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21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26 He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:21-28 NRSV)
Monday has come; how will you receive it? I pray, dear Friend, you receive it with gladness and optimism; blessings are yours, if you but ask.
Jesus had encounters with people that were not from His tribe. Jesus was a Jew and we know of His conversation with a Samaritan woman, and today's passage has us listening in on a conversation that Jesus had with a Canaanite woman. If you know your Bible, you know that where the two stood was once Canaanite land; the Jews had taken it from them, now the Romans had it in their control, but still there was seem tension between Jews and Canaanites. For Jesus, this was a chance for Him to witness to the truth; that all people matter to God, though we'll see that He does mention an aside remark as the woman asks for healing and deliverance for her daughter.
The woman just came out and shared what she knew to be the cause of her daughter's illness; she was demon-possessed. The woman comes straight to Jesus and shouts at Him. Notice that Jesus did not answer her, which prompts the disciples to urge Jesus to send her away. Sadly, we've seen this as a sort of auto-response from the 12 to some situations; send them home; send them to get their own food; we don't even want to bother with demons, send her away! For most of us sophisticated 21st Century believers, the thought of someone being demon-possessed is beyond our comprehension, and for some, beyond belief. Some have an auto-resonse that says, "Her daughter has to be mentally ill, or epileptic, or something along those lines!" What we do know is that the mother believed it was a demon, as it was common in those days and in those places for people to have demon-possession. It was a disruptor of daily life. We can only imagine the outbursts of anger or fits that this daughter had; enough so this Canaanite woman would approach a Jew and ask Him to heal her daughter. The response from Jesus to the disciples when they said send her away is to say, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He was stating the primary focus of His mission was to retrieve the lost sheep of His own people back into the fold of a loving God; and while Jesus does not say that He will not heal her, the inclination seems to be that He would not. This did not stop the woman. She comes and kneels before Jesus and says, "Lord, help me." Any parent who has had a child sick in any way, will stop at nothing before that child is well. In my years as a pastor I had a baby girl born with a condition that was so severe, she had to be airlifted in a helicopter to Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi. The parents almost beat the helicopter to CC such was their concern for their daughter. I was right behind them. I will never forget asking permission to pray with the baby before her surgery. The nurse said, "Please do, Reverend, by all means. We have all noticed that babies that get prayed for get well before those who do not receive prayer." I prayed, and not too long ago, that young lady was wed. Please tell me you would not have knelt before Jesus to beg for your child's life? I know you would, and some of you have, and some of you still pray for your little ones even though they're way up there in years!
Jesus' answer is rather harsh,"It is not fair to the the children's food and throw it to the dogs." Ouch. As often as I have heard scholars and preachers try to explain that away, it still hurts. I want to believe that Jesus is saying in His way, this that you are asking is very precious. And again, Jesus never says, I will not heal her or help you. Notice the woman's faith, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Great was her faith, and she kept asking. And this is something repeated in other gospel stories regarding other needs; the woman that Jesus said kept going before the judge until the judge says that he will hear her out and answer her plea. Again, a parent will not easily take no for the life and health of a child. Even Jesus was moved when He said, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
That evening that household could only talk about one thing; the miraculous healing of the girl who had been tormented for so long, and now there was peace, real peace in the house, for the evil of the demon was driven out by the Son of God. There was no longer any way for that demon to return, because the soul of that girl had been swept clean by the Lord Jesus, and He had left a sign that read, DEMONS NOT WELCOME HERE! Our understanding of what demon-possession really is may be different from each other, but one thing we can agree on, it was a presence of evil in the life of that girl that somehow had found its way into her life. I cannot begin to tell you how, but I can tell you we cannot, and should not, give liberty for evil to find its way into your life or the life of your children. We stand for righteousness, the good in God and those who love God, and anything else is not acceptable; we only serve God and only give God permission to be present and to rule in our lives. As we pray, think long and hard about what in your life may have found its way into your life and/or the life of your children that should not be there; and as we pray ask God to make things right, strong, and pure in your life, and in the lives of those who matter to you.
PRAYER: Awesome God, we thank You for Jesus and His victory always over evil. As we pray, we pray for a complete cleansing in our lives of anything and everything that should not be in us; sweep our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies clean of evil, hatred, and anything else that bears more of a resemblance to Satan that it does You. Make us whole and make us holy; for it is in the name of the Holy One that we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Renounce evil in your life and share the good that has come to you today!
Receive my blessing of peace and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
