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21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table." 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. ~ Matthew 15:21-28
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 15 where the Lord Jesus has been sparing with the Jewish religious leaders who had come from Jerusalem to Galilee in order to discredit Him in the eyes of the people there. The popularity of the Lord Jesus was so great that the Jewish religious leaders made the 90 mile trip in order to quell it. We try to control that which threatens us and this was the motivation of the religious leaders who had what most thought was the best life but their eternity with God was blocked by their greed. Protecting their comfort on this earth so blinded these religious leaders that they missed God when He walked right into their lives.
In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.'"
After dealing with the religious leaders, the Lord Jesus traveled with His disciples about thirty-five miles to the Mediterranean Sea town of Tyre. Earlier in this chapter, the observant to the law religious leaders of Israel accused the Lord Jesus of violating the Word of God. Interestingly, these "leaders" adherence to the "Law of Moses" and all of their additions to it resulted in them being smug and more separate from the people who needed the truth most. The Lord Jesus took the disciples to Tyre to illustrate in terms of race what He had just taught in terms of food. All foods are clean, and all peoples are clean, in the sense of being acceptable by God. There are no longer any distinctions among foods, as being defiling or undefiling, just as there are no distinctions among people.
As the Lord Jesus and His disciples entered Tyre, the crowd, according to Mark's gospel, was so great that He had to slip away into a house to escape them. In that home in Tyre there "just so happened to be" a desperate Gentile woman who asked the Lord Jesus to cast a demon from her very possessed daughter. Her desperation gave room to potential hope enabling her to bring her desperate need to the Lord. Her faith had brought her to possible rejection, but she was so desperate. The risk she ran was great in the eyes of all in that day. Women were not supposed to approach a man whom she did not know. This kind of faith, though, is the key to what life is truly all about: encountering God and telling others about Him.
This woman was an unnamed Canaanite, one of the people groups that were condemned in the Old Testament by God. Of course, we were all condemned by our rebelliousness before God, but this woman had a double dose of rejection from God. Even though she was a Gentile, a non-Jew she knew to address the Lord Jesus as "the Son of David!" By using this Jewish covenant designation, she made her appeal on the promises that God had made to the people of Israel. In addition, by using this designation of the Lord Jesus, she acknowledged Him as Israel's Messiah, something the religious leaders of Israel didn't do. Unlike the Jewish religious leaders, this lady was being defined by God.
In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, 'Send her away, for she cries out after us.' 24 But He answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'"
Initially, after the Lord Jesus had paid no attention to the woman, the disciples came and urged Him to send her away because she had become annoying. This happened so that her faith would be challenged and subsequently made real for all to see, including her. Most people run from the trials that come in life, but trials hone our ability to see and embrace God with our hearts. By embracing our trials rather than running from them, we make room for a context to be formed where we are granted by God a growing depth in our walk with Him. Most never get to this place with God. Most, like the religious leaders from Jerusalem love their comfort way too much to do such a thing.
In response to the obnoxious and persistent faith of this desperate woman, the Lord Jesus said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." In saying this He was simply stating that He was sent to reach His own people, the Jews with the Gospel. But, as John 1:11 points out, "He came unto His own and His own rejected Him." Most of the people of Israel, due to their unbelief, did not recognize the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. He did not match their definition of what they thought the Messiah should be. This has always been our problem, we always prefer our definition of something over God's. In this case Israel misdefined their Messiah.
In v.25 of today's passage we read, "Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Lord, help me!'"
This Gentile woman was unfazed by that which the Lord Jesus had said. She was persistent. She didn't give up easily. She utilized a direct approach with the Lord Jesus because she knew that He was her only hope. She knew that if the Lord Jesus didn't help her, her demon-possessed daughter would not make it.
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "But He answered and said, 'It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.'"
The Lord Jesus employed an illustration that this woman clearly understood. The context of this analogy was the dinner table. And, the Lord Jesus used the Greek word for dog here that was less offensive than another He could have used. He used the word that described the pets that one would have in the home, not the scavengers out in the allies. The Lord Jesus used this illustration to deliberately push whatever faith this woman had in Him to the edge. This desperate lady was like the family dog that feeds on crumbs that have fallen from the table. The Lord Jesus is always on the lookout for such faith. He saw this woman's desperation and her subsequent faith that made this miracle come to pass.
In v.27 of today's passage we read, "And she said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.'"
The Jews often called Gentiles "scavenger dogs" which was a complete insult. But, the Lord Jesus used the other term which served to draw out the woman's faith. Her response was, "I know my place, I'm not under the covenant that the Jewish people are under, I don't have the right to ask for the choice morsels, like the covenant people of the Jews, I just want the leftovers. Just throw me the scraps. Please, show me mercy."
Previously, when Peter was caught in the storm, he took his eyes off of the Lord Jesus and began to sink. When this woman was caught in a very different storm, she stayed focused on the Lord Jesus, and fell to her knees before Him. That’s the kind of faith that the Lord finds to be great. This happened on the heels of the Lord Jesus exposing the utter mindlessness of the religious leaders who were bent upon earning God's favor. Here, the observant Jew was given yet another example that he was no longer to be defined by his religious activities which drew out their hearts away from Him to self. Like this Gentile lady in Tyre, we must adopt a pure heart in the God of the Bible who sent His Son who gave His life to win our hearts. Spirituality is much more than carefully observed rituals. It is a wild search for God in the arena of our desperation mixed with the unexpected and the uncomfortable. Out of this grows faith.
In v.28 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."
The faith of this significant gentile woman was much greater than most in the Bible. When she arrived at her home, she found her daughter lying quietly in her bed. And the demon was no longer in her. That very hour, a despised Gentile became a grateful recipient of the grace of God. Great desperation plus persistent faith equaled wholeness. We are never quite convinced that the Lord Jesus is all we need until He is all we have.
