Interestingly, the portrayal of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel is markedly different from that in Luke's Gospel. While the Lukan Jesus emphasizes God's preferential option for the Gentiles (see Luke 4:16-30), the Matthean Jesus reflects a community grappling with the challenge of opening its doors to Gentiles.
A significant moment occurs in the story of the Canaanite woman, where Jesus ultimately recognizes her faith—a moment that requires deeper understanding. The faith of the Canaanite woman transcends mere submissiveness. She believes God will bless her and her daughter through Jesus, whom she acknowledges as the Son of David. Initially, Jesus ignores her, and his disciples urge him to send her away. He even refers to her as a "dog" and initially denies her request for help, stating that his mission is primarily for the Jews. However, the woman remains persistent; her faith leads her to assert that she deserves God's blessing.
The woman's faith is not about enduring derogatory comments by Jesus, but rather about her unwavering hope that God would bless her daughter. Because of her faith, Jesus changes his mind. Ultimately, whether explicitly or implicitly, seriously or humorously, she challenges Jesus's narrow-minded mission. Does he undergo a transformation after encountering this Canaanite woman?
In the end, Jesus after resurrection commissions the male disciples to go to all nations (Matthew 28:16-20). Notably, women disciples are not mentioned in this commissioning. This reflects a limitation in Matthew’s account.