woman was a gentile and a Canaanite (ancient Isreal's enemy); the disciples would have known that and had a prejudice against her. I can't help but think Jesus knows this; he knows their hearts. He also knows her heart. He knows her love; he feels her courage. She is the perfect soul to teach his disciples a precious lesson. He has come for all humanity.

Jesus has come to break the boundaries placed around God's love. There is no better place to start tearing down this wall than with a Canaanite woman, an ancient enemy, and a daughter of Eve. Time to take the log out of the disciple's eye, "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye but do not notice the log in your own eye." (Matt 7:3). This is a vital lesson for everyone. Prejudice in our hearts tears apart communities and the world. The Kingdom of God cannot coexist with prejudice in the hearts of the people of God.

Jesus uses this opportunity to expose the heart of the past and give it new life and purpose. Using the current thought process of his disciples, Jesus says to the Woman, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.' I imagine the disciples high-fiving in the background, and I'm sure Jesus knows he's about to blow their minds. This Woman (Justa) radiates with motherly love, irrational trust, and a converted heart that Jesus will heal her daughter. She responds, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Oh, the joy Jesus must have felt!!!!

"Woman, great is your faith!"

Jesus just blew open the door, and this Woman courageously walked through. He healed her daughter, and she became a beautiful disciple of Christ. How do I know this? A little-known book of Church Father (3rd Pope) Clementine called 'The Clementine Homilies.' They read like a conversion story, and scholars have placed their writing around the 2nd or 3rd century. In Homily 2, Chapter XIX, we learn of the Syrophoenician woman's name.

"There is amongst us one Justa, a Syro-Phoenician, by race a Canaanite, whose daughter was oppressed with grievous disease. And she came to our Lord, crying out, and entreating that He would heal her daughter. But He, being asked also by us, said, 'It is not lawful to heal the Gentiles, who are like to dogs on account of their using various meats and practices, while the table in the kingdom has bee given to the sons of Israel.' But she, hearing this, and begging to partake like a dog of the crumbs that fall from this table, having changed what she was, by living like the sons of the kingdom, she obtained healing for her daughter, as she asked. For she being a Gentile, and remaining in the same course of life, He would not have healed had she remained a Gentile, on account of its not being lawful to heal her as a Gentile.

There you go. I have her name—Justa! Having followed the Lord from afar, Justa had a profound conversion of heart. She left her old ways and courageously leaned into the love of God through Jesus. This love gave her courage and opened doors for others. We can all learn from her, as the disciples did.