A Mother of Mega Faith
Matthew 15:21-28
Mother’s Day Message 2008
May 11, 2008
Morning Message
Materials from the following sources were used in the preparation of this message
The Nameless Mother of Great Faith by Bruce Howell
A Mother of Great Faith by Joseph McCulley
The Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible Matthew 1
Introduction
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan had 4 sons and they were all preachers. Someone once came into the drawing room when all the family was there. They thought they would see what Howard, one of the sons, was made of so they asked him this question: "Howard, who is the greatest preacher in your family?" Howard had a great admiration for his father and he looked straight across at him and then without a moments hesitation he answered, "Mother."
A. Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, Eerdmans, p. 139.
Our society has adopted the use of an ancient Greek word as a type of prefix. The Greek word is mega which means great. Think about it. We use mega a great deal.
• Mega mall
• Mega bytes
• Mega size drinks
• Mega churches
I argue that we need to be people of mega faith. We need mothers and fathers who will live out a lifestyle of great faith. As we look at scripture, there are a number of women that had a living faith.
Jochebed: mother of Moses – The Egyptians were killing all of the male Hebrew children. Jochebed placed her faith in God and Moses in a basket on the Nile river.
Hannah: mother of Samuel – Prayed to God to be given a son and gave birth to Samuel
Elizabeth: mother of John the Baptist: Elizabeth lived an example of faith for John to follow.
Mary: mother of Jesus – Mary carried the savior of the world in her womb. Mary delivered Jesus in a stable, fled to Egypt and watched as Jesus was crucified.
Nameless Mother: mother of a demon possessed daughter – The mother who came to Jesus for healing for her daughter
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs." 27 "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." 28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Matthew 15:21-28
Great difficulties require Mega faith
This mother saw the horrid effects of demon possession on a first hand basis. Each day she was reminded of the suffering of her daughter. Each day she was reminded of how helpless she was to stop the problem. Then she hears about Jesus and takes the chance to approach Him. Notice that the mother comes alone, she did not bring her daughter with her. She comes alone because she believed that Jesus could heal with only a word.
There were major obstacles in this mother’s way
1.) She was a woman
In the ancient times, women were not given any kind of regard in society. They had no position and were often abused, especially in pagan societies. Women had no rights, no voice and no power.
2.) She was a gentile
This woman was not Jewish and did not truly understand who Jesus was. She had no right to even speak with Jews. In fact, from a Jewish perspective, Jesus had no obligation to answer her.
3.) She was a Canaanite
To complicate matters further, she was a Canaanite. The Canaanites were the ancient foes of the Jews and were hated by Israel. Josephus wrote of this fact and even mentions Tyre. He said that Tyre was one of the greatest enemies of Israel. During the Jewish revolt against Rome, the people of Tyre killed and imprisoned many Jews.
However, Jesus gives this woman His attention for two main reasons
1.) The depth of her love
This mother so deeply loved her daughter that she accepted her daughter’s problem and pain as her own.
2.) The dependence on Jesus
The mother came to Jesus with nothing but sheer determination and faith. She did not fully understand who Jesus was but she placed her complete trust in Him for her daughter.
Great determination flows from mega faith
When the woman seeks Jesus there were three issues that had to be first overcome.
1.) The silence of Jesus
Jesus gives no answer, at least not immediately, and this creates an awkward atmosphere with the woman. The woman would not give up until she talks with Jesus.
2.) The open objection of the disciples
There were two things happening here from the disciple’s perspective. The woman was causing a scene by crying out after them. This means that she was shouting at the top of her lungs. They were traveling in a foreign city filled with pagan people. The last thing that they wanted was to attract extra attention. The disciples were aggravated with the woman and thought that Jesus should end the scene and just send her away.
3.) Jesus stating His mission
Jesus speaks with the woman and makes an odd statement. Jesus tells the woman that he had come for the lost sheep of Israel. This statement almost implies that Jesus rejects her and there are a number of more liberal commentators that say Jesus was being cruel to the woman. This simply isn’t the case. The words of Jesus were nothing more than a statement of fact, salvation was coming through the Jewish nation and he began with the Jews.
Everything that Jesus did had a divine purpose to it. To say that Jesus acted in an unloving manner is simply false. Jesus spoke to many people in a very direct manner but not in an unloving way. Even the Pharisees, who often publicly challenged Jesus, were treated in a loving manner. Sometimes saying the hard thing is the loving thing to do
Great displays of Christ’s power come by mega faith
"Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted."
It makes the most sense that Jesus was testing the woman to see the nature of her personal faith. Notice that Jesus uses this situation to also teach the disciples about faith.
Jesus was showing the disciples a living example of genuine faith compared to the superficial faith that permeated most of Israel
Jesus wanted the woman to not only have her prayer answered but to have an encounter with the true God of the universe.
Jesus answers her request and tells her that she has great faith. The Greek word for great there is mega. There were only two people in the gospels that Jesus says had great faith. This mother and the Roman centurion who wanted his servant healed. Jesus summed up the character of this mother with one statement: you have great faith.
When we believe in Jesus, great things happen. When we trust in Jesus, we see His power move. Today, as we close this part of the service, would the mothers please stand? I want to close with a prayer for the mothers.
