St. Mark’s gospel suggests that Jesus learned something out of his encounter with the Syro-phoenician woman. He had imagined that his mission was limited to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Her plea made him think otherwise so he went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis, that is to say into non-Jewish, pagan territory. There he learned that his ministry included Greeks as well. Of course, Eve is also interested in learning — what is good and what is evil. The difference is that Jesus was seeking to find what God was asking of him and Eve was trying to find her identity without the God who had nurtured her and cared for her.
