A Faith-Filled Woman

Great Faith

At a burning building in New York City’s Harlem, a blind girl was perched on the fourth-floor window. The firemen had become desperate. They couldn’t fit the ladder truck between the buildings, and they couldn’t get her to jump into a net, which she, of course, couldn’t see.

Finally her father arrived and shouted through the bull horn that there was a net and that she was to jump on his command. The girl jumped and was so completely relaxed that she did not break a bone or even strain a muscle in the four-story fall.

The blind woman who jumped from the burning building exhibited great faith in her father’s words. In a similar fashion, Jesus said of the Gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28, that she had great faith, especially in contrast to the Pharisees mentioned in verses 1-20.

The Wrong Faith

In verse 21, it says,

Matthew 15:21 ESV

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Jesus went away from the conflict and confrontation with the Pharisees. In the first twenty verses, Jesus confronted the Pharisees misguided worship. They were very pious men who believed their righteous actions, righteous living, made them clean before God. In this context they were stuck on ritual hand-washing. Although the bible says nothing about requiring ritual handwashing , the Pharisees have made handwashing a requirement to remain clean before God. Jesus refutes by saying it is nothing what goes into man that defiles, but what comes from his heart. In doing this, Jesus reveals that true rightness before God is a heart matter, which makes it s faith matter. The Pharisees tried to be justified before God by their works, proving they had the wrong kind of faith. Their faith was pursued Judaism, not Jesus. It could not perceive Jesus as the Messiah, the true Son God. They persistently collided with him being pretentious and ultimately rejecting God provision for salvation. So, Jesus withdrew from the Pharisees and went into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Tyre and Sidon have a long history with the people of Israel. Both cities were territories of ancient Phoenicia, which is now southern Lebanon. Both cities were extremely wealthy and had little to no love for Jews.

Tyre was a hotbed of corruption and sexual immorality. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied against Tyre because of its exploitation of her neighbors and its immense idolatry. At the heart of Tyre and Sidon’s sin was pride. Walter Elwelll noted, “Foremost among Tyre’s sins was pride induced by its great wealth and strategic location.”

Ezekiel prophesied that for its pride, Tyre would be completely destroyed to the point it would be like “the top of a rock” and a place for spreading nets (Ezk 26:4,5). Tyre’s destruction came many years later by Alexander the Great and ultimately later by Muslims in 1291.

During Jesus’s day, Tyre had regained some status as a commercial power after Alexander the Great’s siege of the city. Its population equaled that of Jerusalem, but consisted mostly of pagan Gentiles. John MacArthur notes, “most of the native Gentiles in and near Palestine were less religiously and intellectually proud than their Jewish neighbors. They had long since lost their military and commercial power as well as much of their religious and cultural heritage. Their pagan religious systems had repeatedly failed them and now had little influence on their living.” And oddly enough, it is here, in this setting, Jesus finds great faith. We meet a pagan Gentile woman whose great faith outshines the righteous deeds of the Pharisees, and deserves to be honored on a day we honor women in the church.

The main theme of Matthew 15:21-28 is faith. Faith is a constant and consistent trust and dependence toward God. Faith is believing God and trusting him for all of your life now and in the life to come. Jesus says the Canaanite woman had great faith.

What made her faith so great? How can our women, and men, learn from her faith?

There are five marks for of faith I see in this woman that should be emulated. And because it is mother’s day, I will focus the sermon toward the women of the church. That being said, men, take note. These Faith-filled marks are relevant to your walk with Jesus as well.

Five Marks of a Faith-Filled Woman

A Faith-filled Woman Runs After Jesus (Matthew 15:22a)

Matthew 15:22 (ESV)

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me...”

The woman enters the scene somewhat frantically. The Canaanite woman was desperate for Jesus to save her daughter from the grips of demonic possession. She new her pagan idolatry was empty and worthless. She was desperate for her daughter’s life. We know its bad because of the adverb “severely” in verse 22. The little girl was suffering very much, being tormented to the point of possible death. When the Canaanite woman heard Jesus was in the area she rushed to meet Jesus on the eastern border of the Phoenician area. She did not casually run into Jesus as a bystander on the street. She ran to Jesus. She desperately pursued Jesus. She believed Jesus could bring life to her daughter like nothing else. Was this blind faith? No.

By this time Jesus’s reputation had grown into the Gentile regions. Earlier in gospel of Matthew, it says

Matthew 4:24–25 ESV

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

and in the gospel of Mark

]Mark 3:8

Mark 3:8 ESV

and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.

The Arch Bishop of Trent said of Jesus’ fame spreading,

“Like perfume betrays itself, so He whose name is perfume poured out cannot be hid.” Arch Bishop of Trent

Jesus was bringing the kingdom of heaven to the broken. People who were impacted, maybe who heard the gospel and believed, who took the Great Commission seriously, we telling the people Tyree that Jesus was the Son of God.

The woman cries out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me.” Her cry is profound for a couple of reasons. keep in mind, she is a Canaanite woman. She is the descendent of a people whom God said to utterly destroy in Deut 7:2. She was an enemy to Israel and had no religious ties to God’s promises, his word, or His blessing. As matter of fact, the people of Tyre were descendents of a prince who spoke like Satan. Through Ezekiel, God describe the prince of Tyre,

Ezekiel 28:2 ESV

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god—

This woman grew up in a culture of arrogance and pride likened to Satan. And here she is, asking Jesus, a Jew for mercy, hoping (believing- exercising faith) he will give it to her.

Secondly, she shows a spirit of repentance by asking for mercy. Mercy is God’s compassion on people. Knowing that fallen man had no ability to fix his fallenness, God decided to glorify his grace by giving sinners mercy. Through his mercy and grace he offers salvation by faith. Paul says as much,

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

I love the way Thomas Cranmer ties mercy and faith together. eh says,

“He who has assured hope and confidence in Christ’s mercy has already entered into a perfect faith, and not only has a will to enter into it. For perfect faith is nothing else but assured hope and confidence in Christ’s mercy.” Thomas Cranmer

The woman’s cry for mercy is a cry of repentance. Isn’t mercy what all repentant sinners ask God for when we realize we are unworthy of His grace or favor? Have mercy on me, oh God, for I am a sinner.

It is worth noting how repentance and faith are tied together.

You cannot have perfect faith without repentance. Faith without repentance is not saving faith. That is Pharisee faith or religious faith or wrong faith. Faith and repentance go hand in hand (Acts 20:21).

Once again, John MacArthur is helpful here when he says,

“Faith that apprehends the blessings of Christ involves repentance that comes from a deep and sincere sense of unworthiness...Repentance adds nothing to faith but is rather an integral part of it. Saving faith is repentant faith. “Repentance toward God and faith in [the] Lord Jesus Christ” are inseparable (Acts 20:21). Because they are inseparable, Scripture sometimes refers to salvation as repentance. Paul declares that “the kindness of God leads you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4), and Peter that God does not desire “for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).” John MacArthur

Great faith runs after Jesus with a heart that understands on the one hand I am unworthy, but on the other hand believes Jesus will grant me mercy.

A Faith-Filled Woman has the Right Worship of Jesus (Matthew 15:22)

Matthew 15:22 (ESV)

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’ve already noted that the woman was a Canaanite woman who lived in a pagan culture; yet, the woman calls Jesus, Lord, Son of David.

By calling Jesus “Lord,” she is expressing reverence and respect. It’s the same way Peter spoke to Jesus when he asked Jesus to command him to step out of the boat and onto the water (Matthew 14:28), and its the same way Peter cried out to Jesus when he sank, Lord, save me! (Matthew 14:30). The pagan Gentile woman showed Jesus more reverent respect and worship than the Pharisees whom he came to save!

Furthermore, she recognized him as the Jewish Messiah by calling him Son of David. She rightly acknowledge Him as God’s Savior, something the Jews were not doing. She had eyes to see Jesus for who he is and ears to hear the good news he brought. She put her faith in the right place.

We live in a culture that has come to believe that faith is relative. You believe what you believe. You can speak your truth, and it will be legit for you. The problem with this kind of faith is that it has no real object of faith, except maybe faith itself.

As sinful fallen people, we are prone to put our faith in false objects. Some of us put our faith in our own strength. The Psalmist says,

Psalm 20:7 ESV

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Some of us put make our intelligence or wisdom of man the object of our faith.

Proverbs 28:26 ESV

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

And still others will cling to idols.

Isaiah 42:17 ESV

They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”

Great faith, however, has God as its object.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Furthermore, great faith must have Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, our Savior, as its object.

John 3:36 ESV

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The Canaanite woman’s faith was great because by her submission to Jesus as Lord and acknowledgment of Him as the Messiah, she revealed that Jesus was the object of her faith. Or to put it this way, the woman’s perception of Jesus as her Lord and Messiah revealed he was the object of her faith.

Great faith rightly worships Jesus as the true Messiah who is to be surrendered to as Lord and worshiped as Savior.

A Faith-Filled Woman is Relentless in Pleading to Jesus (Matthew 15:23-25)

Matthew 15:23–25 ESV

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.”

She’s pleading with Jesus in verse 22, for her daughter’s sake. How reminiscent is this scene for almost every mother in this church. How often has the throne room of God been filled with the prayers of mothers pleading for their children, or those women who long to be mothers, pleading with God for a child to love. The woman comes crying out to Jesus and Jesus ignores her. Verse 23, Jesus did not respond to her.

It feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it? You ask God for deliverance and it feels like your request if falling on deaf ears. Look now at this woman’s great faith. She does not stop coming after Jesus. She persistently calls out, so much, that the disciples beg Jesus to dismiss the woman.

Matthew 15:23 ESV

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.”

There is some discussion about what the disciples mean when they say, “turn her away.” Some are inclined to think they mean to say to Jesus, just give the woman what she wants to shut her up. Others think the disciples were so annoyed by her that they just want her gone. Either way, the point remains the same. The woman persistently pursued Jesus over and over and over, to the point his disciples were annoyed. She was relentless for Jesus to work on behalf of her daughter.

Jesus finally speaks up and says what appears to be a rather harsh response. Jesus says,

Matthew 15:24 ESV

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

Jesus reiterates the point of his mission. Jesus was sent first to the house of Israel. Matthew has already clued his readers in on Jesus’s primary ministry in chapter 10.

Matthew 10:5–6 ESV

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

This may seem a little odd considering Jesus had already healed a Roman Centurion’s servant and he did a work of salvation in a Samaritan woman’s town. There is no conflict here. Jesus is merely pointing out that God is committed to his chosen people. His primary mission is to bring life to God’s covenant people.

After hearing Jesus say this, one might assume the woman would throw her hands up in the air in disgust and walk away. Or she would fill the air with ridicule and swearing for such a narrow minded, arrogant, Zionistic thing to say. How can you call yourself the Savior of the world and refuse to save a dear child? How can you say you have all authority and not remove such wickedness and pain from my home?

She does not do that. She moves closer to Jesus. She physically prostrates herself before his feet, and says, “Lord, help me.” Look at her movements. She cries out to Jesus and he says nothing, she. She keeps crying out to Jesus and he says he first to the people of Israel. She moves closer, falls at his feet and cries out, Lord, help me.” She keeps moving closer to Jesus, even when he seems like he is not paying attention, or not answering her favorably.

Great faith persistently moves closer to Jesus, especially when it his voice seems silent or absent. Mothers, do you have children who are walking away from the Lord, from the faith you taught them? Do you feel like your prayers are not being heard? Great faith says keep moving closer to Jesus. He hears you!

Are you longing for the love of a child? Do you feel like God is not concerned with the desires of your heart? Move closer to Jesus. Persist in prayer. You will not exhaust God with your constant and consistent praying!

Are fighting darkness? Are you battle sickness? Are you at the end of your rope? Do you feel like God is not paying attention to your pleading? Move closer to Jesus. Keep crying out, “Lord, help me!”

Great faith relentlessly moves closer to Jesus in constant and consistent prayer.

A Faith-Filled Woman has a Recumbent Attitude Toward Jesus (Matthew 15:26-27)

Matthew 15:26–27 ESV

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.”

What a response. It seems harsh. Here you have a woman on her knees pleading for help, and Jesus says to her “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” How do you respond to that? She would have know that by children Jesus was speaking of the Jews, and by dogs he was speaking of Gentiles. That is how most Jews referred to Gentiles in antiquity. She ay have even been called a dog by a Jew many times.

Weak faith will waiver and waste away in self-pity or wrath. She didn’t get triggered and go on facebook and rant about how poorly she was treated, or blow up instagram calling for the cancelling of Jesus. Instead she was unpretentious before Christ.

Recumbent simply means to lie flat or prostrate yourself. A recumbent attitude is a humble attitude that realizes you are in the presence of someone greater than yourself. its the same attitude of the Tax collector who cried and beat his chest before God and said, “Forgive me God for I am sinner.” The same man Jesus said was justified over the Pharisee (Luke 18:13). The Tx Collector had recumbent attitude toward God, and so this woman has a similar attitude toward Jesus.

She was everything the Pharisees were not. They boasted in their piousness and flaunted their law-keeping before Jesus. The woman presented herself in weakness and unworthiness. Her humility before Jesus brought a sweet moment of wisdom and clarity. Listen to how she responds,

Matthew 15:27 ESV

She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Look at her spiritual posture. “Lord and Master” is how she refers to Jesus. She comes underneath him. Then she knew that just a few crumbs of Jesus would be enough to satisfy her needs. Whatever Jesus would be willing to let fall to the ground, she would be grateful. She believed, as John MacArthur, puts it,

“A tiny leftover of Jesus’ power could heal her daughter, and that was all she asked for.” John MacArthur

She hungered for the Bread of Life. She didn’t ask for the entire loaf. Just the crumbs would be enough. That is great faith.

I can’t help but to be reminded of what Jesus says about faith to his disciples

Matthew 17:20 (ESV)

He said to them, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Great faith is not quantified as much as it is qualified. What I mean is, having great faith does not require you to have a ginormous amount of faith, as if, if it were a liquid, must be so deep that it would fill the Mariana’s Trench or so massive that it would cover Mount Everest. No, Jesus says great faith, genuine faith, can the size of a grain of mustard seed it will move Mt. Everest into the Mariana’s Trench. Jesus valued the quality of her faith.

The Canaanite woman truly believed whatever Jesus would spare would be enough for her. Her humble recumbent attitude bolstered her faith, so much so, Jesus marveled at her; to the point it moved him to respond to her favorably.

A Faith-Filled Woman Receives Provision From Jesus (Matthew 15:28)

Matthew 15:28 ESV

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

What a mighty Savior we serve! The woman’s great faith ran after him, rightly worshiped, relentlessly pleaded with him, and took a recumbent attitude toward him. With this kind of great faith he provided for her daughter instantly. Jesus blessed the woman for her great faith that outshined the righteous deeds of the Pharisees. For her great faith, she received Jesus’s favor.

Great faith expects to receive God’s favor.

Great Faith Looks like Jesus’s Faith

I think what strikes us about this woman's faith, at an intuitive level, is just how remarkably close it describes the faith of Jesus. By faith, Jesus left heaven to fulfill God’s desire to save sinners by running after sinners. By faith he worshiped the Father rightly, doing everything in his earthly ministry to glorify the Father. By faith, he takes a recumbent attitude, having a heart of humility, lowering himself by taking on flesh, and dying a criminal’s death on a cross that he did not deserve. By faith, he relentlessly pleaded with the Father for his disciples, his elect, and for God’s will to be done, even it if meant his crucifixion. By faith, he rested in His Father’s righteous judgement on the cross, and received the Father’s blessing, his approval, when God raised him from the dead three days later and ascended him to his rightful place in heaven. The woman’s faith was great because it looked a lot like Jesus’ faith.

Ladies, we commend you this morning to continue running after Jesus rightly worshiping him as your only hope for salvation. Be relentless in your prayers with a recumbent heart for your church, community, and your home. May God bless the women of our church, the mothers who are, who will be, or long to be. May he grant you great faith and use you to rescue many who must jump from the burning building into the arms of our Savior.