Matthew 15: 21-28

If you have your Bible this morning, you can

turn to Matthew chapter 15. We'll begin at verse

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

21. Then Jesus went out from there. From there

is the conversation he just had with the Pharisees

over religious purity. So he leaves there and

departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And

behold, a woman of Canaan. Came from that region

and cried. And by the way, the verb is in the

imperfect. She kept crying. She's crying out

to him saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, son

of David. My daughter is severely demon possessed.

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples

came and urged him saying, send her away for

she's crying. It's again imperfect. She's crying

out after us. But he answered and said, I was

not sent except to the lost sheep of the house

of Israel. Then she came and worshipped him.

She bowed down saying, Lord, help me. But he

answered and said, It is not good to take the

children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.

And she said, Yes, Lord. Yet even the little

dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's

table. Then Jesus answered and said to her, A

woman great is your faith. Let it be to you as

you desire. And her daughter was healed from

that very hour. Let's pray. Father, help us this

morning, Lord. Some hard things to understand,

Lord. Would you give me clarity of mind and clarity

of speech? Father, I pray that my words would

not be a stumbling block, but Lord God, that

you would allow me to speak the word of life

freely without hindrance, Lord. But Father, I

need your spirit, Lord, to keep back from speaking

anything that would be distracting, dishonoring,

or not profitable to your people. God put a guard

before my mouth this morning. But Lord, I pray

that you would allow me to speak boldly and with

plainness of speech, Lord, the marvelous truth

of your word. God, we need to see the glory of

Christ in this passage. Help us, Lord, this morning,

we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Through the years,

the Lord has given me many opportunities to travel

on various mission trips out of the country.

Most of those trips were to Spanish -speaking

countries, and I always loved those trips. They

were always profitable, and they were helpful

in my walk with the Lord. But as much as I enjoyed

my time, and I did, I have always loved coming

back to my own country. Always. There's a sense

of national pride that wells up within me as

that plane lands on American soil, and I see

our great flag flying, and I see the sign, Welcome

to the United States of America. If you have

traveled out of the country, then you know what

I mean. There's something about that. You're

back on American soil. But as you reenter the

country, you have to go through customs. And

a lot of times, depending on where you've traveled

from, those lines can be quite long. But there

are more lines that are reserved only for U .S.

citizens. And those lines tend to be shorter

and quicker processing as you pass through them.

Well, why do they do that? Because citizenship

comes with rights and privileges that are not

offered to non -citizens. And by the way, that

same... principle was true in ancient Israel

as well. There were certain blessings and privileges

that were reserved only for those who were citizens

of Israel because they were the covenant people

of God. Israel was the chosen nation and they

possessed certain benefits that were not given

to outsiders. If you weren't out of Israel, you

had no claim on those benefits. And that's what

we're going to see in our text today. Now we

do need to understand the background a little

bit. Today we're going to meet a foreign woman.

The Bible says she's a woman of Canaan. She's

a Canaanite. And she comes to Jesus begging for

him to heal her demon -possessed daughter. At

first, it appears as though the Lord was indifferent

to her plight. As we continue, it may even seem

that he was a little bit harsh with the woman.

But as we look at the context, we'll be able

to see what was happening. Now keep in mind who's

writing this gospel. This is Matthew. To whom

is he writing? Primarily, not exclusively, to

a Jewish people. And so in first century, the

question of how the Gentiles were to be viewed

or how they were to be received in the church

was very much disputed. The Jews looked with,

not disdain, but they were very suspicious of

Gentile inclusion. So now the context here. In

Matthew 15, the preceding verses, you have the

Lord having a conversation with the religious

leaders, scribes and Pharisees, over ritual purity.

The Pharisees were upset with Jesus because his

disciples ate without first ceremonially washing

their hands. And the Pharisees said that act

defiled them. You couldn't go into the temple.

Now the Lord used that particular occasion to

teach where true defilement came from. He said

defilement does not come from outside you, rather

from within you, from a defiled heart. That's

something the Pharisees did not grasp. Now the

backdrop then of the passage this morning was

that debate between the Pharisees and Jesus over

what was clean and unclean. The Pharisees went

so far as to believe that even Gentile people,

And Gentile places, Gentile lands were unclean.

So that's the debate. Now look at verse 21. Jesus

immediately heads for the region of Tyre and

Sidon. By the way, that's Gentile territory.

So they're talking about clean and unclean. Jesus

leaves Galilee, heads to Gentile territory, where

he had an encounter with a Canaanite woman. And

she would prove to be more pure. than any of

the scribes and Pharisees in Israel. This Gentile

woman would serve as a rebuke to the religious

leaders in Israel. By the way, it also gives

us a little foreshadowing that Gentiles are going

to be included in the covenant of God. So let's

look at the text, verses 21 and 22. Jesus went

out from there, departed to Tyre and Sidon, and

a little woman of Canaan came from that region.

She's crying out, she's yelling. Have mercy on

me, O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is severely

demon -possessed. So Jesus has been ministering

in Galilee, right? So he leaves northern Israel.

He heads about 40 miles northwest. Now today,

that would be the area of southern Lebanon. His

notoriety has spread far and wide. Even outside

Israel, most people have now heard of Jesus.

He is very famous, if you will. But what was

the Lord doing back in Galilee? He and his disciples

were busily ministering to the people there.

So much so they couldn't even eat. They couldn't

get away. There was no time to eat. There was

no time to relax or rest. So they're just trying

to get away and rest for a little bit. Now in

the parallel passage in Mark. Mark tells us that

Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was

going. He didn't want anyone to know he had gone

to the area of Tyre and Sidon. Presumably, he

went there so that no one would follow him because

he's going to Gentile area. Mark 7, verse 24.

Mark 7:24

From there he arose, went to the region Tyre

and Sidon. He entered a house and wanted no one

to know it. Keep me incognito. Keep me hidden,

if you will. But he could not be hidden. We couldn't

be hidden because great crowds were following

him and watching him everywhere he went. Jesus

was popular because he was a miracle worker.

He could heal sick people. He could cast out

demons. On occasion, he could multiply fish and

bread and feed multitudes of hungry people. So

you always had these throngs of people around

him, following him, hoping they could get in

on some miracle. We can understand that. But

it wasn't just the Jewish people who saw him.

Today, it says a woman of Canaan came to him.

Now, the very fact that Matthew, a Jew, writing

to Jews, mentions that she is a Canaanite is

important because God had long ago marked the

Canaanites out for destruction. These people,

the Canaanites, were the ancient enemies of Israel.

Mark calls her a Greek, a Syrophoenician, which

would have been the modern terminology. Matthew,

writing to the Jews, says she's an old Canaanite.

So nevertheless, you have this Canaanite woman.

She leaves her home, and she came seeking help

from Jesus. What made her come there? She needed

a miracle, for her daughter was demon -possessed.

She was a pagan woman. No doubt she had grown

disillusioned with the pagan deities who were

impotent to heal her daughter. They were of no

help at all. And she heard about this man named

Jesus. News of what he had done had even reached

to where she lived. There's this man, he's doing

incredible things in Israel. She, no doubt, had

heard of his remarkable power, and specifically

what caught her notice was his ability to cast

out demons. She's desperate. So she comes to

Jesus just hoping, hoping against hope, that

he will show mercy upon her daughter. Notice

her words. Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.

My daughter is severely demon -possessed. Put

yourself in her shoes. You can hear the desperate

cry of a heartbroken mother. She's not asking

anything for herself. Her only request is for

her daughter. Make my daughter well. Heal her.

I believe that we can sense, you can almost imagine

the pain and emotion in this mother's voice.

She's a desperate woman. Her daughter's not just

possessed. Matthew says she is severely demon

-possessed. And this situation's dire. Her poor

daughter had been tortured. But what's even worse

is the pain and the suffering were continuing.

It had not ended. I'm sure this mother, as any

mother would, had gone everywhere and tried everything.

Nothing worked. And then she hears about a man.

And he's been able to cast out demons. And what's

even better, he's coming near where she lived.

How fortuitous. So mothers, you know this about

a mom. A good mom is going to go to any length

for their children. Fight tooth and nail, doesn't

matter. Now what would you do if this were your

child? What would you do if this were your daughter

bound in Satan's grip? Well, desperate times

are going to call for desperate measures. And

this mother, by the way, she knows who she is.

She's not Jewish. She knows she's not an Israelite.

She is very well aware that she is a Canaanite.

Canaanites are despised by Jews. She knows all

that. She clearly knew that she did not deserve

an audience with Jesus. Yet her only hope was

in this miracle worker that he would have pity

on her. Everything else had failed her. She had

nothing to lose. Her only hope was in Jesus.

But Jesus is not alone. Because of all the immense

crowds that were following Jesus, it would not

have been easy for her to gain access to him.

I mean, Jesus always has throngs of people around

him. But she's not going to be deterred. Come

what may, she will find a way to get to him.

And verse 22, we see this. She cried out to him.

And this is where cried out looks like she lifted

her voice one time. No. The word cried out, again,

it's in the imperfect, but the word there in

Greek is kratso. And kratso means she is shouting

in a loud voice. Shrieking, yelling, screaming

are good synonyms. Okay? So here you find a desperate

mother. I believe, now we don't know this, I

believe, or I'm sure, that her voice was the

loudest, drowning out all the others who were

clamoring also for Jesus' attention. People had

sick relatives. But she was going to raise her

voice above the others. And she kept shouting,

kept it up, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of

David. What? Son of David? From a Canaanite woman?

That's a title for the Messiah. You remember

the Pharisees that he had just had an encounter

with? The Pharisees called Jesus Beelzebub. Said

he cast out demons by the power of Satan. They

said that Jesus was a glutton and a jerk. And

here you have this Canaanite woman calling him

son of David. Calling him Messiah. Do you see

the irony Matthew is showing? The irony is that

the Jewish officials were blind to Jesus. This

pagan lady clearly saw who he was. And by the

way, it is so very noteworthy, it's not just

a Gentile who recognized him as Messiah, but

rather it was a Gentile woman who did so. At

that time in history, women had very little social

respectability. They didn't have any social standing.

Women were seen as inferior to men across the

board. Remember, Jewish men would rise early

in the morning and thank God they weren't Gentiles

and they weren't women. That's where they stood.

So you have a Gentile woman understanding he's

the son of David. She is a rebuke to those so

-called erudite scribes and Pharisees back in

Israel. Here she believes Jesus has the power

to rid her daughter of this demon. By the way,

that's faith. She truly believes he can do it.

And she turns from her pagan gods and she turned

to the Lord Jesus as the only answer to her problem.

She turned from idols to God. That's repentance.

You see faith and repentance here. This lady

forsook the worthless idols of her ancestors,

and she comes to Jesus pleading, begging, urging

him to show mercy upon her. That's good news,

isn't it? So how did he respond to her plea for

mercy? Verse 23. But he answered her not a word.

Nothing. Nada. Just silence. That's it. Not one

word was spoken to her. Her plea for mercy seemed

to fall on deaf ears. Her cry had been met with

silence. That's got to be discouraging. But even

that did not stop her. She doesn't give up. True

faith will persevere despite obstacles, by the

way. So she turns her attention from Jesus and

she turns to his disciples. Look at the latter

part of verse 23. Because his disciples now come

and they urge, they're begging Jesus, send her

away for now. She's crying out. She kept crying

out after us. Same word. She was yelling at Jesus.

Now she's yelling at the disciples. This lady's

not going away. She's not going to leave quietly.

You understand? She's going nowhere. So now she's

crying out after us. Same tense. Imperfect tense.

She kept crying out. She kept yelling. She's

not stopping. And the disciples are getting annoyed.

But of course she's not going to stop. She's

not going to leave them alone until her daughter

was healed. Would you? She's not going to leave

until she got what she came for. So the disciples

are like perturbed. They want Jesus. Just get

rid of her. She's annoying us. Send her away.

And it says they urged Jesus. That is, they begged

him to do something. Now I believe they're saying,

listen, she won't leave you alone. Now she won't

leave us alone. Give her what she wants so at

least she'll leave. It's not they're showing

compassion. They're like, get her out of her

hair. Let her have the miracle. Now I believe,

now I can't prove this, but if we're looking

in the text, I believe this woman was shouting

like a crazy woman by this point and causing

quite a scene. That's the word. Why? Because

she knows Jesus can help her. She truly believed

with all her heart Jesus is the answer. And that

contrast in itself is striking. If you go back

to Israel, it is full of shallow believers. And

yet this woman, Gentile, believed he was the

son of David. He was the Messiah. Oh yeah, many

in Israel loved Jesus and followed Jesus. That's

why he fed them. He was giving them what they

want. Not because they trusted in him. That's

why Jesus did not trust in them. They loved Jesus.

Why? Because they got their bellies full. They

got their sick relative healed. But this lady

was different. Now we might expect that Jesus

would immediately grant her request. She's showing

faith. She's repentance. She's persevering. He's

going to answer it, right? Nothing. Joel Beakey

says often when we pray, now think about this

when we pray, folks. We think that God should

grant us our request because we are worthy to

be heard or because we're sincere. Because if

we're sincere enough, well, God's going to answer.

We somehow think that God is obliged or obligated

to hear us. But the Lord answers by giving us

no answer. The Canaanite woman, she had to experience

that she had no right to be heard. This is not

about merit. Even her perseverance in prayer

did not give her any claim before God. There

is no reason for God to answer her. Now, we go

back to the text. The disciples, they go to Jesus.

They say, send her away. Let her be gone. Now

Jesus speaks. Verse 24. He answered them, I was

not sent except to the lost sheep of the house

of Israel. So Jesus is reminding his disciples

of something. I've not been sent to foreigners.

God is a God of covenant. And Jesus had been

sent to the covenant nation, Israel. And by the

way, she's Canaanite. She's not a part of the

covenant. So those blessings, those covenant

blessings, were reserved for the covenant people

of Israel. You saw the same. This is not the

first time we saw this dynamic at play. In Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10, when Jesus sends out the 12. 12 apostles

on their first preaching and healing mission.

He said the same thing. Matthew 10, verse 6.

Matthew 10:6

These 12, Jesus sent out and commanded them.

Notice the command. Do not go into the way of

the Gentiles. Do not enter a city of the Samaritans,

but go rather to the lost sheep of the house

of Israel. That's it. You stay geographically

within Israel's borders. Period. The blessings

of the Messiah were reserved for the people of

Israel. But why only Israel? Because God had

made promise to them. Those promises of the Messiah

were specifically connected to Israel. God had

established a covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

It was to the nation Israel God gave the law,

the prophets, the promises. All those things

concerning the Messiah were given to Israel.

Why did Jesus come? to fulfill the promises given

to Israel. So this is why you see this. However,

there's something absolutely astounding. By the

time you get to the end of Matthew, that prohibition

of going into Gentile territory is now lifted.

So compare Matthew 10. Go to the lost sheep of

Israel. Compare that with Matthew 28. Same 12.

Well, Judas is now gone. Go and make disciples

of all nations. Now it's true, Israel had the

covenantal priority in the plan of salvation.

But after the death and resurrection of Jesus,

the mission would move from Israel outward to

all the nations. And Paul wrote about this in

the book of Romans. Many places, but there's

one place we want to look. Romans 15 verse 8.

Romans 15:8

Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant.

to the circumcision, that is the Jews, that's

Israel, for the truth of God, for what purpose?

To confirm the promises made to the fathers.

But, now look at verse 9. And that the Gentiles

might glorify God for his mercy, for as it is

written, for this reason I will confess to you

among the Gentiles and sing to your name. So

why did Christ come? The Lord Jesus was born

in Israel. He was born under the law. to confirm

or fulfill the promises made to them, but God

had never intended to only save Israel. God had

intended to bring salvation to the nations through

Israel, through specifically Jesus Christ, who

is the fulfillment of the covenant promises.

Now that will get a little clearer later on,

I hope. So we go back to the text, and we see

that Jesus, was not going to answer that woman,

but he did answer his disciples. She, he just

simply turned a deaf ear to. Silence. Now that

silence might have seemed cruel, but now I think

as we hear his words, they seem even more cruel.

I wasn't sent, or I was only sent to Israel,

basically is what he's saying. Now that mother

heard him. What a dagger this must have been

to her heart. She heard what he was saying. He's

reminding his disciples, I'm not sent to outsiders.

She's an outsider. Now at this point, I think

we would all expect for her to leave hopeless,

dejected. What use was there of going any farther,

of even trying further? Jesus basically said

no. But she's a mother who's desperate. She knew

that Jesus was the only one who could help her

and heal her daughter. If he doesn't heal her

daughter, her daughter will never be healed.

She could not give up. She would not give up.

But you don't find bitterness. You don't find

her getting angry and arguing or debating with

the Lord. Just continued petitions for mercy.

Look at verse 25. Then she came and worshipped

him saying, Lord, help me. Worship, it's a Greek

word, proskuneo. We talk about worship, but it

literally means to bow down or to kneel. It literally

is to prostrate yourself in reverence. You would

do this before a king, by the way. So now the

woman is no longer shouting. She's on her knees.

She's on her knees before Christ, begging for

help. Listen to her words. Lord, help me. Lord,

help me. Please do not send me back empty -handed.

Have pity upon me, Lord. My daughter is grievously

tormented, and I know that you can help her.

I think we can all imagine the tears that were

streaming down her face, the broken voice. Lord,

help me. Not a word about her deserving anything.

She simply cast herself upon the mercy of God.

And in her we see a picture of persistent faith.

See, true faith recognizes we deserve nothing

before God. There's no word of merit. True faith

begs and calls upon God for his mercy. Verse

26, now he's going to speak. But he answered

and said, it's not good, it's not proper to take

the children's bread and throw it to the little

dogs. Finally, he speaks to the woman, but these

are not comforting words. Now, Jesus, let me

just say this. Some people who want to criticize

the Christian faith will say, well, Jesus was

kind of like a bigot. He called this woman a

dog. He did not call her a dog. He is using an

analogy. And in the analogy, now Gentiles were

referred to as dogs, wild animals. This is a

word for like puppy, a household domesticated

pet. But in the analogy, it's still an analogy,

Israel. are the children. The bread were the

blessings reserved for Israel, and the Gentiles

were the dogs, household pets. This is not about

ethnicity here. It is about priority, though.

Children get fed before pets do, or they ought

to. I think all of us say, if there's food, we're

going to feed our children before we feed our

dog. You would never take food that was good

for your child, take it and let your child eat,

and then feed the dog. The Apostle Paul in Romans

said that salvation is to the Jew first. Jesus

had been sent to Israel. This woman is not a

child. She's not part of that covenant. So there

is no expectation whatsoever that he should answer

her and heal her daughter because those blessings

of healing and casting out demons were reserved

for Israel. So there's no right. She's not a

Jew. Do you remember what Paul said in Ephesians

2? When we think about our position as Gentiles,

it was absolutely heartbreaking. In Ephesians

Ephesians 2:12

2, verse 12, Paul said the Gentiles were without

Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,

strangers from the covenants of promise, having

no hope, and without God in the world. That was

this lady. Strangers from the covenants of promise.

The covenantal blessings were reserved for the

covenantal people. It is very plain. You and

I were in the same boat as this woman though.

We are Gentiles. We too were separated from God.

Without hope in this world. Dead in trespass

and sin. Our only hope lay in the mercy of God.

Had God not moved on our behalf in his grace,

you and I would have perished and we would have

remained eternally separated from him. That's

what we deserved. So we needed what this mother

needs, the mercy of God. Now, I think if I'm

in this lady's shoes, certainly you expect her

to give up now, right? She heard it from the

horse's mouth, if you will. You would almost

think she's going to be insulted. Let's just

leave. Saving faith does not give up. It perseveres.

It pursues Jesus. Look at verse 27. Just what

a wise reply. She said, yes, Lord. You're right.

Yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs of shawl

from their master's table. No argument. No debating.

She didn't even take umbrage that he had referred

to her as a dog. She's agreeing with him. Yes,

Lord. I am an outsider. I am unworthy of your

time. I am unworthy of your attention. What you

say is true. I am not a Jew. I am not part of

this covenant. I am not a child of Israel. I

am a little dog sitting under that table. But

she continued to believe in the goodness of Christ.

But even those little dogs eat the crumbs which

fall from their master's table. Now, if you have

a dog, where does that dog like to eat? Under

the table. Why? Why do dogs like to do that?

Because they know that there's always going to

be some food lying on the floor when that meal

is done. My parents have a dog. If my kids are

eating there, listen, Paco's in heaven because

there's more food on the floor than there is

on the table. It's just how it is. So she's like,

yeah, they're going to eat. Feed the children

first. I'm not asking for the children's food.

I'll be content if you just give me the crumbs

that fall from the table. I have no right to

sit at that table and eat as if I were a child.

In essence, this woman is asking for a dog's

portion. Just give me crumbs. I'll be happy.

Friends, this is true humility here. And this

is what I want us to see. True faith, saving

faith, persevere. There were three answers given

to her. All three of them were very difficult.

First, there was silence. He met her with silence.

Second, he's talking to his disciples, reminding

them that she's an outsider. She's not part of

the covenant. Thirdly, he speaks to her and he

says, by the way, it's not proper for me to feed

you. It's not proper that I take from the kids

food and give it to you. Why is he doing that?

Because those answers were designed to strip

away any false pretense she may have had of her

own worthiness. He's breaking her down. Yet in

spite of these obstacles, she still believed

that Jesus could heal her daughter, that he was

merciful, so she keeps pleading for mercy. And

verse 28 is the capstone, if you will. Then Jesus

answered and said to her, O woman, great is your

faith. Let it be done to you as you desire. Your

petition has been granted. And her daughter was

healed from that very hour. What a gracious God.

He graciously answered her. He healed her daughter.

And he marvels at her great faith. And what's

interesting, Matthew is a Jew writing to Jews.

The very first instance of anyone ever having

great faith was back in Matthew chapter 8, and

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

it was found by a Roman centurion, a Gentile

man. The second instance of anyone having great

faith is in chapter 15, and it's about this Canaanite

woman, a Gentile woman. Another Gentile. So what

you're starting to see, do you see what Matthew's

doing here? He's painting a picture. So what

made this mother's faith great was not the quantity,

as though she had a lot of faith, but rather

it was the quality. She continued to trust in

spite of all the obstacles that were put before

her. She doesn't give up. I quoted Joel Beeky

earlier. Let me do so once again. Through this

process, she learned to hang, plead. and depend

solely on Christ's mercy. To persevere in prayer.

If he had given her his answer immediately, she

may have left thinking she was worthy, or that

her prayers were worthy, or that God was bound

to grant her request. But by now, she receives

an answer through which she rejoices completely

in the free grace of God in Jesus Christ. Now

what? That's the text as we close, or begin to

close. I need you to understand this passage

is not primarily about a Gentile woman's great

faith. It's not just a moral example so that

we can learn from her. Matthew, again, I've said

this too many times today, he's a Jew, writing

to Jews, but he's showing that Gentiles are going

to be received into the kingdom of God. And that's

true. The Jews had advantages that the Gentiles

never had. The Jews had the temple. They had

the worship. They had the word of God. They had

the covenantal promises. All these are advantages

that Paul mentions in Romans 9, by the way. But

all those promises, every single one of them,

were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But Israel rejects

Christ. And those same promised blessings now

go to the Gentiles. You see that in Acts 13 with

Paul and Barnabas preaching to Jews. They grew

bold and said, it was necessary, it's fitting,

it's proper, that the word of God should be spoken

to you first, Jews. But since you reject it,

you're rejecting the gospel, and you judge yourselves

unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn

to the Gentiles. Gentile inclusion, now get this,

because this is something that today our culture

is totally wrong on. Gentile inclusion in God's

kingdom and plan was never a plan B. Even from

the beginning. When God made that wonderful promise

to Abraham in Genesis 12 that all the nations

of the earth would be blessed, the nations were

included. Genesis 12 .3, God speaking to Abraham.

I will bless those who bless you, Abraham. I

will curse him who curses you. And in you, Abraham,

all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Not in Israel, not in the nation. Abraham, it's

in you. It gets more specific. Chapter 22. In

your seed, not many seeds. Paul will say just

one. There's coming one descendant, Abraham,

of yours, that all the nations of the earth will

be blessed. From the beginning, God's purpose

was not merely to redeem Israel, but rather that

through Israel, he would bring forth a savior

who would redeem the nations. The Lord Jesus

Christ. is the fulfillment of the promise that

God made to Abraham. He is that seed, and in

him, everyone who believes anywhere in the world

is blessed. Paul wrote about this so much in

Galatians 3, and we're closing, and I could spend

forever on this because I love this. But look

at Galatians 3. We're going to close, so don't

get nervous. And the scripture foreseeing that

God would justify the Gentiles by faith. preached

the gospel, that good news, was preached to Abraham

beforehand saying, and he quotes Genesis 12,

in you all the nations shall be blessed. Paul

explains, verse 9, so then those who are of faith

are blessed. You're in on that covenant with

believing Abraham. And in Matthew 15, we see

just a little bit of glimpse of that promise

beginning to unfold. The Canaanite woman is not

part of Israel. She has no ancestral claim at

all. She did not keep the law. She didn't even

have the law. There was nothing she could bring

to God that would make him accept her. So what

does she do? She comes to Jesus empty -handed,

crying out, Lord, have mercy on me. And through

persistent faith, this Gentile woman received

the blessing that was promised to Abraham. And

by the way, that's true of us as well. Galatians

3 .14, that the blessing of Abraham, might come

upon the Gentiles, that's us, in Christ Jesus,

that we might receive the promise of the Spirit

through faith. Verse 29. Get this, because we

want to come to the table. And if you are Christ,

how are you Christ by faith? If you are Christ,

you are also Abraham's seed. You're part of that

Genesis 12. You're Abraham's seed, and you're

heirs according to that promise. You're not a

second -class citizen. It's not like the Jews

are better. No. There is no Jew and Gentile in

Christ. We are brought in as equal heirs. And

today, friends, we come to the table of the Lord.

This is good news. And that table of the Lord

right here has been opened to all the nations.

The glorious banquet of the body and blood of

Jesus Christ is open to every tribe, every tongue,

every people in every nation, to all those who

call upon Jesus in faith. And the wonderful truth

is that Jesus Christ still welcomes every sinner,

regardless of ethnicity, who will come to him

in faith. So my only admonition is to whoever

is sitting here this morning, like this Canaanite

woman, you come to Jesus with empty hands, but

believing hearts, and the gracious King will

receive you in this kingdom. That's good news.

Friends, this is what this passage teaches us.

We are included in the covenant promises, glorious

promises, and an inheritance with Christ. Let's

pray and prepare our hearts to come and feast

with Christ at this glorious sacrament that he's

given. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for,

Lord, this word. And I thank you for the word

of God. It is so very good. Lord, it's rich and

Lord, it's able to instruct us and feed us, Lord,

because it shows us Christ who's the true bread

come down from heaven. Lord, he's the bread.

And we come today and we're reminded of his broken

body and his shed blood. Lord, this is the avenue

through which eternal life comes. Empty hands,

believing hearts. Hands that will receive the

broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ

by faith. trusting, Lord, that what Jesus did

was sufficient for us. Lord, we trust that, Lord.

That's the glorious promise we trust in. And,

Father, I pray that, Lord, you would work in

people's hearts to allow them to understand more

deeply this truth, that there no doubt would

be some in here today. And, Lord, they've never

in their heart bowed before you, Lord. Would

you awaken them, give them life, grant them repentance

so that they see Jesus clearly. I pray this in

his name. Amen. Deacons, if you would come and

prepare the table of the Lord.