| Church School Lesson: Help For An Outsider |
"Help For An Outsider"
April 28, 2024
Background: Matthew 15:21-28; Print: Matthew 15:21-28;
Key Verse: Matthew 15:28; Devotional: Psalm 61
Matthew 15:21-28 (ESV)
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.
Matthew Chapter 28 (Commentary)
15:21-24 Jesus left there and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon (15:21). The Old Testament prophets denounced these Gentile cities on the Mediterranean Coast for their wickedness (see Isa 23; Ezek 28; Joel 3:4-8). While he was there, a Canaanite woman pleaded with him to heal her daughter who was severely tormented by a demon (15:22). She was a pagan whose child was suffering severely, yet that was only her first problem.
The second problem was that in spite of the fact that she acknowledged him as the Jewish Messiah, the Son of David (15:22), Jesus did not say a word to her (15:23). Has that ever happened to you? Have you prayed repeatedly only to feel like heaven’s answer was a busy signal?
Her third problem was the response of his disciples. As she continued to make a spectacle of herself, they urged Jesus to send her away because of the racket (15:23). So not only did Jesus not respond to her pleas, but his followers were trying to shut her up.
Jesus’s spoken response was her fourth problem: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (15:24). In other words, he’d been sent on a mission to the Jews—not the Gentiles. Now, we know from the rest of Matthew (e.g., 8:5-13), and the rest of the Bible (e.g., Rom 1:16), that Jesus brought God’s grace to all people, Jew and Gentile alike. But the focus of his earthly ministry was on the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After his death and resurrection, he would command his disciples to take his message to “all nations” (Matt 28:19) and to “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
15:25 Would you have given up after hearing Jesus’s response in verse 24? Most readers wouldn’t be surprised if Matthew said the woman turned and walked away. But she didn’t. Instead, she knelt before him and cried, Lord, help me! (15:25). Like Jacob wrestling with God, this Canaanite woman wouldn’t “let go” unless Jesus blessed her (see Gen 32:24-26). Remember: when God doesn’t answer your prayers about a specific need, it’s likely he’s trying to deepen your faith. So be persistent in prayer.
15:26-27 To the woman’s persistence Jesus replied, It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs (15:26). The Greek word for “dogs” typically referred to little house-dogs or lap dogs. So Jesus wasn’t insulting the woman but saying he had to feed the Jews first, just as a parent is obliged to feed the children before the house pets. Nevertheless, she wasn’t giving up. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table (15:27)—that is, “Even though the puppies don’t eat first, they still get to eat! I’m willing to settle for your leftovers, Jesus.” That’s desperate humility.
15:28 This woman needed the Lord’s grace and wouldn’t let anything stand in the way—not her race, not Jesus’s silence, not her pride. And that’s exactly where Jesus wanted her to be. Woman, your faith is great, he told her, and then he healed her daughter. This Canaanite started with faith. Then, by persevering through a series of difficulties intended by God to take her deeper, she ended up with great faith.