THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever been insulted? How did you respond?
READ TOGETHER.
Matthew15:21-28. 21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And 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.” 23But 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.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
It’s hard to imagine Jesus insulting someone, isn’t it? But that’s what happens in today’s story about Jesus. A mom whose daughter has a demon comes to Jesus for help. Like any good mother, she won’t leave Jesus alone and keeps following him and the disciples around, crying out after them. How annoying!
Worse yet, this woman is not Jewish like Jesus and the disciples. Jewish? Yes, the Jews were God’s chosen people, the ones he rescued out of Egypt hundreds of years earlier. But this woman was a Canaanite. The Canaanites were the bad guys who lived in the land promised to the Jews. Ove the years the Canaanites had harassed the Jews, fought the Jews, and even killed the Jews. That’s why the 12 Disciples tell Jesus to send her away.
Did Jesus send her away? No. Jesus never sends people away who come to him. But he did test her faith. How? By insulting her to see how she would respond. Jesus said to her, It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. Yikes.
The children are the Jews. The Canaanites are the dogs.
Jesus is telling her that he can’t give his bread, God’s love and help, to the Canaanite dogs, he has to only give it to God’s Jewish children.
What the woman says back to Jesus is amazing – Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. Did this desperate mother pass the test? What is she saying to Jesus? She’s saying, I don’t need the children’s bread, I’ll settle for the crumbs on the floor. What do you think that means? Why does Jesus say that she has great faith?
The woman didn’t get mad at Jesus when he called her a dog. She didn’t say, Hey, I’m just as important as your disciples! She was humble and willing to take whatever Jesus would give her. That’s great faith!
Because of Jesus we are never sent away from God.
With Jesus we can humbly receive whatever he gives us – which is actually everything.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Talk about a time you were insulted? How do you respond to insults? How can you respond in faith like this mother did? Practice responding to insults together.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, you will never send me away; you will always give me what I need. Amen.
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