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The Great Faith of a Canaanite Woman
The Great Faith of a Canaanite Woman Matthew 15:1-39 Key Verse: 15:28 “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” In today’s passage we a clear difference between the Pharisees and a Canaanite woman. The Pharisees seemed very holy and upright because they performed many rituals and religious activities, while the Canaanite woman seemed to be nothing but desperate. However, Jesus called the Pharisees ‘hypocrites’ and praised the woman for her great faith. Here we learn that God sees our hearts, not our outward religious Christian activities. In the end, how we live before Jesus is most important. We need to see ourselves before God’s eyes. This passage is quite simple, showing us three truths: God’s desire, our problem, and the solution. Through this passage, let’s honestly examine ourselves and learn how to resolve the problem of the human heart. Let's come to Jesus just as we are and ask his mercy. I. God Wants Our Hearts (1-9) Jesus was in Galilee doing the work of God, healing the sick and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven. Great crowds of people were coming to Jesus and this made the religious leaders uneasy. This passage begins by saying that some Pharisees and teachers of the law came all the way from Jerusalem to accuse Jesus of something. The conflict and tension between Jesus and the Pharisees has been increasing more and more since Matthew 9. In that chapter Jesus publicly forgave the sins of a paralyzed man. Since then, the Pharisees have been trying to find anything to accuse Jesus of, in the hope of killing him (12:14). In verse 2 they accused Jesus’ disciples, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!” Why didn't the disciples wash their hands before they ate? I think that basically, the reason the disciples didn’t wash their hands was because they enjoyed real freedom in Jesus, and no longer felt bound to meaningless traditions. Not washing your hands doesn’t seem to be a big deal, but to the Pharisees, this was a very serious problem. To understand where this question comes from, we should understand that the Mosaic Law does include a number of specific conditions that makes a person unclean and thus disqualifies them from worship. The religious leaders had developed “extra rules” than those of the Bible, called the “Halakah”. These rules were added with the intention to create a buffer so as not to break the actual commands of God. In regards to the washing of hands, in the Bible, only priests were required to wash at the Temple (Ex 30:19,20). In these extra rules is the demand that everyone wash their hands in order to be pure. Over time, this washing of the hands was no longer an actual cleaning of the hands and had just become a ceremony. As time passed, the original intention of these added rules was lost. Then keeping the traditions started to carry more and more weight, until they became even more important than keeping the command of God. How did Jesus respond to the Pharisees’ accusation? Look at verse 3. “Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?’” The Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the tradition of the elders. But Jesus countered with the fact that the Pharisees broke the commands of God for the sake of their traditions. While it was a big deal to the Pharisees to break the traditions, to Jesus, breaking the command of God was a much more serious problem. Jesus exposed their abuse of tradition in verses 4 to 6. Jesus begins with the word of God. Jesus said, “For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’” God’s commands are absolute. God’s word should be kept absolutely without compromise. Then in verse 5 and 6a Jesus says, “But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” Jesus made the contrast by saying, “For God said,” and then “But you say.” The contrast is God’s words versus the words of man. The example Jesus gives is of a tradition based on Leviticus 27, which says God’s claim on property is above all others. A person could thus pledge so much of their wealth to God they couldn’t help their aging parents. This tradition provided a way to hide resentment from their parents behind a seemingly sacrificial spiritual decision. In this way they would nullify the word of God. Jesus continues with some strong words in verse 7. He said to the Pharisees, “You hypocrites!” Jesus reveals their problem by quoting Isaiah. They did many religious activities. They honored God with their lips. They looked like they were worshipping God. But their hearts were far from God, and their worship was useless. Their teachings were not the words of God; they were human rules. Here we learn two things. First, God wants us to love him and honor him with our hearts. Second, God wants us to obey the Word of God, not rely on human rules. The words of Isaiah revealed that the problem with the Pharisees was that they didn’'t give God what he really wanted, their hearts. Dt 6:5 says, “Love the Lord you God with all your heart.” What is the heart? Surely we know Jesus isn’t talking about our physical organ. He’s talking about the heart that is the most central part of a person. God wants our hearts, and not just part of our hearts either, he wants all of our hearts. This shows us that God wants something very deep and personal from us. Our God is an intimate God. If we know that this is what God wants, then it challenges us even more. It is much easier to give God behavior, than it is to give God our hearts. Since this is what God wants, let's honor him and worship him with all our hearts. II. Our Hearts Are Defiled (10-20) Look at verse 10. Now Jesus turned his attention to the crowd because they were greatly influenced by the religious leaders. He said to them, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” After this exchange, the disciples became fearful with the way Jesus handled the Pharisees. They seemed worried about offending them. Jesus implied that the Pharisees were not plants planted by God. They were blind guides leading people astray because they did not see what God really wants. So the disciples did not need to be afraid of them. For God would pull them up by their roots. Then Peter asked Jesus to explain the parable. In the past, Jesus was very patient with the disciples, but his time he said, “Are you still so dull?” In other words, “Are you so dumb?” But Jesus did explain. He said that what really defiles a person has nothing to do with external things. What you eat only goes into the mouth, then into the stomach, and then out of the body. We know this process well, we do it everyday. It’s clear that this process doesn’t make us unclean, it actually works to keep our physical bodies clean and healthy. Rather it is the things that come out of our mouths which is an expression of our heart that defiles us. In verses 19 and 20, Jesus explains that what comes out of our hearts is only evil: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are the second half of the Ten Commandments. Our hearts are breaking the commands of God and this is what defiles us. People like to think they are naturally good, and if they do evil, it is because they have been oppressed by society or wounded by their parents, or some other excuse. Jesus shows that the truth is that evil begins inside, in the motives and desires of the heart. In other words, we sin because we are sinners. All evil comes from our own hearts, we have no one to blame. Since Adam’s fall, our hearts have degenerated and become rebellious until God said of the people in Noah’s time that every “inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” We might subconsciously think that we can clean up our hearts by keeping a clean and well behaved outward appearance. We can try to fix our hearts on our own, making many human rules, and trying to live a very pious life, but this doesn’t work. The more we try, the more we realize how terrible we are. Jeremiah 7:9a says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” So here is our dilemma: God wants our hearts, but how can we give God such filthy, evil hearts? Apostle Paul was a great man of God, but his testimony was this, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 7:24,25) When we truly accept how terrible we are, we realize that we need Jesus. 1 John 1:7b says, “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” That’s what Jesus did for us. He hung on the cross, and suffered a criminal’s death, shedding his blood, for the sake of our hearts. He is the only solution to our evil hearts. He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer. We need Jesus who became unclean, so that we who are unclean may be made clean through his blood. Let’s come to Jesus just as we are. III. Jesus Accepts Great Faith (21-39) Look at verse 21. After the confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, which was Gentile territory about 30 miles from Gennesaret. This was a good strategy to get away from the Pharisees. This was also an opportunity to spend some quiet time with his disciples, but this quiet time was disrupted. A Canaanite woman came to him crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” She called Jesus, “Lord.” This shows her reverence of Jesus. She then calls Jesus, the “Son of David.” While the pious religious leaders refused to acknowledge Jesus as any of these things, here we see a Canaanite woman with faith to see who Jesus really is. She said, “have mercy on me,” even though she wasn’t the one that was ill. This shows her intimate closeness and love she had for her daughter. Her daughter’s suffering became her own suffering. She had a compassionate heart for her daughter, so she brought this problem to Jesus. How did Jesus respond? Look at verse 23a. “Jesus did not answer a word.” It is quite shocking that Jesus did not say a word. At first glance, this seems very rude, and unlike Jesus. There are 3 possible reasons for this. Jesus may have been so grieved by the death of John the Baptist and bothered by the pride of the Pharisees that he didn’t want to be bothered by this gentile woman. It could have been that Jesus’ seemingly rude response was an opportunity for him to test her faith. A final reason might have been that this may have provided an opportunity to show his disciples the contrast between the pride of the Pharisees and the humility of the Canaanite woman. Whatever the reason, Jesus seemed to ignore her plea. This didn’t stop her. She continued to cry out, “Son of David have mercy on me!” until the disciples were bothered and asked Jesus to send her away. Then Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Even these words from Jesus didn’t stop the woman. The seemed to encourage her to try harder. The woman came and knelt before Jesus, “Lord, help me!” she said. She had a persistent and undying spirit. Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs.” Jesus’ response seems to be extremely harsh and offensive. It was an expression of what this woman probably knew very well as a Gentile, That the Jewish people thought they were better than others because they were chosen by God. Jesus’ words were extremely offensive; no one wants to be called a dog. The Canaanite woman had good reason to be extremely offended and upset. But how did she respond? Let’s read verse 27 together. “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.” Her response is remarkable. Her response shows her humility. It shows she knew that even the crumbs from Jesus would be enough for her. What was Jesus' response? Let's read verse 28 together. “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” Jesus saw the woman's faith. He said, “You have great faith!” Wow. How could she have such great faith? Her situation, as a mother of a daughter who was suffering so much in a hopeless illness could have led her to despair and become fatalistic. She may have tried many things, and endured many sufferings. And in the course of time, trying to help her all she could, she realized there was nothing she could do. But she did not despair. She came to Jesus. She didn’t give up. Her compassion for her daughter drove her to Jesus. Even though Jesus called her a “dog,” she was already broken. Her humility gave her strength and perseverance to continue to ask Jesus for mercy. This woman gives us an example of what true saving faith really is. Here we see the stark contrast between the Pharisees and the Canaanite woman. The Pharisees were God’s chosen people, they were religious leaders. They studied the Law diligently and kept many rituals and traditions meticulously. Outwardly they looked pious, but their hearts were far from God. Jesus called these people “hypocrites.” On the other hand, this woman was a Gentile and regarded as a dog by the religious Jews. By Mosaic Law she was unclean. She wasn’t very impressive from the outside. Her social status was low, and her daughter’s illness made her look so pitiful and desperate. However, she was humble and recognized Jesus as Lord, and accepted Jesus as the Son of David, the Messiah. So Jesus recognized her and even honored her for her great faith. Here we find a paradox. It is only when we realize that we are nothing but dogs underneath the table that we can become children who sit at the table. It is God who made this dirty woman worthy. Acts 15:9 says that “God purifies our heart by faith.” To the people’s eyes, this woman was nothing, but to Jesus she was great. Jesus’ standard of evaluation is quite different from that of the world. Jesus sees our heart. Those who are humble and have faith in him, Jesus lifts up and honors. But those who are proud, God opposes (1 Pet 5:5b). In the end, the only thing that we need is Jesus’ mercy. Our evil hearts should lead us to see how much we need Jesus. The Canaanite woman is a wonderful example of someone who understood it. “I am nothing but a dog, I desperately need Jesus’ mercy. Even the crumbs I do not deserve.” When we understand this, Jesus will lift us up and honor us. The general principle is that anyone who comes to Jesus and humbly asks his mercy can be regarded as great. The moment I think I deserve anything, I’ve missed the point. Look at verses 29-39. After helping this woman, Jesus left there and returned to the Sea of Galilee. This drew crowds of the lame, blind, crippled, and mute. These are more dirty looking people from the outside. But when they came to Jesus in humility, Jesus had compassion on them and healed them all. In Jesus’ compassion he also fed the entire crowd with just 7 loaves and a few small fish. Through this passage we realize that we are all filthy and dirty, but when we come to Jesus just as we are, he never rejects us. His arms are open to accept us and cleanse our dirty hearts. In order to do this Jesus, gave up his throne in heaven, and became a like us. The most beautiful and holy Son of God became a human being and bore all our sin, all our shame, and shed his blood on the cross, so that we could become children of God who sit at his heavenly table. Praise Jesus who is our Savior. Praise Jesus who purifies our hearts. |
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