WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:03.290 If you have your Bible this morning, you can 00:00:03.290 --> 00:00:31.039 turn to Matthew chapter 15. We'll begin at verse 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:37.780 21. Then Jesus went out from there. From there 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:41.240 is the conversation he just had with the Pharisees 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:44.859 over religious purity. So he leaves there and 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:49.840 departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:53.210 behold, a woman of Canaan. Came from that region 00:00:53.210 --> 00:00:55.950 and cried. And by the way, the verb is in the 00:00:55.950 --> 00:00:58.929 imperfect. She kept crying. She's crying out 00:00:58.929 --> 00:01:04.069 to him saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, son 00:01:04.069 --> 00:01:08.469 of David. My daughter is severely demon possessed. 00:01:10.109 --> 00:01:13.670 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples 00:01:13.670 --> 00:01:16.049 came and urged him saying, send her away for 00:01:16.049 --> 00:01:18.430 she's crying. It's again imperfect. She's crying 00:01:18.430 --> 00:01:23.810 out after us. But he answered and said, I was 00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:26.129 not sent except to the lost sheep of the house 00:01:26.129 --> 00:01:30.370 of Israel. Then she came and worshipped him. 00:01:30.430 --> 00:01:36.310 She bowed down saying, Lord, help me. But he 00:01:36.310 --> 00:01:38.069 answered and said, It is not good to take the 00:01:38.069 --> 00:01:40.129 children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. 00:01:41.930 --> 00:01:44.969 And she said, Yes, Lord. Yet even the little 00:01:44.969 --> 00:01:47.049 dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's 00:01:47.049 --> 00:01:52.450 table. Then Jesus answered and said to her, A 00:01:52.450 --> 00:01:57.430 woman great is your faith. Let it be to you as 00:01:57.430 --> 00:02:02.629 you desire. And her daughter was healed from 00:02:02.629 --> 00:02:06.969 that very hour. Let's pray. Father, help us this 00:02:06.969 --> 00:02:10.930 morning, Lord. Some hard things to understand, 00:02:11.210 --> 00:02:14.849 Lord. Would you give me clarity of mind and clarity 00:02:14.849 --> 00:02:18.300 of speech? Father, I pray that my words would 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:20.240 not be a stumbling block, but Lord God, that 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.680 you would allow me to speak the word of life 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:25.800 freely without hindrance, Lord. But Father, I 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:28.360 need your spirit, Lord, to keep back from speaking 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:31.020 anything that would be distracting, dishonoring, 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:34.639 or not profitable to your people. God put a guard 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:37.439 before my mouth this morning. But Lord, I pray 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:39.979 that you would allow me to speak boldly and with 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:42.199 plainness of speech, Lord, the marvelous truth 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:45.210 of your word. God, we need to see the glory of 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:48.530 Christ in this passage. Help us, Lord, this morning, 00:02:48.569 --> 00:02:52.990 we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Through the years, 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:55.569 the Lord has given me many opportunities to travel 00:02:55.569 --> 00:02:57.530 on various mission trips out of the country. 00:02:58.250 --> 00:03:00.330 Most of those trips were to Spanish -speaking 00:03:00.330 --> 00:03:03.750 countries, and I always loved those trips. They 00:03:03.750 --> 00:03:06.189 were always profitable, and they were helpful 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:09.669 in my walk with the Lord. But as much as I enjoyed 00:03:09.669 --> 00:03:13.689 my time, and I did, I have always loved coming 00:03:13.689 --> 00:03:17.270 back to my own country. Always. There's a sense 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:20.530 of national pride that wells up within me as 00:03:20.530 --> 00:03:23.650 that plane lands on American soil, and I see 00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:27.509 our great flag flying, and I see the sign, Welcome 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:30.610 to the United States of America. If you have 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:32.430 traveled out of the country, then you know what 00:03:32.430 --> 00:03:34.189 I mean. There's something about that. You're 00:03:34.189 --> 00:03:38.150 back on American soil. But as you reenter the 00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:41.270 country, you have to go through customs. And 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:43.210 a lot of times, depending on where you've traveled 00:03:43.210 --> 00:03:48.069 from, those lines can be quite long. But there 00:03:48.069 --> 00:03:51.289 are more lines that are reserved only for U .S. 00:03:51.310 --> 00:03:53.789 citizens. And those lines tend to be shorter 00:03:53.789 --> 00:03:56.830 and quicker processing as you pass through them. 00:03:57.669 --> 00:04:00.849 Well, why do they do that? Because citizenship 00:04:00.849 --> 00:04:05.349 comes with rights and privileges that are not 00:04:05.349 --> 00:04:09.330 offered to non -citizens. And by the way, that 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:12.759 same... principle was true in ancient Israel 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:17.600 as well. There were certain blessings and privileges 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.639 that were reserved only for those who were citizens 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:25.300 of Israel because they were the covenant people 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:30.480 of God. Israel was the chosen nation and they 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.560 possessed certain benefits that were not given 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.540 to outsiders. If you weren't out of Israel, you 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:39.060 had no claim on those benefits. And that's what 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:41.800 we're going to see in our text today. Now we 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:43.519 do need to understand the background a little 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:46.040 bit. Today we're going to meet a foreign woman. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:48.220 The Bible says she's a woman of Canaan. She's 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:51.819 a Canaanite. And she comes to Jesus begging for 00:04:51.819 --> 00:04:55.459 him to heal her demon -possessed daughter. At 00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:57.939 first, it appears as though the Lord was indifferent 00:04:57.939 --> 00:05:02.060 to her plight. As we continue, it may even seem 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:03.839 that he was a little bit harsh with the woman. 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:06.579 But as we look at the context, we'll be able 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:09.000 to see what was happening. Now keep in mind who's 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.920 writing this gospel. This is Matthew. To whom 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.000 is he writing? Primarily, not exclusively, to 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.259 a Jewish people. And so in first century, the 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:24.180 question of how the Gentiles were to be viewed 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:26.699 or how they were to be received in the church 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:30.839 was very much disputed. The Jews looked with, 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.980 not disdain, but they were very suspicious of 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:37.730 Gentile inclusion. So now the context here. In 00:05:37.730 --> 00:05:40.889 Matthew 15, the preceding verses, you have the 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:43.370 Lord having a conversation with the religious 00:05:43.370 --> 00:05:47.550 leaders, scribes and Pharisees, over ritual purity. 00:05:48.050 --> 00:05:50.970 The Pharisees were upset with Jesus because his 00:05:50.970 --> 00:05:55.709 disciples ate without first ceremonially washing 00:05:55.709 --> 00:05:59.470 their hands. And the Pharisees said that act 00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:02.430 defiled them. You couldn't go into the temple. 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.459 Now the Lord used that particular occasion to 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:09.680 teach where true defilement came from. He said 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.459 defilement does not come from outside you, rather 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:16.480 from within you, from a defiled heart. That's 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.139 something the Pharisees did not grasp. Now the 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:22.360 backdrop then of the passage this morning was 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:26.079 that debate between the Pharisees and Jesus over 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:29.839 what was clean and unclean. The Pharisees went 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:32.199 so far as to believe that even Gentile people, 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:36.500 And Gentile places, Gentile lands were unclean. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.160 So that's the debate. Now look at verse 21. Jesus 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:43.420 immediately heads for the region of Tyre and 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:46.319 Sidon. By the way, that's Gentile territory. 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:49.519 So they're talking about clean and unclean. Jesus 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:53.500 leaves Galilee, heads to Gentile territory, where 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:58.300 he had an encounter with a Canaanite woman. And 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:01.480 she would prove to be more pure. than any of 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.819 the scribes and Pharisees in Israel. This Gentile 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:07.579 woman would serve as a rebuke to the religious 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:10.720 leaders in Israel. By the way, it also gives 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:13.399 us a little foreshadowing that Gentiles are going 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:16.720 to be included in the covenant of God. So let's 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:20.959 look at the text, verses 21 and 22. Jesus went 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:24.519 out from there, departed to Tyre and Sidon, and 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:26.639 a little woman of Canaan came from that region. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:30.860 She's crying out, she's yelling. Have mercy on 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.740 me, O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is severely 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:37.980 demon -possessed. So Jesus has been ministering 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:39.920 in Galilee, right? So he leaves northern Israel. 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:44.019 He heads about 40 miles northwest. Now today, 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:47.319 that would be the area of southern Lebanon. His 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.680 notoriety has spread far and wide. Even outside 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:53.519 Israel, most people have now heard of Jesus. 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:58.319 He is very famous, if you will. But what was 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.779 the Lord doing back in Galilee? He and his disciples 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:04.839 were busily ministering to the people there. 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.220 So much so they couldn't even eat. They couldn't 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:10.000 get away. There was no time to eat. There was 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:12.259 no time to relax or rest. So they're just trying 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:16.379 to get away and rest for a little bit. Now in 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:19.879 the parallel passage in Mark. Mark tells us that 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:23.060 Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:25.339 going. He didn't want anyone to know he had gone 00:08:25.339 --> 00:08:28.160 to the area of Tyre and Sidon. Presumably, he 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.819 went there so that no one would follow him because 00:08:30.819 --> 00:08:33.659 he's going to Gentile area. Mark 7, verse 24. 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:36.860 From there he arose, went to the region Tyre 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:39.840 and Sidon. He entered a house and wanted no one 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:44.240 to know it. Keep me incognito. Keep me hidden, 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:47.899 if you will. But he could not be hidden. We couldn't 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:50.100 be hidden because great crowds were following 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:52.799 him and watching him everywhere he went. Jesus 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.940 was popular because he was a miracle worker. 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:58.000 He could heal sick people. He could cast out 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.600 demons. On occasion, he could multiply fish and 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:04.980 bread and feed multitudes of hungry people. So 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:06.779 you always had these throngs of people around 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.500 him, following him, hoping they could get in 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:13.779 on some miracle. We can understand that. But 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:15.879 it wasn't just the Jewish people who saw him. 00:09:16.750 --> 00:09:20.090 Today, it says a woman of Canaan came to him. 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:24.570 Now, the very fact that Matthew, a Jew, writing 00:09:24.570 --> 00:09:27.870 to Jews, mentions that she is a Canaanite is 00:09:27.870 --> 00:09:32.110 important because God had long ago marked the 00:09:32.110 --> 00:09:35.529 Canaanites out for destruction. These people, 00:09:35.590 --> 00:09:38.710 the Canaanites, were the ancient enemies of Israel. 00:09:38.990 --> 00:09:42.370 Mark calls her a Greek, a Syrophoenician, which 00:09:42.370 --> 00:09:44.629 would have been the modern terminology. Matthew, 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:46.429 writing to the Jews, says she's an old Canaanite. 00:09:47.389 --> 00:09:49.149 So nevertheless, you have this Canaanite woman. 00:09:50.529 --> 00:09:52.509 She leaves her home, and she came seeking help 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:57.590 from Jesus. What made her come there? She needed 00:09:57.590 --> 00:10:00.529 a miracle, for her daughter was demon -possessed. 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:04.629 She was a pagan woman. No doubt she had grown 00:10:04.629 --> 00:10:06.950 disillusioned with the pagan deities who were 00:10:06.950 --> 00:10:10.190 impotent to heal her daughter. They were of no 00:10:10.190 --> 00:10:13.179 help at all. And she heard about this man named 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:17.720 Jesus. News of what he had done had even reached 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.620 to where she lived. There's this man, he's doing 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:23.840 incredible things in Israel. She, no doubt, had 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.139 heard of his remarkable power, and specifically 00:10:26.139 --> 00:10:28.919 what caught her notice was his ability to cast 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:34.320 out demons. She's desperate. So she comes to 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:38.759 Jesus just hoping, hoping against hope, that 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:42.559 he will show mercy upon her daughter. Notice 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:46.980 her words. Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:51.980 My daughter is severely demon -possessed. Put 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:54.960 yourself in her shoes. You can hear the desperate 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.379 cry of a heartbroken mother. She's not asking 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:01.860 anything for herself. Her only request is for 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:05.480 her daughter. Make my daughter well. Heal her. 00:11:06.350 --> 00:11:08.509 I believe that we can sense, you can almost imagine 00:11:08.509 --> 00:11:10.409 the pain and emotion in this mother's voice. 00:11:10.570 --> 00:11:13.289 She's a desperate woman. Her daughter's not just 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:18.750 possessed. Matthew says she is severely demon 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:23.309 -possessed. And this situation's dire. Her poor 00:11:23.309 --> 00:11:27.289 daughter had been tortured. But what's even worse 00:11:27.289 --> 00:11:29.350 is the pain and the suffering were continuing. 00:11:30.070 --> 00:11:33.620 It had not ended. I'm sure this mother, as any 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:35.860 mother would, had gone everywhere and tried everything. 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:40.740 Nothing worked. And then she hears about a man. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.700 And he's been able to cast out demons. And what's 00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:46.639 even better, he's coming near where she lived. 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:51.200 How fortuitous. So mothers, you know this about 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:53.759 a mom. A good mom is going to go to any length 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.580 for their children. Fight tooth and nail, doesn't 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:59.059 matter. Now what would you do if this were your 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:02.870 child? What would you do if this were your daughter 00:12:02.870 --> 00:12:07.529 bound in Satan's grip? Well, desperate times 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:09.389 are going to call for desperate measures. And 00:12:09.389 --> 00:12:11.250 this mother, by the way, she knows who she is. 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:14.070 She's not Jewish. She knows she's not an Israelite. 00:12:14.129 --> 00:12:19.950 She is very well aware that she is a Canaanite. 00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:23.909 Canaanites are despised by Jews. She knows all 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:27.450 that. She clearly knew that she did not deserve 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:32.860 an audience with Jesus. Yet her only hope was 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:35.919 in this miracle worker that he would have pity 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:39.860 on her. Everything else had failed her. She had 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:43.539 nothing to lose. Her only hope was in Jesus. 00:12:44.860 --> 00:12:48.200 But Jesus is not alone. Because of all the immense 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:50.580 crowds that were following Jesus, it would not 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:52.759 have been easy for her to gain access to him. 00:12:53.539 --> 00:12:56.580 I mean, Jesus always has throngs of people around 00:12:56.580 --> 00:13:00.559 him. But she's not going to be deterred. Come 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:02.740 what may, she will find a way to get to him. 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:06.120 And verse 22, we see this. She cried out to him. 00:13:06.220 --> 00:13:08.419 And this is where cried out looks like she lifted 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:11.019 her voice one time. No. The word cried out, again, 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:13.080 it's in the imperfect, but the word there in 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.519 Greek is kratso. And kratso means she is shouting 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:21.500 in a loud voice. Shrieking, yelling, screaming 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:26.279 are good synonyms. Okay? So here you find a desperate 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:30.129 mother. I believe, now we don't know this, I 00:13:30.129 --> 00:13:32.309 believe, or I'm sure, that her voice was the 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:34.769 loudest, drowning out all the others who were 00:13:34.769 --> 00:13:38.090 clamoring also for Jesus' attention. People had 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:40.669 sick relatives. But she was going to raise her 00:13:40.669 --> 00:13:43.009 voice above the others. And she kept shouting, 00:13:43.169 --> 00:13:46.889 kept it up, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:52.610 David. What? Son of David? From a Canaanite woman? 00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:56.620 That's a title for the Messiah. You remember 00:13:56.620 --> 00:13:58.299 the Pharisees that he had just had an encounter 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:03.840 with? The Pharisees called Jesus Beelzebub. Said 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.480 he cast out demons by the power of Satan. They 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.559 said that Jesus was a glutton and a jerk. And 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:13.240 here you have this Canaanite woman calling him 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:17.740 son of David. Calling him Messiah. Do you see 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:20.639 the irony Matthew is showing? The irony is that 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:24.750 the Jewish officials were blind to Jesus. This 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:27.710 pagan lady clearly saw who he was. And by the 00:14:27.710 --> 00:14:29.610 way, it is so very noteworthy, it's not just 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:32.370 a Gentile who recognized him as Messiah, but 00:14:32.370 --> 00:14:36.309 rather it was a Gentile woman who did so. At 00:14:36.309 --> 00:14:38.950 that time in history, women had very little social 00:14:38.950 --> 00:14:42.309 respectability. They didn't have any social standing. 00:14:42.909 --> 00:14:46.370 Women were seen as inferior to men across the 00:14:46.370 --> 00:14:50.289 board. Remember, Jewish men would rise early 00:14:50.289 --> 00:14:51.929 in the morning and thank God they weren't Gentiles 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.600 and they weren't women. That's where they stood. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:57.919 So you have a Gentile woman understanding he's 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:02.720 the son of David. She is a rebuke to those so 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:05.039 -called erudite scribes and Pharisees back in 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.440 Israel. Here she believes Jesus has the power 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:11.379 to rid her daughter of this demon. By the way, 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:13.980 that's faith. She truly believes he can do it. 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:17.700 And she turns from her pagan gods and she turned 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:20.700 to the Lord Jesus as the only answer to her problem. 00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:24.110 She turned from idols to God. That's repentance. 00:15:25.370 --> 00:15:29.049 You see faith and repentance here. This lady 00:15:29.049 --> 00:15:31.370 forsook the worthless idols of her ancestors, 00:15:31.470 --> 00:15:35.529 and she comes to Jesus pleading, begging, urging 00:15:35.529 --> 00:15:39.769 him to show mercy upon her. That's good news, 00:15:39.929 --> 00:15:44.370 isn't it? So how did he respond to her plea for 00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:48.950 mercy? Verse 23. But he answered her not a word. 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:57.039 Nothing. Nada. Just silence. That's it. Not one 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:01.279 word was spoken to her. Her plea for mercy seemed 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:05.440 to fall on deaf ears. Her cry had been met with 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:10.179 silence. That's got to be discouraging. But even 00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:14.460 that did not stop her. She doesn't give up. True 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:17.120 faith will persevere despite obstacles, by the 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:20.120 way. So she turns her attention from Jesus and 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:23.820 she turns to his disciples. Look at the latter 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:26.980 part of verse 23. Because his disciples now come 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:30.159 and they urge, they're begging Jesus, send her 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:34.620 away for now. She's crying out. She kept crying 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:39.139 out after us. Same word. She was yelling at Jesus. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.399 Now she's yelling at the disciples. This lady's 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:43.539 not going away. She's not going to leave quietly. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:48.220 You understand? She's going nowhere. So now she's 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:51.620 crying out after us. Same tense. Imperfect tense. 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:55.480 She kept crying out. She kept yelling. She's 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.879 not stopping. And the disciples are getting annoyed. 00:16:58.539 --> 00:17:02.039 But of course she's not going to stop. She's 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:03.779 not going to leave them alone until her daughter 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:07.759 was healed. Would you? She's not going to leave 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:12.000 until she got what she came for. So the disciples 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.480 are like perturbed. They want Jesus. Just get 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.549 rid of her. She's annoying us. Send her away. 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:21.390 And it says they urged Jesus. That is, they begged 00:17:21.390 --> 00:17:23.250 him to do something. Now I believe they're saying, 00:17:23.309 --> 00:17:25.890 listen, she won't leave you alone. Now she won't 00:17:25.890 --> 00:17:29.470 leave us alone. Give her what she wants so at 00:17:29.470 --> 00:17:31.990 least she'll leave. It's not they're showing 00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:33.970 compassion. They're like, get her out of her 00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:37.529 hair. Let her have the miracle. Now I believe, 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:39.009 now I can't prove this, but if we're looking 00:17:39.009 --> 00:17:41.269 in the text, I believe this woman was shouting 00:17:41.269 --> 00:17:43.410 like a crazy woman by this point and causing 00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:48.420 quite a scene. That's the word. Why? Because 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:51.460 she knows Jesus can help her. She truly believed 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:55.339 with all her heart Jesus is the answer. And that 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:58.880 contrast in itself is striking. If you go back 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.460 to Israel, it is full of shallow believers. And 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:05.859 yet this woman, Gentile, believed he was the 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:08.819 son of David. He was the Messiah. Oh yeah, many 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:12.019 in Israel loved Jesus and followed Jesus. That's 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:14.960 why he fed them. He was giving them what they 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.720 want. Not because they trusted in him. That's 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:22.940 why Jesus did not trust in them. They loved Jesus. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:25.279 Why? Because they got their bellies full. They 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:29.680 got their sick relative healed. But this lady 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:33.000 was different. Now we might expect that Jesus 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.619 would immediately grant her request. She's showing 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:41.039 faith. She's repentance. She's persevering. He's 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:45.170 going to answer it, right? Nothing. Joel Beakey 00:18:45.170 --> 00:18:47.569 says often when we pray, now think about this 00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:50.309 when we pray, folks. We think that God should 00:18:50.309 --> 00:18:52.109 grant us our request because we are worthy to 00:18:52.109 --> 00:18:54.329 be heard or because we're sincere. Because if 00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:55.970 we're sincere enough, well, God's going to answer. 00:18:56.950 --> 00:19:00.309 We somehow think that God is obliged or obligated 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:03.549 to hear us. But the Lord answers by giving us 00:19:03.549 --> 00:19:08.430 no answer. The Canaanite woman, she had to experience 00:19:08.430 --> 00:19:12.089 that she had no right to be heard. This is not 00:19:12.089 --> 00:19:15.490 about merit. Even her perseverance in prayer 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:20.069 did not give her any claim before God. There 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:23.910 is no reason for God to answer her. Now, we go 00:19:23.910 --> 00:19:26.109 back to the text. The disciples, they go to Jesus. 00:19:26.170 --> 00:19:30.690 They say, send her away. Let her be gone. Now 00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:36.529 Jesus speaks. Verse 24. He answered them, I was 00:19:36.529 --> 00:19:39.930 not sent except to the lost sheep of the house 00:19:39.930 --> 00:19:43.720 of Israel. So Jesus is reminding his disciples 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:46.140 of something. I've not been sent to foreigners. 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:49.920 God is a God of covenant. And Jesus had been 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:53.799 sent to the covenant nation, Israel. And by the 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.859 way, she's Canaanite. She's not a part of the 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.500 covenant. So those blessings, those covenant 00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:01.720 blessings, were reserved for the covenant people 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:05.059 of Israel. You saw the same. This is not the 00:20:05.059 --> 00:20:07.420 first time we saw this dynamic at play. In Matthew 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:10.529 chapter 10, when Jesus sends out the 12. 12 apostles 00:20:10.529 --> 00:20:12.970 on their first preaching and healing mission. 00:20:13.490 --> 00:20:16.069 He said the same thing. Matthew 10, verse 6. 00:20:16.910 --> 00:20:19.549 These 12, Jesus sent out and commanded them. 00:20:19.569 --> 00:20:22.750 Notice the command. Do not go into the way of 00:20:22.750 --> 00:20:25.710 the Gentiles. Do not enter a city of the Samaritans, 00:20:25.809 --> 00:20:28.470 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house 00:20:28.470 --> 00:20:31.329 of Israel. That's it. You stay geographically 00:20:31.329 --> 00:20:35.410 within Israel's borders. Period. The blessings 00:20:35.410 --> 00:20:38.210 of the Messiah were reserved for the people of 00:20:38.210 --> 00:20:43.440 Israel. But why only Israel? Because God had 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.779 made promise to them. Those promises of the Messiah 00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:50.660 were specifically connected to Israel. God had 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:54.000 established a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.200 It was to the nation Israel God gave the law, 00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:01.599 the prophets, the promises. All those things 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:03.759 concerning the Messiah were given to Israel. 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:09.160 Why did Jesus come? to fulfill the promises given 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:13.079 to Israel. So this is why you see this. However, 00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:16.000 there's something absolutely astounding. By the 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.880 time you get to the end of Matthew, that prohibition 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.200 of going into Gentile territory is now lifted. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:25.039 So compare Matthew 10. Go to the lost sheep of 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:29.700 Israel. Compare that with Matthew 28. Same 12. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:33.920 Well, Judas is now gone. Go and make disciples 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:39.059 of all nations. Now it's true, Israel had the 00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:41.980 covenantal priority in the plan of salvation. 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:45.220 But after the death and resurrection of Jesus, 00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:49.099 the mission would move from Israel outward to 00:21:49.099 --> 00:21:52.359 all the nations. And Paul wrote about this in 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:54.519 the book of Romans. Many places, but there's 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:57.000 one place we want to look. Romans 15 verse 8. 00:21:58.420 --> 00:22:03.079 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant. 00:22:04.250 --> 00:22:07.490 to the circumcision, that is the Jews, that's 00:22:07.490 --> 00:22:10.430 Israel, for the truth of God, for what purpose? 00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:13.750 To confirm the promises made to the fathers. 00:22:15.589 --> 00:22:19.210 But, now look at verse 9. And that the Gentiles 00:22:19.210 --> 00:22:22.930 might glorify God for his mercy, for as it is 00:22:22.930 --> 00:22:25.910 written, for this reason I will confess to you 00:22:25.910 --> 00:22:28.410 among the Gentiles and sing to your name. So 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:31.269 why did Christ come? The Lord Jesus was born 00:22:31.269 --> 00:22:34.500 in Israel. He was born under the law. to confirm 00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:38.440 or fulfill the promises made to them, but God 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:43.579 had never intended to only save Israel. God had 00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:47.559 intended to bring salvation to the nations through 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:52.839 Israel, through specifically Jesus Christ, who 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:54.440 is the fulfillment of the covenant promises. 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:57.539 Now that will get a little clearer later on, 00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:00.619 I hope. So we go back to the text, and we see 00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:03.339 that Jesus, was not going to answer that woman, 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:06.960 but he did answer his disciples. She, he just 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:09.960 simply turned a deaf ear to. Silence. Now that 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:12.539 silence might have seemed cruel, but now I think 00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:15.000 as we hear his words, they seem even more cruel. 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:20.380 I wasn't sent, or I was only sent to Israel, 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:23.660 basically is what he's saying. Now that mother 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:26.960 heard him. What a dagger this must have been 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.859 to her heart. She heard what he was saying. He's 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:33.920 reminding his disciples, I'm not sent to outsiders. 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:38.380 She's an outsider. Now at this point, I think 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:40.640 we would all expect for her to leave hopeless, 00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:45.579 dejected. What use was there of going any farther, 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:47.980 of even trying further? Jesus basically said 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:53.519 no. But she's a mother who's desperate. She knew 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:55.559 that Jesus was the only one who could help her 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:58.710 and heal her daughter. If he doesn't heal her 00:23:58.710 --> 00:24:00.009 daughter, her daughter will never be healed. 00:24:01.170 --> 00:24:03.390 She could not give up. She would not give up. 00:24:03.529 --> 00:24:06.289 But you don't find bitterness. You don't find 00:24:06.289 --> 00:24:08.269 her getting angry and arguing or debating with 00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:11.109 the Lord. Just continued petitions for mercy. 00:24:11.170 --> 00:24:15.289 Look at verse 25. Then she came and worshipped 00:24:15.289 --> 00:24:22.210 him saying, Lord, help me. Worship, it's a Greek 00:24:22.210 --> 00:24:25.349 word, proskuneo. We talk about worship, but it 00:24:25.349 --> 00:24:28.150 literally means to bow down or to kneel. It literally 00:24:28.150 --> 00:24:30.970 is to prostrate yourself in reverence. You would 00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:34.849 do this before a king, by the way. So now the 00:24:34.849 --> 00:24:37.170 woman is no longer shouting. She's on her knees. 00:24:38.730 --> 00:24:43.390 She's on her knees before Christ, begging for 00:24:43.390 --> 00:24:51.029 help. Listen to her words. Lord, help me. Lord, 00:24:51.049 --> 00:24:54.890 help me. Please do not send me back empty -handed. 00:24:55.589 --> 00:24:59.029 Have pity upon me, Lord. My daughter is grievously 00:24:59.029 --> 00:25:01.289 tormented, and I know that you can help her. 00:25:02.670 --> 00:25:04.950 I think we can all imagine the tears that were 00:25:04.950 --> 00:25:10.829 streaming down her face, the broken voice. Lord, 00:25:11.069 --> 00:25:16.289 help me. Not a word about her deserving anything. 00:25:17.890 --> 00:25:20.490 She simply cast herself upon the mercy of God. 00:25:21.869 --> 00:25:24.509 And in her we see a picture of persistent faith. 00:25:25.490 --> 00:25:28.029 See, true faith recognizes we deserve nothing 00:25:28.029 --> 00:25:32.630 before God. There's no word of merit. True faith 00:25:32.630 --> 00:25:36.890 begs and calls upon God for his mercy. Verse 00:25:36.890 --> 00:25:40.529 26, now he's going to speak. But he answered 00:25:40.529 --> 00:25:44.569 and said, it's not good, it's not proper to take 00:25:44.569 --> 00:25:46.130 the children's bread and throw it to the little 00:25:46.130 --> 00:25:50.460 dogs. Finally, he speaks to the woman, but these 00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:54.160 are not comforting words. Now, Jesus, let me 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:57.559 just say this. Some people who want to criticize 00:25:57.559 --> 00:25:59.779 the Christian faith will say, well, Jesus was 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:02.240 kind of like a bigot. He called this woman a 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:05.400 dog. He did not call her a dog. He is using an 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:09.619 analogy. And in the analogy, now Gentiles were 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:12.019 referred to as dogs, wild animals. This is a 00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:14.299 word for like puppy, a household domesticated 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:17.140 pet. But in the analogy, it's still an analogy, 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:21.039 Israel. are the children. The bread were the 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.460 blessings reserved for Israel, and the Gentiles 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:28.079 were the dogs, household pets. This is not about 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.500 ethnicity here. It is about priority, though. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:34.940 Children get fed before pets do, or they ought 00:26:34.940 --> 00:26:37.980 to. I think all of us say, if there's food, we're 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:39.380 going to feed our children before we feed our 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:42.960 dog. You would never take food that was good 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.579 for your child, take it and let your child eat, 00:26:45.660 --> 00:26:49.829 and then feed the dog. The Apostle Paul in Romans 00:26:49.829 --> 00:26:56.269 said that salvation is to the Jew first. Jesus 00:26:56.269 --> 00:26:59.730 had been sent to Israel. This woman is not a 00:26:59.730 --> 00:27:02.750 child. She's not part of that covenant. So there 00:27:02.750 --> 00:27:05.890 is no expectation whatsoever that he should answer 00:27:05.890 --> 00:27:08.569 her and heal her daughter because those blessings 00:27:08.569 --> 00:27:12.829 of healing and casting out demons were reserved 00:27:12.829 --> 00:27:18.910 for Israel. So there's no right. She's not a 00:27:18.910 --> 00:27:21.289 Jew. Do you remember what Paul said in Ephesians 00:27:21.289 --> 00:27:23.430 2? When we think about our position as Gentiles, 00:27:23.509 --> 00:27:26.769 it was absolutely heartbreaking. In Ephesians 00:27:26.769 --> 00:27:30.269 2, verse 12, Paul said the Gentiles were without 00:27:30.269 --> 00:27:34.329 Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, 00:27:34.450 --> 00:27:39.730 strangers from the covenants of promise, having 00:27:39.730 --> 00:27:45.289 no hope, and without God in the world. That was 00:27:45.289 --> 00:27:48.779 this lady. Strangers from the covenants of promise. 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:52.019 The covenantal blessings were reserved for the 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:55.400 covenantal people. It is very plain. You and 00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:56.880 I were in the same boat as this woman though. 00:27:57.380 --> 00:28:01.619 We are Gentiles. We too were separated from God. 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:06.339 Without hope in this world. Dead in trespass 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:10.099 and sin. Our only hope lay in the mercy of God. 00:28:11.329 --> 00:28:13.910 Had God not moved on our behalf in his grace, 00:28:14.029 --> 00:28:16.089 you and I would have perished and we would have 00:28:16.089 --> 00:28:19.029 remained eternally separated from him. That's 00:28:19.029 --> 00:28:22.789 what we deserved. So we needed what this mother 00:28:22.789 --> 00:28:28.170 needs, the mercy of God. Now, I think if I'm 00:28:28.170 --> 00:28:30.329 in this lady's shoes, certainly you expect her 00:28:30.329 --> 00:28:32.690 to give up now, right? She heard it from the 00:28:32.690 --> 00:28:35.430 horse's mouth, if you will. You would almost 00:28:35.430 --> 00:28:37.869 think she's going to be insulted. Let's just 00:28:37.869 --> 00:28:43.000 leave. Saving faith does not give up. It perseveres. 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:48.380 It pursues Jesus. Look at verse 27. Just what 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:52.799 a wise reply. She said, yes, Lord. You're right. 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:56.079 Yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs of shawl 00:28:56.079 --> 00:29:00.200 from their master's table. No argument. No debating. 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:03.380 She didn't even take umbrage that he had referred 00:29:03.380 --> 00:29:07.619 to her as a dog. She's agreeing with him. Yes, 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:11.319 Lord. I am an outsider. I am unworthy of your 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:14.460 time. I am unworthy of your attention. What you 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:17.559 say is true. I am not a Jew. I am not part of 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:19.579 this covenant. I am not a child of Israel. I 00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:24.140 am a little dog sitting under that table. But 00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:27.359 she continued to believe in the goodness of Christ. 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:33.500 But even those little dogs eat the crumbs which 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:36.359 fall from their master's table. Now, if you have 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:39.440 a dog, where does that dog like to eat? Under 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:41.480 the table. Why? Why do dogs like to do that? 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:43.119 Because they know that there's always going to 00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:46.019 be some food lying on the floor when that meal 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:48.440 is done. My parents have a dog. If my kids are 00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:50.400 eating there, listen, Paco's in heaven because 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:51.700 there's more food on the floor than there is 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:54.940 on the table. It's just how it is. So she's like, 00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:56.720 yeah, they're going to eat. Feed the children 00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:59.980 first. I'm not asking for the children's food. 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:02.960 I'll be content if you just give me the crumbs 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:07.380 that fall from the table. I have no right to 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:09.720 sit at that table and eat as if I were a child. 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:13.180 In essence, this woman is asking for a dog's 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:16.759 portion. Just give me crumbs. I'll be happy. 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:20.519 Friends, this is true humility here. And this 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:22.119 is what I want us to see. True faith, saving 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:24.339 faith, persevere. There were three answers given 00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:26.240 to her. All three of them were very difficult. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:28.640 First, there was silence. He met her with silence. 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:31.200 Second, he's talking to his disciples, reminding 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:33.680 them that she's an outsider. She's not part of 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:36.059 the covenant. Thirdly, he speaks to her and he 00:30:36.059 --> 00:30:37.819 says, by the way, it's not proper for me to feed 00:30:37.819 --> 00:30:40.480 you. It's not proper that I take from the kids 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:44.220 food and give it to you. Why is he doing that? 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:47.440 Because those answers were designed to strip 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:50.319 away any false pretense she may have had of her 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:54.900 own worthiness. He's breaking her down. Yet in 00:30:54.900 --> 00:30:57.519 spite of these obstacles, she still believed 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:00.279 that Jesus could heal her daughter, that he was 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:03.039 merciful, so she keeps pleading for mercy. And 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:07.160 verse 28 is the capstone, if you will. Then Jesus 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:12.259 answered and said to her, O woman, great is your 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:17.000 faith. Let it be done to you as you desire. Your 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:20.339 petition has been granted. And her daughter was 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:23.299 healed from that very hour. What a gracious God. 00:31:24.490 --> 00:31:26.730 He graciously answered her. He healed her daughter. 00:31:26.950 --> 00:31:29.950 And he marvels at her great faith. And what's 00:31:29.950 --> 00:31:32.529 interesting, Matthew is a Jew writing to Jews. 00:31:33.250 --> 00:31:35.970 The very first instance of anyone ever having 00:31:35.970 --> 00:31:39.009 great faith was back in Matthew chapter 8, and 00:31:39.009 --> 00:31:41.890 it was found by a Roman centurion, a Gentile 00:31:41.890 --> 00:31:44.529 man. The second instance of anyone having great 00:31:44.529 --> 00:31:47.549 faith is in chapter 15, and it's about this Canaanite 00:31:47.549 --> 00:31:53.250 woman, a Gentile woman. Another Gentile. So what 00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:54.789 you're starting to see, do you see what Matthew's 00:31:54.789 --> 00:31:57.630 doing here? He's painting a picture. So what 00:31:57.630 --> 00:32:00.750 made this mother's faith great was not the quantity, 00:32:00.890 --> 00:32:03.589 as though she had a lot of faith, but rather 00:32:03.589 --> 00:32:07.730 it was the quality. She continued to trust in 00:32:07.730 --> 00:32:10.009 spite of all the obstacles that were put before 00:32:10.009 --> 00:32:14.069 her. She doesn't give up. I quoted Joel Beeky 00:32:14.069 --> 00:32:17.269 earlier. Let me do so once again. Through this 00:32:17.269 --> 00:32:21.339 process, she learned to hang, plead. and depend 00:32:21.339 --> 00:32:25.039 solely on Christ's mercy. To persevere in prayer. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:28.759 If he had given her his answer immediately, she 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:30.680 may have left thinking she was worthy, or that 00:32:30.680 --> 00:32:32.559 her prayers were worthy, or that God was bound 00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:36.660 to grant her request. But by now, she receives 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:40.359 an answer through which she rejoices completely 00:32:40.359 --> 00:32:46.680 in the free grace of God in Jesus Christ. Now 00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:50.000 what? That's the text as we close, or begin to 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:52.630 close. I need you to understand this passage 00:32:52.630 --> 00:32:54.990 is not primarily about a Gentile woman's great 00:32:54.990 --> 00:32:57.910 faith. It's not just a moral example so that 00:32:57.910 --> 00:33:01.170 we can learn from her. Matthew, again, I've said 00:33:01.170 --> 00:33:04.089 this too many times today, he's a Jew, writing 00:33:04.089 --> 00:33:07.309 to Jews, but he's showing that Gentiles are going 00:33:07.309 --> 00:33:10.509 to be received into the kingdom of God. And that's 00:33:10.509 --> 00:33:12.509 true. The Jews had advantages that the Gentiles 00:33:12.509 --> 00:33:15.049 never had. The Jews had the temple. They had 00:33:15.049 --> 00:33:17.190 the worship. They had the word of God. They had 00:33:17.190 --> 00:33:19.690 the covenantal promises. All these are advantages 00:33:19.690 --> 00:33:22.589 that Paul mentions in Romans 9, by the way. But 00:33:22.589 --> 00:33:26.089 all those promises, every single one of them, 00:33:26.130 --> 00:33:30.250 were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But Israel rejects 00:33:30.250 --> 00:33:34.549 Christ. And those same promised blessings now 00:33:34.549 --> 00:33:39.029 go to the Gentiles. You see that in Acts 13 with 00:33:39.029 --> 00:33:42.130 Paul and Barnabas preaching to Jews. They grew 00:33:42.130 --> 00:33:45.059 bold and said, it was necessary, it's fitting, 00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:47.420 it's proper, that the word of God should be spoken 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:50.359 to you first, Jews. But since you reject it, 00:33:50.380 --> 00:33:52.940 you're rejecting the gospel, and you judge yourselves 00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:57.000 unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:00.559 to the Gentiles. Gentile inclusion, now get this, 00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:02.380 because this is something that today our culture 00:34:02.380 --> 00:34:05.640 is totally wrong on. Gentile inclusion in God's 00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:10.980 kingdom and plan was never a plan B. Even from 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:14.289 the beginning. When God made that wonderful promise 00:34:14.289 --> 00:34:17.590 to Abraham in Genesis 12 that all the nations 00:34:17.590 --> 00:34:20.210 of the earth would be blessed, the nations were 00:34:20.210 --> 00:34:24.030 included. Genesis 12 .3, God speaking to Abraham. 00:34:24.349 --> 00:34:27.030 I will bless those who bless you, Abraham. I 00:34:27.030 --> 00:34:29.829 will curse him who curses you. And in you, Abraham, 00:34:30.230 --> 00:34:32.289 all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 00:34:32.429 --> 00:34:34.530 Not in Israel, not in the nation. Abraham, it's 00:34:34.530 --> 00:34:38.409 in you. It gets more specific. Chapter 22. In 00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:40.869 your seed, not many seeds. Paul will say just 00:34:40.869 --> 00:34:43.619 one. There's coming one descendant, Abraham, 00:34:43.780 --> 00:34:48.559 of yours, that all the nations of the earth will 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:52.780 be blessed. From the beginning, God's purpose 00:34:52.780 --> 00:34:56.840 was not merely to redeem Israel, but rather that 00:34:56.840 --> 00:35:00.480 through Israel, he would bring forth a savior 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:05.559 who would redeem the nations. The Lord Jesus 00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:08.659 Christ. is the fulfillment of the promise that 00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:12.119 God made to Abraham. He is that seed, and in 00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:14.840 him, everyone who believes anywhere in the world 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:18.920 is blessed. Paul wrote about this so much in 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:21.159 Galatians 3, and we're closing, and I could spend 00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:23.619 forever on this because I love this. But look 00:35:23.619 --> 00:35:26.059 at Galatians 3. We're going to close, so don't 00:35:26.059 --> 00:35:31.000 get nervous. And the scripture foreseeing that 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:35.250 God would justify the Gentiles by faith. preached 00:35:35.250 --> 00:35:38.730 the gospel, that good news, was preached to Abraham 00:35:38.730 --> 00:35:41.670 beforehand saying, and he quotes Genesis 12, 00:35:42.130 --> 00:35:45.250 in you all the nations shall be blessed. Paul 00:35:45.250 --> 00:35:47.989 explains, verse 9, so then those who are of faith 00:35:47.989 --> 00:35:52.829 are blessed. You're in on that covenant with 00:35:52.829 --> 00:35:56.050 believing Abraham. And in Matthew 15, we see 00:35:56.050 --> 00:35:57.909 just a little bit of glimpse of that promise 00:35:57.909 --> 00:36:01.369 beginning to unfold. The Canaanite woman is not 00:36:01.369 --> 00:36:03.900 part of Israel. She has no ancestral claim at 00:36:03.900 --> 00:36:06.539 all. She did not keep the law. She didn't even 00:36:06.539 --> 00:36:08.780 have the law. There was nothing she could bring 00:36:08.780 --> 00:36:11.699 to God that would make him accept her. So what 00:36:11.699 --> 00:36:14.079 does she do? She comes to Jesus empty -handed, 00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:18.860 crying out, Lord, have mercy on me. And through 00:36:18.860 --> 00:36:21.980 persistent faith, this Gentile woman received 00:36:21.980 --> 00:36:25.239 the blessing that was promised to Abraham. And 00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:28.400 by the way, that's true of us as well. Galatians 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:32.610 3 .14, that the blessing of Abraham, might come 00:36:32.610 --> 00:36:35.130 upon the Gentiles, that's us, in Christ Jesus, 00:36:35.309 --> 00:36:37.829 that we might receive the promise of the Spirit 00:36:37.829 --> 00:36:41.670 through faith. Verse 29. Get this, because we 00:36:41.670 --> 00:36:44.429 want to come to the table. And if you are Christ, 00:36:44.730 --> 00:36:47.570 how are you Christ by faith? If you are Christ, 00:36:47.769 --> 00:36:53.070 you are also Abraham's seed. You're part of that 00:36:53.070 --> 00:36:57.150 Genesis 12. You're Abraham's seed, and you're 00:36:57.150 --> 00:37:01.460 heirs according to that promise. You're not a 00:37:01.460 --> 00:37:03.099 second -class citizen. It's not like the Jews 00:37:03.099 --> 00:37:05.920 are better. No. There is no Jew and Gentile in 00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:08.780 Christ. We are brought in as equal heirs. And 00:37:08.780 --> 00:37:11.340 today, friends, we come to the table of the Lord. 00:37:11.400 --> 00:37:13.679 This is good news. And that table of the Lord 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:16.380 right here has been opened to all the nations. 00:37:16.579 --> 00:37:19.800 The glorious banquet of the body and blood of 00:37:19.800 --> 00:37:23.059 Jesus Christ is open to every tribe, every tongue, 00:37:23.300 --> 00:37:26.619 every people in every nation, to all those who 00:37:26.619 --> 00:37:30.670 call upon Jesus in faith. And the wonderful truth 00:37:30.670 --> 00:37:35.110 is that Jesus Christ still welcomes every sinner, 00:37:35.289 --> 00:37:39.289 regardless of ethnicity, who will come to him 00:37:39.289 --> 00:37:42.289 in faith. So my only admonition is to whoever 00:37:42.289 --> 00:37:44.630 is sitting here this morning, like this Canaanite 00:37:44.630 --> 00:37:48.329 woman, you come to Jesus with empty hands, but 00:37:48.329 --> 00:37:51.909 believing hearts, and the gracious King will 00:37:51.909 --> 00:37:55.570 receive you in this kingdom. That's good news. 00:37:56.369 --> 00:37:59.070 Friends, this is what this passage teaches us. 00:37:59.530 --> 00:38:03.230 We are included in the covenant promises, glorious 00:38:03.230 --> 00:38:06.949 promises, and an inheritance with Christ. Let's 00:38:06.949 --> 00:38:09.190 pray and prepare our hearts to come and feast 00:38:09.190 --> 00:38:11.869 with Christ at this glorious sacrament that he's 00:38:11.869 --> 00:38:16.710 given. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for, 00:38:16.730 --> 00:38:20.150 Lord, this word. And I thank you for the word 00:38:20.150 --> 00:38:24.000 of God. It is so very good. Lord, it's rich and 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:27.000 Lord, it's able to instruct us and feed us, Lord, 00:38:27.099 --> 00:38:29.400 because it shows us Christ who's the true bread 00:38:29.400 --> 00:38:32.380 come down from heaven. Lord, he's the bread. 00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:35.280 And we come today and we're reminded of his broken 00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:41.119 body and his shed blood. Lord, this is the avenue 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:44.199 through which eternal life comes. Empty hands, 00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:48.719 believing hearts. Hands that will receive the 00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:50.480 broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ 00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:54.010 by faith. trusting, Lord, that what Jesus did 00:38:54.010 --> 00:38:58.050 was sufficient for us. Lord, we trust that, Lord. 00:38:58.110 --> 00:39:00.210 That's the glorious promise we trust in. And, 00:39:00.230 --> 00:39:01.750 Father, I pray that, Lord, you would work in 00:39:01.750 --> 00:39:03.670 people's hearts to allow them to understand more 00:39:03.670 --> 00:39:06.250 deeply this truth, that there no doubt would 00:39:06.250 --> 00:39:08.349 be some in here today. And, Lord, they've never 00:39:08.349 --> 00:39:10.250 in their heart bowed before you, Lord. Would 00:39:10.250 --> 00:39:13.889 you awaken them, give them life, grant them repentance 00:39:13.889 --> 00:39:16.710 so that they see Jesus clearly. I pray this in 00:39:16.710 --> 00:39:20.639 his name. Amen. Deacons, if you would come and 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:21.699 prepare the table of the Lord.