What Kind of Faith is Jesus Looking For? Matthew 15:21-28

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 

"Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities, located some 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. Jesus went all this way to meet this one Gentile woman’s need. This shows remarkable and unexpected love from Jesus to this woman of Canaan." (Guzik)

22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Matthew uses the older term "Canaanites", which reminded his Jewish readers of the ancient peoples that the Israelites conquered when they went into the Promised Land.  Biblically, Canaanites are identified in Genesis as descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah.

It is significant that she cries out "Lord Son of David".  This is a clear reference to Jesus as the Messiah.  

"Perhaps this woman knew that Jesus had healed Gentiles before (Matthew 4:24-25; 8:5-13). Yet what made this encounter unique is that Jesus did those miracles as Gentiles came to Him in Jewish territory. Here, Jesus came to Gentile territory and met this woman." (Guzik)

Also she discerned her daughter was demon possessed, which showed she believed in the spiritual world and recognized the presence of evil spirits.  The Saduccees, one of the Jewish parties, did not believe in the supernatural.    

23 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.”

Jesus oddly enough remains silent, while his disciples see her merely as a pest that should be "shooed" away.  Because she was a Gentile woman from Canaan, they assumed Jesus would have no real interest in helping her. 

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

Again Jesus gives a curious response.  Perhaps he knew what he was going to do, so his words were to point to what he was going to do.  

25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

We see the incredible faith of the woman when she kneels before Jesus.  Her complete trust is in Jesus alone, and she is willing to completely humble herself before him.  One translation says, "she came and "worshipped" before him".  Notice the simplicity of her prayer, "Lord help me!"

“I commend this prayer to you because it is such a handy prayer. You can use it when you are in a hurry, you can use it when you are in a fright, you can use it when you have not time to bow your knee. You can use it in the pulpit if you are going to preach, you can use it when you are opening your shop, you can use it when you are rising in the morning. It is such a handy prayer that I hardly know any position in which you could not pray it: ‘Lord, help me.’” (Spurgeon)

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

Again Jesus' response is curious.  It seems callous for him to seemingly dismiss her reguest.  

"Jesus continued to say discouraging things to the woman, yet this was not quite as severe as it might first sound. When Jesus called her one of the little dogs, He used little as a way to soften the harshness of calling her a dog. This softened the traditional Jewish slur towards Gentiles, which called them dogs in the most derogatory sense." (Guzik)

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

The woman is undeterrred in her trust in Jesus and persisted in prayer.  It is almost as if she is praying even more intensely.  Simply said, she is not going away.  She will not take "no" for an answer. 

"Her response is especially meaningful in light of the increasing rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders. It was as if the woman said, “I’m not asking for the portion that belongs to the children, just the crumbs that they don’t want.” In the flow of Matthew’s gospel, there was more and more that the Jewish religious establishment did not want to receive." (Guzik)

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Finally, Jesus grants her request and recognizes her great faith.  Significantly, the only two people who received this kind of commendation were both Gentiles. Jesus commended the Roman centurion in Matthew 8, and he announced his great faith to the crowd.  In this case, Jesus says it directly to the woman.  

The irony is not lost as the Gentiles who had no history with God as His chosen people, no covenant with Yahweh, had not seen the great miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, and did not have the prophet's prediction, were the ones who exhibited saving faith.  

Have you ever prayed for someone else's healing like the woman prayed for her daughter? Have you ever knelt before Lord in worshipful prayer?  What do you think kept the woman praying so fervently and boldly?  How is God calling you to exercise your faith in Jesus like this woman did?  Who can you intercede for today in intercessory prayer?