If you would, please stand as we say together our memory Scripture for this quarter:
Romans 12:4-5
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
And our memory refresher Scripture is …
Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Please open your Bibles to Matthew 15:21-28 which we will read in a few minutes.
Today is Mother’s Day and I wonder if the people promoting Mother’s Day at the time of its conception would even recognize motherhood today?
Of course there are good and godly mothers around the world today.
But even in those who profess the name of Jesus you can witness the announcement of the pregnancy of an unwed woman with glee and congratulations! Unwed couples living together can be found teaching Sunday School and serving on church boards. I even read about a woman doctor whose entire practice is based on killing unborn babies declaring that she, herself, is a follower of Jesus Christ.
Outside the church it is even crazier! Opinion articles are written and published in national papers and periodicals proclaiming that the Mom who stays at home instead of working outside the home is less than what she should be and should be ashamed.
But, godly mothers who understand motherhood and the impact they can have on their children’s spiritual lives do a great service for the Kingdom of God.
With that in mind let’s go ahead and read Matthew 15:21-28
This account is found in Matthew 15 and Mark 7
Let’s go ahead and read through this passage again …
Verse 21: “Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.”
Just prior to this event Jesus has just been in a debate with some Pharisees about righteousness that comes from the heart versus the false righteousness that comes from outward acts such as ceremonial hand washing.
It is obvious that the Pharisees did not change Jesus’ mind because He immediately heads into an area occupied not by Jews but by Gentiles.
And now He comes into contact with a Canaanite mother.
The Pharisees would not go to such a place because it would make them ceremonially unclean and would prevent them from entering into certain places in the temple and it would prevent them from participating in certain religious activities.
Mark 7:24-25 NIV says …
“Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet He could not keep His presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about Him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at His feet.”
Jesus goes into a ceremonially unclean area, enters a ceremonially unclean house and encounters a ceremonially unclean gentile.
That would make Jesus pretty unclean, right? Of course not!
We are called to go into the world to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who need Him!
We are not called to go into the world to participate in sin with those who are lost but to show them in words and deeds that, “There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary and love for the broken heart. There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing; He’ll meet you wherever you are. Cry out to Jesus, cry out to Jesus!”
And that’s exactly what the Canaanite mother did as we see in verse 22 …
Matthew 15:22
“A Canaanite woman (a mother) from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.’”
The people of Canaan were historical enemies of Israel.
They were idol worshipers who would intermarry with the Israelites and draw them away from serving the one true God.
The news of Jesus’ ability to heal had traveled far outside the bounds of Israel.
There were fake healers and shysters back then just as there are now but Jesus was the real thing; He really could heal!
So, this mother calls out to Jesus with, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Even after roughly 1,000 years the Canaanites would still remember King David and somehow she has heard that Jesus might even be the Jewish Messiah, the Son of David and she believes that He has the genuine power to heal.
So, this desperate mother comes to Jesus asking for mercy and the mercy is not for herself but for her daughter who is “demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
This mother is not suffering due to her own pain or her own demon-possession but it is a sympathetic, emotional pain caused by her love for her suffering daughter.
With today’s “scientific enlightenment” many people do not believe in demon-possession but instead believe that it may have been some ailment such as epilepsy.
Just recently I heard a pastor saying that the boy in Matthew 17 who had seizures was most likely epileptic but the account goes on to say, “Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.”
If the Bible says demon, let’s believe it was a demon. Really … which is more difficult, for Jesus to heal a disease or cast out demons?
This mom saw that her daughter was suffering from demon-possession.
So, what was Jesus going to do about it?
Matthew 15:23
“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.’”
Do you ever stop and watch someone just to see what they will do; what choice they will make?
It’s like secretly watching a grandchild make up their mind if they’re going to do something they’ve been told not to do?
Is that what Jesus was up to? We don’t know. What we do know is that, “Jesus did not answer a word.”
What we also know is that the disciples couldn’t take it any longer so they basically tell Jesus to, “Get rid of that lunatic! She just won’t shut up!”
So, Jesus answers ..
Matthew 15:24
“He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’”
Who is Jesus answering, the disciples or the Mom?
Is Jesus confirming that He is not going to help this non-Jewish mother and her daughter?
And, who is hearing this answer, just the disciples or the disciples and the Mom?
We don’t know but we do see the mother’s reaction.
She stops crying out from a distance and she moves in closer …
Matthew 15:25
“The woman came and knelt before Him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said.”
The Mom humbles herself before Jesus, Jesus who is the only hope for her daughter.
Wouldn’t you love to have been there to see what we cannot know from the written word? We know the words she spoke but we don’t know the sound of her voice as she begged for help for her daughter.
Did she raise her eyes to Jesus and cry out in desperation, “Lord, help me!”
Or, did she bow her head and in an almost inaudible whimper, beg, “Lord, help me.”
We don’t know. What we do know is Jesus’ response?
Matthew 15:26
“[Jesus] replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’”
Taken at face value in English this seems pretty insulting.
In Jesus’ day, those who were non-Jews, were called gentiles, were berated by Jews as being like wild dogs.
In this instance Jesus is not using that word for cur dogs.
In this instance Jesus is using the Greek word for a small, pet dog.
That is why the AMP translation states it this way, “And [Jesus] replied, ‘It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the children’s bread and throw it to the pet dogs.’”
So, Jesus is testing her. How does she respond?
Matthew 15:27
“‘Yes, Lord,’ she said. ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’”
Matthew 15:27 AMPC translates the verse this way …
“She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little pups (little whelps) eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table.’”
Here is an amazing thing!
This mother does not even have a clue that one day the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ will be shared freely with gentiles all over the world.
And, this mother accepts her status in the eyes of Jesus but for the sake of her daughter she persists anyway.
Another amazing thing is that this mother realizes that Jesus the Son of David is so overwhelmingly powerful, He is so great, that even the crumbs of His healing power that would fall from the table of the Israelites would be enough to drive the demon from her daughter!
What is the result of this act and belief on her part?
Matthew 15:28
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.”
Jesus did it! Jesus had mercy! Wonderful, merciful Savior!
Do you know that there are only two people in all of the New Testament who Jesus certified as having great faith? The Canaanite mother and the Centurion and both of them were not even Israelites but gentiles!
How many people in the New Testament did Jesus describe as being people of “little faith”? Twelve!
Are we more like the Canaanite mother or like the disciples?
Today we are thinking about this mother who cared so deeply for her suffering daughter that she would risk shame and rejection in order to get help. And it makes me wonder what we would do, how far we would go to see that those in our lives who don't know Jesus have a chance to know Him?
Perhaps you don't have a personal, saving relationship with Jesus today.
Perhaps you don't even know what that might mean.
(Give the salvation message and then lead in a prayer of repentance as an example for any to follow)
Benediction
