Proper 15 Series A
20 August 2023
Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32
Matthew 15:21–28
The Church Lives Under the Cross of Christ and Prays in the Hope
of His Mercy
By her persistent prayer that Jesus would
have mercy and help her (Matthew 15:22, 24), and even in the face of His
initial silence and apparent rejection (Matthew 15:23–26), the Canaanite woman
boldly confessed her faith in Him (Matthew 15:27–28). Her beautiful example
encourages us to cling to the words and promises of the Gospel, even in the
face of the Law that accuses and condemns us.
“For the gifts and the calling of God
are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29), and His Law “has consigned all to
disobedience” for the very purpose “that he may have mercy on all”
(Romans 11:32). Hence, the woman’s faith and hope were not disappointed, but
her prayers were answered in the mercy of Christ.
Not only does He grant us the crumbs from
His Table, but He also feeds us with “the children’s bread” in the house
of His Father (Matthew 15:26–27). He has brought us to His “holy mountain,”
and He makes us joyful in His house, where He hears our prayers and accepts our
sacrifice of praise upon the altar of His cross (Isaiah 56:7).
Almighty and everlasting Father,
You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every
trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and
mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord.
She Would Not Let Go
Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
The patriarch Jacob wrestled with a mysterious man, and the wrestling match occurred because Jacob wanted this man’s blessing (Ge 32:22ff). This man, as implied in the account and as explained by the prophet Hosea (12:3-4), is indeed God. Jacob would not let God go until God blessed him. Of this account Luther wrote: “The unbelievable power of faith…prevails over God…God cannot shake loose.”
Now, almost 2,000 years after Jacob, a Canaanite woman comes to The Man, asking his blessing upon her demonically-troubled daughter. Though the woman was not Jewish, she nonetheless believed that Jesus was the long awaited Christ, for she implores Him, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” This Jesus whom the woman approaches is exactly what she believes: He is her Lord, the long awaited Son of David, the one prophesied to be the Merciful One. Her faith in Jesus had been generated by someone who shared God’s Word with her, for faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ.
For the Apostles and for us who now read the account, Jesus rebuffs her faith three times. He does this to reveal the woman’s bear-trap faith, which having snapped shut on the Christ would not let Him go. He first gives her the silent treatment. Then He informs her that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Thirdly Jesus tells this gentile-dog that it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. The Canaanite woman’s faith would not release Jesus. Jesus finally reveals what He knew was happening all along: “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (28).
Jacob confidently promised his wrestling opponent, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Ge 32:26). In lieu of Jacob’s tenacious faith, God blessed him and changed his name to Israel, which means, “He strives with God.” Through faith—a faith wrought by God through His Word—Jacob had striven with God, and prevailed; now Jacob is named Israel. In Sunday’s Gospel account Jesus apparently denies giving help to the woman by informing her that He had been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As the Kingdom-work of Christ unfolded through His Holy Apostles, we realize who the citizens of the Israel of God are (Gal 6:15-16). As explained by Paul in Romans 9, there is of course Israel according to the flesh…the physical descendants of Israel. But then there is Israel according to the promise: For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring…This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (6-8). The Canaanite woman who implored the Son of David to have mercy on her daughter was indeed a child of the promise, a spiritual descendant of Israel, a child of God by faith. We thus see how appropriate it was for Jesus to heal her daughter, for she was—in the loftiest sense—a lost lamb of the house Israel for whom Jesus had been sent.
Why was Jesus “sent”? He was not sent by the Father to merely travel the countryside and heal/exorcise those who needed it, but he was sent to save, and not just to save the physical descendants of Israel. The universal salvation of Christ Jesus is attested by the fact that His death was for the entire world. Scripture informs us He died for all, and thus God was reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Cor 5); He is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 Jo 2). Through the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter Jesus was giving a sneak-preview of the salvation that would reach beyond the Jews. This salvation is not simply temporal healing, it is eternal. It is received by the lost sheep of the house of Israel, by those brought to faith in the crucified and risen Christ.
She Would Not Let Go
Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
The patriarch Jacob wrestled with a mysterious man, and the wrestling match occurred because Jacob wanted this man’s blessing (Ge 32:22ff). This man, as implied in the account and as explained by the prophet Hosea (12:3-4), is indeed God. Jacob would not let God go until God blessed him. Of this account Luther wrote: “The unbelievable power of faith…prevails over God…God cannot shake loose.”
Now, almost 2,000 years after Jacob, a Canaanite woman comes to The Man, asking his blessing upon her demonically-troubled daughter. Though the woman was not Jewish, she nonetheless believed that Jesus was the long awaited Christ, for she implores Him, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” This Jesus whom the woman approaches is exactly what she believes: He is her Lord, the long awaited Son of David, the one prophesied to be the Merciful One. Her faith in Jesus had been generated by someone who shared God’s Word with her, for faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ.
For the Apostles and for us who now read the account, Jesus rebuffs her faith three times. He does this to reveal the woman’s bear-trap faith, which having snapped shut on the Christ would not let Him go. He first gives her the silent treatment. Then He informs her that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Thirdly Jesus tells this gentile-dog that it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. The Canaanite woman’s faith would not release Jesus. Jesus finally reveals what He knew was happening all along: “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (28).
Jacob confidently promised his wrestling opponent, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Ge 32:26). In lieu of Jacob’s tenacious faith, God blessed him and changed his name to Israel, which means, “He strives with God.” Through faith—a faith wrought by God through His Word—Jacob had striven with God, and prevailed; now Jacob is named Israel. In Sunday’s Gospel account Jesus apparently denies giving help to the woman by informing her that He had been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As the Kingdom-work of Christ unfolded through His Holy Apostles, we realize who the citizens of the Israel of God are (Gal 6:15-16). As explained by Paul in Romans 9, there is of course Israel according to the flesh…the physical descendants of Israel. But then there is Israel according to the promise: For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring…This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (6-8). The Canaanite woman who implored the Son of David to have mercy on her daughter was indeed a child of the promise, a spiritual descendant of Israel, a child of God by faith. We thus see how appropriate it was for Jesus to heal her daughter, for she was—in the loftiest sense—a lost lamb of the house Israel for whom Jesus had been sent.
Why was Jesus “sent”? He was not sent by the Father to merely travel the countryside and heal/exorcise those who needed it, but he was sent to save, and not just to save the physical descendants of Israel. The universal salvation of Christ Jesus is attested by the fact that His death was for the entire world. Scripture informs us He died for all, and thus God was reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Cor 5); He is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 Jo 2). Through the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter Jesus was giving a sneak-preview of the salvation that would reach beyond the Jews. This salvation is not simply temporal healing, it is eternal. It is received by the lost sheep of the house of Israel, by those brought to faith in the crucified and risen Christ.
Matthew 15:21–28
The Faith of a Canaanite
Woman
Matthew 15.21
Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνεχώρησεν
εἰς τὰ μέρη Τύρου καὶ Σιδῶνος.
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
Matthew 15.22
καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ Χαναναία ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων
ἐκείνων ἐξελθοῦσα ἔκραζεν λέγουσα· Ἐλέησόν με, κύριε υἱὸς Δαυίδ· ἡ θυγάτηρ μου
κακῶς δαιμονίζεται.
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
Matthew 15.23
ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῇ λόγον. καὶ
προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἠρώτουν αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Ἀπόλυσον αὐτήν, ὅτι
κράζει ὄπισθεν ἡμῶν.
But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”
Matthew 15.24
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Οὐκ ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ
εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matthew 15.25
ἡ δὲ ἐλθοῦσα προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγουσα·
Κύριε, βοήθει μοι.
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.
Ø Κύριε, βοήθει μοι – the most powerful
prayer in Scripture
Matthew 15.26
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Οὐκ ἔστιν καλὸν
λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καὶ βαλεῖν τοῖς κυναρίοις.
And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Matthew 15.27
ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί, κύριε, καὶ γὰρ τὰ κυνάρια
ἐσθίει ἀπὸ τῶν ψιχίων τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν.
Matthew 15.28
τότε ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Ὦ
γύναι, μεγάλη σου ἡ πίστις· γενηθήτω σοι ὡς θέλεις. καὶ ἰάθη ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτῆς
ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης.
Faith
believes that God is not a Divine Accountant or Probation Officer. Rather, He’s
an indulgent father. Who throws a party for his indigent son. He’s like an
employer. Who pays employees a full day’s wage. Even though they only worked an
hour. He’s like a lavish wedding host. Who provides copious amounts of only the
best and finest wine. He’s your Good Shepherd. Content to leave behind
ninety-nine of His herd in safety. Who will risk all. To save just one, that is
lost.
This
is the God who desires to bless all people I’m tempted to curse. He includes
those whom I’d exclude. And embraces the very people I would shun. This good
news, He says, is for all people. No one is to be excluded from the Father’s
presence.
The Greek New Testament: SBL
Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible
Software
ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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