“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.” Matthew 15:22-28
Dear Reader,
If Jesus gave a commendation to someone on this Earth, we would do well to imitate that person. Come, let us see the importunity of the Canaanite woman!
First, we learn that she was a woman of Canaan. This was a problem. She was not a part of the “people of God” according to Jewish belief. They likened the Gentiles to dogs.
Allow me to put that into perspective. For most of history, dogs have been looked upon as vile, filthy, disease ridden creatures. A far cry from modern America’s version of man’s best friend. Needless to say, the Jews did not think highly of the Gentiles.
Let us begin examining the scriptures in light of that.
“and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David” – We quickly see that this was no ordinary Gentile woman. First, she was desperate. She cried for mercy! Second, she acknowledged Jesus was the Son of God. She expressed her faith more honorably than most Jews of the day! She called Him “Lord”, placing herself under His absolute authority. There was no doubting in her.
Also, note her desperation. And note her humility.
“my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil” – we see that this was no small problem. The soul of her precious daughter was horrendously tormented. Imagine the pain of the woman!
We might immediately assume that the compassionate Christ would immediately heal this desperate, faithful, and believing woman’s daughter.
“But he answered her not a word.”
Can you imagine that? Can you imagine how she felt? Falling at his feet, in utter desperation, and He said nothing in response. How broken her heart must have been! It would have been almost less painful and understandable if Jesus said “no.” But He said nothing!
Note that this is where most Christians give up. They have this burden of pain in their heart. They need divine help. They cry out to God! But nothing happens. No words. No healing.
And they walk away and wonder privately if God cares.
Reader, this may have been you. This may have been your story years ago. You may have given up on faith in Christ.
But note that Canaanite woman! Examine her faith and imitate it!
She Keeps Going
Back to the story. Jesus’ disciples say to send her away. He responds to them by saying “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Were these words only said to His disciples? No. They were said in wonderful wisdom to place the faith of this woman on display for all the world to see for the ages.
His words were absolutely true. His ministry instructions from God were to go to the Jews. The Apostle Paul received instructions to go to the Gentiles. But let’s read on.
“Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.” – Do you see that? He said I’m only sent to Israel, then she comes and falls at His feet in worship. She begs Him for help again! Note this woman!
Most people would have walked away at Christ’s silence. Then a remainder of people would have walked away at Christ’s answer. But look at this woman! She worshipped! In the darkest night, in the most silent hour, in the midst of her desperation, she held onto to Christ! She would not let Him go! Like Jacob when He became Israel, she set her mind to take hold of the God of love and never give up!
Now, surely Jesus would heal this woman’s daughter. Who has faith like her? Surely this was enough to prove her faith. But Jesus said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.“
Can you imagine! For the third time she was desperately disappointed! Who would have held on for this long? Surely, she would walk away depressed. Or, if there was some pride lurking in her heart, she would have been offended. But this woman was special.
She kept her composure, and held onto Christ once more. She said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” See her humility! She acknowledged and accepted that she was not a part of the heritage of Israel. She called herself a dog.
Jesus then said, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” See that commendation! See that answer to prayer!
Notice Christ’s methods. He has not changed. First, He said nothing. Then, it seemed like “no.” Then it really seemed like “no.” Then He answered yes! Please note that this was a test of faith, done in perfect love. This was not a sadistic form of delaying an inevitable answer.
We all have a choice in prayer. Do we give up or hold on? This woman was desperate. This woman was humble. This woman was importunate. God will not deny such a prayer. In fact, He commands it.
Dearest reader, when should you give up in prayer? Let the life of that Canaanite princess of prayer be your answer!