Canaanite Mother's Faith
Notes
Transcript
Canaanite Mother’s Faith
Canaanite Mother’s Faith
Good morning everyone, How are you?
I hope you have experienced a very good week. I am amazed that this is the last Sunday of September.
Man o Man, probably in the next couple of weeks we should really start seeing the leafs beginning to change into there deep fall colors that we love to see each year.
Do you know people travel from far away distances just for a hope of seeing those colors of God’s handi-work on display.
And you live right here in the midst of it, you are blessed my friends.
I think you would testify of that regardless, right?
We are blessed, We know this, we have life today, liberty and the joy of the Savior’s love and His marvelous salvation.
I want to remind you to fight today, fight for your faith, that your walk with God would be unhindered, so that we are strengthened to push the darkness out of our communities and homes.
Fighting and joining with others to take the gospel from this community to the world.
We can do it, all it requires is this… Faith and our determination to keep on.
So are you ready to fight?
Our test today reveals a mother, fighting for her daughter’s needs, and her faith is rewarded.
We can learn much from this lady my friends. So lets return to Matthew 15, and find verses 21-28
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 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.” 23 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.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
So from out text we know Jesus leaves the area of Gennesaret, and He with the disciples travel in a north westerly direction. so they are moving away from the land of Israel and moving toward the land of Tyre and Sidon.
Tyre and Sidon were the leading cities in the land of Phoenicia. They existed on the shore line of the Mediterranean sea, about 12 or so miles from the boarders of Israel. As a side note, city of Tyre still exists as does Sidon does but it is now called Sayda. They are in the land of Lebanon.
This land is another Gentile district that Jesus is ministering into, and think about it, These are a sea faring people, very strong in shipping and travel. Take the message of God to these people, and watch the message spread.
But another thought is important here… Just as we saw last week that it wasn’t foods that made a person unclean (thus declaring all foods clean), so Jesus here is saying, that no people are unclean. At the right time in God’s plan the world would receive the message of His love.
So Jesus in there in the land and while here a woman comes to him and in this text So here I want to share three things with you today.
The first is this...................
1. A Pleading Mother......
Now let me begin by asking you this question....
If any one of you had a sick child, wouldn’t you do just about anything to see them better?
Some of you I am sure would even wish you were sick and not them. Out of love, you would take that sickness upon yourself so they would not have it.
We do so out of love....
As Jesus and His disciples have come into the land of Tyre and Sidon, we now that a local woman approaches Jesus.
Now this lady is referred to as a Canaanite woman. Now it is interesting that Jesus refers to her as a Canaanite. Why? - - Jesus is teaching us something here. The phrase applies to the pagan area that was the promised land that was to be captured in Joshua’s day in the old Testament, but they failed to do so.
Look again at verses 22-23
22 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.” 23 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.”
So there are a few observations here .... Listen to the words of this mother.
She cried out "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
A. She used the word Lord, .... This is more than just a polite saying she is referring to him with the same confidence that the disciples did… She heard Jesus was near, and she believed in His office… that He was able. Her faith is being revealed, she comes to him by faith
She certainly has more faith than even the Jews of Israel at times.
B. She refers to Jesus as the “Son of David”.... Now this is very important, for what she is testifying to is that Jesus is the long awaited Savior, the one who is sent from God to save His people. He is the Messiah.
It is remarkable my friends, here is one who has lived outside of Israel. perhaps she has heard about Jesus, perhaps she is a proselyte, a believer while not Jewish who sought to please God. We are uncertain.
What is certain, she has come to Jesus in more faith and more belief than the religious leaders in Israel.
Now we see her motivation that has brought her to Jesus this day… and please don’t criticize this woman and say, she didn't come in the right mind, she came because of the need in her daughter’s life.
Here this please: Often in a time of personal or corporate crisis, people in their brokenness begin to look to and for God and in doing so, they find Him!
This mother comes pleading for Jesus to help her, my daughter is oppressed by a unclean spirit.
A pleading mother cries out for help…
Do you need help today? Is your life strained? Are you having a difficult time with your present circumstances?
Would you like this mother, cry out to Jesus. He will answer.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Cry out to Jesus!
Now this brings me to a second thought for today..
2. His Mission Revealed...
Let me ask you a question; What is your purpose?
Now don’t look at me like a horse at a new gate… What is your purpose?
I think you would agree with me that we are His creation. He planned for us to come into this world and I believe He knew us from the foundation of the world.
** Then if we are His, our truest purpose is to be saved (born again) and to bring glory and honor to the Lord our God.
Also, Jesus reveals a portion of His purpose while here on earth in our text, lets look at verses 22-24
22 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.” 23 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.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Now this poor mother comes to Jesus begging for help, pleading for Jesus to heal her child and cast this oppressive demon out of her.
And it appears she is asking and does not stopping since the disciples come to Jesus with their own plea...
Lord, please send her from us… Now we are not sure exactly what their plea is, we are not sure if the disciples are saying please help her so she will leave or send her away without any help.
Either way, they are exhausted with her pleas.... and honestly they are not showing much compassion for her or her daughter.
Now I want to stop right here for a minute and challenge us to rise above the mindset of the disciples, here.
They were to help serve and bless in His name, they were to show kindness and love but in weariness, tired and most likely hungry they wanted to stop for the day.
We must remember we are His ambassador to the world around us.
Lets move on....
And now verse 24 is important, for here Jesus reveals His purpose.
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
There are a couple of thoughts for us to see right here.....
Jesus says ‘I was sent”… His coming into the world is the purposeful action of God to help His children, to save them from their sins.
Just as God sent the Son, so He is sending you my friends each day. God is directing your steps. You must choose to follow Him or follow your own direction.
The lost house of Israel.... Jesus was sent to the Jews first, while the good news is indeed for all people. Remember the children of Israel, they were God’s covenant people.
Do you remember what God promised Abraham…
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God had remember his promise to Abraham and had indeed blessed his offspring, and made Him a great nation. And out of that nation, a shoot of Jesse has come forth and He would bless the world.
Jesus had come and He would bless the world through His life and yes through His death, burial and resurrection.
God would not break His covenant relationship with his own people, even though they had broke their relationship with Him.
The message was for everyone one step at a time and this we will see as the story progresses.
Jesus had a mission, He would lead the way for God’s mission into this world. and just as God prepared the Son, so the Son, Jesus has prepared you to be on mission for Him.
The question remains, will you be on mission for Him?
Will you take each day as a new opportunity to be His ambassador and serve others in His name.
Now just one last thought for today...
3. Her Persistent Faith....
There is so much about this mother that we can admire.
She is a loving and caring mother and she hates it that her daughter is being robbed of life by this evil demon who is oppressing.
I believe without a doubt the news of this man named Jesus has spread into the regions around Jerusalem. And so when She hears that Jesus is there, she wastes no time and turns to Him for help.
And she is persistent...
Lets go back to our text...
Verses 22-25
22 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.” 23 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.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
Look at what you see....
A. A Mother’s love… The mother came crying, she is so distraught, so broken over her daughter’s condition. She was pleading and begging Jesus for help.
Have you ever been in this place whereby you were broken over a family members need?
The daughter is a picture of the oppressed of the world, who will advocate for them, who will pray for them, love them, minister to them and witness to them if we do not do it?
No one! The devil sure isn’t going to help them. But praise be to our God, Jesus will.... Lord send people to us so that we can plead for them before the Father.
B. She Didn’t give up… The Bible says she asked Jesus, she asked the disciples… we know this for they testify she is crying after us. This mother is asking Jesus disciples for help, pleading one after the other
And even when Jesus tells her He was sent to Israel first, she knelt before him and again asked “....Lord help me.”
C. Jesus reply to her a second time... Lets go again to our text, verses 26-28
26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Now some would assume Jesus is being really harsh here, but lets pick through this verse.
Jesus said it is “...not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
The word bread here refers to the blessings of God. During this time the blessings of God would be seen in His healing and restorative ministry and the Word of God he spoke.
All of this was meant for the children of Israel first.
Then there is the word dogs; Jesus said it is not right to give the children's food away to the dogs.
The term dogs was a term that the Jewish community frequently called the Gentiles. Dogs in the areas of Palestine were wild, homeless scavengers.... they were not good.
But interesting enough here Jesus uses a little different term for dogs, The Greek word for dogs here is a more affectionate term for domesticate pets, household dogs. These are the ones who ate in the house, those leftovers, scrapes from teh table if you will and that is what this persistent mother will push.
D. Her Persistent Faith.... In response to the Master’s words to her, you don’t sacrifice the children’s food to fee the dogs...
Most literally, I am sent to Israel first and minister to them first.
But she says Yes Master, but they are allowed to eat the crumbs that fall from the table...
Her faith reveals that they, the people of the world are entitled to the blessings of God if even in a reduced away.
And with her reply Jesus commends her...
Verse 28
28 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 knew and believed Jesus could heal her daughter and she wasn’t going away without her being well and whole.
My friends let me ask you a question????..
Why do you give up praying when you get no word from the Lord?
You just assume His response is no....
Jesus will tell you, He doesn’t just ignore us for the sake of putting us off, at times I believe He is calling us to be persistent in faith, to reveal our faith and not give up in our asking, in our praying , in our seeking His face and will for our lives.
Jesus rewarded her faith and the fact that her faith was persistent.
Are you being persistent in your faith?
Pray for the Lost and don’t give up
Pray for your family members by name and don’t stop praying for them.
Pray for those around you and don’t give up
Be persistent, you actions will reveal if you have little faith or if you have great faith.
This dear mother in a pagan land had great faith, She knew Jesus could heal her daughter/
And He did....
Friends we want so much in our life, physical and Spiritual, but we are not willing to fight, to push forward to keep on keeping on for it.
Change your direction and Be willing to keep on!
Lets pray