Bible Study Materials

Matthew 15:21-39

by Paul Choi   08/30/2015  

Question


Matthew 15:21-39

Key Verse: 15:28

1. Read verses 21-23. Who came to Jesus and what did she want? What did she believe about Jesus? How did Jesus respond and why? What did the disciples suggest? (23)

2. Read verse 24. What did Jesus teach his disciples about the mission of the Messiah? What does it mean? Read verses 25-26. What was the woman's plea? What was Jesus’ answer? (26) What did he mean?

3. Read 27-28. What does her reply show about her? What was Jesus' response? (28) In what respect did she have great faith?

4. Read verses 29-32. How did Jesus reveal his Messianic identity? His compassion?

5. Read verses 33-39. How did Jesus’ disciples participate in this second feeding of a multitude? What was Jesus teaching his disciples? How do these two events teach us about faith?


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Message


YOU HAVE GREAT FAITH

Matthew 15:21-39

Key Verse:15:28 “Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.”

  In today’s passage Jesus praises a Gentile woman’s faith and answers her request. Jesus also heals all kinds of sick people and he feeds the four thousand with seven loaves and a small fish. Through these events we learn who Jesus really is, what kind of faith Jesus admires, and how we can have great faith.

First, Woman, you have great faith! (21-28) Jesus’ disciples were accused by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law because they ate food without washing their hands. (15:1) Jesus defended his disciples by teaching what really makes men unclean. Jesus said, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” (11) Indeed the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts- murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, and so on. These are what defile a person, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (18-20) After teaching these Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, which are the cities of Mediterranean coast, around 30 or 50 miles west from Galilee. Jesus entered into the gentile territory. Look at verse 22. “A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”  According to Mark’s gospel, she was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. (Mk 7:26) She was a gentle woman. The Jews did not associate with gentle women. But she came to Jesus because of her sick daughter. She called Jesus ‘Lord’ three times in this story (22, 25, 27) The word, ‘Lord’ is kurios in Greek, which means master, owner, sir, and so on. At that time they called kurios to those who had power and authority. She also called Jesus’ Son of David’, which means ‘Messiah.’ It is amazing that she called Jesus ‘Lord’ and ‘Son of David.’

  It is important for us to know who Jesus really is when we come to him in prayer. Jesus is the Lord and the Messiah, who is the owner of the universe, the master of our lives, and true object of our love and worship. He has absolute power and authority over the whole world. He is the Mighty God. Jesus calmed the storm and walked on the water. Who can calm the storm and walk on the water but God alone. We are not sure how this gentile woman knew about Jesus. But when she came to Jesus with her request, she knew who Jesus really is. Who is Jesus to you when we come to him in prayer?

  What was her request? She cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” (22) She asked Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Her daughter might be a teenage who should be full of dream and love. But she was possessed by demons and suffering terribly. When her mother saw her suffering terribly day and night, her heart was broken. All her hope was gone and she lost the desire and meaning of her life on this earth because of her sick daughter. She came to Jesus as a drowning man will clutch at a straw.

  What was Jesus’ response? Look at verse 23. “Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” Jesus didn’t answer her right away. When his disciples saw Jesus seemingly unwilling response to her request, they urged Jesus to send her away. This was because she kept crying out after them. “Lord, Jesus. Have mercy on me! Heal my daughter.” Jesus finally answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (24) Jesus gently refused her request by saying that he came only to help the Israelites, not the gentiles. Was it true? Did Jesus come to this world only for the Jews, not for the gentiles? Of course, Jesus came to save the whole world both the Jews and the Gentiles. God is not exclusive. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” ‘Whoever’ believes in him shall not perish, but has eternal life.

  Then, why did Jesus answer this? It was because Jesus tested her faith. Look verse 25. “The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.” She did not give up, but she knelt before Jesus. She did not go back home, but came to Jesus closer. There is saying, “Anyone who hurts a woman’s pride must be ready for harsh retaliation.” Jesus’ answer must have hurt the woman’s pride. Do not refuse a woman’s request. Otherwise you will be severely persecuted.  How did Jesus respond her second humble request?  In verse 26 Jesus said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Jesus again humiliated the woman. Jesus described the Jews ‘children’ and the gentiles ‘dogs’. A few weeks ago, one of American presidential candidates called a woman, ‘a Fat Pig’, and ‘an Animal’; he was severely criticized and rebuked by all women. But this Canaanite woman was different. She did not retaliate to Jesus who compared her to a dog. What was her response to Jesus’ words? Look at verse 27. “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” What an amazing answer! She meant, “Yes, Jesus. I am an unworthy gentile dog. Still I need your mercy and help!” She acknowledged that she did not deserve God’s favor which was given for the Jews. Still she asked the Messiah’s mercy.

  What was Jesus’ response to the woman? Let us read verse 28 all together. “Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.” This time Jesus did not reject her request. He did not test her faith any more. Rather he praised her faith by saying, “Woman, you have great faith!”  What is the great faith she had? Why did Jesus admire her as one who had great faith? First of all, she had absolute faith that Jesus could heal her daughter. She believed Jesus’ power and authority over healing. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb 11:1) Even though we don’t see what is going to happen in the future, we believe that it will be done when we trust in Jesus and come to him. She called Jesus ‘Lord,’ (kurios), who has absolute power and authority over the whole world including spiritual world. She believed that Jesus could heal her daughter and set her free from demon possession because Jesus is the owner of the universe and the master of our lives. Jesus praised her absolute faith in his power and authority. When we come to Jesus with our request, we also must have such great faith in Jesus’ healing power and authority. Amen!

Second of all, Jesus admired her faith because she overcame all obstacles. She overcame  racial barrier and gender gap. She was a gentile woman. But she did not mind all these human barriers when she came to Jesus. When we come to Jesus, we also must overcome all human barriers and obstacles. Jesus is the Savior of the world, the Lord of both Jews and non-Jews. Jesus broke all the barriers of hostility so that we all may become one in him. (Eph 2:14, Gal 3:28) Jesus does not see our human situation, but our heart.

She also overcame humiliation for the sake of her daughter. She overcame Jesus’ silence and his disciples’ annoyance. She denied her pride when she was treated as a dog. She endured such humiliation because she determined to overcome any kinds of hardship if only her daughter was healed. Isaiah 66:2 says, “…These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” She cried out and knelt down before Jesus. She did not go home, but waited until Jesus gave her his favor. When we come to Jesus with our request, we need patience. God answers our prayer. He is the gracious and merciful God. He answers our prayer in his time and in his way which is best time for us. As someone says, our prayer is not denied, but delayed.  What makes you hesitant when you come to Jesus in prayer? What obstacles you confront?  Like this woman today we may come to Jesus by faith, cry out and wait until he answers our prayer. Amen.

What happened to her daughter? Her daughter was healed at that moment. The moment when Jesus admired her faith, her daughter was healed. She was free from demon-possession.  Praise Jesus who answered a mother’s humble and earnest prayer.

Second, Jesus heals many (29-31) Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Jesus frequently went up on a mountainside to pray. But the crowd did not leave Jesus alone. Look at verse 30. “Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.” People brought him all kinds of sick people. Soon Jesus became a general hospital. Jesus did not send them to others by saying, “You, the lame and crippled. Go to physical therapists. You, the blind. Go to the ophthalmologist.  And you, the mute. I will refer you to the language specialist.” Instead, Jesus healed all of them. Jesus is the perfect healer. Nothing is impossible with him. There is no sickness or no disease which cannot be healed by Jesus. Jesus is the mighty and merciful God.  Verse 31 says, “The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.” People praised the God of Israel because they had seen the great of work of God in Jesus’ healing ministry. Many Jews thought that God had forgotten them. They thought that the glory of God had left Israel. But they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. They praised the God of Israel, who still loved them and cared for them.

  I want to see the glory of God among us through Jesus’ healing ministry. I want to see physically and spiritually the mute speaking, the crippled walking, and the blind seeing. I want to see our children prophesying, young men seeing vision, and old men dreaming dreams. (Acts 2:17) All these will happen when we come to Jesus by faith. All these will happen when God pours out his Holy Spirit upon all of us. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the power of the Holy Spirit, miracles will happen to us and around us. Let us pray that we all may see these wonders of God and that we praise the God of America, the God of St. Louis UBF, and the God of each family today. Amen!

Third, Jesus fed four thousand. (32-39) This event is similar to the previous event when Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. This time Jesus fed four thousand with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Jesus had compassion on the crowd  because they had not eaten anything for three days. Jesus did not want to send them away hungry. He wanted to feed them. His disciples read Jesus’ heart. So they asked, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” (33) They did not ask Jesus to send them away. It was because they were challenged by Jesus, who said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (14:16) So, this time they did not ask to send the crowd away, but asked him how they could feed the crowd. Jesus asked “How many loaves do you have?”  “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” (34) Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. (35-38)

  What is the difference between this event and the event of feeding the five thousand? Is it only a difference of numbers? Jesus’ compassion is the same as before. Jesus’ power is the same as before. Jesus’ love is the same as before. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb 13:8) The Lord is good and his love endures forever. (Ps 136:1) Jesus is not only the healer but also the provider. Jesus knew what the crowd needed. Jesus knows what you really need. Jesus provides what we need for us even before we ask him.

  Through Jesus’ healing and feeding ministry we learn that Jesus is God of mercy and power. He has full of compassion on those who are sick and weak. He is willing to provide for those who are in need. He is not only the healer and provider, but also the Savior. Jesus took our infirmities and carried our sorrow. He was pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities. By his wounds on the cross we are healed. (Isa 53:4,5) All those who come to Jesus are healed. There is a healing stream in the cross of Jesus. There was a young man who was full of anger in his heart. Because of his anger he treated others harshly. But he was healed when he came to Jesus. He became a gentle father and humble shepherd. There is a woman who was sorrowful because of her poor family situation when she was young. She shed her tears whenever she shared her life testimony. But she was healed when she came to Jesus. She named her first son “Joy.” We don’t deserve the Messiah’s mercy like the Syrian-Phoenician woman. But when we do not give up, but come to Jesus by faith, the crumbs of the Messiah’s mercy may bring us a miracle. Let us come to Jesus as we are. Let us come to Jesus by faith. Let us come to Jesus in humility and in sincerity. Then Jesus says, “Men and women, you have great faith. Your request is granted!”  May God help us to see the wonders of God among us and to praise the God of Israel, the God of America, and the God of each family. Amen.


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