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Matthew 15:21-28 (Jesus and the Canaanite woman)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called “Miracles and Controversy.” So far in the series, we have looked at some miracles, and we’ve looked at some controversy, but today we get both! Today’s passage presents both a miracle and a controversy, or perhaps we should say a controversial miracle.

This miracle is controversial, not because of what Jesus did but because of whom he did it for. Up to this time Jesus’ miracles have mostly focused on his own people. But here Jesus performs a miracle for a Canaanite woman, someone outside of the Jewish faith. And in doing so, Jesus gives us a preview of his wider ministry to come. Jesus is not just a Savior for the Jewish people. He is a Savior for all. (Read Matthew 15:21-28 and pray.)

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Jesus was a Jew. He was born in the Jewish homeland and raised in the Jewish faith. He studied the Jewish Scriptures, worshiped in the Jewish synagogues, and prayed to the Jewish God. He observed Jewish holidays and traditions. He had Jewish parents, Jewish grandparents, Jewish aunts, uncles and cousins.

But Jesus was not only a Jew. He was also the Jewish Messiah. He was the one that God sent into the world to redeem his people. He was the one prophesied and spoken about in the Old Testament Scriptures. He was the one who came in fulfillment of God’s promise to his people. He was the Jewish Messiah – born as a Jew, raised as a Jew, ministering among the Jews.

In fact, there was so much Jewishness about Jesus that it would have been easy for some people to think that Jesus was meant only for the Jews. And in fact, the early church was mainly composed of Jewish believers who struggled with the idea that Jesus was for the Gentiles, or non-Jews, too. That seems odd to us today, because nowadays it’s the reverse. Most believers today are not Jewish, and it is the Jews who have a hard time believing that Jesus is meant for them.

But one of the main messages of the Bible is that Jesus is a Savior for all, for both Jews and non-Jews. This was prophesied in the Old Testament, it was fulfilled in the church, and it was revealed at key moments in Jesus’ ministry. Today’s passage is one of those moments.

We have seen hints of this already in the gospel of Matthew. For example, Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1 includes Ruth. Ruth wasn’t a Jew. (Matthew 1:5) Matthew 2 records the visit of the magi to Jesus after his birth. The magi were not Jews. (Matthew 2:1-2) In Matthew 4 Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee, also known as Galilee of the Gentiles. (Matthew 4:12-17) Matthew tells us that large crowds from the Decapolis followed him. The Decapolis was a group of ten cities that were predominantly Gentile. (Matthew 4:25) In Matthew 8 Jesus healed the servant of the Roman centurion and said he had not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. (Matthew 8:10) Later in the same chapter Jesus heals two demon-possessed men, both of whom were likely Gentiles. (Matthew 8:28-34)

But then we get to Matthew 10 where Jesus sends his disciples out on mission and gives them the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6) We will talk about why Jesus gave these instructions to his disciples a little later in the message. But for now, I just want you to understand the context of today’s passage. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and his mission at this time was to the Jewish people. That is the context in which Jesus encounters the Canaanite woman and performs this miracle for her daughter. So, let’s take a closer look at the passage together.

I. The woman’s request (21-22)

We begin with the woman’s request in verses 21-22:

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” (Matthew 15:21-22)

This incident takes place in the region of Tyre and Sidon. Tyre was a coastal city located in Phoenicia which is modern day Lebanon. It is about thirty-five miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee.

Now this is highly unusual. Jesus spent most of his time ministering in Israel. We find him going through Samaria and ministering in some non-Jewish regions, but this trip to Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia is the farthest north Jesus traveled that we have on record. We are not told why he left Israel to go to Tyre. Perhaps he needed to get away to get some rest, or perhaps he wanted to spend some time teaching his disciples. Perhaps he came specifically to minister to this Canaanite woman and her daughter.

Whatever the reason, the woman comes to him seeking his help. She has a little girl who is possessed by a demon. Can you imagine having a daughter possessed by a demon? We have talked about evil spirits before and the reality of demon possession both in Jesus’ time and in our day as well. I don’t know how it came about that this little girl was demon-possessed, but somehow her mother heard about Jesus and the works he had been doing, and she believed that he could help her daughter.

And so, she comes to him, crying out: “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Matthew 15:22) “Son of David” is an expression for the Messiah, and so she is recognizing Jesus as the Jewish Messiah here.

However, she is a Canaanite woman, which means she was not a Jew but a Gentile. She was a non-Jewish woman living in a non-Jewish land that did not worship the Jewish God. And now she comes to this Jewish miracle worker, recognizing him as the Jewish Messiah and begging him to drive the demon out of her daughter. That is the context of the woman’s request, and knowing this context is essential for us to understand her following exchange with Jesus.

II. The woman’s faith (23-27)

The predominant element in her exchange with Jesus is her faith. So, that’s what we want to look at next. We have seen the woman’s request, and now we look at her faith. And we see her faith demonstrated in two primary ways.

   A. She perseveres through the obstacles (23-25)

First, we see her faith as she perseveres through various obstacles. Look at verses 23-25:

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. (Matthew 15:23-25)

First, she faces the obstacle of Jesus’ silence. Matthew tells us: “Jesus did not answer a word.” Here she comes to him crying for mercy, and Jesus doesn’t even answer her. He ignores her cries. He doesn’t say a word in response.

Next, she faces the obstacle of the disciples. The disciples come to Jesus and ask him to send her away. They complain, “She keeps crying out after us.” To the disciples she was just a bother, a nuisance, someone to get rid of.

And then she faces the biggest obstacle of all. When Jesus finally does answer her, his response is devastating. He tells her: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) He is basically saying, “You are not a Jew, so I can’t help you.” But the woman still doesn’t give up. She comes and kneels before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

So that’s the first way that we see this woman’s faith in the passage. She perseveres through the obstacles.

   B. She believes that Jesus is a Savior for all (26-27)
      – Romans 1:16

And then secondly, she believes that Jesus is a Savior for all. Look at verses 26-27:

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:26-27)

Jesus’ response here catches us off guard. It seems a bit harsh at first. And so, we need to understand what Jesus meant by what he said, and then we need to understand why he said it this way.

What Jesus meant is this. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, and at this point his ministry was primarily to the Jews. God’s plan of salvation way back in the Old Testament was to choose a people through whom he would give the promises of salvation and from whom the promised Savior would come. It was essential that Jesus came as a Jew to the Jews, for otherwise he would not be fulfilling his role as the Messiah. Now that doesn’t mean that he was only a Savior for the Jews. It just means that he came to the Jews first, in order to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for all people from all nations everywhere.

Salvation came first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles, because God brought the promised Savior of the world into the world through the Jewish nation. The apostle Paul says the same thing when he writes in Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

So here is Jesus in a non-Jewish land being petitioned by a non-Jewish woman at a time when he has not yet fulfilled his Jewish mission. And so, he tells her that this is not yet the time for him to minister to the Gentiles. That is what Jesus meant by what he said. Now we have to look at why he said it in the way he did.

Jesus uses a word picture of children sitting around a table eating bread. Remember, Jesus often used parables and illustrations. And here he makes a very simple point. You don’t take children’s food away from them and give it to the dogs instead. You let the children eat all they need first.

Now this statement seems a little harsh at first. The children in this illustration are the Jewish people, and the dogs are the Gentiles – including this woman and her daughter! Calling someone a dog was an insult in that culture, and the Jews often did refer to Gentiles as dogs.

Well, if Jesus was being harsh here, he certainly had his reasons. Perhaps he was testing this woman’s faith, to see how she would respond. But his words don’t come across quite as harsh in the original language as they do in English. Instead of using the normal word for dogs, Jesus uses a word that refers to smaller dogs or puppies. He is clearly speaking about indoor house pets, rather than the wild dogs that live outside. Either way, Jesus used this image to explain why he could not just say yes to this woman’s request to heal her daughter. His ministry was focused on the Jewish nation at this time, not the Gentiles.

Once again, you’ve got to admire this woman’s perseverance. Not only does she not give up, but she even uses Jesus’ own word picture to reframe her request. “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27)

This is a remarkable answer. First of all, it shows that she understood Jesus’ words. A lot of times people didn’t “get” Jesus’ parables, but this woman got it. She understood Jesus’ mission to the Jews, she affirmed Jesus’ mission to the Jews, but then she also asked for a special allowance for her daughter.

And that’s the second reason why her answer is so remarkable. Here she is, a Gentile woman; she recognizes that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, but she still believes that Jesus is a Savior for all. In effect, she is saying, “I understand that your mission is to your own people at this time. I don’t expect you to abandon that mission and begin a whole new mission to the Gentiles. But surely you can just heal my daughter. Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

III. Jesus’ response (28)

And what was Jesus’ response? Look at verse 28:

Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. (Matthew 15:28)

   A. He commends her faith (28a)

First, Jesus commends her for her reply. Why does Jesus commend her? Because this woman showed remarkable understanding of Jesus’ mission and remarkable faith in Jesus’ power to work a miracle for her daughter. She showed remarkable faith in Jesus’ character to help her, a Gentile woman, and she showed remarkable perseverance in faith to keep asking Jesus even after he had just basically told her, “No.” All of these things were wrapped up in her wise, trusting and humble reply, and so Jesus commended her.

   B. He demonstrates his power (28b)

And then Jesus shows his great power by casting the demon out of the girl from a distance. This is one of only a few instances in the gospel where Jesus heals or performs a miracle from a distance. But what an amazing display of Jesus’ power! Jesus is not limited by time or distance or circumstances. He is the all-powerful Son of the all-powerful God, and nothing is too difficult for him. The woman’s daughter was healed from that very hour.

CONCLUSION: So, what are some of the applications of this passage for us today? Let me share with you three of them.

1) The first is the primary application, and it is the title of today’s message. Jesus is a Savior for all. Yes, he came primarily to his own people, but that was to fulfill the Old Testament promises. It was prophesied in the Old Testament that God would use the nation of Israel to bring salvation to all the nations. God fulfilled that promise by sending his Son Jesus into the world through the nation Israel as the Jewish Messiah. But now that Jesus has completed his mission by dying for sin and rising from the dead, he is a Savior for all people everywhere. That’s why he told his disciples before he returned to heaven: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

And so, as you walk through your week, look around at the people God has placed in your life. Do they know Christ? Have they experienced God’s salvation? Jesus is a Savior for all who will put their trust in him. He is a Savior for young people and old, religious and non-religious, students, businessmen, doctors, nurses, truck drivers, factory workers, friends, neighbors and relatives. All have sinned, and so all need a Savior. That is part of the message of Jesus meeting with this Canaanite woman. Jesus is a Savior for all, and we need to share his saving message with as many people as possible.

2) Secondly, Jesus commends faith. We have seen a number of instances now in the gospel of Matthew where Jesus works miracles in response to faith. We have also seen God hold back his power due to a lack of faith. Like the Canaanite woman, we must come to God trusting his character and believing his power. And like the Canaanite woman, we must persevere.
Perseverance is part of faith. When we do not see an answer to our prayers right away, we should not get discouraged, but we should persevere in faith. In the long run, we must trust God’s answers to our prayers, whatever they may be, but we may be confident that Jesus always commends faith and often works miracles in response to faith.

3) And then thirdly, Jesus can do all things. Once again, Jesus is not limited by our earthly circumstances. Even when he was here in his physical body, he could heal people or cast out demons from a distance. How much more can he do all things now that he has ascended to heaven and sits on the throne at the right hand of God!

No matter how bad your situation, no matter how desperate your circumstances, bring it all to God in prayer through Jesus his Son. Nothing is impossible with God. So, come in faith trusting God’s character and believing his power to do all things. Jesus is a Savior for all. Jesus commends faith. Jesus can do all things.

© Ray Fowler

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