21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.” (Matthew 15:21–28, NASB 95)
When we lived in Ohio, my wife and I would sometimes take pre-9/11 trips into Canada. It was a simpler time, when restrictions on traveling to our northern neighbor weren’t quite as difficult.
I remember how kind and friendly the people were. Yet, I didn’t really see them any differently than my own countrymen, even though they had a different way of doing things and a different twang to the way they spoke. They were people, very kind people, but people, nonetheless.
I think most of us approach people from other countries this way. That’s why we may begin to object to Jesus’ actions in our story today. But we have to understand what’s happening before we can make any kind of judgment on what Jesus said here.
When Jesus came to this earth the first time, He came to the Jews first. That’s why John explains that Jesus “came to His own,” that is His own creation, “and those who were His own,” that is the Jews, “did not receive Him” (John 1:11).
The very people Jesus came to were His own, the Jews. The very people who rejected Him were His own, the Jews. It wasn’t until the Jewish nation rejected their Messiah that Jesus pushed the Father’s plan forward and poured out grace on Gentiles as well.
This was the Father’s plan all along. However, Jesus took the details of His mission seriously. That’s why He said this:
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
He hadn’t begun the second phase of His mission quite yet. So, He seemingly spurned this woman’s request. He rejected her because she was a foreigner.
But did He really? The text doesn’t specifically say, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus had it in mind to test her faith to see if she would bow out or stand for an encore.
She stood firm. In so doing, she gives all of us an interesting snapshot of what true faith looks like. It may not look at all what we’ve been told, but it is true faith.
Let’s look at two very quick observations from this text that educate us on what true faith is and how we approach God in faith.
The access of faith is all about the object of faith.
Many of those who claim they have “faith” have the wrong object. Sports stars put faith in themselves. Some Christians put faith in their Bible translations. Many put faith in miracles. Still others put faith in a denomination. And others still put faith in their faith!
Why? Because faith always has an object. The problem is each one of those scenarios has the wrong object of faith. Faith in any one of those things does nothing. It is worthless.
The Canaanite woman had it right. She didn’t put faith in miracles or national lines or religion. What did she put her faith in? Her request says it all:
“Lord, help me!”
True faith always has Christ as its object. Anything else is simply a phony faith that has no teeth. Christ must be the object of our faith, or we will ultimately fail.
The effectiveness of faith is found in how we approach Christ in faith.
Some feel like it’s okay to demand things from God. “God told us to ask Him! So have faith and demand it!”
The problem with this is that Scripture doesn’t command us to demand anything from God. When He tells us to ask, He means just that, ask. There’s a strong distinction between asking and demanding.
The point is we must be respectful to God when we act in faith just like the Canaanite woman did. She was very careful when she approached Jesus.
“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”
When she was seemingly spurned by Him, she became even more careful. Jesus said this:
“It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
I don’t know about you, but I think I would have been a bit discouraged by that comment. But not the Canaanite woman. She had great faith with fear and reverence aplenty:
“Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
In other words, she said, “I know I’m not worthy, but I’m desperate and need you right now, Lord.”
What faith! She didn’t give up. When Jesus seemingly rejected her, she answered wisely and respectfully, not demanding anything or carrying any kind of entitled attitude. Her faith motivated her to respond to God properly.
And Jesus rewarded her:
“O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.
So What?
Later in church history, Jesus’ own half brother said this:
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3, NASB 95)
Many times, our faith is misplaced. We put our faith in our bank accounts, education, family, friends or a plethora of other places other than firmly in Christ. Christ is the only object of faith we should have.
Why? Because we don’t want to fall into the trap James mentioned. If we misplace our faith, we will focus on the wrong things. If we focus on the wrong things, God will not honor our faith.
If we are like the Canaanite woman, we will find blessing beyond anything we can imagine as God pours out His grace on us. We must first put our faith in the right object, Christ, and approach with the right attitude, a pure and unfettered fear and reverence for God.
After all, Jesus showed incredible resolve when He carried out the Father’s plan and pushed forward to the cross. He didn’t question it. He just stepped forward and did it.
And so must we. Let’s put all our faith in the faithful Son of God with fear and reverence.
Journeys of a Former Firebrand 
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