Know this: real faith is outrageously generous. In the Gospels we find Jesus coaxing the stinginess of religious elites into the open. They were not godly, christ-like, or even kind, to say the least. Jesus knew how to define a person, just by getting them to prove it themselves. Facts are fun until they turn on you, right?! In Matthew 15.21-28 the text shifts focus where Jesus is calling out the stinginess of believers.
“21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 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. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 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 is always caught flaunting outrageous generosity…lavish, broad, outrageous generosity. Which is precisely what God has done to this world through Jesus. His salvation makes no sense to the human mind. He freely gives us eternal salvation and sonship without condition or question. It is not logical nor is it fair—it’s mercy! We, who do not deserve anything, dogs as it were, come begging for scraps and Jesus says to us, here’s the whole Kingdom! He is an outrageously generous God, who has called His disciples to continue in that legacy today.
Let’s set the stage a little by looking at this woman a little closer. She had obstacles: her heritage, race, and religion. She was a Canaanite: dirty, outcast, unacceptable. She was a Canaanite woman: a woman in their culture does not approach a man of authority, especially a religious teacher. They were of lower status, and more so being a non-jew. She had a demon possessed daughter: the unclean of the unclean. This put her and her family on the outer edge of society.
First, She cries out to Him. This is such a burden, that she isn’t waiting around to properly come to Him or have His handlers bring her situation to Him. She is in desperate need according to verse 22— “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” What does she ask for first? Mercy!
Notice what name she calls Him by: Jesus, ‘the Lord is salvation’; Christ, ‘the anointed one or messiah’; Son of David, only used in Matthew, Mark, and Luke for ‘the Messiah’. This woman knew He was more than just a man. She believed in the Messiah, referred to that as a title for Jesus. She also believed in Jesus’ power to heal. She began by asking, then begging Him to. She cries out and calls Him by name. So, Jesus is seen literally ignoring her in verse 23— “but he answered her not a word.” This is not common for Jesus, so something is about to happen, you can feel it.
At this point in the story, the church members become an obstacle. The disciples give negative intercession in verse 23— “send her away.” Matthew is the writer of this event (an apostle) records the facts, even exposing himself at the same time as being just like the religious elites— “she crieth after us.” he said. She was in need and crying! But their only reply is: ‘man, she’s bothering us; send her away.’ It is absurd and outrageous for our nature to consider doing what Jesus does time and time again. How is the view from the cheap seats fellas? Remember her heritage, race, and religion were her obstacles. What you need to see about the church members was: these were the exact obstacles of the disciples from demonstrating their faith at that moment.
Jesus then turns to speak directly to her in front of everyone. “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (24). Basically saying— ‘I’m not here for you or your kind. I’m here for the chosen children who have left me.’ This is true. He even gave an illustration of it in Matthew 18.11-12. Again, since she wasn’t a Jew and she was ‘a she’, this would make more people with fake faith quit! It would be defeating and depressing, wouldn’t it? But notice the interchange between this woman and Jesus all started with a faith filled worship and a humble needy plea— “Lord, help me.” (25). I’m curious if we are still in a humble, knee bent, begging mood? We had it at salvation didn’t we? Lord, help me wasn’t hard to say then. Without this, there will be no answer. And it all begins with real worship. What is worship? It’s synonymous with being bent down or on the ground. Each time it’s used in the New Testament, it’s used for one who bent to their knees and put their face to the ground. Jesus is challenging her faith, but not just her’s. He is also testing the faith of the church members surrounding the situation. They failed test one: being people to Jesus for help and healing. Test two has also been failed: humble, needy worshipping is essential for an audience.
Now back to this woman and Jesus’ continued challenge to her faith. In verse 26 He says— “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Children here is Israel, Dogs are the Canaanites, which she is. It may help to know that Jesus uses a different word for dog than a common mangy stray, He chose the word “kunarion” for a ‘a little dog or puppy, like a family pet’. But why does He even do this? Jesus wants all the cards on the table. All the prejudices lurking in the shadows need to come into the light. Real faith isn’t afraid of the truth. Jesus knows our faith and it’s content. He is challenging everyone’s faith in the setting at the same time—just like He does today each and every time a need is presented that makes others uncomfortable, especially if it’s coming from an uncomfortable person in an uncomfortable setting.
The challenge of real faith concludes when she responds with humility, courage and faith in the face of the cultures ridicule and bigotry. Faith is the spiritual discernment God gives you (Hebrews 11.1). And it comes from the Scripture (Romans 10.17). You can chose to believe based upon this faith; or you can chose to reject faith and believe something else based upon something or someone else. Based upon her understanding of the facts she knew, she chose to believe that Jesus could do this and that He was more than just a man. In the face of insurmountable odds and ridicule, even being called ‘a dog’ by the Master, she presses on because she truly believes this man can heal her daughter. This was a challenge for the disciples to learn, and one for her to secure her answer. Jesus basically tells the woman—‘you are welcome here at my table’.
She begs because she loves her daughter. She takes the buffing, cold shoulder, and name-calling, because she loves her daughter (read 28). People who have fake faith, give up too easily. The disciples demonstrated this for us. People of real faith, never give up. The Canaanite mother demonstrated this for us.
But why do we tend to relate and therefore respond in certain ways? Why did the church members respond the way they did? Because it’s a measure of our love. Real faith equals real love. She loved her daughter so much that she would go through anything and take anything to get what she needed from Jesus…merciful healing. If your love is outrageous, then your faith and generosity will be as outrageous—just like Jesus. Shouldn’t the church members today act as the one they say they’re following? How is your outrageous generosity going?Outrageous Generosity