Hungry Humble and Hopeful
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Are We Dogs?
Are We Dogs?
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
You may be thinking, whoa Jesus called a woman a dog. We will look into this it in a moment. Before we do I want to ask you about freshly baked bread.
When you walk into a bakery, that smell of freshly baked bread is intoxicating is it not? Even if you were not planning on buying a loaf of freshly baked bread you will need to fight the urge to do so. But maybe you like me cave and we buy a sweet baguette or two and head home. We get home and you slice into the baguette and right before you can eat the fresh slice of baguette your spouse says “STOP” you cannot eat that right now you have to wait until dinner. But you can have the crumbs. You’re thinking WHAAAT! Crumbs are for dogs.
This morning you will need to answer the title’s question - Are We Dogs? And to make it more personal - Are You a Dog? Jesus after dealing with Pharisees and scribes and their lack of faith withdraws. Possibly tired - He was human. Just finished calling out the Pharisees and scribes declaring them hypocrites!
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Maybe wanting a moment in secret for Himself we cannot be certain. No matter, that opportunity is lost as a Canaanite woman from Syria Phoenicia locates Jesus. Maybe you may have heard her mentioned as the Syrophoenician woman from Marks account. She definitely knows who Jesus is as she calls out “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David...” This woman had a serious problem. Her daughter is severely possessed by a demon. But oddly Jesus did not answer. To pile on, the disciples wanted to send her away.
And this is where Jesus does what Jesus does…He replies to the disciples’ request to send the Syrophoenician woman away by countering that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Upon hearing this the woman falls on her knees and begs Jesus for help. Jesus responds to her by telling her that it was not right to take the bread from the children and toss it to the dogs. Are we tracking here? First answer was He was here only for the lost sheep of Israel. Next answer He says the bread was for the children first. Did she not get it? It is not clear to the Syrophoenician woman it is not for her, not her turn to receive the Bread of Life - our call to worship this morning reminds us of who the Bread of life is and what He offers us.
She presses into that answer and counters with respect - Yes Lord but even dogs eat the crumbs that fall off the table. Jesus’ final answer in this morning’s text recognized the woman’s desire to save her daughter was genuine. He said that her faith was great. So, Jesus healed her daughter.
The Pharisees and scribes heart were set with little faith and opted for traditions and commandments of men and did not see the Bread of Life that stood before them. Blinded by pride in fear of losing their authority over God’s chosen. A magnificent illusion of authority they gave themselves. These were the chosen ones for which the Bread of Life descended from heaven into human form to redeem back into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is who the Old Testament prophets were testifying about but their little faith kept them blind not being able recognize their Messiah. Worse they crucified Him. Good for us that God had a solid plan that was enacted way back when the First Adam messed up.
The Syrophoenician woman with a heart hungry, humble, and hopeful, possibly heard what Jesus had been doing and when she located Him saw the Bread of life and recognized Him. In her desperation she would have been satisfied with the crumbs offered by the Bread of Life. She knew Jesus was her only hope for the daughter that was demon possessed. Unlike the pharisees and scribes credited with little faith, Jesus credited a Canaanite woman with great faith.
The fact that the Syrophoenician woman is also referenced as a Canaanite woman here in Matthew is significant. The Israelites looked down on the Canaanites and often referred to them as dogs. Take this passage out of context and we can easily take our Savior to be a racist male chauvinist. Take this morning text in context and you see a great faith - these were the Words of Jesus - of a woman that wanted just the crumbs from the Bread of life. But Jesus in the end of the encounter gave her the full loaf that is the Bread of Life. What can we learn from this Syrophoenician woman? We begin in…
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
It must have been exhausting dealing with the pharisees and the scribes. On top of that, the disciples who spent all their time with Jesus during His ministry often missed recognizing what Jesus came down from heaven to do in the first place. This is where we begin in the text. v. 21 Says Jesus withdrew to a district of Tyre and Sidon. Looking to avoid more controversy Jesus withdrew to an area we now know as Lebanon. In the days to come Jesus knew that the controversies, the problems, and pressures will be increasing. So He leaves to a district away from the people He was sent to minister to hoping to find some rest. But somehow Jesus’ exploits even found its way into regions where the Gentile world resided. The news of the Jewish miracle worker could not be kept secret. v.22 we are introduced to the Canaanite woman - in Marks recount she is of Syrophoenician birth from Syria Phoenicia. She is a descendant of the ancient Canaanites, the bitter biblical enemies of Israel whose paganism had often led Israel into idolatry (Keener, C. S. (1997). Matthew (Vol. 1,). InterVarsity Press.) Quite the contrast here, Jesus looks for a respite from the people He was sent to be the Bread of life for. And here the Syrophoenician woman, descendant from the bitter enemies of Israel cries out “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” She knows enough about Jesus to call Him the Son of David here. The woman recognizes that Jesus is no mere magician who performs feats for fame or money. By hailing Jesus as Son of David, she has already acknowledged him as the rightful king over a nation that had conquered her ancestors (Keener, C. S. (1997). Matthew (Vol. 1,). She is trusting that the rumors of this rabbi that caused her to come out of this the way were true. Her gut tells her this Jesus has something that can save her child and she hungers for it.
You and I do not have just a gut feeling about Jesus. We live and walk with the power of the Gospel inside our hearts. Not rumors. It is our current reality. We just celebrated the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Pastor Bruce had this one point on the Resurrection Experience. We have knowledge of Jesus our Savior and the ability to daily know Him better and better each day. We can never exhaust our knowing of Jesus. Be Hungry for the Bread of Life. We have a seat at the table with the Master and He calls us to sit with Him daily. Why would we just settle for the crumbs. Crumbs can never satisfy the hunger. But the Syrophoenician woman was not simply hungry for the Bread of Life.
But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
But he did not answer her a word begins v.23 What was Jesus thinking here? Why did Jesus not reply to a plea for help? He usually does and often He initiates it before the request is even asked. Obviously she remains persistent even in Jesus’ silence, so much so the disciples begged Him to send her away. Jesus breaks His silence, but not to answer the Canaanite woman, but seemingly responding to the disciples’ request to send the woman away, in v.24 Jesus said that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. I am going to safely assume this was not the answer the Canaanite woman was wanting to hear. She has cried out for mercy for her daughter, she cried out after the disciples, and when Jesus breaks His silence, he basically says He was sent to only help His people. Not to Gentiles, not for a descendant from Canaan who were bitter enemies of Jesus’ people back in the days of the wilderness. Surely, she sees now that she was not going to get the help she desired for her daughter. She heightens her plea strategy. v.25 She throws herself at the feet of Jesus and once again asked “Lord help me”. Surely this was going to change the mind of Jesus. Once again Jesus gives an answer, I am pretty sure this Canaanite woman did not want or expect. Jesus said it was not right to take bread from the children and throw it to the dogs. Jesus used a deep derogatory term His people, the Jews used to describe Canaanites and their descendants. In our cultural environment today, it is never okay to call a woman a dog, or is it okay to withhold help based on race. We know our Savior is sinless - so I say confidently and truthfully Jesus had no ill will towards this woman. And I will say confidently - when Jesus says something that causes us to pause it is almost always with the best intentions to teach us something. Was this Jesus refusing to help? Was this Jesus being mean? OR was Jesus testing her hunger? This Syrophoenician woman having Canaanite roots must have expected a hostile response to her request. She was approaching a Jewish rabbi. Jewish society looked down harshly on her people - she was not surprised that this Jesus person who she is desperately relying on essentially called her a dog. She may have prepared herself to hear “NO” it sure sounded like one at v.24.
How do we respond to the silence in our life? More often in our prayer life our Father remains silent in our request for help like His Son here with His interaction with the Syrophoenician woman. And when He does answer our prayers often it is not the answer we want. How can we persevere in the silence often that accompanies prayer. Know your station. The Syrophoenician woman knew her place - Jesus did not come for the pagans He was here for His Jewish constituents. She was a Gentile with lineage to the Canaanites, bitter ancestral enemies of the nation of Israel. She intentionally chose to be patient, never responding with anger - she chose humility each time she was not given the answer she desired. We too do not deserve a seat at the table, we too have no leg to stand on to request anything from the King of the universe. Approach the table with humility, the Syrophoenician woman came and prostrated herself before Jesus. Jesus changed our station when He humbled himself and submitted to the Father in obedience to give up His life for ours. There is no fear of receiving just crumbs. Pastor Bruce mentioned that in our resurrection experience we should become increasingly sensitive in response to God. A response of humility is key when faced with problems and pressures this life brings. Be Humble before the Bread life. As we approach the Master’s table we like the Syrophoenician woman must approach with a humble posture.
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
We have the privilege of hindsight with Scripture. The Canaanite woman did not. She is living this moment. She is desperate. Her daughter is possessed by a demon. She has heard of a miracle - worker with powers no one has ever experienced. Recognizing greatness, she refers to Jesus as Lord, Son of David a name Matthew uses 8 times to describe Jesus, it speaks of a descendant of the great King David and came to be used of the Messiah, viewing Him as a great warrior like David, one who would establish a mighty kingdom. (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (p. 402). W.B. Eerdmans) So she came out desperately seeking Jesus’ help hoping He would heal her daughter. Yet at every moment so far Jesus does not. On top of not seemingly willing to help - Jesus seemingly just called her a dog. At this moment many people would have been enraged. You racially profiled me, and you called me a dog Jesus - maybe the rumors were just rumors and that is why your people are ready to arrest you. Today we would be fine if the woman responds in that manner. The Syrophoenician woman does not. v.27 she replies “Yes, Lord...” even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table. No anger in that reply. No hate! What we do see once again is her respect. After all the harsh answers Jesus gave her in her desperation, she still chooses to show respect to Jesus. Where most people would choose anger in response - the Canaanite woman here stays hungry, humble, and hopeful. We may want to argue that she was desperate, but her reaction to Jesus in this encounter does not match the response of those in desperation who does not get what they want. Most of us would show our frustration with anger, impatience asking why don’t you understand what I need of you Jesus. She did not. I believe something in her gut told her who this Jesus was. And she was hoping for just crumbs.
Jesus final answer in v.28 to the woman speaks volumes - great is your faith. This was only the second time Jesus encounters a Gentile and the first encounter ended similar with Jesus crediting another Gentile a centurion with great faith as well. in v.28 to the woman speaks volumes - great is your faith. This was only the second time Jesus encounters a Gentile and the first encounter ended similar with Jesus crediting a particular Gentile a centurion with great faith as well.
But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
Our world and culture more and more each day place their hopes in all the wrong places. We place our hopes in education, we place our hopes in our career, we place our hopes in our children. Nothing wrong with this unless that hope is built on self-efforts. We need a foundation built on faith and hope in the Chief Cornerstone that we find in Jesus Christ. A foundation on self-effort will not withstand the constant storms in our life. But a foundation set with the Chief Cornerstone will never fall. The Syrophoenician woman knew there was nothing she was able to do to rid her daughter of the demon. Maybe she is at her wits end and tried all the Gentile self-effort possibilities, we cannot say but she approached Jesus hopeful for help. She approached Jesus with humility begging for the hope she was able to see in Jesus. She was ready to accept just the crumbs off the table. But Jesus became her Bread of Life. Today all of us have been given Jesus the Christ as our Bread of life. Be Hopeful for we have the Bread of Life.
Back to those freshly baked baguettes. Fist would have been throne if I could not feast on the full baguette. Why would I want to wait and just eat the crumbs? The longer I wait the more stale those baguettes will get. I am hungry for them now not later.
So why would we ever settle for the crumbs under the table when we have a seat at the table with the Bread of life? Why would we be satisfied for a simple salvation when there is so much depth to it. We must humble ourselves so we can see it does not simply offer us eternal life that seems so far away. The salvation of eternal life we received that we celebrated last Sunday is not distant and faraway. It is here right now and every morning we open our tired eyes and see only the problems, and pressures of the day ahead. We have new every morning His peace, His comfort, His strength, His mercy, and His grace and so much more. Christ gives us so much hope as we live out our lives sanctified through Him. There is nothing impossible for our King of Kings cannot do.
Stay hungry for the power of the Gospel. Do not settle for bits of it but feast in the fullness of what the Gospel represents to us. Stay humble in prayer and daily ask the Father in heaven to help us pour love that overflows from our hearts into loving His people especially those who God placed on our path to share the Gospel to. Stay hopeful while you sit and listen to the Holy Spirit’s will and purpose for your situations as He is leading you through your days and to that glorious future.
Are we dogs? Are you a dog? No. We are no longer dogs. We just celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ. Anointed the King of Kings by God the Creator of the universe. With that truly audaciously ridiculous act of love - our title of dog no longer is a valid label for you and I, who gave up our old life to die alongside Christ and to be resurrected with Him and called to a life of great faith.