St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday August 1, 1999, The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Matthew 15: 21-28

Theme: Jesus commends faith.

By Vicar Benjamin W. Berger

When is the last time you asked God for something? Just think back for a minute. You’ve probably asked God for something recently. At the very least, when we pray to God during our weekly worship, we often ask him for comfort, strength, or just to bless our church and its work. Did he answer you? Did you get what you asked for? When we ask God for help or other blessings, we don’t always get what we want, do we? Sometimes God in his almighty wisdom denies our request in our best interest. Quite often we have to wait before we get an answer. How many times do we miss God’s answer without even knowing it? Well, why does God deal with us in such an indirect way? Could it be that he is testing our faith? In today’s text a woman makes a request of Jesus. He does not give her the answer she wants to hear right away. Instead, Jesus puts the faith of this woman to a test, in the end Jesus commends the faith of this exemplary woman.

Let us now look to see why this woman receives and deserves Jesus’ commendation. She does three things. I) She confesses Jesus as her Lord, II) clings to his promises, and III) receives his reward.

At first glance this woman reveals no reason for Jesus’ commendation. Matthew tells us that she lived in the region of Tyre and Sidon. This woman was a Canaanite, not a Jew. Nevertheless, she will still amaze Jesus and us with her faith.

This Gentile, Canaanite woman was suffering greatly at the hands of sin. She desperately needed help. Like you and I, the Canaanite woman was sinful. In Romans the apostle Paul writes, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (3:23). No one is able to escape the grasp of sin. As a result of sin we are all born dead, without life. Dead people can’t do anything to help themselves. They are dead. So also this woman could not help herself. If she couldn’t help herself, she surely couldn’t help her daughter. A demon had taken possession of her daughter’s body. In 1999 we don’t hear too much about demon -possession. In Jesus’ time, however, demon -possession was more common. Sin even took its toll physically over this helpless woman and her child.

Because the woman realized her inability to deal with the consequences of sin herself, she went to the one who could help her. Matthew reports that the woman "came to him." Jesus did not seek this woman out. He was not looking for her; he wasn’t even among the public at the time. Actually, Jesus was trying to stay out of the spotlight for a while. He withdrew from the large cities and the crowds. Mark even goes so far to tell us, "He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it," (7:24). Jesus was going out of his way to be alone with his disciples, so that he could teach them privately. Somehow, this woman found out where Jesus was. She also recognized Jesus’ ability to help her; otherwise, she would not have gone to him. She knew that she could not help her daughter. But thank God, here comes Jesus. Surely he can cast out the demon.

Think of the scene for a minute. Jesus and his disciples have purposefully secluded themselves from the public. They wanted to be left alone. Jesus only had a little time to help the disciples understand what was going to happen shortly. Not to mention, they were tired and needed rest. But then here comes this woman, crying out, begging Jesus to perform another miracle. "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

"Have mercy on me! A demon has taken control of my daughter. I can’t do anything to help her. Won’t you help me?" Can you hear the woman’s need? Her anguish? Already she shows her trust in Jesus. She places herself wholeheartedly into God’s hands. She does not ask to help; she does not want to do anything. She asks Jesus to take care of all of her problems. What a bold woman! A stranger, she finds Jesus and cries out to him for help.

Her confession is even bolder than her action. She addresses Jesus as "Lord, Son of David." Jesus was indeed the Son of David who was to come, the Messiah, the Lord. This Canaanite woman knew who the expected Old Testament Messiah was. She too was waiting for her Savior. Here was a Gentile woman on the outskirts of the center of Jewish civilization, and she proclaimed Jesus as her Lord, the one the entire world was waiting for. Even the Jews, God’s chosen people, questioned Jesus’ authority and divinity. But the Canaanite woman does not question Jesus. She hears that he is nearby, she finds him, begs for his help, and confesses, "Lord, Son of David."

We must admit, the woman puts us to shame. At the same time, however, she already gives us an example to follow. While we do not suffer from demon-possession and probably don’t know anyone who does, we do suffer from the consequences of sin. Even after we become believers, we cannot escape our sin. Whether gossip, or jealousy, or anger, we find ourselves sinning everyday. Let us recognize our sin and confess with the Canaanite woman, "Have mercy on me."

At the same time let us remember that Jesus is also our Lord. He came down to earth to save the Canaanite woman, her daughter, and also to save you and me with the entire world. Indeed, the Son of David fulfilled all of the OT prophecies, especially God’s promise to send his son to be our Savior. Consequently, we will gladly proclaim Jesus for who he is. Yes, most of the world will question his authority and his divinity. Most will deny Jesus. So be it. Through the Holy Spirit God has revealed his son to us as the Savior. Do not question what God has already confirmed in your hearts. Only confess Jesus, Lord, Son of David. Confess the Lord who promises to help us.

In addition to her confession the Canaanite woman displayed her faith by clinging to God’s promises. After the woman begged Jesus for help, he totally ignored her. He didn’t even acknowledge her with one word. On top of Jesus’ rejection his disciples ask to send the woman away. Recall again the scene as it was happening. Jesus and his disciples wanted to be alone; Jesus wanted privacy to teach his disciples. This woman was interrupting them, disturbing them. The disciples didn’t want anyone around; they didn’t need more people coming to ask for miracles. To us the disciples seem to have a bad attitude. After all, weren’t they supposed to help other people? Recognize, however, that Jesus did not rebuke them.

Jesus answered the disciples’ request so that all could hear him, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." What? First Jesus totally ignores the woman, then, when he finally does say something, he says he won’t help her.

But, rather than leave disappointed, she worships Jesus and makes yet another confession. Jesus had just told this lady that he was not here to help her. In response she gets down on her hands and knees and worships Jesus. Contrast her actions to the majority of Jews back in Palestine. They did not worship Jesus. They did not ask for his help. They asked him who he was and why he did the things he did. How often had the Jews already tried to stone Jesus or arrest him? But now, this woman, this Gentile, persists in her request and in her confession. "Lord, help me." In other words, ‘I know that you are the almighty Son of God. I know that you are able to help my daughter and me. I know that I do not deserve your help, but I also know that you are the Savior of the world.’ Surely Jesus would give in to her now, wouldn’t he? No.

Jesus continued to test her, "It is not right to take the children’s bread, and toss it to their dogs." Now the Canaanite woman faces insult on top of rejection. Jesus calls her a dog. This role the woman is willing to accept. She knows that the very least of Jesus’ power is enough to help her. All she asks for are the crumbs. She needs no more.

What a great display of faith in the almighty God! Hebrews 11:1 defines faith for us, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." True faith not only confesses Jesus as Lord, it also trusts in his promises. Faith equals trust. As this woman trusted Jesus with all of her might, the Gospel will lead us also to cling to God’s promises. Through faith we will surely reap his rewards.

Because the Canaanite woman has clearly demonstrated a commendable faith - faith, which confesses Jesus as Lord and which clings to his promises - it should not surprise us when Jesus now rewards her. Jesus rewards this faithful woman for her acts of praise and trust in him. "Woman, you have a great faith." Finally, after looking for Jesus, begging him to help, and enduring his test, the woman received what she asked for.

We will also see the Canaanite woman in heaven. In Romans 10:9 Paul writes, "That if you confess with you mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." The Canaanite woman confessed Jesus as Lord twice in her short visit with him. She displayed incredible trust in God’s promises. Consequently, she will indeed receive the greatest reward one can receive, namely eternal life in heaven, free from all sorrow, free from demon-possession, free from sin.

Let this woman’s faith be a reminder to us. Salvation comes only through faith. By nature, people want to do whatever they can to help themselves get to heaven. We all want to have some control over our own situation. But, remember the woman; she did not try to help God. She simply begged, "Have mercy on me; Help me." Let us recognize our sinfulness, our inability to do anything. All we can do is sin. All we deserve is hell.

Thankfully, God is a trustworthy God who loves us and keeps his promises. He sent his only Son to do what we can’t do, keep his laws. We don’t need to do anything; Christ did it all. He kept God’s law perfectly, he died on the cross innocently, he rose from the dead triumphantly.

Therefore, let us follow the example of the Canaanite woman. Take your problems to Christ; lay all of them at the foot of the cross. Do not doubt; God can help. He may not answer right away. He may not help in the way you imagined he would. Yet, he promises to work out all things for the good of those who love him. You are God’s chosen people, his believers; he will not abandon you. "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall," (Psalm 55:22).