No, I didn’t misspell the title. Let me explain with this incredible story:
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon [outside of Israel]. 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.”
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.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs [Hebrew: affectionate household pet] eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment Matthew15:21-28 [Emphasis Mine].
The story begs a question: what was Jesus doing in another country? Traditionally commentators suggest Jesus’s motivation was to take a break with his disciples—away from the controversy and persecution of the Jewish religious leaders. However, this doesn’t explain why Jesus went so far away—it was a 2-day walk—and why he chose the ‘enemy territory’ of Tyre and Sidon. There is also no mention of any rest motive in the gospel accounts.
The only thing recorded in terms of ministry was the interaction with this foreign woman which led to the healing of her daughter. Jesus made it clear on several occasions (e.g. John 5:19,30) that He did nothing without his Father’s direction. Could it be Father God explicitly sent Jesus to this needy woman in a far-off region?
If this was the case, which it probably was, why did Jesus appear so rude and arrogant towards this needy foreigner? To ignore her, insult her and invalidate her claims upon Him were clearly not Jesus’s typical ways of conveying the Father’s love.
Amazingly, none of these ‘offences’ dissuaded her. She knew who Jesus was—’Lord’ and ‘Son of David’—even as a non-Jew. She pressed in. Her response spotlighted her faith—the very thing Jesus appeared to be mining for. Her confidence in a ‘crumb’ from Jesus ignited the miracle of her daughter’s healing—and blessed the heart of God (Hebrews 11:6).
So, here is the upshot: Jesus took his faithful troupe on a 120-160km round trip walk over 4-5 days just to visit someone who, in human terms, was a complete nobody—actually, more than that, an enemy and a foreigner. Why? To answer her heartfelt plea for help. Such was the Father’s love. And friends, Father God did the exact same thing for you and me when He sent Jesus into a hate-filled world to reach us in our desperate need.
Like this Canaanite woman, none of us are worthy to receive such a magnanimous intervention. Yet, for all who push through the seeming foolishness and the offence of the cross, Jesus’s death and resurrection become a source of healing and grace and forever a reminder of our value.
For God so loved the world that he sent His only son…John 3:16
PHOTO: thanks to www.LumoProject.com.
