The bible is such a rich book. During today s sermon, we are going to learn some lessons about faith and our relationship with Jesus. We will pause and look at the conversation Jesus had with an unnamed, believing Canaanite woman. A very inspiring account indeed!
The context of the verses we have just read stems from the fact that Jesus had gone away to evade the opposition of the Pharisees. In verses of Matthew 15:10 20, Jesus had explained to the people that s it was not the food that went into the mouth that defiles a person but rather what comes out of the mouth. This defiles a person. The disciples had come to Jesus to let Him know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard Jesus explanation. Jesus simply told the disciples that every plant that his heavenly Father has not planted would be rooted up. Consequently, he simply said to leave them alone. He told them that God the Father would take car to sort things out. He clearly said that the Pharisees were blind guides. They were blind guides leading the blind. The apostle Peter asked Jesus to explain the meaning of the parable. He said that what defiles a person is what comes out of the hearts namely evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Whether one washes his hands before eating does not spiritually defile anyone. The problem is the sinfulness that comes out of man s - the living independently of God as if we knew better.
Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Both of these cities were on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel. These seaports were prosperous and wealthy. There, Jesus met a woman whose name we do not know. Her daughter was demonpossessed. She asked Jesus to heal her. As we look at the Bible, dogs are very negatively portrayed. In today s world, to lead a dog s life refers to a good life, devoid of anxiety and worries. Speaking generally, dogs in the Bible do not have a very good reputation. For example, dogs and swines or pigs are coupled together, as we can read in Isaiah 66:3 and in 2 Peter 2:22. Their behaviours can sometimes be very repulsive. Both will eat just about anything. To set the tone on the contexts of this event in Jesus life, the Greek word use for dog is a puppy or a little dog, from the Greek word, kunariois (koo-nar'-ee-on). In doing his Father s will, Jesus said that he was clearly sent to the house of Israel. Jesus did not come to the earth only for the house of Israel but for all people. When he was on the earth, he limited his mission to Israel to fulfill prophecy. Before his ascension to heaven, he commissioned his apostle to be sent and to make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. It is important to realize that Jesus did not insult this woman. What he meant was simply that it was important to feed the children first before the little puppies. Anyone who has had a dog knows very well that little dogs favourite place during meals is around the dinner table. If the children drop anything, the little puppies are quick to take advantage of the food being dropped. Jesus simply told her that he was physically sent to Israel and not to the Gentiles. Jesus does not devalue people. He was sent by the Father to save and not to condemn. It is his desire that all would come to faith in him and be saved, although he knows that not everyone will. As we read this passage of Scripture, we are not to take it as Jesus was insulting this woman. What can we learn from Jesus' brief encounter with the unnamed Canaanite woman?
This Canaanite woman had a great love for her daughter. But she had something more than love for her daughter, she had faith that Jesus could liberate her daughter from the devil's hold. She would not let go of Jesus even if it appeared that Jesus was not quick to respond. She pleaded with Jesus. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. (Mt 15:22 ESV) We know that she had great faith because Jesus did not tell her, "great is your love for your child" or "great is your perseverance" but he told her "great is your faith". The Bible does not tell us how she came to faith in Jesus but the important thing is that she did and she would not let go. She continued to have faith in Jesus even if, from her point of view, his answer was slow in coming. When we go through hard difficulties, when our hearts faints, we can have the attitude of David and look to God in spite of the circumstances. In other words, as we
grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, we come to know God s heart. David knew God s heart and he had faith in Him in all kinds of situations.
David was responding to God s commandments about seeking him. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! 8 You have said, Seek my face. My heart says to you, Your face, LORD, do I seek. 9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! (Ps 27:7 9 ESV) Charles Spurgeon, in a sermon given on this passage on October 30, 1890, gave a parable about faith. He tells the story about a young woman showing that faith does not require help. As human beings, we want certain things to accompany or assist our faith. In other words, we too often look for a backup. He tells the story of a young woman who wanted to cross a stream. The current was strong. (I changed the words to reflect our modern way of speaking) There came one who said to her, Faith, I will help you! Come with me of the river till we can find a place where we can cross over. Faith answered, No I was asked to cross the river here.
And another came and said, I will build a bridge for you, that you may go over the river with ease ; he laid hold of the few stones, but not much ever came of it. Yet another said, I will go and find a boat. But there were no boats to be found; therefore they asked faith to wait till they build a boat for her. What did she do? She took off her vestments, and plunged into the water. Thank God, she said, I can swim;. She swam across the river and reached the other side without a boat, without a bridge and without a shallow place to cross over. Faith does not wait for help. Like the young lady, with faith in the faithfulness of our Lord, we simply plunge in. We trust God for the outcome. The ultimate outcome in our life is that we have faith in him, that as he promised, we will spend eternity in perfect relationship with him, the Triune God, through and in the man Jesus! Faith is the quality or the gift that helps us hold on to Christ in the worst of circumstances.
Christians persecuted in North Korea article from Fox News, August 18, 2017 According to open doors, a Christian persecution watchdog site, North Korea has ranked number one is the deadliest place for Christians for the last 16 years. Yet North Korea still has an estimated Christian population of around 9 million people, or 36% of North Korea s total population. (As of 2014, N. Korea is said to have had a population of 25.03 million people. Those caught practising Christianity face harsh penalties. Christians are accused of being imperialist seeking to overthrow the government and those who are caught practising their faith are arrested, horrendously tortured, in prisons and (sometimes), put to death. Around 70,000 Christians live in camps. Reportedly, 75% of Christians wind up in the camps do not survive. Despite efforts to eradicate Christians, we have found a church in North Korea is actually growing. Brewer said. They know only God is powerful enough to break through the darkness of the most impressive risk regime honours.
Another source says, Christians in North Korea are facing extreme persecution as a purge against believers has started. A new report by the US government says that Christians are being specially targeted. They are being rounded up, tortured, imprisoned, and even executed. Despite the persecution, Christianity is spreading. There are some 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners in North Korea, condemned for their practice of religion. North Korea maintains a brutal system of concentration camps where people are forced to work until they die. Prisoners can be arbitrarily tortured and killed. Such cruel treatment is encouraged. (from http://www.catholic.org/news/international/asia/story.php?id=75793) As we read stories about persecuted Christians from around the world, not only in our century but in other centuries, we find that these people have chosen to trust God and swim. They trust God for the outcome whether they live or die knowing that this life is transitory. Like the Canaanite woman, they have the faith of Christ living in them, Christ being their life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables them to live victoriously through situations that would otherwise be impossible. As Charles Spurgeon says so well, "The way to liberty lies through the one door of faith. Therefore believe and live.
You will notice that there is an exclamation mark when Jesus commented on the greatness of her faith. Although she had a love for her child, although she was persistent, although she did not give up, Jesus chose to note and focus on her faith. This woman showed great humility but what stood out the most was her faith. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (Joh 17:3 ESV) Joh 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Joh 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. The Bible tells us that there is great joy in heaven when one sinner repents, admits his sinfulness and dependence on God and turns to God in repentance for eternal life. God is pleased with great faith.
Great faith leads to obedience, as we saw in last week s sermon. After Jesus commented on this woman s faith, he immediately healed her daughter. All the glory about our faith goes to God because he is the author and finisher of our faith. There is so much to say on the subject of faith but not enough time. Whatever we go through in life, when we place our faith in God and open ourselves to receive from him, he does answer our prayers, maybe not always in the way we expect, but he always hears and answers our prayers in his will. For example, he gives us his peace, a peace that is very different from what the world can give. He gives us his peace. It is a peace that no one can buy. It is priceless. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:5 7 ESV) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt 11.28 ESV) As we read these passages of Scripture, we can think of the Canaanite woman who never gave up. These promises apply to all of us as well. If we are sick, he may not heal us immediately, but he will act in our life and give us the strength to go through whatever trial we may face. There are times when God still chooses to heal supernaturally as in the case of this woman. He protects us in ways that we are not always aware. This past week, I was This past week, I was bicycling in a place that was a bit unfamiliar to me. I took a turn and was going a bit too fast. There was loose gravel. Realizing he was going to fast to manage this turn in the road, I put on the brakes and fell. I landed headfirst and moved quite a big rock with my head. Miraculously, I came out of it with only a few minor scratches on my leg and a broken bicycle helmets. I limped a bit until the next day but then all the after effects were gone! I thank God that he protected me in ways that I don't understand because it could have been so much worse! I am so thankful for his mercy and invisible hand in my life!
As we go to him, Jesus promises to give us rest. As we approach him in faith, he will never cast us aside!
What else do we see in these verses? (The following points are taken from Charles Spurgeon's sermon and adapted to our situation)
It does not take long for Jesus to give us His rest and His peace. Jesus does not take long to satisfy a thirst or a hunger for him. In fact forgiveness of any sin is available to all of us because Jesus has already saved us and rescued us from the power of sin and death. His grace is renewed every day. We are to receive it every day and every moment of the day. Remember, this woman did not give up. It was a simple prayer a prayer of a few words. She was a Canaanite. Judging from the context, she probably understood Jesus when he said that he had come first to the Israelites. Jesus is God and what we see in the man Jesus is the heart of the whole God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. She had a simple faith in Jesus. She went directly to him. She talked to him. She prayed to him. She trusted the heart of Jesus for her. Whatever our situation, let s remember the example of the Canaanite woman in place our complete trust in our Lord, our Shepherd and our Saviour Jesus Christ for
this journey in life, whatever that journey may be. In faith, let us ask Him to have eyes to see and hears to hear where He is active so that we participate in what he is doing, in his continuing mission to bring people to himself through the work of the Holy Spirit! Let us pray