Breadcrumbs for the Dogs

If you'd open up your Bibles, please, to Matthew chapter 15.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

Matthew 15, we are in verses 21 to 39 this morning.

! Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father,

you are God and we are not.

You are the creator and we are your creatures.

So Lord, it is right for us to humble ourselves before you,

to be addressed by you in your word.

Give us ears to hear.

Father, help us to take hold of the truths of your word with faith.

Grant us the humility and the poverty of spirit that you seek from all of us.

As we're reminded through this passage of your wonderful grace and kindness toward us in Jesus Christ.

In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word.

Let's honor God together by standing together as I read from Matthew 15, verse 21 to 39.

Matthew 15:21–39

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

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.

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.

He answered,

I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But she came and knelt before him, saying,

Lord, help me.

And he answered,

It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

She said,

Yes, Lord.

Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.

Then Jesus answered her,

O woman, great is your faith.

Be it done for you as you desire.

And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee.

And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

And great crowds came to him, bringing with him the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others.

And they put them at his feet, and he healed them.

So that the crowd wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.

And they glorified the God of Israel.

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said,

I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.

And I am unwilling to send them away hungry lest they faint on the way.

And the disciples said to him,

Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?

And Jesus said to them,

How many loaves do you have?

They said,

Seven,

And a few small fish.

And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,

he took the seven loaves and the fish.

And having given thanks,

he broke them and gave them to the disciples.

And the disciples gave them to the crowds.

And they all ate and were satisfied.

And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

Those who ate were 4,000 men, besides women and children.

And after sending away the crowds,

he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

The Jew-Gentile hostility is one of the oldest documented ethnic tensions and conflicts in world history.

Historian Robert S. Wistrich,

who was the foremost scholarly authority on anti-Semitism in the 20th century,

called anti-Semitism or hatred of Jews,

the longest hatred because of its deep historical roots and longevity.

This is partly due to Jewish exclusivity.

They claim unique chosen status as the people of God.

And for that reason,

they have sought to maintain a distinct identity apart from the rest of the world.

And Jews who strictly adhere to Old Testament law

often separate themselves from secular society as well.

This exclusive distinct identity creates a strong sense of internal cohesion,

which makes them stick together and help each other.

And that strong internal cohesion often means alienation from those who are outside of that group,

which could create mistrust and suspicion.

This in turn creates persecution and minority survival pressure,

which then reinforces that strong sense of internal cohesion.

And it goes on and on.

Statesmen throughout the ages have repeatedly tried to forge peace treaties

and make peace between Jews and Gentiles to no avail.

But our passage this morning teaches us that God himself has already provided the only solution that will work.

Only solution to this long hatred and lasting divide between Jews and Gentiles.

Because Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who brings salvation to the Gentiles.

We're going to look at first the breadcrumbs for the dogs in verses 21 to 28.

And then we'll look at bread for the Gentiles in verse 29 to 39.

We saw escalating tension between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes,

the delegation that was sent from Jerusalem to investigate Jesus in the preceding passage.

And because of that escalating tension, Jesus now withdraws again from the Jewish crowds.

He withdraws from Jewish territory altogether this time.

And he goes to the district of Tyre and Sidon,

the two of the most prominent cities in the ancient Phoenician kingdom.

Tyre and Sidon were notorious pagan cities,

frequently denounced by the Old Testament prophets for being bitter enemies of God's people.

Tyre and Sidon was a Christian.

He says in Ezekiel 26, 2-3 that when Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, of Judah fell,

Tyre gloated over Jerusalem saying,

Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken.

It has swung open to me.

I shall be replenished now that she is laid waste.

And therefore the Lord God declared,

Behold, I am against you, O Tyre,

and will bring up many nations against you as the sea brings up its waves.

That gives you a glimpse of that conflict between Israel and Tyre.

1 Kings 16 records that King Ahab, an Israelite king,

did more to provoke the Lord to anger than any other king before him.

Why?

Because he erected an altar for Baal

in the house of Baal that he himself built in Israel.

And why in the world did he do that?

Because he took for his wife Jezebel,

the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians,

and went and served Baal and worshipped him.

Baal was the chief god of the Syrophoenician kingdom,

of Tyre and Sidon.

And due to Jezebel, a Sidonian princess,

her influence, Baal worship was institutionalized in Israel,

and the prophets of the Lord were systematically slaughtered,

so that Israel almost lost its covenantal identity before God altogether.

Tyre and Sidon,

therefore became bywords of unbelief and idolatry.

The only other time that Tyre and Sidon are mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew

is in Matthew 11, 21-22,

where Jesus denounces the unbelieving cities of Israel

by comparing them to Tyre and Sidon,

saying,

Woe to you, Chorazin!

Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would have repented long ago and sat cloth and ashes.

But I tell you,

it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

That's how bad the unbelief of these Jewish cities were.

So bad that Tyre and Sidon compare favorably to them.

There were no cities in the ancient world so bad

that was worse than Tyre and Sidon that Jesus could compare them to.

So he compares them to Tyre and Sidon.

It's to this district of Tyre and Sidon that Jesus has now retired.

And what follows is hardly surprising.

It says in verse 22,

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out.

Who else would you expect to come out of a region like that than a Canaanite?

Remember, by this point,

Canaan is a name that is no longer used by the people of that region.

That's why in the parallel passage of this,

found in Mark 7, 24-30,

Mark doesn't call her a Canaanite woman.

Instead, he calls her a Syrophoenician woman,

which is the term that was currently in use at the time.

However, Matthew chooses to retain this intentionally,

this anachronistic, theologically loaded,

Old Testament term, Canaanite,

because he's trying to drive home a point.

A Canaanite woman is the exact kind of woman

that Abraham and Isaac in Genesis

made their sons swear never to marry.

The Canaanites were, from Israeli perspective,

the squatters who occupied the promised land

flowing with milk and honey that God had promised to them.

The people that Israel warred against generation after generation.

The stubborn people that they were supposed to drive out from the land

but never fully succeeded in driving out.

The very people who survived among the Israelites

and led them into idolatry,

which then led to their exile from their promised land.

These are the inveterate enemies of the people of God.

So out comes a Canaanite woman from that region.

It's not surprising to meet her in Tyre and Sidon.

What is surprising, however, is this woman's profession of faith.

She cries out to Jesus in verse 22,

Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David.

My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.

She addresses Jesus first as the son of David,

which is a messianic title that Matthew accords to Jesus

all throughout the gospel,

saying that Jesus is God's promised anointed king,

the savior who is to come from the line of David.

Not only that, this woman addresses Jesus as Lord.

Lord is a word that can simply mean a polite sir,

referring to someone who is a social superior to you in this culture.

However, in the gospel of Matthew,

it's a much more theologically hefty term.

Because the first time Jesus applies that term Lord to himself

is in Matthew 7, 21,

when he declares himself to be the final judge

over all of humanity on the last day.

That's Lord.

And so, when she addresses Jesus as Lord,

Matthew wants us to see a deeper import to that address,

the implications of that acknowledgement.

This Canaanite woman acknowledges Jesus' authority and power.

That's why she's come to ask for help

with her daughter who is severely oppressed by a demon.

Literally, that means that's severely demonized.

Demonized means you've come under the influence of a demon.

And that influence can vary in strength.

And in worst cases, like you see in the gathering demoniacs

earlier in the Gospel of Matthew,

you can be controlled by a demon,

like a puppet is controlled by a puppeteer.

That's how bad it can be when you are demonized.

And in this case, by this woman's own admission,

her daughter is severely demonized.

So, who can help a person who is severely demonized?

Only a person who possesses special, divine, spiritual authority.

And this Canaanite woman recognizes that Jesus has that authority.

This is why she takes great social risk

to approach Jesus, a Jewish teacher.

Given typical Jewish attitudes during her days,

like I was mentioning earlier, toward Canaanites,

she could have expected to be reviled and rebuked

and driven away from Jesus' presence with verbal abuse.

But because her situation is so desperate,

this woman seeks out Jesus and calls out to him relentlessly,

have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David.

Jesus, however, completely ignores her.

It says in verse 23,

but he did not answer her a word.

Not a word.

A total silent treatment.

Jesus doesn't even acknowledge her presence.

I imagine he's not even looking at her.

But interestingly enough,

Jesus also doesn't rebuke her or silence her.

And this is how we know that Jesus is not trying to be rude.

He's simply playing hard to get

in order to test the genuineness of her faith and her humility.

Far from being discouraged by Jesus' silence,

this Canaanite woman seems encouraged by Jesus' silence

to keep crying out.

Well, silence is better than a no.

Maybe there's a chance.

Perhaps he's thinking.

Son of David, have mercy on me.

Lord, have mercy on me.

My daughter is severely demonized.

She's so persistent in crying out

that Jesus' disciples are annoyed and exasperated

to the point of begging Jesus themselves

to send her away.

Send her away is a translation of a word

that means to dismiss or even to divorce.

The disciples are not asking Jesus

to grant her her request.

They're asking Jesus to deny her and dismiss her.

Please, Jesus, say something to her.

Since she won't stop crying out otherwise,

send her away.

She's hounding us and we can't handle it anymore.

No.

This prompts Jesus' first words

to the Canaanite woman in verse 24.

I was sent only to the lost sheep

of the house of Israel.

When Jesus sent his 12 apostles out

on their preaching mission earlier in chapter 10,

he similarly instructed them,

go nowhere among the Gentiles

and enter no town of the Samaritans,

but go rather to the lost sheep

of the house of Israel.

This was the mission that he had given them.

Because until his,

after his death and resurrection,

the gospel goes forth first to the Jews

for salvation is from the Jews.

And then it goes from the Jews

to the Samaritans and to the Gentiles

and to the ends of the earth,

as we see in the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

So Jesus is being consistent here.

He appears to be listening to the disciples' request

to send her away.

woman,

go home.

I'm not going to help you.

I am a Jewish Messiah.

You are a Canaanite woman.

My responsibility is not to you.

But she is unrelenting.

English author Agatha Christie once wrote,

a mother's love for her child

is like nothing else in the world.

It knows no law,

no pity.

It dares all things

and crushes down remorselessly

all that stands in its path.

Jesus' rejection

only emboldens this Canaanite mom.

He just spoke to me.

He just spoke to me.

He heard me.

He acknowledged me.

This is my chance.

And it says in verse 25,

she came and knelt before him saying,

Lord, help me.

She abases herself before Jesus by kneeling.

Kneeling is a position of reverence,

humility,

submission,

supplication.

It's a position that makes you lower and smaller,

the other person bigger and higher.

It's a defenseless,

surrendered position,

the exact opposite of an athletic ready stance

or a fighting stance.

When you're kneeling on the ground,

there's nothing you can do

to protect yourself

or defend yourself.

You're completely surrendered

at the mercy of someone else.

This woman is not a deal maker

approaching Jesus as equals,

trying to shake hands

and make a deal.

She has not come to negotiate

or bargain.

She has come to beg.

And beg.

She does.

As soon as Jesus says the first words,

this woman is kneeling in front of him

and begging,

Lord, help me.

And in Jewish custom,

you beg,

you kneel,

come down on your knees,

you prostrate yourself,

you touch your head to the floor.

You beg,

Lord, help me.

Son of David,

help me.

I will go even lower if I could.

Please,

you are the only hope for my daughter.

Help me.

But Jesus is not done

testing this woman's faith just yet.

He answers her in verse 26,

it is not right

to take the children's bread

and throw it to the dogs.

This is when all the bystanders go,

ooh.

Now he's done it.

He just said the D word.

He crossed the big,

big red line.

He just called this Canaanite woman

and her daughter,

dogs.

In contrast to the Jews

who are children.

How rude and insensitive

can he be,

right?

It's far worse

than you and I might imagine

because most dogs

that we see around here

in Cambridge

are nice,

pampered pets,

right?

Some Cambridge dog owners

call themselves

moms and dads.

Sorry if you're one of those people.

Stop it.

Yeah.

And they call themselves

moms and dads

and then they feed

their children

only 100%

human grade

whole foods

like salmon

with cucumber

and spinach salad.

Man,

that sounds like my dinner.

Or hard boiled eggs

with steamed rice.

I mean,

eggs are expensive nowadays.

I personally know someone

who buys her pet poodle

oodles of these

donut peaches.

You guys know what I'm talking about?

Those flat peaches?

That's the most expensive

variety of peach

you can buy at H Mart.

I guarantee you dogs

were not treated like that

in the ancient world.

Most dogs in those days

were not pets

but they were dirty scavengers,

low-life animals,

and even the house dogs

like the kind mentioned here

would only ever eat

the scraps

and the throwaway foods.

Not only that,

according to Leviticus 11.27,

animals that go on all fours

and walk on their paws

are considered

ritually unclean.

So while animals

with cloven hoofs

like sheep and goats

were considered clean

and fit for Jewish consumption,

dogs,

because they walk

on all fours

but don't have cloven hooves,

have paws instead,

were considered unclean.

And it's for that reason

specifically

that Jews of Jesus' day

sometimes refer to Gentiles

in a derogatory manner

as dogs.

Oh, look at those dogs.

It was their way

of saying that they're unclean,

unholy,

unchosen people.

It's almost like

an ethnic slur.

So with all that

cultural background in mind,

imagine yourself

in this Canaanite woman's shoes.

You've already abased yourself

and humbled yourself

to such a degree

you've come down

on your knees

to beg for help

from this Jewish teacher

and he calls you,

not just you,

but her daughter too,

dogs.

How would you respond to that?

Who do you think you are?

Who are you calling dogs?

Do you know how I make a living

in this world?

You know how hard I work

to take care of my daughter?

You arrogant,

chauvinistic,

racist.

You're holier than thou.

Keep your bread for yourself.

I'm out of here.

I think that's how

most people respond.

But this Canaanite woman

keeps surprising us.

She says in verse 27,

Yes.

Yes, Lord.

This is one of my favorite

characters in the Gospels.

Yes, Lord.

Yet even the dogs

eat the crumbs

that fall from their

master's table.

Yes, Lord.

You are the master.

They are the children.

Yes, Lord.

I'm just a dog.

A Gentile,

unclean dog.

You are right,

master.

But do not

even the dogs

get to eat the crumbs

that fall from

their master's table.

How much lower

can she go?

And so Jesus

commends her

in verse 28.

It's the moment

he's been waiting for.

Oh, woman,

great is your faith.

Let it be done

for you

as you desire.

The Canaanite woman's

great faith

leads to a great miracle

from Jesus.

It says her daughter

was healed instantly.

There are many

striking perils

between this account

of the healing

of this woman's

demonized daughter,

Canaanite woman's

demonized daughter,

and the healing

of the centurion,

the Gentile centurion's

servant early

in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

They both deal

with Gentiles.

In both cases,

the one who comes

to beg and to plead

with Jesus

is not the one

who needs help.

They ask on behalf

of another.

And in both cases,

they are commended

for an extraordinary

faith that exceeds

the faith of their

Jewish peers.

And in both situations,

Jesus heals them

with a word

instantly,

remotely.

Not by going there

and laying hands on them,

which he does

in normal circumstances,

but from a distance.

He just says the word

and they are healed.

And these are the only

two examples of healing

that happens like that

in the entire

Gospel of Matthew.

Amazing miracle.

And how can it be

that only these two

Gentiles in the entire

Gospel are commended

for extraordinary faith?

This is the only person

in the entire Gospel

who is commended

for having great faith.

It's because

of that great faith

of seeing

that God is who

he really says he is.

And Jesus is who

he really says he is

that enables

this Canaanite woman

to humble herself

in this way

before God.

If you read this story

and you can't get over

how rude

and insensitive

Jesus

and ethnocentric

Jesus seems to be

then you don't quite

yet see God

in all of his glory

and sovereignty.

You don't yet see

his son

in all of his glory

and majesty.

Jesus said

that he came

as a shepherd

to the lost sheep

of the house of Israel.

If you go to Isaiah 40

it describes God

as a shepherd

who tends

to his flock

and who gathers

the lamb in his arms.

And this is the greatness

of the God

the shepherd

that Isaiah 40 described.

It says

that he has measured

the waters

in the hollow of his hand

and marked up the heavens

with the span

and enclosed the dust

of the earth

in a measure

and weighed the mountains

in scales.

Let's digress with me

for just a minute

and think about this.

Imagine this.

This is what God is like.

321 million cubic miles

of ocean water.

It says God measures it

in the hollow of his hand.

The observable heavenly skies

the space

93 billion light years

in diameter.

God marks it off

with the span of his hand.

All the immovable mountains

of the earth

the Andes

Himalayas

the Rocky Mountains

the Appalachian Mountains

God weighs them

on his scales.

It continues

Isaiah 40

the nations

are like a drop

from a bucket

and are accounted

as the dust

on the scales.

all the nations

are as nothing

before Him.

They are accounted

by Him

as less than nothing

and emptiness.

All the nations

of the earth

are like God says

drop from a bucket.

That's how small

they are.

If all the nations

are like that

then how small

is one

Canaanite

woman?

That's how puny

we are compared

to God.

God can choose

to do

whatever He wants

to whomever

He wants.

He is sovereign

He is the potter

and we are the clay.

And that's not

even considering

our sin

and rebellion

against Him.

God is our creator

but rather than

worshiping our creator

as we ought to

as creatures

we have worshipped

our fellow creatures

the created things.

in fact we have

fashioned for ourselves

with our own hands

and with our own

imaginations

so called God's

idols

for ourselves

that we worship.

God is our

just and wise

king

who has ruled

over us

with nothing

but kindness

and benevolence

but we have been

traitors to His kingdom.

We have sought

to overthrow Him

and usurp

His throne

for ourselves.

We have allied

ourselves with

the enemies of God

because we want

to be kings

and rulers

of our own lives.

God is our

heavenly Father

to whom we owe

our very existence.

He provides

for all our needs.

He makes the sun

rise and set.

He sends rain

in its season

but we are

disobedient

unfilial

ungrateful children

who have disowned

their own father.

God is our

betrothed

covenant partner

but we have been

like an unfaithful

bride,

a prostitute

that whores

after other lovers,

other gods.

All of our

righteous deeds

and good works

that we do

are woefully

inadequate

to make any

of that up

and yet

do we have

the bare faced

audacity

to feel

entitled

before God.

God

to approach

God

and make

demands.

Are we

really right

to think

oh poor

Canaanite woman

she hasn't done

anything wrong?

Absolutely not.

She deserves

far worse

than the treatment

that she receives.

We deserve

far worse

than the treatment

that she receives.

what we really

deserve

is condemnation

and damnation

eternal

separation

from God

and the

unquenchable

fires of

divine judgment

in hell.

That is

what every

single human

being in the

world deserves

apart from

Christ.

And that's

the amazing

thing about

this woman's

faith.

This

Canaanite

woman

gets that.

Understands

that.

She

knows

as a

Canaanite

woman

from Tyre

and Sidon

that she

has no

claim

upon the

ministry

of this

Jewish

Messiah.

Her

people have

opposed

Israel

have

oppressed

the people

of God.

She has

no rights

or entitlements

that she

can cling

to.

She knows

that.

She's

in no

position

to bargain

so she

does the

only sensible

thing that

a person

in her

position

can do

which is

to

collapse

onto her

knees

and beg.

And that's

the reality

not only

for a

Canaanite

woman

but for

all of

humanity.

I can

add here

that even

Jews

have no

sense

cannot have

any sense

of right

or entitlement

before God

at this

point.

Yes they

are the

covenant

people of

God

who have

received

the promises

of God

but they

have

forsaken

their covenant

with God

by their

idolatry.

That's why

they are now

a subjugated

and conquered

people here

at this time

under the

Romans.

They have

broken the

laws of

God.

How can

they possibly

expect God

to fulfill

his covenant

obligations

when they

have not

fulfilled

theirs?

all of

us are

debtors

and beggars

and when

we

recognize

this

precious

truth

we

stop

clapping

back at

God.

We

stop

talking

back

at

God.

We

lay our

hands on

our mouths

like Job

does and

we repent

in dust

and ashes.

the

recognition

of this

spiritual

reality

is what

Jesus

calls

in

Matthew

5

3

in

the

first

beatitude

the

poverty

of

spirit

and

poverty

of

spirit

is

essential

for

salvation.

I've

been

praying

for you

this

past

week

that

God

would

grant

you

abject

poverty

of

spirit

a

total

poverty

of

spirit

to

see

that

God

owes

us

nothing

and

that

we

owe

him

everything

to

know

that

God

holds

all

the

cards

we

hold

no

card

to

see

that

God

is

completely

in

the

right

and

we

are

completely

in

the

wrong

and

yet

and

yet

God

loves

us

undeserving

sinners

and

shows

us

mercy

in

Jesus

Christ

that's

the

blessing

of

poverty

of

spirit

is

it

makes

the

grace

and

mercy

of

God

sweet

and

when

you

have

that

poverty

of

spirit

you

cannot

grumble

long

in

life

you

overflow

!

with

gratitude

Praise!

And

that's

why

Jesus

commends

this

Canaanite

woman

as having

great

faith

of

course

Jesus

knew

all

along

that

this

is

what

he

was

headed

to

he

was

simply

testing

her

and

providing

her

an

opportunity

to

demonstrate

her

faith

so

that

all

those

who

come

after

her

like

us

might

follow

her

example

how

do

we

know

that

because

we've

seen

signs

all

along

throughout

Jesus

ministry

up to

this

point

that

his

ministry

and

his

blessings

will

eventually

encompass

all of

the

Gentiles

in

chapter

8

Jesus

already

ministered

to

some

Gentiles

the

Gentile

centurion

like

I

mentioned

earlier

the

gather

and

demoniac

so

it's

not

true

that

Jesus

never

ministered

to

the

Gentiles

also

we

saw

in

Jesus

genealogy

in

chapter

1

that

Matthew

intentionally

mentioned

four

women

Tamar

Rahab

Ruth

Bathsheba

all

of them

Canaanite

woman

pagan

woman

in

the

genealogy

of the

Jewish

Messiah

and

then

Jesus

was

visited

and

worshipped

by

Gentile

magi

in

chapter

2

and

decisively

in

the

immediately

preceding

passage

that I

preached

on

last

week

Jesus

abolished

the

clean

and

unclean

distinction

between

foods

clean

foods

and

unclean

food

he

abolished

that

distinction

and

in

doing

so

he

also

challenged

the

very

basis

for

the

Jewish

Gentile

distinction

clean

people

unclean

people

and

it

is

no

accident

that

right

after

he

is

teaching

in

his

declaration

that

there

is

no

such

thing

as

outside

external

things

that

make

people

unclean

that

he

goes

straight

to

the

district

of

Tyre

and

Sidon

to

minister

to

!

Jesus

knows

Jesus

knows

full

well

that

after

his

death

and

resurrection

that

he

will

call

all

Gentiles

to

himself

that

he

will

send

his

disciples

to go

and

make

disciples

of

all

nations

so

Jesus

is

acting

here

like

a

good

teacher

who

sometimes

plays

the role

of skeptic

and

challenges

the

assumptions

of

his

students

and

ask

probing

questions

not

to

tear

them

down

but

to

draw

out

from

them

deeper

insight

and

stronger

conclusions

just

as a

precious

diamond

can only

form

under

intense

1300

degrees

Celsius

heat

and

millions

of

pounds

of

force

per

square

foot

it's

the

intense

pressure

of

Jesus

testing

that

brings

out

this

precious

jewel

of

the

Canaanite

woman's

faith

if

you're

here

this

morning

and

you

are

not

yet

a

Christian

let

me

ask

you

do

you

feel

like

you

deserve

God's

love

do

you

feel

that

you

have

earned

the

right

to

heaven

if

when

Jesus

says

it

is

not

right

to

take

the

children's

bread

and

throw

it

to

the

dogs

your

response

is

I'm

not

a

dog

I'm

a

good

person

I

deserve

a

seat

at

that

table

then

you've

got it

all

wrong

you

cannot

be

saved

that

way

poverty

of

spirit

humility

which

comes

from

faith

acknowledging

that you

come

empty

handed

before

God

bringing

nothing

to the

table

is

a

requisite

condition

for

your

salvation

but

perhaps

some

others

of you

here

this

morning

feel

deeply

unworthy

already

you feel

keenly

your

guilt

and

shame

you feel

that God

could never

forgive you

for your

sin

or accept

someone

like you

if that's

you

think

again

say

like this

Canaanite

woman

yes

Lord

yes

Lord

it's

true

that's

me

yet

even

the

dogs

eat

the

crumbs

that

fall

from

their

master's

table

whether

you

were

an

idolatrous

Canaanite

who

seduced

and killed

the Jews

whether

you

were

a

Nazi

German

who

massacred

Jews

in

concentration

camps

or a

Hamas

militant

who

was

raped

and killed

Jews

or whether

you're

a

murderer

or an

adulterer

or a

liar

or a

cheater

whatever

you have

done

wherever

you have

come

from

if you

acknowledge

your own

sinfulness

your own

spiritual

poverty

before God

your own

moral

bankruptcy

before God

and you

come

trusting

in Jesus

who died

for the

sins

of his

people

that he

died

on the

cross

and was

raised

from the

dead

for

your

sake

then you

too

can come

to the

table

Jesus

said

earlier in

Matthew

7

6

do not

give

dogs

what is

holy

do not

throw your

pearls

to pigs

but he

throws

the children's

bread to

the dogs

here

why

because

he's

redefining

redefining

who the

dogs

are

this

woman's

faith

enabled

her to

see

her

spiritual

reality

and that

in turn

enabled

her to

humble

herself

before

Jesus

in such

a way

that

proves

that

she's

she's

no

dog

she's

invited

to the

table

as the

daughter

of the

king

so if

you feel

that you

are a

gentile

dog

undeserving

sinner

come for

the crumbs

that fall

from the

table

and you'll

find that

they are

not crumbs

at all

you're

going to

receive

the full

loaves

of bread

at the

seat

of the

table of

God

within

his

family

that's

exactly

what we

see in

the second

half

of this

passage

but I

promise you

the second

half of

this

passage

I'll be

much

briefer

in

verses

29

to 31

we see

a summary

of Jesus

ministry

much like

what we

saw

earlier

in

chapter

14

34

to 36

and there

the summary

was preceded

by Jesus

miraculous

feeding

of the

5,000

here

the summary

is succeeded

by Jesus

miraculous

feeding

of the

4,000

so there's

clearly

some kind

of

structural

pattern

that

Matthew

is

building

here

there is

however

one key

difference

in chapter

14

summary

Jesus

was in

Jewish

territory

here in

chapter

15

Jesus

is still

on the

Gentile

side

of the

Sea

of

Galilee

because

he has

not yet

crossed

over

onto

the

other

side

the

parallel

account

in

Mark

7

31

explicitly

confirms

this

that

Jesus

is here

in

the

Decapolis

which

is a

Gentile

region

that

explains

the

somewhat

odd

conclusion

of the

crowd

in

verse

31

it

says

they

glorify

the

God

of

Israel

that's

an

interesting

way

to put

that

because

the

response

of the

Galilean

Jews

wasn't

described

in that

manner

if

Matthew

is

talking

about

Jews

here

it

would

have

been

much

more

natural

simply

to

say

oh

they

glorify

their

God

no

but it

says

here

they

glorify

the