The Woman of Great Faith
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Planning sermons for specific celebrations is not something that is easy to do. As a preacher we often end up choosing the same texts over and over again year after year. One cartoon points to the problem very well - using Easter Sunday as a reference.
{Insert slide from Leadership Magazine.}
Happy Mother’s Day
Today is Mother’s Day and I could have chosen from many mother’s in the Bible. The mother of Moses, or Samuel, or even Jesus. I could have chosen from other women in the Bible as well whether we know they were mother’s or not.
The passage I have chosen speaks of a woman of great faith - and in part I’ve chosen her because like many of you here she is a woman who receives an answer to her prayer and I believe sets an example for us all.
As we go to God’s Word let’s pray:
[Prayer]
Our passage this morning is Matthew 15:21-28
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.
May the Lord bless to our understanding this reading from his word.
Jesus has just been having a discussion with the Pharisees, scribes and even his disciples about what defiles a person. His conclusion was that what goes into a person’s mouth is not what defiles them, but what comes out of their mouth because this proceeds from the heart.
Then we come across our passage this morning.
First the mother comes and reveals to him her problem.
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.”
We learn several things about the woman right here.
She’s a Canaanite, this is a Gentile region. The woman is a non-Jew
Her greatest problem has to do with her daughter.
Surely she had other issues, but like all of us, we typically have one issue that outweighs all others.
Her daughter is oppressed by a demon - no doubt this woman has spent many hours expressing her concern about her daughter to her pagan God’s.
She knows of Jesus and Jewish messianic tradition as she calls Jesus, “Son of David.”
She also refers to him as “Lord” - perhaps more out of respect, but she says more than she realizes.
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.”
The lack of an answer seemed to be an ignoring of the woman, at least that is how the disciples seem to have seen it. Some commentators wonder if what he is doing is actually inviting her to express the faith that we will see at the end of our passage.
What we see of the woman is that she is persistent.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
“Lost sheep of Israel” does not mean the lost sheep among Israel, as though some were lost and others not. The expression indicates the lost sheep who are the house of Israel.
Wilkins, M. J. (2004). Matthew (p. 539). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
Jesus comes to save all Israel, and must go to Israel first and fulfill the promises made to the nation in Isaiah and the prophets.
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
This is the second time she has called him Lord. Remember, she is not Jewish, she is not a follow of Jesus, and yet she continues to use this title. She says more than she realizes.
And then we get to what most of us read as the most harsh statement in this passage, especially as we read it in English.
And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Wait a minute! Did Jesus just call this woman a dog? Jesus often refers to the enemies of God as dogs. However the word he uses in that sense referred to the annoying and despised eastern dog of the streets. That dog was regarded as “the most despicable, insolent, and miserable of creatures.”
The word that Jesus used here means a “domesticated dog”, “lap dog” or “household pet”. It has a more endearing sort of a tone that is missed in the English because they are two different words for that translate to the same thing in our language.
Though the meaning may be lost in translation for us, it apparently wasn’t for the woman, let’s look at her response.
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
She has obviously recognized the word that Jesus is using here. She refers to the relationship between a domesticated dog and its master. A relationship that is cultivated over time, where the dog is invited into the dining area of their masters.
This is also the third time that she has referred to Jesus as Lord.
Jesus response is what all of us seek.
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Great is your faith!?!
She was a pagan, and she is being lauded for her faith?
Let’s look at specifically what she did:
She came to Jesus with her problem.
She believed everything about Jesus.
He was the promised sone of David (the Messiah).
She believe in his deity
She believed in his authority and power to answer her request.
She believed he was interested and would answer.
She was persistent
Jesus did answer her at first.
The disciples wanted to send her away.
In the face of discouragement
She worshipped
Offered a simple prayer
On a day when we honor mothers, let us look at all of our spiritual mother’s as well. Those who prayed for us. Think of those who maybe taught you in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School. Think of those who led your Bible study.
In my 25 years of pastoral ministry I now know for certain we have far more spiritual mothers than we can imagine. I can’t tell you how many women I’ve discovered have been praying for me through the years. I have no doubt that the answers to some of their prayers were a long time in coming. Yet they remained faithful.
That’s a call for each one of us. Each week we have a list of prayer requests in our bulletin. Don’t give up praying. Let’s follow this woman of faith’s example.