Last night at the park we read a VERY thought provoking passage in Matthew 15:
"Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us." But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once." (Matthew 15:21-28)
Jesus denies her request on three different occasions. Most people speculate as to why Jesus did this. Was he testing her faith? Was he trying to teach his disciples about great faith?
A better question might be, why would this woman continue to pursue someone who had ignored, rejected, and "dogged" her?
Would you do the same if you went to Jesus for help and received a similar response?
The woman's thought process was "It may not be appropriate for me, as an outsider, to get help from you Son of David, King of Israel, but it is more than appropriate for me to direct my faith towards you."
Jesus saw this as being right on the money.
Jesus came to bring salvation and healing to his people, Israel. We can turn away sad and offended, calling Jesus a racist, or we can be like the woman and press forward knowing that Jesus is the ONLY appropriate person worthy of our faith, whether we are Jews or Gentiles.
What are your thoughts on this passage?
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