The Girl Vexed with Devil made Whole

Matthew 15:21-28
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Jesus went to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Sidon was the first born of Canaan (Genesis 10:15) and was the mother city of Tyre (Isaiah 23:12). Tyre and Sidon are related to Canaan and Jesus went to these coasts. Jesus’ departing to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon is similar to Elijah’s departure to Zarephath of Zidon as mentioned in the blog The Widow at Zarephath – Part I. God had spoken to Elijah to go to Zarephath and dwell with a widow there for she found favor in God’s eyes and was about to experience abundant grace of the Almighty at a juncture when famine was prevalent, through a great prophet sent as a savior unto her although she was not a Jew. Jesus went to these two coasts to preach the good tidings of great joy, to perform mighty miracles and to show His care and concern to men of every kindred.

A woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cried unto him saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. Though this woman was of Canaan, she cried unto Him for mercy. She pleaded not for a worldly favor but for His mercy. May we also in our humility cry out unto Him for His mercy! She knew that He was a Lord and Son of David. She knew pretty well that He was a Jew but yet approached Him for she must have heard of His mercy and grace. The news of Savior spread to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon as well and how she longed for this Savior’s mercy. She besought Him and was full of faith that He would grant her, her sincere plea. She sought His mercy as her daughter was grievously vexed with devil. She was a caring mother who could not see the suffering of her daughter. We as parents must seek the best interests of our children and plead the Lord for His mercy upon them. When we in faith carry our requests on behalf of our children, He will not shun us away. We have an ultimate friend who not only carried our sins and grief but we are privileged to carry our burdens unto Him in a prayer. He waits to hear our requests and pleas.

He answered her not a word. She brought in this request unto Him knowing pretty well that she can find His mercy and grace but Jesus did not respond to her. Many times in our lives too when we carry our requests to Him, He does not respond. He waits to build the right character in us, a character that is more pleasing to Him than our current state. Waiting does shape in us a special trait called patience for without patience what is a person in Christ for? And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. The disciples now intervened and pleaded the Master to send her away for she cries unto them as well. The intervention of His disciples is much like our intercession for the other people. Look, the Master now speaks! We are His disciples and the disciples’ asking Him to send her away is suggestive that they were tired of her pleading not only to Jesus but also to the disciples. Here is a woman who cried unto the Master directly for His mercy and when He did not respond approached His disciples and pleaded them. We too should request the people in Christ to pray for our sakes. We should not get tired of praying and pleading. When we do not hear from Him, that is when we should be more fervent in our prayers and seek the other believers in the Body of Christ to uphold our requests. The disciples spoke to the Master on her behalf and wanted Jesus to send her away. Although it is not clear whether they wanted the Master to grant her the request, I can imagine that they wanted Him to grant her request so that she would not bother them anymore.

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus is now saying that He came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel and not for the gentiles. He was thus testing her endurance to stand the test of faith and hang on to her petition although He did not address her directly. He is a God of mercy and grace and I am confident that she had heard of Him thus. But what He is saying now contradicts His character but will she still believe and trust in Him? He was testing her of this. He tests us as well and his silence for our petitions implies that He is working His character in us. It is not that He put a deaf ear to our requests. He is well aware of the urgency of these requests yet He makes us wait so that we are turned into pure gold that stood the test of fire.
Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. She did not get offended when He said He came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She did not apply to her and say that she is not a Jew and hence give up. Instead she turned around and worshipped Him. This woman was a woman of great faith and she worshipped Him when all she senses is a person turned down. She humbles herself and much to a human’s surprise worships Him. She says, “Lord, help me!” She is begging for His help for she very well knows that the help comes from the Lord which made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). John 1 clearly explains that the Light of the World, Jesus was with God from the beginning. So this Canaanite woman believed in the authority of Jesus over every power and principality and especially over the devil that troubled her daughter.

But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Jesus is responding to her who sought His help that it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to dogs. The children here are the Jews while the dogs are the Canaanites or gentiles. He referred to her as a dog. But her answer speaks the humility with which she accepts herself as a dog. The Master will not look down upon us His children but will see if we are humble enough to enjoy His divine blessings. He was simply testing her faith, her humility and her perseverance. Her answer was that the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their Masters’ table. She is just asking for a crumb of blessing from the tons of blessings that the Master has for His children. She is willing to wait at the Master’s table and be blessed by a little crumb that falls off the table. Oh, how great is this woman’s faith and endurance?

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Now the Master moves in an amazing way in her life and fills her with His mercy and compassion. He was impressed by this woman’s faith. He granted her of her one petition and her daughter was made whole that very hour. Her daughter though not right besides her received His blessing that very hour and the mother here rejoiced in this miracle and in the Lord before her. Her heart must have overflowed with joy that is beyond explanation. Her prayer for her own daughter is an example to us parents today. We should hang on to our petitions for our children and beg Him of His mercy and worship Him even though the situation does not fade away. He shapes heavenly character in us and one day we will be mightily blessed like the way this woman was blessed. He is hearing our pleas and though He seems to not respond, be encouraged that He is shaping His character in us and when He sees us like He wants to see us, our request will be granted. Amen!

Tomorrow: A Disciple Named Tabitha or Dorcas from Joppa