Matthew 15:21-28--The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

Matthew 15:21-28 English Standard Version (ESV)
Listen:  https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.15.21-Matt.15.28
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

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If you know anything about Tyre and Sidon from the Old Testament, they are wicked places.  So much so that the devil is referred to prophetically as the king of Tyre.  If you're looking for these cities on a map, look on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in modern-day Lebanon.  In that time it was in the province of Syria and specifically in the territory of the Phoenicians which is why this woman is sometimes called a Syrophoenician woman, though in this passage the woman is only referred to as a Canaanite woman.  All that to say that these people were the enemies of the Jews and Jesus was in hostile territory, and culturally speaking, He had no reason to talk to this woman.

The woman's greeting though shows that she understands exactly who Jesus is and knows His true identity, which is more than can be said for many of the men in Israel at that time (I think Matthew wants us to see this juxtaposition as the men who had been closest to Jesus just marveled at His miracles and wondered if they could be in the presence of God).  She came to Jesus because her daughter was being oppressed by a demon and she knew that Jesus was God in the flesh and had authority over demons.

Jesus did not answer her though and she must have gotten more insistent and desperate as the disciples finally came to Jesus to say "Make her be quiet."  He finally answered her to say that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (He was only sent to His people, the Jews).  This would make sense to her because she just called him "Son of David" the true heir to the throne of David, the kind of Israel and His answer is along the lines of "You recognize me as a king, but I am not your king, so so why should I concern myself with your troubles?"

She continues in faith to be persistent and to acknowledge Him as "Lord"....a title that we don't often see the Jews using because they feared Caesar and everyone in the Roman empire was told to only ever call Caesar "Lord" as Caesar was not only king/emperor to them but worshiped as a god and the citizens were forced to pay homage to him and worship him on command.  Jesus does not correct her, but instead asks a question seems off-color to us---"Is it right to give to the dogs (the word here is used for wild, mangy, unclean dogs that roamed the streets in packs) the bread that belongs to the children?" She changes the metaphor and says, "even the puppies eat the scraps that fall from the master's table."

Jesus finally responds to the woman's faith...a I would assume His waiting this long was both for the benefit of the woman and the benefit of the disciples and the other Jews and people from that area that may have been gathered around.  He declares to everyone that she has great faith and that it will be done as she desires and her daughter was healed instantly.

Thankfully we know that Jesus did come to both the Jews and the Gentiles and there are more than enough "crumbs" that fall from the king's table for any of us who are not of the house of Israel and we know that when we are saved we become citizens of His kingdom and He cares for all of us.  We are adopted into His family.  and He gives good gifts to His children, but those who are outside of His family and outside of His kingdom should not expect to experience His blessings unless they respond in faith like this woman.  The faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, but that faith must be based in truth and the object of that faith must be Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.