21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the
region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region
and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My
daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He
answered her not a word. And His
disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after
us.”
24 But He answered
and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.” 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help
me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to
take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat
the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you
desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
In a rare move the Lord Jesus now goes to the region of Tyre and Sidon, the Phoenician region that was north of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, approximately where modern Lebanon is. This region the prophet Elijah once came to at the command of God (1 Kings 17:8-9).
Vs. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
Now a Canaanite woman from that region comes to Jesus and cries out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
It is interesting that initially Jesus does not reply to her. Indeed, the Scripture says He answered her not a word; the only time that Jesus acted in such a fashion to someone’s request for help. But as we will see His doing so was not indifference to her person or request, rather He had a singular focus at that time and that was to reach the lost sheep of Israel, which must have been the reason He came to that region in the first place. Now with her crying out to Jesus, and the disciples probably feeling pretty uncomfortable with this Canaanite woman following them and crying out after Him, they come and urge Jesus to send her away, because the Canaanites were a people that God had condemned, and thus the Jews were to have no dealings with.
Vs. 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
And so, with the disciples urging Jesus to send her away, Jesus responds to the woman’s pleas by saying to her that: “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” For at that time the Lord Jesus’ exclusive mission was the declaration of the Gospel of the Kingdom to Israel, however after Pentecost the opening up of the Gospel to all Gentiles (and thus the time or era of the Gentiles) will begin its fulfillment.
Vs. 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
Nonetheless the Canaanite woman is not deterred, and now she comes to the Lord Jesus and worships Him, saying to Him, “Lord, help me!” No longer appealing to the Lord Jesus Christ by addressing Him as the “Son of David” as a Jew would to their Messiah, but now simply as Lord, for Jesus is the Lord of all people.
Vs. 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
Though the Lord Jesus’ reply may seem harsh, in reality Jesus was testing the sincerity of her convictions in calling Him Lord, because again He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Therefore, ministering to this woman’s need before the He had fulfilled that mission would be putting her before it.
Vs. 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
The woman though has no qualms about accepting the fact that she was from a people who were devoid of having any rights and privileges belonging to the Covenant people of God. Yet as she will brilliantly note, even the “little dogs” eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table.
Vs. 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
And so, with woman’s humble and wise response the Lord Jesus Christ seeing her genuine faith then says to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” Immediately granting her request, and so the Scripture says that her daughter was healed from that very hour. Showing us all that God will “bend” His plans if it means reaching someone who likewise exemplifies persistent faith.
Commentary
Vs.
21 “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the
region of Tyre and Sidon.”In a rare move the Lord Jesus now goes to the region of Tyre and Sidon, the Phoenician region that was north of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, approximately where modern Lebanon is. This region the prophet Elijah once came to at the command of God (1 Kings 17:8-9).
Vs. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
Now a Canaanite woman from that region comes to Jesus and cries out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
Vs.
23
But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send
her away, for she cries out after us.”
It is interesting that initially Jesus does not reply to her. Indeed, the Scripture says He answered her not a word; the only time that Jesus acted in such a fashion to someone’s request for help. But as we will see His doing so was not indifference to her person or request, rather He had a singular focus at that time and that was to reach the lost sheep of Israel, which must have been the reason He came to that region in the first place. Now with her crying out to Jesus, and the disciples probably feeling pretty uncomfortable with this Canaanite woman following them and crying out after Him, they come and urge Jesus to send her away, because the Canaanites were a people that God had condemned, and thus the Jews were to have no dealings with.
Vs. 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
And so, with the disciples urging Jesus to send her away, Jesus responds to the woman’s pleas by saying to her that: “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” For at that time the Lord Jesus’ exclusive mission was the declaration of the Gospel of the Kingdom to Israel, however after Pentecost the opening up of the Gospel to all Gentiles (and thus the time or era of the Gentiles) will begin its fulfillment.
Vs. 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
Nonetheless the Canaanite woman is not deterred, and now she comes to the Lord Jesus and worships Him, saying to Him, “Lord, help me!” No longer appealing to the Lord Jesus Christ by addressing Him as the “Son of David” as a Jew would to their Messiah, but now simply as Lord, for Jesus is the Lord of all people.
Vs. 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
Though the Lord Jesus’ reply may seem harsh, in reality Jesus was testing the sincerity of her convictions in calling Him Lord, because again He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Therefore, ministering to this woman’s need before the He had fulfilled that mission would be putting her before it.
Vs. 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
The woman though has no qualms about accepting the fact that she was from a people who were devoid of having any rights and privileges belonging to the Covenant people of God. Yet as she will brilliantly note, even the “little dogs” eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table.
Vs. 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
And so, with woman’s humble and wise response the Lord Jesus Christ seeing her genuine faith then says to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” Immediately granting her request, and so the Scripture says that her daughter was healed from that very hour. Showing us all that God will “bend” His plans if it means reaching someone who likewise exemplifies persistent faith.
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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