The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 15 Part 6 Jesus Heard Humble Prayer Of A Distraught Mother

 

Matthew chapter fifteen concludes with three different miracles done by Jesus.

This would serve as an exclamation point to the Pharisees who denied that Jesus was the Son of God. 

No religious hypocrites could say a word against such mighty works done in such a public way.

Jesus  traveled to a desolate place needing rest from the constant pressures of ministry.

Matthew 15:21  Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 

Mark 7:24  And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 

Jesus left the land of Gennesaret and traveled to the coast, near two major cities of the ancient Phoenician realm.

He did not enter their land, but merely traveled nearby while staying in the confines of Israel.

Mark's gospel adds some detail for us.

Jesus and His disciples traveled to this remote area seeking some rest and respite from the constant demands of gospel ministry.

They entered a home and sought to be hidden from view because they were weary. 

Matthew 15:22  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 

Matthew's account tells us that this certain woman was from Canaan which is notable. 

When Israel entered the promised land, God instructed them to wipe out all the inhabitants due to sexual perversion and idolatry (See Deuteronomy 7 & 20).

Jesus is going to heal the daughter of this Gentile mother and this is a blessing for us because it shows that the gospel of Christ is to go to all people and all nations.

Pharisees and most Jews of Jesus' day, thought that Messiah's ministry would be restricted to Israel and that He would destroy all non Jewish people.

Yet, God's prophets repeatedly declared that He was going to save Gentiles as well as the Jewish nation (See Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; Isaiah  11:10; 42:1; 6; 49:6; 55:5-8; 60:1-3; Psalm 2:8; 72:11; 17; Hosea 2:23; Zechariah 2:11; 8:22-23; Malachi 1:11).

Thus, we have great hope when we see this detail that Jesus would heal a Gentile mother's demon possessed daughter.

Mark 7:25-26  For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

Mark tells us that it was not possible for Jesus to remain hidden and that it is connected with a certain woman who came to Him.

Her daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit which refers to the angels who chose to leave heaven and follow Lucifer (See Revelation 12; Isaiah 14:3-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19).

Her own soul was grieved because of her daughter's condition. 

Demons often did terrible things to those whose body they inhabited.

Apparently, there was heightened demon activity when Jesus walked on earth and ministered to men, for He cast demons out of at least eight individuals.

In addition, there are several instances where it says  Jesus cast out many demons so the actual number was very large (See Matthew 4:24; 8:16. Mark 1:34).

This mother fell at Jesus' feet. 

No one had been able to help her daughter and she had heard of Jesus' mighty miracles and wonderful works.

She fell at Jesus' feet because she had no other hope fin seeking healing for her daughter's condition.

In a way, her response to seeing Jesus is like the response of a repentant sinner, who knows that he or she is guilty before God and deserving of the flames of Hell.

Such a sinner will indeed fall down as Jesus's feet and call upon Him for salvation, and He will save them!

Matthew 15:23  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 

This mother was pouring out her heart to Jesus and her crying annoyed His disciples and they asked Jesus to send her away.

"But he answered her not a word"  was done by Jesus to test her faith, so that His disciples could see an example of persevering supplication.

Jesus was not unwilling to aid her, but it was proper that the strength of her faith should be fully tried.

The disciples hard hearts toward this woman's plight indicates that they still needed a new heart and spirit from God that reflects His heart toward mankind.

Their full conversion to Christ would happen when the Spirit of God came upon them (See Acts 1 & 2).

Matthew 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

Jesus then answered her pleading by stating that He was sent by the Father to the lost sheep of Israel, and this is the pattern for gospel ministry.

Salvation is to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. This is exactly how the gospel spread in the book of Acts. 

The “lost sheep of the house of Israel” were the Jews. He came first to them. 

He came as their expected Messiah. He came to preach the gospel to the Jews only. 

Afterward, it was preached to the Gentiles, but the ministry of Jesus was confined mostly to the Jews.

Matthew 15:25  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. 

At this point, the mother from Canaan worship Jesus and cried out "Lord, help me."

Jesus' reply was that it was not fit or right to take the bread (Christ the Bread of life and the gospel) and cast it to dogs.

Jews consistently referred to Gentiles as dogs, viewing them as unfit for the kingdom of God.

Jesus did not call her a dog but He reminded her that both Jews and Gentiles applied this derogatory term to each other.

Jesus showed her that it was not right to take the salvation God promised to Israel through Christ, and to give those benefits and blessing to Gentiles.

It is as if Jesus said, “You are a Gentile. I am a Jew. The Jews call themselves children of God. They vilify you by calling you a dog. Are you willing to receive a favor from a Jew? Are you willing to acknowledge your dependence on a people that despise you?”  

Jesus did this to fully test her faith. In some ways this testing reminds us of Naomi and Ruth. 

Naomi was a Jew and Ruth her Gentile daughter in law. 

She had two sons who married Gentile women and both men died. 

Naomi had no choice but to return to Israel to seek help as a widow.

She blessed both her daughters in law and sent them on their way. 

Initially, they refused to leave Naomi but she kept telling them they had to return to their family homes.

However, Ruth refused to leave Naomi and said that the God of her mother in law would become her God (See Ruth 1:16).

Jesus tested this Gentile mother's faith in a similar way to see if it was genuine.

This compassionate and heart broken mother said "This is true, Lord, but dogs eat crumbs from their master's table." 

What a strong declaration of her faith that Jesus alone could help her daughter and that He could do so by speaking a word.

Jesus commended her faith because so many Jews remained in unbelief. He said "O woman, great is thy faith."

Mark 7:29-30  And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30  And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. 

Mark tells us that Jesus said that her daughter was healed.

This mother quickly returned home and found her daughter healed as Jesus had said.

The key to this narrative is the mercy of God communicated by Jesus to this mother.

Her prayer and worship of Jesus is a good example of repentance and faith in Christ.

She cried out "Have mercy on me"  This is the cry of a penitent heart!  

Her prayer was short, humble and full of faith.

Her prayer was persistent and fervent in seeking help for her daughter.

Her prayer was modest and respectful as she addressed Jesus as the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel.

Her prayer was rational, seeking help for her daughter and relying only on the mercy of God.

It is this kind of faith that Jesus commended, a faith that seeks help for others in need, rather than selfishly asking for things we want.

It is a faith whereby a hopeless person comes to God knowing that He alone is the fount of mercy, grace and a help to those in need.

Acts 10:34-35  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 

This narrative reminds us that God has a remnant in every nation, those who fear Him and those who seek Him.

Peter was sent to a Roman soldier named Cornelius, who was a Gentile.

As he began preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his household, Peter said that God has people in every nation who fear Him and seek to do what is right in His sight.

This reminds us that we cannot harbor bad feelings toward people of other nations because God wants to save them too.

What should we do when we are in a hopeless situation?

Come and bow down before the Lord Jesus Christ and we will find mercy.

Let us think about this beautiful narrative of Jesus casting a demon out of a Gentile mother's daughter.

We learn that without faith it is impossible to please God (See Hebrews 11:6).

We learn that if we come with repentant faith and trusting Christ, we shall be received and find help.

We learn that we must persist in prayer because sometimes God makes us wait to show us the quality or strength of our faith.

We learn that intercessory prayer is something lovely that God is pleased with.

We learn that fervent and persistent prayer is sometimes required before God sends an answer to us.

May these valuable truths take us into a new year and fill us with hope, knowing that Jesus our eternal high priest intercedes for us and made a bold entrance to the throne of grace in heaven, so that we find help and mercy when we need it (See Hebrews 4:14-16).

Bob