The Bible is a Unified Story

It Begins with God and Humanity United in a Garden

And it Ends with God and Humanity Reunited in a Garden

The Rest of the Story is How Humanity’s Relationship with God was Broken…

And What God Did to Restore it

Sometimes We Focus All Our Attention on the Trees…

Without Recognizing They’re a Part of a Larger Forest

There’s a Lot to Be Gained From Looking at the Stories of:

Noah, Abraham, David, Elijah, Jesus, the Apostles, etc.

But if We Forget They’re a Part of a Larger Story…

The Story of God Redeeming His Creation…

Then We’ve Missed the Main Point of it All

I Would Argue that Our Text this Morning…

Can’t Be Understood or Appreciated…

If We Don’t Know/Remember the Overall Story

Matthew 15:21-39

This is a Really Interesting Passage

Matthew is Going to Show Us Jesus’ Ministry Transition From Jews to Gentiles

We’re Going to See Jesus have an Interaction with a Gentile Woman

When We Read How Jesus Acts Toward Her and What He Says to Her…

It Seems Like Jesus is Being Rude/Mean to Her

And the Only Way to Fully Understand What Jesus is Doing…

Is to Understand a Key Component to God’s Plan to Restore All Things

After the Rebellion and Fall of Humanity

God Chooses Abraham and His Descendants, Israel, to Be His Special People

God Makes a Covenant with Abraham and His Descendants

“I will Bless You So You can Bless Others”

Israel’s Mission was to Live Faithfully to God…

And Lead Others to Reconciliation and Faithful Living to God

Israel Failed in Their Mission, Because They Also Rebelled

So God Became an Israelite Human to Lead Israel Back to God

These New Faithful Israelites are to Continue the Original Mission…

Of Reconciling the World Back to God

We Must Understand Israel’s Role in God’s Plan…

In Order to Understand Our Passage

After Jesus’ Run-In with the Pharisees and Scribes, We Read this:

Matthew 15:21 (NASB95)

21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Jesus Left Gennesaret to Go to Gentile Territory, Tyre and Sidon

To the Jews, Tyre and Sidon are the Epitome of Wicked Pagans

They Were 2 of Many Ancient Enemies of the Israelite People

Mark Tells Us that Jesus Went into a House and was Trying to Go Unnoticed

It Seems Like Jesus was Trying to Get Away From the Hostile Jewish Elite…

And have a Moment to Rest

But, Not for Lack of Trying, He was Noticed

Matthew 15:22 (NASB95)

22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”

“Canaanite” Wasn’t a Term that was Used Anymore

Mark Calls Her a “Syrophoenician”…

Because She Lived in the Area of Syrophoenicia (Where Tyre and Sidon Were Located)

But Matthew Uses “Canaanite”

This Would have Been a Very Familiar Term to the Jews Whom Matthew Wrote to

The Canaanites Were Some of the Main Bad Guys of the OT

Israel was Given the Promised Land, Also Known as “The Land of Canaan”

Israel Were Told to Exterminate the Wicked Canaanites…

And Other Nations From the Land

What is Matthew Doing?

He’s Introducing His Jewish Audience to a Canaanite Woman…

From the Region of Tyre and Sidon

That Description Alone Tells Us:

She’s Probably Pagan

Her Daughter is Probably Demon Possessed Due to All the Demons She Worships

She is Immoral and Wicked

She’s an Enemy of Israel and Their God

But What Matthew Says Next Catches Us Completely Off Guard

“Have Mercy on Me, Lord, Son of David”

Not Only Does She Know Who Jesus is, But…

She REALLY Knows Who Jesus is!

She is Familiar with the Jewish Hope of the Coming of the Son of David (the Messiah)

And She Places Herself Under His Lordship, Considering Him Her Master

And She Believes He has the Power to Save Her Daughter

But Here’s Where Things Get Even More Strange

Matthew 15:23 (NASB95)

23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”

Jesus Just Ignores Her!

This Seems So Out of Character for Him

Jesus Doesn’t Just Ignore People Who Cry Out to Him for Help!

Here’s a Good Tip to Remember When Studying the Bible:

If God Ever Seems to Do Something Out of Character, Study Deeper

We Know Jesus to Be the Helper of All Those Who Seek Him

If it Seems He is Acting Outside of His Proven Character…

Then There’s Something Deeper Going on

The Disciples Even Tell Jesus to Help Her, Because She’s Bothering Them

We Know this is What They Meant By “Send Her Away”…

Because of Jesus’ Response

Matthew 15:24 (NASB95)

24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

“Jesus, Grant Her Request and Send Her Away So She’ll Leave Us Alone!”

Jesus’ Responds with, Essentially, “No”

Why?

Because He was Only Sent to the Lost Sheep of Israel

His Mission as the Promised Descendant of Abraham…

Is to Bring the Lost Sheep of Israel Back to God

His Focus is to Be on Israel, Not Gentiles/Canaanites

What Jesus Said is True to the Scriptures and God’s Word to Abraham

But it Still Doesn’t Feel Right, Does it?

We’ve Seen Jesus Help Gentiles in the Past

Why is He Suddenly Saying His Mission Forbids Him to Help Her?

If You’re Confused By What Jesus is Doing…

Just Wait, it Gets Worse

Matthew 15:25–26 (NASB95)

25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

“Children” Refers to Israel

“Bread” Refers to the God’s Covenant Blessings to Israel

“Dogs” Refers to Gentiles

The Jewish People Often Derogatorily Referred to Gentiles as “Dogs”

This Woman is Doing Everything She Possibly can to Save Her Daughter

And Jesus First Ignores Her

Then Refused to Help Her When His Disciples Ask Him to

Now He Tells a Parable Where She is Represented as a Dog

This is Not the Jesus We’re Used to

All of this Seems So Out of Character for Him to Do/Say

But Mark’s Account Starts to Steer Us in the Right Direction

Mark 7:27 (NASB95)

27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

Jesus Doesn’t Mean that the Gentile Dogs Aren’t Going to Receive Covenant Blessings…

He Means that the Jews are to Receive Them First

The Promise to Abraham was that Through Him All Nations/Families will Be Blessed

Only After the Jews are Offered Entrance into God’s Everlasting Kingdom…

Do the Gentiles Receive Their Invitation, On Behalf of the Jews

If You Were this Woman, How Would You Respond to Jesus’ Denial?

Would You Get Angry that He Calls You a “Dog” When You Call Him “Lord”?

Would You Hang You Head in Shame…

Heartbroken that the Messiah is Just as Racist and Hate-Filled as the Other Jews?

However We Would have Responded in this Situation…

I Dare Say Hardly Any of Us Would Have Responded the Way She Does

Matthew 15:27–28 (NASB95)

27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

She Doesn’t Get Angry/Offended at Being Referred to as a Dog in Jesus’ Parable

She Embraces it and Uses it as the Basis for Her Own Response

“I Know I’m Not One of the Chosen People of Israel”

“I Know I Don’t Yet have a Seat at the Messiah’s Table”

“I Know I’m Not Yet One of God’s Children”

“And I Know that His Bread Does Not Yet Belong to Me”

“But Surely There are Crumbs”

“I’m Not Asking for the Covenant Blessings of Israel”

“I’m Not Asking You to Take Away the Children’s Bread and Give it to Me”

“All I’m Asking is that You Allow Me to have the Crumbs”

He Recognizes Her Great Faith and Heals Her Daughter Immediately

She Recognized Israel’s Priority in God’s Plan of World-Wide Redemption

She Wasn’t Asking for Priority, Only for Crumbs

“I May Only Be a Dog in the Grand Scheme of Things…”

“But You’re Still My Master”

Only After She Proves Her Great Faith…

Does the Jesus We’re Used to Return

Jesus Wasn’t Being Intentionally Mean, Rude, Racist, or Discriminatory Toward Her

He was Testing Her Faith, and She Passed with Flying Colors

Matthew is Showing His Jewish Christian Audience…

That Filthy, Unclean, Pagan Gentiles Often Have Greater Faith in Jesus than the Jews

And He’s Going to Continue to Show Us that

Matthew 15:29–39 (NASB95)

29 Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”33 The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

35 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

Matthew Tells Us that Jesus Went Back to the Sea of Galilee

Mark Tells Us that He’s on the East Side

That Means He’s Remaining in Gentile Territory

So Most of the People Jesus is Healing and Feeding in this Passage are Gentiles

We Get that From the Location, But Also From Verse 31…

Where They Glorified “the God of Israel”

The God of Israel is Specified Because the Text is Dealing with People…

Who Typically Glorify Other Gods

But Now, Because of Jesus, They are Glorifying the God of Israel

We’re Seeing God’s Plan of Redemption Acted Out Before Our Very Eyes

What Did We Just Look at a Few Weeks Ago in Chapter 14?

Jesus Healed a Large Crowd of Over 5,000 Jewish People…

And Then He Threw a Miraculous Feast for Them

Now Jesus Heals a Large Crowd of Over 4,000 Gentile People…

And Then Threw a Miraculous Feast for Them

Jesus Invited the Jews to the Messianic Banquet

And Afterward He Invited the Gentiles as Well

God’s Plan of Redeeming/Reconciling the World to Himself…

Is Taking Place in the Ministry of Lord Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah

Application

Jesus has Not Yet Died on the Cross

That Means He hasn’t Yet Resurrected and Ascended to His Throne

That Means the Kingdom/His Reign has Not Yet Been Established

When the Day of Pentecost Comes…

Kingdom Citizenship will Be Offered to the Jews

Only then will Citizenship Be Offered to the Gentiles as Well

But We See Something Beautiful in Matthew 14 & 15

Even Though the Kingdom is Not Yet Fully Established…

Jesus is Showing that All People are Welcome at His Messianic Banquet

And at His Banquet, No One is Served Only Crumbs

Everyone is Satisfied

Both Jews and Gentiles

Men, Women, and Children

Both Rich and Poor

Red and Yellow, Black and White

The Covenant Blessings of God are for All People

This is What God had in Mind From the Very Beginning

All Nations/Families Being Reconciled to Him

And All Nations/Families Sharing in the Covenant Blessings

This is What the Story is All About

And When We Swear Our Allegiance to King Jesus…

By Repenting of Sinful Living and Being Baptized into Him…

We Become Part of the Story

That Means We have a Part to Play

What is that Part?

Live Your Life in Obedience to God and He will Bless You

And Then We are to Be a Blessing to Others…

So They can Also Obey God and Experience the Covenant Blessings

Imitate the Faithful Love of Jesus and Tell the Story…

Of What God has Done, is Doing, and Will Do to Restore All Things