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5 - Outstanding Faith
Matthew 15:
21. Jesus then left that part of the country and walked the fifty miles to
Tyre and Sidon.
22. A woman from Canaan who was living there came to him, pleading, "Have
mercy on me, O Lord, King David's Son! For my daughter has a demon within
her, and it torments her constantly."
23. But Jesus gave her no reply - not even a word. Then his disciples urged
him to send her away. "Tell her to get going," they said, "for she is bothering
us with all her begging."
24. Then he said to the woman, "I was sent to help the Jews - the lost sheep
of Israel - not the Gentiles."
25. But she came and worshiped him and pled again, "Sir, help me!"
26. "It doesn't seem right to take bread from the children and throw it to
the dogs," he said.
27. "Yes, it is!" she replied, "for even the puppies beneath the table are
permitted to eat the crumbs that fall."
28. "Woman," Jesus told her, "your faith is large, and your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed right then.
LB
Jesus was testing this mother to see what was really in her heart.
She expected that He might throw up the regular cultural barriers, and He did.
But she kept on pleading.
Then He let her know that she was outside the scope of His ministry: He was
sent to minister only to the people of Israel.
None of these things daunted her: she kept on asking for His help.
Then He put the situation to her in blunt cultural terms:
"The people I am limited to are like the children of the home; you are like
a dog begging at the door. I cannot take the blessings meant for the children
and instead give them to dogs at the door!"
The mother passed even this test: she was undaunted by the apparent insult,
because she had made up her mind beforehand that her aim was to GET HER
DAUGHTER HEALED, NO MATTER WHAT SHE HAD TO ENDURE IN THE PROCESS!
So she took up Jesus' analogy of the children and the dog and replied to Him:
"Just regard me as a puppy under the children's table, Lord. What I am asking
for will just take the crumbs of your mighty power!"
Jesus was really pleased that she had passed all the tests of faith! He
rewarded her, not only with the healing of her daughter, but also with a
place in history as a woman of well developed faith!
How well developed is your faith today?
Prayer:
Father, make me a believer who has the quality of faith in You that bypasses
all obstacles and offences, and continues to believe You,
in Jesus' name,
Amen.
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