One must never forget that the disciples lived in a Pharisaic environment. Their religious world -outlook was Pharisaic. Christ expects us to make use of our nous , intellect, not for pride , but for insight. The mind does not work infallibly, but we should use it for its God -given purpose. Intellectual laziness or flabbiness is no credit to a devout soul .
Spoken words come out of the heart and so are a true index of character.
The captious quibblings of the Pharisees , for instance, had come out of evil hearts . The Phoenicians were descended from the Canaanites, the original inhabitants of Palestine. They were of Semitic race, therefore, though pagan. The disciples greatly disliked this form of public attention, a strange woman crying after them. They disliked a sensation.