Matthew 15:21-39
Today's Passage: Matthew 15:21-29
This woman seems like she would be the last person on earth who could truly understand who Jesus is, and yet, much like the centurion in Matthew 8, she sees Him for exactly who He is. She approaches him crying out for mercy, acknowledging that He is the only one who can extend mercy. Not only that, but she acknowledges Him as Lord and the Son of David.
When she calls Jesus the Son of David, she is not just showing that she knows who His great, great, great grandfather is, but she is showing that she believes Him to be the fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Samuel 7. She sees that Jesus is the king whose kingdom will reign forever.
My immediate reaction to reading Jesus’ response is confusion because through my eyes Jesus ignores her, and then he calls her a dog, and then he declares her to be a woman of great faith? This seems like a strange progression of the conversation.
But Jesus is silent because He is patient. He knows that His disciples are going to be impatient and ask Him to perform a quick little miracle to send her away. His disciples demonstrate their small view of Jesus’ power to heal. Jesus waits for this moment.
Jesus waits to declare His purpose to His disciples and to this Canaanite woman. He answers saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
So why has Jesus healed Gentiles? Why does John 3:16 say that God so loved the world? Why do we have the Great Commission if Jesus was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
Just as the Canaanite woman proclaimed Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus Himself proclaims this in His response, and that is why this statement does not cast the woman out but draws her in.
God orchestrated redemption through the people of Israel for all people. This woman recognizes that she is not a part of God’s chosen family. She acknowledges her lowly state, but recognizes Jesus as her master.
Much like the Canaanite woman Rahab was grafted into the family of God through her faith, this Canaanite woman is recognized for her faith as well. This foreshadows the call of the Great Commission that all who turn from their sin and put their faith in Christ will too be grafted into the family of God.
Written By: Paulette Black
This woman seems like she would be the last person on earth who could truly understand who Jesus is, and yet, much like the centurion in Matthew 8, she sees Him for exactly who He is. She approaches him crying out for mercy, acknowledging that He is the only one who can extend mercy. Not only that, but she acknowledges Him as Lord and the Son of David.
When she calls Jesus the Son of David, she is not just showing that she knows who His great, great, great grandfather is, but she is showing that she believes Him to be the fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Samuel 7. She sees that Jesus is the king whose kingdom will reign forever.
My immediate reaction to reading Jesus’ response is confusion because through my eyes Jesus ignores her, and then he calls her a dog, and then he declares her to be a woman of great faith? This seems like a strange progression of the conversation.
But Jesus is silent because He is patient. He knows that His disciples are going to be impatient and ask Him to perform a quick little miracle to send her away. His disciples demonstrate their small view of Jesus’ power to heal. Jesus waits for this moment.
Jesus waits to declare His purpose to His disciples and to this Canaanite woman. He answers saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
So why has Jesus healed Gentiles? Why does John 3:16 say that God so loved the world? Why do we have the Great Commission if Jesus was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
Just as the Canaanite woman proclaimed Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus Himself proclaims this in His response, and that is why this statement does not cast the woman out but draws her in.
God orchestrated redemption through the people of Israel for all people. This woman recognizes that she is not a part of God’s chosen family. She acknowledges her lowly state, but recognizes Jesus as her master.
Much like the Canaanite woman Rahab was grafted into the family of God through her faith, this Canaanite woman is recognized for her faith as well. This foreshadows the call of the Great Commission that all who turn from their sin and put their faith in Christ will too be grafted into the family of God.
Written By: Paulette Black
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