"... Great is your faith!" - Matthew 15:28

When Jesus walked with his disciples among the hills and valleys and towns of Palestine, he often led them in directions they had not expected to go. Traveling from Judea to Galilee, he chose to take his disciples through Samaria, although the Jewish people, who had no dealings with the Samaritans, normally went around another way. Although there was grave danger to them in Jerusalem at the time of that final Passover, and although his disciples objected strenuously, Jesus chose to go there. It does not appear that Jesus did things pointlessly, and without doubt he had his own reasons for taking the directions he did and going the places he went.

In Matthew chapter 15 we have a fascinating example of this. From Galilee, Jesus led his disciples a…