Matthew 15:21-28 reads, “And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.’ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ And he answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.”
We don’t know much about St. Matthew, who’s credited with writing the Gospel of Matthew. When Jesus called Matthew to be one of His disciples, he was working as a publican or tax collector, a despised profession at the time. He’s one of the Gospels’ authors, but St. Matthew is only mentioned seven times. Pastor Jerry Sander of Calvary Chapel Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Florida, says the location of Jesus’ preaching in the verses is significant. Pastor Sander told Fox News Digital, “He went from the heart of the Jewish culture and belief to two Gentile regions.”
He also said that the wording of the Canaanite woman’s pleas is worth noting. Pastor Sander added, “An unnamed woman cries out to Jesus and says, ‘Have mercy upon me,’ although she’s not the one with the issue. It’s actually her daughter.” According to Pastor Sander, this is what an attack from Satan does. It doesn’t only affect us but those around us. Additionally, the woman used Jesus’ Messianic name, something Pastor Sander said was “profound because she’s just a lowly, unnamed Gentile woman.”
He added that the disciples missed it and urged Jesus to send her away if she was bothering Him or perhaps they were embarrassed to be seen with a Gentile woman. However, Jesus didn’t send the woman away. Instead, he helped her, both spiritually and physically. Pastor Sander noted, “Jesus said something very interesting when He said, ‘I wasn’t sent except for the lost sheep of Israel.’”
Pastor Sander said that may sound harsh, but he believes Jesus wanted to see where the woman’s heart truly was. He said that when the woman came closer to Jesus and worshipped Him, she called Him Lord. While Jesus’ reply may seem harsh, Pastor Sander says it’s actually not. He added, “In the midst of this conversation, the woman continues to draw closer to Jesus.” Life will constantly put obstacles in our path to Jesus, but we should persevere and pursue Jesus because, in the end, He’s all we need.
Pastor Sander said two miracles happened in healing the woman’s daughter. Aside from casting out the demon, the more significant work was done in the woman’s heart. He said, “This woman came to Jesus looking for a physical healing for her daughter and left with a spiritual healing in her soul. The woman wasn’t judged for her amount of faith, but who her faith was placed in.”
The pastor added, “She placed her faith in Jesus, and I believe He became the Lord of her life. To me, the greatest miracle that can happen in our lives is when we become born again by putting our faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.”