LEARNING DAILY

Matthew 15:27, And she said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the master’s table.”

This is the account of a “chance” meeting between Jesus and another woman. In this meeting, the woman was seeking Jesus; Jesus had come into the region of Tyre and Sidon. My thought is Jesus went to this area to meet the woman because after the meeting He left the area and went to a mountain where He fed 4,000 people (v.29).

There is a lot of teaching in Matthew 15:21-28. The woman sought out Jesus because her daughter was “severely demon-possessed” (v. 22) and she needed a miracle. Can you hear her cry for help? Can you hear the desperation in her voice? She is a Canaanite woman but seems to know and understand who Jesus is because she calls Him Lord, son of David”. She must recognize Him as the messiah Israel is looking for and is begging for Him to free her daughter from the demon who plagues her.

There are two responses to look at. The disciples must have gotten tired of her crying out to Jesus because they “urged Him” to send her away. It is not clear if they wanted Jesus to just heal her or not; they just seemed like they just wanted her to go away and leave them alone.

The other response to the cries of the woman is the response of Jesus. Verse 23 tells us “He answered her not a word”. Silence! Nothing! She did not give up and continued to cry out for help. In that process, the disciples lost their patience and wanted her to go away. Focus in on the fact that the woman did not give up, did not stop asking for her need to be met by the only One who could meet it. Jesus’ answer to His disciples and her was that He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. They were in a Gentile area and Jesus made it clear He had to first take care of the Jewish people, God’s chosen people. It would be only after their rejection of salvation through Him that the Gentiles would be offered His salvation.

Her response to this was to come and worship Him (v. 25). She would not accept His silence nor the attempts of the disciples to send her away. Think of her faith! She did not argue with Jesus; she worshipped. She persevered in faith – a faith that trusted Jesus in all her circumstances. Do you have a situation, a need that is challenging your faith today. Have you been praying, pleading with the Lord Jesus Christ to meet that need and only hearing silence? Can I encourage you, as I encourage myself, to not give up! Continue to ask and seek and knock. Look at this woman and do as she did – worship and remain true to Him in every circumstance you are asking about. Do so even when He is silent!

I wonder if Jesus knew this woman could get through this trial. Was He testing her faith? Was he trying to see if she would just give up? She did not stop. She did not argue. She trusted and continued to ask. Her response to Jesus saying, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” showed great faith and humility. It was enough so that Jesus praised her faith and said that her daughter was healed.

May I encourage you to study these verses on your own and understand that Believers are not to give up in asking. The Lord Jesus hears our cries to Him! He is sovereign and all-knowing. He knows the beginning from the end and can be trusted. Perhaps the delay in answering you is to build your faith. Perhaps He wants to see if you will hold on to Him in the midst of your need. All I know is that His Word tells us He cares for each of His faithful followers and their needs; He desires the very best for each of them.