This morning I opened my Bible to Matt 15 and was reading through the story of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was demonized. This morning I was struck by her absolute persistence! Here are the verses - Matthew 15:21-28 NIrV:
[21] “Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. [22] A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.”
[23] Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, “Send her away. She keeps crying out after us.”
[24] Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”
[25] Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.
[26] He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
[27] “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”
[28] Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.”
Imagine the audacious faith it took to reject what Jesus said to His face! Why in the world would this woman press forward in spite of the very words Jesus just spoke to her? Clearly love for her daughter compelled her! That and I believe the gift of faith from the Father!
Desperate prayers from desperate hearts seem to always stir compassion in Jesus. He doesn’t need His compassion stirred, for compassion is one of the chief characteristics of God, but it is rather a dependence of His compassionate nature, that enflames His compassion!
Does that make sense?
We must depend on His compassion, and open ourselves to His compassion, even relying on it! He desires to express His compassion for us, for that is His nature, that is what He revealed about himself, and that is something Jesus demonstrated over and over again! Can we believe that He will have compassion on us?
Back to the woman, who wasn't a Jew, her love for her daughter compelled her!
Will our love for others similarly compel us to press in, to pursue that which only He can provide? Will we allow our faith to be stirred, or will we just assume that God isn’t going to answer our prayers, and walk away down-trodden?
Make no mistake, this miracle was God’s will, the woman didn’t change His will, but there was something Jesus was after in both the moan and her daughter!
In fact, we don’t know for sure, but I wonder if this event might have been what Jesus was referring to in His warnings, found in Luke 10:13-14 NIV:
[13] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. [14] But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.”
We see that many people from that region followed Jesus (see Mark 3:8), and one wonders if this woman’s story was part of the reason? Or possibly, this miracle was the direct result of her hearing from those that had seen what Jesus was doing and came back and told her?
Either way, there was expectant faith in this woman and her life and the life of her daughter were radically impacted by the compassion of Jesus!
This morning I am stirred to greater belief and dependence on Jesus’ compassion! He knows our situation and He is compassionate! Is He inviting us to pursue Him, to press in, to rely on His compassion to produce a miracle in our life?
I know Jesus wasn’t disappointed, nor put off by her persistence, but rather He exclaimed, “Woman you have great faith!” Oh that He would say the same thing about us!
Amen and Amen!
