"The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pullman Philip)

The Informant, and the Canaanite Woman

But Christ couldn’t follow Jesus everywhere. It would have attracted notice, and by this time he was sure he should remain very much in the background. Accordingly, he asked one of the disciples to tell him what happened when he wasn’t there keeping it quiet, of course.

‘There’s no need to tell Jesus about it,’ Christ told him. ‘But I’m keeping a record of his wise words and his marvellous deeds, and it would be a great help if I could rely on an accurate report.’

‘Who is this for?’ said the disciple. ‘It’s not for the Romans, is it? Or the Pharisees or the Sadducees?’

‘No, no. It’s for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Every kingdom has its historian, or how would we know of the great deeds of David and Solomon? That’s my role: just a simple historian. Will you help me?’

The disciple agreed, and soon he had something to tell. It happened when Jesus was away from Galilee, travelling in the coastal region between Tyre and Sidon. Evidently his fame had already reached those parts, because a woman from that district, a Canaanite, heard he was passing by and came running to cry out:

‘Have mercy on me, son of David!’

She addressed him like that despite the fact that she was a Gentile. However, it made little impression on Jesus, who took no notice of her, though the woman’s cries began to annoy the disciples who were with him.

‘Send her away, master!’ they said.

Finally he turned to her and said, ‘I haven’t come to speak to the Gentiles. I’m here for the house of Israel, not for you.’

‘But please, master!’ she said. ‘My daughter is tormented by a demon, and I’ve got no one else to ask!’ And she threw herself to her knees in front of him and said, ‘Lord, help me!’

‘Should I take food meant for the children, and throw it to the dogs?’ Jesus said.

But this woman was clever enough to find an answer, and she said, ‘Even the dogs can eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.’

That answer pleased him, and he said, ‘Woman, your faith has saved your daughter. Go home and find her well.’

The disciple reported this, and Christ wrote it down.