Matthew 15-21-28 Jesus feeds the dogs Prayer for illumination: Sermon introduction: Our culture loves to celebrate greatness… great feats, great people, and great ideas. I grew up playing allot of tennis. In tennis greatness is measured by grand slams. There are four grand slam tournaments a year (the French Open, Wimbledon, The Australian open, and the US Open). For years and years the record for men was 13. No one thought it could be broken. Then along came Peter Sampras. He was my hero. He won 14. This was an incredible feat of greatness. No one thought this new record could be broken. Then along came Roger Federer. A few years back he won his 17th grand slam. He also has the record for most appearances in a grand slam final 27. He holds the record for most grand slam match wins 297. He holds the record for the most career prize money. He holds the record for the most weeks at number 1. His list of records is a record… go to Wikipedia to check it out. He is the GOAT… Greatest of all time!!! We love to talk about greatness. This brings us to Matthew 15:21-28. Jesus talked about greatness too. When Jesus says something or someone is great we should listen. In Matthew 15 Jesus describes the faith of the Canaanite women as great. This was shocking to the original audience for numerous reasons. This is only the second time in Matthew that Jesus says that someone’s faith is great. To understand great faith we are going to look at two things this morning… The faith of the women The response of Jesus First, the great faith of the women Great faith has several characteristics. Lets look at a few of them. Great faith is desperate! Matthew 15:21–22 (ESV) — 21 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 was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

Jesus is in gentile country, more specifically the land of the ancient Canaanite’s. If you have read the OT you know that the Canaanites were the dreaded enemies of Israel. They were wicked, bloodthirsty, and depraved. If I were to describe their debauchery I would probably lose my job. As Jesus and his disciples walk through the land a desperate Canaanite women runs up to Jesus and cries out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David: my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” We know she is desperate because she displays the signs of desperation. Let me explain… Canaanites worshipped the Goddess Astarte. She probably went to the pagan temples and prayed fervently to Astarte. That did not work. Now she has nowhere else to turn. In desperation she turns to Jesus. Second, she is a woman. In this culture, woman were not supposed to run up to strange men and throw their bodies down in front of them (v. 25) crying out for mercy. One only did this when they were desperate. She is desperate. But what is she desperate for? She is desperate for mercy. Her daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. We don’t know exactly how the demon tormented her but it must have been bad. Illustration: have you ever been desperate for something??? During WWII Louis Zamperini’s plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. He and two others were forced to survive on a tiny raft. After numerous days without food they could only thing about one thing. Here is how Laura Hillenbrand describes their hunger pains… “As hunger bleated inside them, the men experienced a classic symptom of starvation, the inability to direct their thoughts away from food. They stared into the ocean, undulating with edible creatures; but without bait, they could not catch even a minnow. Occasionally, a bird passed, always out of reach. The men studied their shoes and wondered if they could eat the leather. They decided they couldn’t.” (Hillenbrand, 142) … Several days later… “Every conversation meandered back to food. Louie had often boasted to Phil about his mother’s cooking, and at some point, Phil asked Louie to describe how she made a meal. Louie began describing a dish, and all three men found it satisfying, so Louie kept going, telling them about each dish in the greatest possible detail. Soon, Louie’s kitchen floated there with them: Sauces simmered, spices were pinched and scattered, butter melted on tongues… When the imaginary meal was prepared, the men would devour every crumb, describing each mouthful. They conjured up the scene in such vivid detail that somehow their stomachs were fooled by it, if only briefly.” (Hillenbrand, 146) These men were desperate for food… The woman in Matthew 15 is desperate for mercy. We are all desperate for mercy. We just don’t know it. Mercy is the alleviation of pain and suffering. God’s mercy is mentioned over 500 times in the Bible. Jesus is the king of Mercy. He knows how to alleviate suffering. In fact, he is the only one who can alleviate pain and suffering. She has come to the right place. Or more accurately she has come to the right person. Great faith begins in desperation. Application:

This woman was desperate for mercy and she believed that Jesus would give her the mercy she needed. She really believed this!!! This is the only way to come to Christ is to come to him to Christ desperate for mercy. The problem is that we don’t really understand who we are or what we have done. We think we are pretty good people… If we come to Christ because our friends came to Christ or our parents came to Christ or it seems logical to come to Christ we probably have not truly come to Christ. Or we think… ok God, the gospel makes sense, I suppose I should believe it because I want to get to heaven. This is not desperation. Imagine this women coming to Jesus like this… it would be great if you can help me but I can probably find help someone else… Truly great faith begins in desperation. Great faith is desperate… Great faith is persistent! Matthew 15:22–27 (ESV) — 22 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.” 23 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.” This woman was persistent. She would not take no for an answer. The Greek word crying out is in the imperfect tense, meaning a continual action. She was crying out so much that she started to annoy the disciples. They begged Jesus, the text says, to send her away. 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.” Jesus said to her… my mission is to the Israelites… this did not deter her. In verse 25 we read that she knelt before him and begged him, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right 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.” Jesus tries to deter her again (we will come back to these controversial words later) but in verse 27 she continues to plead with him for mercy. This woman will not take no for an answer. Her faith is very persistent. Jesus turns her down three times. Most people in her shoes probably would have thought, “so much for Jesus, I thought Jesus was a god of love and mercy. He seems very narrow minded, bigoted, and

chauvinistic…” I’m leaving... But this is not what she said… she persisted to believe that he could help her daughter. Great faith is persistent. Application: Great faith persists through hardships, obstacles, and setbacks. Many of you have persisted in your faith despite significant setbacks. For some of you it was very costly to come to Christ. For some of you coming to Christ meant you had to wrestle for years with intellectual obstacles to faith. For some of you coming to Christ meant losing friends but you persisted in faith. You believed that God was willing able to save you. Some of you have persisted in faith through very difficult trials. I think of Michael and Marjie… Great faith persists… Not only is she desperate for mercy… she believes that she will get mercy if she persists. Nothing is going to deter her… Matthew 7:7 (ESV) — 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Great faith persists through setbacks… Great faith is desperate Great faith is persistent If we come to Jesus with a faith that is persistent and desperate he will give us rest. Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV) — 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” First, the great faith of the women… Second, the response of Jesus How does Jesus respond to the women? He tests her. Lets back up a little bit in the story… Matthew 15:22–23 (ESV) — 22 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.” 23 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.” The women frantically cries out to Jesus for mercy, but he does not answer her… he ignores her. This seems odd.

Commenting on this passage the great Chrysostom wrote, “the Word has no word. The fountain is sealed. The Physician holds back his remedy.” Why does Jesus ignore the women? He is not being rude he is testing her. Lets keep reading… Matthew 15:24–27 (ESV) — 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 right 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.” Jesus says that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. The woman is not from Israel. Then he tells her a parable. In the parable there are three groups of characters; the master, the children, and the doges. Jesus is the master. The Israelites are the children and the gentiles are the dogs. Jesus came to give the blessings of the kingdom to the children in the form of bread. Some of the children give the breadcrumbs to the dogs. What a strange story. Strange on many fronts… This story is strange because Jesus has already ministered to several gentiles in the course of his ministry. This story is also strange because Jesus refers to this woman as a dog. There are two Greek words for dog in the NT. The first word is used to describe the mangy, nasty, dirty dogs that roamed around in packs and ate garbage. The second word is used to describe a little dog kept indoors as pets. The second word is the word Jesus uses here but it is not flattering to call some one a dog no matter what kind of dog it is. Although Jesus probably winked at her when he said this to her… So what do we make of this conversation??? Jesus is not insulting this woman or being rude to her. Jesus is testing her. He is testing her to see what kind of faith she has. Is she going to persist in her faith even when Jesus challenges her? Jesus wants to test this woman’s faith in order to bring it to full bloom. One commentator writes, “Imagine for a moment that there is a musical group at a nearby university that has the talent to pursue a career in music. Their first task is to build a fan base among the college crowd. They need to write songs and hone their sound until they can record an album and command substantial audiences. Imagine… that the lead vocalist, named John, has a prosperous Aunt Tess who offers to aid her nephew’s group by paying them handsomely to play at a garden party in her home. John thinks, ‘I could play songs she would love and I could use the money, but I must decline. I need to concentrate on the main task- writing songs, honing our sound.’ So he tells Aunt Tess that he cannot perform at her party. It would interfere with this mission. Somewhat like this, Jesus is intent upon his first task, to fulfill the promises of salvation, which God gave to Israel.

But imagine, further, that Aunt Tess is more resolute and more hip than John knows. “Listen,” she says, “we’re not asking you to play ‘Moon River’ or the Gilligan’s Island theme song…. We’re offering $500 for a hundred minutes, and that is probably $500 more than the Blues basement paid you for playing there last month.” John’s initial rejection functions as a test for Aunt Tess’s resolve. Just so, when Jesus rebuffs the Canaanite woman’s request, it tests her resolve. Her daughter is in need, she knows Jesus has the power to help, and she believes he is good enough to help. So than real faith does not falter at the first obstacle, it perseveres.” (Doriani, 50) Jesus tests the resolve of the woman’s faith in order to bring it to maturity. How does Jesus respond to the women’s faith? He tests her. Why does Jesus test the woman? To teach the disciples! We can’t forget that the disciples heard this conversation. They were standing right there asking Jesus to get rid of her. I’m pretty sure this conversation was more for them than her. In fact, I’m pretty sure the main reason that Jesus delayed helping the women was to help the disciples overcome their deeply seated prejudices against women and gentiles… Matthew 15:24–27 (ESV) — 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 right 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.” A few commentators point out that no one ever “beats” Jesus in a verbal exchange, but this woman does. He always knows exactly what to say. But Jesus lets the woman get the last word in verse 26. The whole thing was a set up for the disciples benefit… they should have known from the OT (Genesis 12) and the first 14 chapters of Matthew that God’s plan has always been to bless the nations through Israel. But they were blind to their prejudices. Just like we are. They only wanted the Jews to receive the benefits of the gospel. Application: The disciples just like us are slow to break with our prejudices. I’m not prejudice… are you sure? Is there anyone you avoid? Any types of people you avoid? Maybe the people that talk way too much, poor people, rich people, fat people, skinny people, annoying people, different skin color, or ethnicity, super needy people??? We can be prejudice towards non-Christians. We can look down on them for their music, dress, schools, speech, shows, etc… I’m glad I’m not like them… We can be prejudice towards transgendered people and homosexuals. We can avoid them at all costs like the disciples wanted to avoid this Canaanite woman. These are the very types of people Jesus came to save.

We must love them and show them extravagant generosity and hospitality. Jesus came for all types of people. Muslims, Hindu’s, Mormons, Atheists, and cross dressers… There is no room for racism and exclusivism in the kingdom. Jesus had this conversation with this woman to make this point to his disciples. The gospel is for the nations. Matthew 28:18–19a (ESV) — 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” You may be saying amen… but what are you going to do about this??? How does Jesus respond to the women? He tests her! Why does Jesus test the woman? To teach the disciples! How else does Jesus respond to the women? He praises her! Matthew 15:28 (ESV) — 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. This is the climax of the story. Jesus praises this gentile woman for her great faith. What a great story. Her faith was great because it was a persistent desperate faith. Because of her great faith Jesus healed her daughter instantly from a distance revealing his great power. Jesus was moved by this women’s faith so he acted. Application: We are not saved by the quality of our faith. The story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water preached two weeks ago hopefully made this clear. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is a gift from God. This woman could not boast because she believed while her other Canaanite friends did not. But… when we exercise great faith God can do great things through us and for us… her great faith caused Jesus to heal her daughter. Great faith is the engine that drives the Christian life. When we believe that God will do great things we will ask him to do great things… Great faith motivated John Patton to be a missionary among the Cannibals. Great faith motivated R.G. LeTourneau to keep 10% of his income and give 90% of his money away. Great faith motivated Martin Luther to take his stand at the imperial diet of Worms Great faith motivated Paul to keep on preaching after he had been stoned and whipped for preaching. Great faith motivated Bill Farley to plant this church 13 years ago. Great faith motivates dad’s to discipline their children and instruct them in God’s word Great faith motivates men to flee from pornography Great faith motivates us to walk across the street and knock on our neighbors door to pursue and evangelistic relationship.

I want great faith. I want to take great risks… I want my kids to have great faith. Great faith is like pull ups… My faith is weak. Jesus always possessed great faith. There was never a time in his life when his faith was not perfect. He went to the cross because he believed God’s promises. Because he went to the cross we can be forgiven for our weak faith. Plus we can have confidence that when we ask him for great faith he will give it to us because after he went to the cross, he rose from the dead, went to his father’s right hand, and poured out the HS at Pentecost. He wants to help us do great things for his kingdom motivated by faith. But we must ask him for help. Lets pray…