GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 15:21-2821 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 cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed 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 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 fair 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.
Meditation:
Do you ever feel "put-off" or ignored by the Lord?
This passage (Matthew 15:21) describes the only occasion in which
Jesus ministered outside of Jewish territory. (Tyre and Sidon were
fifty miles north of Israel and still exist today in modern
Lebanon.) A Gentile woman, a foreigner who was not a member of the
Jewish people, puts Jesus on the spot by pleading for his help. At
first Jesus seemed to pay no attention to her, and this made his
disciples feel embarrassed. Jesus does this to test the woman to
awaken faith in her.
Jesus first tests the woman's faith
What did Jesus mean by the expression "throwing bread to the
dogs"? The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles with arrogance and
insolence as "unclean dogs" since the Gentiles did not follow
God's law and were excluded from God's covenant and favor with the
people of Israel. For the Greeks the "dog" was a symbol of
dishonor and was used to describe a shameless and audacious woman.
There is another reference to "dogs" in Matthew's Gospel where
Jesus says to his disciples, "Do not give to dogs what is holy"
(Matthew 7:6). Jesus tests this woman's faith to see if
she is earnest in receiving holy things from the hand of a
holy God. Jesus, no doubt, spoke with a smile rather than with an
insult because this woman immediately responds with wit and faith
- "even the dogs eat the crumbs".
Seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith
Jesus praises a Gentile woman for her faith and for her love. She
made the misery of her child her own and she was willing to suffer
rebuff in order to obtain healing for her loved one. She also had
indomitable persistence. Her faith grew in contact with the person
of Jesus. She began with a request and she ended on her knees in
worshipful prayer to the living God. No one who ever sought Jesus
with earnest faith - whether Jew or Gentile - was refused his
help. Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?
Lord Jesus, your love and mercy knows no bounds. May I trust you always and pursue you with indomitable persistence as this woman did. Increase my faith in your saving power and deliver me from all evil and harm.
Psalm 67:1-7
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah]
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. [Selah]
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Mother of the Gentiles, by Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century)
"After our Lord departed from the Jews, he came into the regions
of Tyre and Sidon. He left the Jews behind and came to the
Gentiles. Those whom he had left behind remained in ruin; those to
whom he came obtained salvation in their alienation. And a woman
came out of that territory and cried, saying to him, 'Have pity on
me, O Lord, Son of David!' O great mystery! The Lord came out from
the Jews, and the woman came out from her Gentile territory. He
left the Jews behind, and the woman left behind idolatry and an
impious lifestyle. What they had lost, she found. The one whom
they had denied in the law, she professed through her faith. This
woman is the mother of the Gentiles, and she knew Christ through
faith. Thus on behalf of her daughter (the Gentile people) she
entreated the Lord. The daughter had been led astray by idolatry
and sin and was severely possessed by a demon." (excerpt
from INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 58)
