Matthew 15:21-29

This is Aaron, and open your Bibles up to Matthew chapter 15, and we're going to look at verses 21-39.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

So if you've got a black church Bible, it's page 8-1.

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I love about the Bible is its realism.

People often think it's kind of a fairy tale, a Bibleism once upon a time kind of book.

But I don't think you can read the Gospels and come away with that idea.

There's a realism. Scripture understands what life is like, and what you and I are like.

And we saw that in our passage last week, didn't we, in Matthew chapter 15, and verses 18 onwards.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

It says, what comes out of the mouth, what you speak about, what's on your lips,

the reason that you speak in the way that you do, is because your heart proceeds from the heart.

And this defiles a person.

For out of the heart can be for false murder, adultery, sex, and anarchy, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person.

But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.

It's not the outward acts.

Your problem, and my problem, is my heart.

That's very challenging, isn't it?

The Pharisees, they came at the start of chapter 15 with a complaint.

They said, your followers, your disciples, they're not doing all the ritualistic stuff.

They aren't doing the religious stuff they're supposed to do.

They're not doing it properly.

They're breaking the rules.

But Jesus says, our big problem, and your big problem,

it's not that you fail as through religious duties.

And your biggest problem this week,

it's not that you've not succeeded in what your goals were going to be,

but your big problem, and my big problem, is my heart.

So how does Jesus follow on from this list?

And wonderfully, Jesus follows on from this list

with three stories of abundant, extravagant, amazing grace.

The undeserved kindness of God.

What is Jesus' solution to the big heart problem?

It's a problem that we can't solve.

And Jesus' answer is grace.

Overwhelming grace.

Abundant grace.

Overflowing grace.

And that is what these three stories are about.

They are wonderful stories.

Because they move you and I to answer the question,

how do we move from feeling dirty, or angsty, or weak, and shamed?

How do we move from all of that to feeling clean, and forgiven, and hopeful, and satisfied?

How do we make that transition, as much as we can, aside from the new creation?

And the answer is in these verses that we're looking at here.

It is the overflowing, abundant grace of God.

I love this little chunk of the Bible.

It's another sandwich.

Do you remember?

We had a sandwich the other week,

where there were kind of two little end pieces,

two bread, and then a filling in the middle.

This is a slightly different sandwich.

It is a thick white bread,

with a little filler in it.

Because you'll see that both of the stories,

from verse 21 to 28,

are about bread,

and then the one in 32 to 39 is about bread, too.

And then you've got the little meat in the middle,

with the miracles.

So let's get into it.

Let's look at the first piece of bread,

in verses 21 to 28.

And you'll see Jesus on the move again.

Verse 21, he went away from there,

and he withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

That's an interesting place for Jesus to go,

because historically,

these places,

were where the armies of God,

during times of famine,

armies from these places,

would raid Galilee and territory.

It's terrible business.

It's enemy-occupied territory.

The two groups of people,

these from Tyre and Sidon,

they hated each other,

and Jesus makes a deliberate trip there.

It seems that his intention is to get some rest,

to get some rest,

but when you're Jesus,

it's very, very hard to stay hidden.

When you're well-known,

it's hard to get a break, isn't it?

I was hearing this week,

a friend of mine was a sexual health teacher,

in Dublin,

to teenagers,

went around all the schools,

there were only a couple of them,

he went to thousands of schools,

and taught about sexual health,

in high schools in Dublin.

He said he finally really enjoyed the job,

apart from when teenagers saw him out in the street,

they would say,

ah, it's a sex man,

or they just showed up.

And he said that was fine,

not when he was walking with his man,

or walking with his girlfriend.

It's hard to get a break, isn't it,

when you're well-known.

It's hard to get rest points,

when you're well-known.

And Jesus is quite well-known,

and he's well-known in a place that is,

the enemy of God's people.

And so this Canaanite woman,

who knows about Jesus,

who he is,

hears that he's coming,

and goes up to him.

It's really interesting, isn't it?

And Matthew calls her a Canaanite woman.

That word, Canaanite,

doesn't appear anywhere else in the New Testament.

It's an archaic word.

They didn't use it at the time.

It points the reader backwards,

and pulls them back into the story of Israel.

It's like a journalist writing an article on Russia,

and calling it USSR.

We think that was odd, wouldn't we?

It's not called USSR anymore.

He says, what are you doing?

What point are you trying to make by using that word?

What are you on about?

And that's what Matthew is doing here.

He's taking an Old Testament word,

and he's putting it in the Gospel.

And when we spot it,

it's to make us think.

Canaanite, that's a word that's not used.

What was a Canaanite?

Well, it was an enemy.

It was an enemy of God's people.

It was an idolater.

The Canaanites were unclean.

And this Canaanite woman,

is shouting at Jesus.

Repeatedly.

She surprisingly says to Jesus,

do you see what she says?

Oh Lord,

Son of David.

So you now became that woman,

using the language of the Lord's people,

Son of David.

She is from the enemy of the Lord's people,

and yet she takes the language of the Lord's people on her lips.

And she asks for,

can you see it?

Mercy.

Mercy.

My daughter,

is severely oppressed,

by a demon.

And Jesus is silent.

doesn't say a word.

What's he doing?

Silence is difficult, isn't it?

Do you know how it is?

Go to the doctor.

Go to the GP tomorrow morning.

Do your symptoms.

Say what's wrong.

And there's silence.

Say, what are you doing?

Teachers say that one of the most important things

a teacher can learn,

is when to stop talking.

Preachers should learn that one of the most important things

a preacher can learn,

is when to stop talking.

Silence can be deafening,

can't it?

So why is Jesus doing this?

We want him to respond immediately,

but he doesn't.

The silence of Jesus is very difficult sometimes,

isn't it?

The disciples say,

can I get rid of this woman?

I'm guessing,

and what they're saying there is,

can't you just heal this girl,

so we can get out of here?

She is drawing attention to us,

we've come for a break,

she's causing a scene,

she's speaking loudly,

she's an irritant,

this woman is an annoyance,

we just want to be left alone,

heal her,

get rid of her,

Jesus.

So Jesus responds with this,

this woman whose daughter is severely possessed,

and in a terrible state,

mercy,

mercy,

mercy,

my daughter is possessed,

just get rid of her,

Jesus.

But he says to her,

doesn't he,

shockingly,

I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel,

and that's his first response.

You need to understand the movement of the Bible,

God chose the people of Israel.

God chose the people of Israel

to be his treasured possession.

And they were to be like a greenhouse,

you know what a greenhouse is?

A greenhouse is where you grow your plants,

it's a hothouse,

where the plants grow and develop,

and are nurtured.

And then when they're nurtured enough,

and develop,

you take the plants outside the greenhouse,

into the garden,

and they flourish.

And the Lord had chosen Israel to be a greenhouse,

to the rest of the world.

It was to show what life with God looks like.

And the Lord has taught the Israelites,

who he was,

he'd resumed himself to them,

I am the Lord.

And Israel had had covenant promises established with them,

my God,

I will be your God,

and the God of your children,

and you will be my people.

God had pledged himself to Israel,

and they were to be the light of the world.

They had to be the greenhouse of God,

and from then,

God's mission would go out into the rest of the world.

And so we see that Jesus,

early on in his ministry,

is mainly focused on the Jews.

So he's not lying here.

But it still sounds just a little bit mean,

doesn't it?

This little girl is in trouble.

Why doesn't he just heal the daughter?

And so the woman moves closer,

and this time she falls to his speech,

and verse 25,

she says these three amazing words.

Children, we learn them inside the school.

Do you remember what they were?

One of the words we learned?

Lord, help me.

That's all she's got.

Lord, help me.

That's her whole pitch.

Help me.

She has nothing to barter with.

She has no credentials to present.

And she knows that.

And she knows that,

apart from grace,

her daughter is lost.

Nothing in my hands I bring,

she could see.

It's like if you take a child

into the operating theatre,

or into A&E,

and they're really unwell,

and you take them into the hospital,

they're in your arms,

and they are helpless.

And you take them,

and you give them to the nurse,

or to the doctor.

And you are placing your child,

and all your hopes,

into the hands of that doctor and nurse.

And the woman brings all her hopes to Jesus,

and it's a heart-rending request,

isn't it?

Lord, help me.

Jesus is our last hope.

What humility for this woman.

What courage.

And Jesus makes us even more uncomfortable,

doesn't he,

in his response.

Look what he says, verse 26.

And he answers,

it is not right,

to make the children's bread,

and throw it to the dogs.

What does that mean?

Did Jesus just call her a dog?

What's going on?

Look at some of the things,

that are going on.

Jesus is not calling this woman a dog,

I don't think,

in the slang sense,

that we use for children.

It's a tiny little parable.

It's a miniature parable.

And like most of Jesus' parables,

it reflects a kind of typical scene

from Jesus' daily life.

And it's a Gentile parable.

Jews didn't like dogs.

Gentiles were okay with dogs.

For Jews,

dogs were unclean.

They didn't help them.

And the dog words here,

it's a diminutive,

it means like,

it's not like a garland dog,

it's not a massive,

kind of foaming at the mouth dog,

it's a house dog.

It's a pet little dog.

It's like the raised little

bundle of fur.

Willow.

It's like a level household pet.

And he says,

you don't take the kids off the,

you don't take the food

off the kids' plates

and give it to the dogs.

He's basically reiterating the point.

It's the same point.

I come for the Jews first.

I'm here for the Jews first.

I am ministering to the Jews.

It's an issue of chronology,

of timing.

And to which he says,

verse 27,

yes Lord,

yet even the dogs eat the crumbs

that fall from their master's table.

And Jesus answered her,

oh woman,

great is your faith.

Be it done for you as you desire.

And her daughter was healed instantly.

And so all of a sudden,

Jesus says,

your faith is amazing.

Great is your faith.

It's only place in the New Testament

where somebody is told that.

This is great.

You are fantastic.

It's the highest commendation

Christ can make.

And it's reserved for this woman

from enemy territory.

Who had nothing to bring to the table

except this request,

this begging,

this help me.

Now what was it that was so great

about this faith?

It is in the line,

isn't it?

Yes Lord,

yet even the dogs eat the crumbs

that fall from the master's table.

Here's what's so great about her.

She gets it.

She's the first person,

I think,

to hear a parable

and actually understand it

and believe it.

And she says,

Lord,

yes,

I understand what you're saying.

I understand what you're saying,

that there is so much grace,

so much undeserved kindness,

there is so much life,

there's so much restoration,

there's so much fullness,

there's so much healing

to go around.

There's an abundance of it.

And she says,

I'll just take the overflow.

I'm just happy with the bits

that fall off the table.

There's so much of it.

That's enough for me.

She says,

I know your priority,

I know your chronology,

I understand that Israel

is the greenhouse of God,

and it's wonderful,

Jesus,

that you're here for the Jews,

but I'm just happy

with the crumbs.

She's actually announcing

something wonderful.

She's saying,

God's grace,

which has focused on

the people of God,

Israel,

the Jews,

for a long time,

is overflowing.

It's overflowing

its boundaries

to the whole of the world.

She gets it.

It's like she plays

poker with Jesus.

You can describe it

in terms of a poker game.

She says,

I see you,

I see your mission

to Israel,

and I raise you

the abundant love

of God,

of creation,

that is going to pour

across the face

of all the earth.

So why is Jesus

so reluctant to start?

I mean,

if you read the story

quickly,

you might say,

when he changed his mind,

that is actually the case.

And we know that

because when you read this

in Mark's gospel,

he tells exactly

the same story,

but if you look

the grammar of the sentence

is a little bit

hidden in the English,

she's healed right

at the beginning

at the very first request.

Where she says,

have mercy

of my daughter.

She's possessed,

you can heal her,

and right at the start,

before the back and forth,

that is when

the daughter is healed.

So what is the rest

of it about?

Why is there

this silence

of Jesus?

Well,

because Jesus

is drawing out

her faith.

He is creating

the opportunity

for her great faith

to be exposed.

He's creating

the opportunity

for the great faith

of this woman

who is part

of a country

that hates

the people of God,

but her faith

is put on display

because it's so great.

She realises

that from Jesus' table,

each crust

is a treasure.

each crumb

is a banquet,

each morsel

is a meal.

And this lady says,

there's enough for me.

There's enough for me.

There's enough.

And we need to

hear this story today,

don't we?

There's enough grace

for you.

Because we are

like the disciples

in the other story,

the other slice of

branch,

so I can get

the other slice of

branch,

verse 32.

And the feeding

of the 4,000.

It's the lesser

known miracle.

I've been doing

the children's

colouring sheets

for the last little while.

They're not as good

as they used to be

when they used to be

in Lichford.

If you go on

and you look for

colouring things

for children,

feeding of the 5,000,

it's everywhere.

But you cannot find,

as far as I can tell

on clip art

or on the internet,

a drawing of

feeding of the 4,000.

I don't like it.

It's like the

forgotten about miracle.

It's like people

kind of erased it.

Look at

verse 32.

And Jesus

called his disciples

to him

and said,

I have compassion

on the crowd

because they've

been with me

three days

and they have

nothing but eat.

And I'm unwilling

to send them away

hungry

lest they faint

on the way.

And the disciples

said to him,

where are we going

to get enough bread

in such a desolate place

to feed such a great crowd?

And Jesus said to them,

how many loaves do you have?

They said,

seven

and a few small fish.

And directly

the crowd

sat down on the ground

and took the seven loaves

and fish

and given them

thanks,

he broke them

and gave them

to the disciples

and the disciples

gave them to the crowds.

And they all

acted on the sacrifice.

And they took up

seven basketfuls

and the broken pieces

left over.

And those were

actually 4,000 men

besides women and children.

And after sending them

away,

the crowds,

he got into the boat

and went to the region

of Magadine.

It's not a repeat.

It's in a different place

at a different time

than the feeding of 5,000.

In a Gentile region.

And there's a couple

of details that jump out,

aren't there?

That question is

astonishing,

isn't it?

Of the disciples.

In verse 32,

where are we to get

enough bread

in such a desolate place

to feed such a great crowd?

They say this to Jesus

who in the previous chapter

had fed 5,000 people.

A chapter ago,

he fed more people

with less bread.

He fed more people

with less produce

and his disciples

asked him,

how on earth

are we going to feed

these people?

Because they

so easily

forget the grace of God.

they so easily

forget the grace of God.

How stupid can you be

like us?

We hear about

God's grace

every week,

don't we?

We confess our sin

very clearly

and very deliberately

every Sunday morning.

We receive God's

assurance

of pardon

very clearly,

very deliberately.

and yet many of us

are satisfied

living with a kind of

low grade level

of guilt and shame.

There are many of us

where our minds

go back over and over

and over our sins

and suffer that

which we did

years ago,

decades ago.

Why?

Because you and I,

we imagine

that there's not

enough bread for us.

Because we think

there's not enough

bread for us.

I'm different.

If only you knew,

if only you could

get inside my head

and my heart

and see what I like,

I'm different.

That's what we think.

But there is enough

bread,

it is overflowing.

Look at verse 37.

They ate

and were

satisfied.

They took

seven basketfuls

of broken pieces.

Why that detail?

Because the writer

wants you to understand

there was so,

so much.

So if you remember

the last

few years ago,

I think a couple

of weeks ago,

the disciples,

there was

twelve baskets

left over.

Do you remember that?

How many disciples

were there?

Twelve disciples.

How many tribes

of Israel were there?

Twelve tribes

of Israel.

It's shown you

this is volatility

that God's grace

is enough

for the people

of Israel.

But you know

when he feeds

on the four thousand

it's about God's

abundance.

So look at what it says.

It says there were

seven loaves,

seven baskets.

God created

everything

and there is

in seven days.

And here through

his son he creates

anew.

There is more

than enough

with God.

There is more

than enough

grace for you.

There is more

than enough

forgiveness

for you.

And you may

be desperately

hungry.

You may be

desperately sick.

You may be

desperately guilty.

But Jesus

can feed a crowd

with crabs.

And he's able

to feed you

in needs.

There is more

than enough

to go around.

And we forget

this,

don't we?

And the

disciples

say to you,

look at verse

33.

where are we

to get

enough bread

in such a

desolate place

to feed

such a crowd?

We need

the woman's

faith in

God's goodness.

Let's look at

the meat

and the sandwich

really quickly.

Not only is

there enough

bread for us,

but look at

the middle

section,

verse 29

and 31.

The meat

and the sandwich.

Jesus went up

from there

and walked

beside the

Sea of Galilee

and he went

up on the

mountain and

sat down.

And great

crowds came to him,

bringing with

them the

lame,

the blind,

the crippled,

the moot,

and many

others.

And they put

him at his

feet and he

healed them.

So that the

crowd wondered

when they saw

the moot

speaking,

the crippled

healthy,

the lame

walking,

the blind

seeing,

and they

glorified

the God

of Israel.

The way

it's written,

literally,

they are

carrying people

up to Jesus

and they just

drop him.

drop him

in front of

Jesus.

And he

healed them.

Here's my

son,

here's my

friend,

here's my

neighbour,

here's my

husband.

And so

the crowd

wonders.

Can you

imagine the

celebrations

on the side

of that

mountain?

And they

glorified the

God of

Israel.

People are

bringing their

friends to

Jesus.

People are

bringing their

family to

Jesus.

People are

bringing their

colleagues to

Jesus.

People are

bringing their

neighbours to

Jesus.

And they're

bringing people

who have got no

way of getting

out of

themselves.

And Matthew

wants you

and I to

see that

God's grace,

God's super

abundant,

overflowing

grace is not

just sufficient

for us,

but it's for

others.

It's for the

people that we

love.

It's for the

people that we

care for.

It's for the

people that we

know.

God's

God's

solution for

our heart

problem is

abundant

grace.

And this

Canaanite woman

trusted in it.

There was the

fuzzy understanding

of the

disciples.

There was

increasingly

bitter opposition

from the

Pharisees,

trusting in

their religious

practices,

promises,

but her

faith is

in the

goodness of

God.

Her ability

to trust that

he will bring

life with

his death,

and grace

where there is

shame and

forgiveness,

where there is

guilt.

This

moment's

belief that

someone's faith

is like a

flare going up

into the sky

that we see.

it is

awesome.

And it

is why

Jesus

painfully

draws it

out of

her.

So for

those of

you this

morning who

do not

believe that

God is good

enough to be

really trusted,

and for

those of

you who do

not think

this morning

that there's

enough bread

for you,

and for

those who

think you've

wandered too

far away

you look

in faith,

you look

in faith to

him,

because his

grace is

super

abundant

and overflowing,

and there is

bread at the

table,

and there's

wine at the

table,

and there's

more than

enough for

you.

We're going

to use the

prayer of

humble access

before we

sing.

It's after

the hymn of

your sheets.

This is a

prayer from

the book of

common prayer,

and Cranham

wrote this.

It is a

beautiful,

beautiful prayer

that uses

the words

of the

Savior.

You'll see

that in the

third paragraph

it speaks

about as we

come to the

Lord's table

that we eat

the flesh

of your

dear son

Jesus Christ

and we

drink his

blood.

We know

we don't

do that

literally.

Don't

misunderstand

it.

But as

we come

to the

table,

we do

partake.

And we

do by

faith feed

on Christ.

Jesus

says this is

this is my

body

given for

you.

This is my

blood

spilled for

you.

The blood of

the everlasting

covenant given

for you.

You drink of it.

And as we do

that, as we

exercise faith in

Christ, we are

made clean by

his body.

And our

souls washed

through his

most precious

blood.

There is a

fountain filled

with blood

drawn from

Emmanuel

saints.

Let's just

take a moment

in the silence.

Let's read

through this

prayer of our

own.

And then we'll

read through

it together.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.