Day 38: March 5

MATTHEW 15:21-39

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHTS: 
OBSERVATIONS:
Jesus left from predominantly Jewish territory and traveled to Gentile territory.

A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus requesting him to heal/deliver her daughter who was under the control of a demon.  The fact that she was a Canaanite is important because Canaanites were enemies of Israel historically.

Jesus initially ignored her plea for help but she persisted and asked again for his help.

Jesus offered a curious response saying, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and give it to the dogs.” She responded that even the family pet dogs who are under the table get to eat the table scraps. In response Jesus both commended her for her faith and healed her daughter. The clear implication is that Jesus was answering her request because of her faith.

Immediately after this encounter Jesus left Tyre and Sidon but remained in Gentile territory (See mark 7:31) There Jesus healed many sick people. The crowd of people who brought their sick friends and family to Jesus were amazed and praised the God of Israel.
Immediately following these healings, Jesus – still in Gentile territory - performed a miracle by which He fed over 4,000 people. His motivation was his compassion for their physical hunger. 
 
APPLICATION: 
The fact that Jesus has already healed a Gentile - a Roman officer nonetheless (Matt 8:5-13) – should cause us to pause before interpreting Jesus' statement as indicating that he considered her to be “a dog”.  In light of the whole narrative, where Jesus heals a crowd of gentiles (non-Jews) and then proceeds to feed a multitude of Gentiles, it is clear that Jesus was not expressing personal animus towards this Gentile woman.

A better explanation is that Jesus was testing her faith. It was not uncommon for Jews to call Gentiles “dogs” in a demeaning way. Jesus used the term to distinguish those who already belonged to God as his children from those who worshiped false gods. She had already made a profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah (vs 22) and now Jesus wanted to draw more out of her about her faith in him. She clearly passed the test!

This passage, rather than showing Jesus demeaning a woman due to ethnic differences as some have suggested, shows that Jesus extended love and compassion to Gentiles as well as Jews. We are reminded Jesus came for the “whosoevers” who would believe in him.

What is rather troubling is the contrast between the first part of chapter 15 and the latter section. The religious leaders, the ones who should have been first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and respond to him with honor, reject him and constantly attack him. On the other hand, the Gentiles are those we find confessing faith in Jesus as Messiah and giving praise to the God of Israel.

A rich religious heritage does not guarantee that a person will trust in and honor Jesus.
 
PRAYER: 
Dear Lord, Thank you for reminding me that you love the world and came to save whosoever will believe in you. Help me to live with your heart for people. Help me to live free from prejudice which would cause me to have contempt or lack compassion for any person or group of people.
 
Thank you for reminding me that your ministry includes care for the whole person; body and soul! Give me the kind of faith that the Canaanite woman had; a faith that won’t be hindered from coming to you based on what other people think of me.