God’s grace, peace and
mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled People, Petition and Purpose. My
focus is on Matthew (15:21-28). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist
wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the
Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear
your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our
hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity.
Amen.
Have you ever noticed
how many songs and movies have the word people in the titles? Dozens. Among
songs, artists have recorded Everyday People, Short People, C’mon People,
All God’s People, Lonely People, Shower the People, and even more I never
heard of: Plastic People, Damaged People, Second Hand People and Broken
People.
Directors and
producers have given us Ruthless, Ordinary and Used People. There
have been movies attributed to animals and people, such as Mole People, Cat
People, Alligator and Bat People. Personality traits have been
featured in such blockbusters as Secret People, Smart, Fierce, Crazy,
Terrible, Superfluous, Civilized, Beautiful and Simple People.
We are extremely
interested in people. 118 million people read one of the most popular magazines
in the US, People. That may explain
why Matthew introduced such unlikely people to demonstrate true faith: the
Roman centurion and a Canaanite woman. And so, while focusing on this unlikely
person, I begin with my first point about people.
Unlike Zacchaeus,
Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalene, both the centurion and this
woman remain anonymous. Neither Mark nor Matthew mention their names, yet their
stories are recorded for a purpose. I will get to that later.
This woman is a
Canaanite. Canaan was a grandson of Noah. In Genesis we read that the territory
of the Canaanites extended from Sidon to Gaza to Lasha. If you look at a map,
the territory was a vast area west of the Sea of Galilee and spread to the
Mediterranean Sea (10:18). We also read that Isaac warned Jacob not to marry a
Canaanite woman (28:1); yet, Judah married one (38:2). Shaul, the son of a
Canaanite woman and Simeon, is mentioned in Genesis (46:10) and Exodus (6:15).
Trouble with the
Canaanites begins in Numbers, when the king of Arad heard that Israel was
coming by the way of Atharim, and fought against Israel, and took some of them
captive. Israel vowed to the Lord, “If you will indeed give this people
into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” The Lord
heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them
and their cities to destruction (21:1ff). Later, the Lord spoke to
Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, “Speak
to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the
land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from
before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal
images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession
of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. …
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then
those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in
your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I
will do to you as I thought to do to them.” (33:50ff).
During the life of
Joshua, the Lord drove out the Canaanites and all other peoples so that the
people of Israel could live in the Promised Land (5:1; 13:1ff). After Joshua,
Judah and Simeon drove out many peoples. Manasseh, Naphtali and Zebulan did not
drive out the Canaanites, but allowed them to live as forced labor. Ephraim and
Asher lived among the Canaanites (Judges 1). Throughout their history,
Canaanites and Israelites co-existed, but not always peacefully. The Canaanites
did not accept any books of the Bible other than the first five.
Our passage opens by
telling us that Jesus went into two cities of Canaanite territory not to engage
in pastoral ministry, but to avoid the Jewish opposition to him. Recall that he
had just completed a confrontation with scribes and Pharisees who had come from
Jerusalem (15:1-20).
Enter the woman.
Matthew’s telling of the story is so shocking that he uses the phrase behold
to introduce her. “And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came
out” (15:22). Other versions use the words Suddenly!, Lo!, Look! and
Just then! It’s as if she appeared out of nowhere.
This Canaanite woman is
a member of the ancient and idolatrous enemies of God’s people in the promised
land, and maybe the least likely of people to elicit mercy from the Jewish
Teacher and the most unlikely to acknowledge his true identity.[1] That said, let me move
from my first point, people, to my second, petition.
As this woman cries
out, she addresses Jesus as Lord and Son of David. In Matthew, the title Lord
is typical for Jesus’ disciples to address him. It is a word that comes from
faith or the profession of faith. She calls him Lord three times. Even more
unexpectedly, she refers to Jesus as Son of David. Most Jews and their
religious leaders definitely did not view Jesus as Son of David. Yet, he is
rightly acclaimed by individuals who stand at the margins of power, influence
and learning: children (21:15), blind people (9:27ff; 20:29ff) and this
Canaanite woman. Even though his own people did not rightly acknowledge Jesus
as Son of David and King of the Jews, she did![2]
Initially, Jesus
refuses to speak. And while it is useless to wonder why, your guess is as good
as anyone’s. He simply remains silent. We see, however, that his disciples step
forward and begin to ask him to send her away. It is the same thing they said
to Jesus about the hungry crowds. In that case, it was so the people could
depart and buy something to eat in the villages.
Here, is it the
disciples’ desire for Jesus to get rid of her without helping her or to give
her what she wants so that she will depart and leave them alone? The former
would seem that the disciples may be thinking that it is the business of
Israel’s Messiah to get rid of every annoying Gentile that comes to him for
help. The latter puts into perspective Jesus’ reply TO THE DISCIPLES – “I
was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus is not
simply there for his disciples’ convenience or to be some itinerant wandering
miracle worker. Jesus exists for a reason, and his reply to their request highlights
the unique place in salvation history for the children of Israel.
His identity as
Israel’s Messiah and Savior has implications for his relationship with the rest
of humanity and the entire creation. And so, the woman persists. A second time
on her knees, she calls him Lord and cries out, “Help me!” Now,
Jesus speaks to her directly in seemingly harsh words. This Messiah, who just
fed 5,000 men with 12 baskets of fragments remaining, and will again provide
bread for another 4,000, says, “It is not right to take the children’s
bread and throw it to the dogs.” Does she think that she should get
what belongs by right and divine economy to Israel? Does she comprehend who
Jesus is? Or, is God once again feeding – as He did for 40 years in the desert
– an ungrateful, uncomprehending people? In short, here is what Jesus wants to
know: Does this Canaanite woman really know who he is, or are the things that she
said just words and nothing more?[3]
And so, she speaks and
shows her faith. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall
from their masters’ table.” She gets it. She understands. She agrees.
She believes. She believes both in Jesus’ mission to Israel’s lost sheep and
his abundance, which also provides for the dogs under their master’s table. With
her response to Jesus’ saying, her petition is answered. Hence, we move from
petition to purpose.
A few weeks ago, when
I preached on Jesus feeding the 5,000, I said that it was one of the few times
Matthew wrote of Jesus’ emotions. He felt compassion. Here, Matthew does not
record how Jesus felt. We can safely say that there did not seem to be much
that amazed our Lord. Earlier, however, another Gentile approached Jesus with
the petition of healing his servant. The Roman centurion spoke and showed his
faith and understanding. At this Jesus was amazed, and “said to
those who followed him, ‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found
such faith’” (8:10).[4]
Here, after the
Canaanite woman spoke amazing words about who Jesus is and how he fully
provides for Israel and dogs, Matthew wrote that “Jesus answered
her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you
desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly” (15:28).
What is Matthew’s
purpose in recording this moment? I mean, how did this anonymous Canaanite
woman know anything about Jesus? Who taught her about Israel’s Messiah or him
being Son of David? We can only speculate answers to some questions, but this I
am willing to bet: God the Father revealed this to her. Matthew records that to
unlikely candidates God revealed Jesus’ identity: to the Magi, the Roman
centurion and this Canaanite woman. God hides things from the learned and the
clever and reveals them to little children (11:25).
In the context of
chapter 15, this anonymous Canaanite woman poses a sharp contrast to the
unbelieving Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem. Whereas Jesus was rejected by
fellow Jews, Gentiles recognized him as their Lord, who has mercy on them and exorcizes
the demon of paganism so that they can join the children at God’s table.[5]
What purpose does that
serve us today? To our ears, the woman’s response sounds servile. She seems to
accept the role of dog. Matthew probably saw her humility as a necessary
ingredient of faith. It was appropriate that she acknowledge the historical
priority of God’s election of Israel. Paul reminds us in Romans 11 that it is
by grace alone that we have been admitted to the ranks of God’s
salvation-historical people. We have no right to demand the help of Israel’s
Messiah. Like the woman of the story, we humbly beg his mercy.[6]
It also reminds us
that members of despised or oppressed groups must be bold in seeking relief of
their misery. The woman is not content to be ignored, because she is convinced
that her daughter deserves to be given a chance at living a normal, productive
life. Her persistence, based on her faith in a God who can change things for
the better, is rewarded.[7]
As a Lutheran Pastor,
the story reminds me that through grace God reveals to us his compassionate
loving-kindness. From the Holy Trinity through Word and Sacrament we have all
we need to sustain our Christian life. But personally, I think we desire more than
sustenance.
Beyond a personal
relationship, do we desire an intimate relationship with Jesus? In the next
chapter, we hear another person confess Jesus’ identity. Peter confessed him as
the Christ, the Son of the living God (16:13). Of course, that was revealed to
Peter by God the Father, but beyond that, why did Peter confess Jesus first?
Why not Andrew or Philip, James or John? Every one of them had a personal
relationship with Jesus. Why Peter?
Peter noticed Jesus.
He noticed not only the public pastoral Jesus feeding the multitudes and
healing the sick, forgiving sinners and raising the dead, but also the private
pious Jesus praying on the mountain alone and in the company of others. He
noticed the intimate relationship Jesus had with His Father, and he too desired
such a relationship with God.
Friends, you know
Jesus from reading about Him and hearing about Him. You have experienced Christ
in Word and Sacrament. You have witnessed the power of His word and touch both
in the lives of others and in your own. As you go from here, let others know
that God is more than simply One who sustains you daily, but loves you with
undeserved compassion, mercy and forgiveness, and sends you into a sin-sick
world of people to encounter many who reject Jesus, and to be that person who
still brings others to our Risen Lord. When you do that, I pray that the peace
of God that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
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