Matthew 15, Part Two

The Canaanite woman and little dogs (vs. 21-28)—This is a great story. Jesus was in the region of Tyre and Sidon and a local woman—a Gentile woman, that’s very important—comes and asks Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus ignores her and the disciples want Him to run her off. The Lord is not being cruel here, not at all. He is trying the woman’s faith—and persistence. More than once, Jesus taught doggedness in prayer—how badly do you want what you are asking for (cf. Luke 18:1-5). He responds to this Gentile woman, “’I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,’” meaning the Jews only (v. 24). But she does, indeed, persevere: “Lord, help me!” (v. 25). Jesus continues to test her: “’It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (v. 26). That could be taken as an insult; the “children,” again, are the Jews, and the “little dogs” are the Gentiles. “I came to the Jews,” Jesus said, “and I shouldn’t take what I’m supposed to give them and give it to Gentiles.” But once more, there’s no insult intended; it’s a test of faith. And the mother passes: “And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table’" (v. 27). Jesus praises her faith and heals her daughter. You gotta love that woman, who knew what Jesus could do and just wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Feeding the four thousand (vs. 29-39)—We’ve seen a similar story in chapter 14 where Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 (men). Now the number is 4,000, and this time there are seven loaves of bread and “a few little fish” (v. 34). And, when finished, there were seven baskets full of leftovers. Not surprisingly, the disciples show some obtuseness. In verse 32, Jesus said to them, “’I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.’" And the disciples asked Him, “’Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?’" Didn’t they remember the feeding of the 5,000 men (excluding woman and children)? But let’s try not to be too hard on these fellows; it’s just not every day you see somebody feed over 10,000 people with a handful of food—and have more left over than you started with. It takes time for faith to grow; it doesn’t spring up overnight.