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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15. Our focus 
this morning will be on the faith of the Canaanite woman in verses 
21 to 28. We'll begin reading in verse 
1 and read to 28, I'm sorry, verse 10 and read to verse 28 
just to keep us in focus of the context. Verse 10 of chapter 
15, when he had called the multitude to himself, he said to them, 
hear and understand, not what goes into the mouth defiles a 
man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Then 
his disciples came and said to him, do you know that the Pharisees 
were offended when they heard this saying? But he answered 
and said, every plant which my heavenly father has not planted 
will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind 
leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, 
both will fall into a ditch. Then Peter answered and said 
to him, Explain this parable to us. So Jesus said, Are you 
still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that 
whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the 
heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed 
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, 
blasphemies. These are the things which defile 
a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.' 
Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of 
Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan 
came from that region and cried out to him, saying, Have mercy 
on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed. But he answered her, not a word. 
And his disciples came and urged him, saying, Send her away, for 
she cries out after us. But he answered and said, I was 
not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then 
she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he 
answered and said, It is not good to take the children's bread 
and throw it to the little dogs. And she said, Yes, Lord, yet 
even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their 
master's table. Then Jesus answered and said 
to her, Oh, woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you 
desire. And her daughter was healed from 
that very hour. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for your word. We thank you for our Lord Jesus 
Christ. We thank you for his power and 
his majesty and the fact that he is indeed the son of David. 
the Messiah to come, the one who saves his people from their 
sins. May you cause us to see this passage as it depicts him, 
cause us as well to learn a few lessons concerning faith, and 
God, help us to grow in these things. Help us to understand 
your ways with your people. Help us to know that you do all 
things for the good of those who love you, to those who are 
the called according to your purpose. Again, forgive us now 
for our sin and transgression, As we come to Holy Scripture, 
we pray for the ministry of your spirit, that he would illumine 
our minds and hearts, that he would lead us into all truth, 
that you would encourage us as we study your word now. May this 
indeed be an act of worship, and may you be glorified and 
praised. And we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, just a 
bit of a foreshadowing as to where we'll go in chapter 15. 
Jesus is now in Gentile country. Very specifically, we see he's 
in Tyre and Sidon, and this lady is identified as a woman of Canaan. As you know, in chapter 14, there 
is a summary statement about Jesus having healed great multitudes, 
all who came near to Him. As well, in chapter 14, there 
is the feeding of the 5,000. And already here in chapter 15, 
we see the same thing. There's a summary statement concerning 
a mass healing, or a lot of people healed, and then there is a statement 
concerning Jesus feeding 4,000 people. Some might wonder, why 
in chapters 14 and 15 are there these very same situations? Well, they hinge upon chapter 
15. Chapter 15, Jesus makes a statement about purifying those things 
which are before times unclean. And what he's demonstrating here 
in chapter 15, in the verses we read and what we will, God 
willing, consider next week, is that he does have, in fact, 
a ministry to the Gentiles. He is in Gentile country when 
he's in Tyre and Sidon, which is about 30 and 50 miles north 
and west of Galilee. He then moves down, according 
to verse 29, he skirts the Sea of Galilee. Well, what Mark tells 
us is that he goes into the region called Decapolis. And it's in 
the Decapolis that there's a lot of Gentiles that live. We found 
Jesus in the Decapolis in Matthew chapter 8. that place called 
the Gadarenes, where he cast out demons from those two men 
who lived among the tombs. And so here, specifically, verses 
29 to 31, note how Matthew records this. They glorify the God of 
Israel. That's language that depicts 
the reality that these people's heel were more than likely Gentiles. He's still in the Decapolis, 
he feeds the 4,000, tells us at the end in terms of itinerary, 
he sends away the multitude, he gets into the boat, and he 
came to the region of Magdala. So he has to leave the eastern 
portion of the Sea of Galilee by boat to go to the western 
portion. So what we find in Matthew 15 
is not only a declaration that Jesus has purified all things, 
but there is a demonstration to show us that it's not just 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel, though that is his primary 
focus, nevertheless Gentiles are included in the promises 
of God Most High. And if there is a faithful Gentile 
in this world, it is this woman described in verses 21 to 28. 
I told a brother this morning, I have a new hero. This woman's 
amazing. We will learn this morning something 
of Christology, the doctrine of Christ. Matthew oftentimes 
presents that to us, but we'll also learn something of discipleship 
and what faith looks like. As I hope you'll see as we move 
through the passage, this woman does exemplify a biblical, robust, 
thoroughgoing faith and confidence in the son of David, in the Lord 
himself. I want to look at our passage 
under two considerations. First, the surprising setting 
of the miracle, verses 21 and 22a, and then secondly, the persistent 
petitioning of the Canaanite woman. Persistence. Kids, if you don't know what 
that word means by definition, you know what that word means 
in practice. Persistence is when your mom 
says, you're going to get ice cream today. Or your dad says, 
I'm going to buy you a sucker today. Or your parents say, we're 
going to take you to the park today. And you can't wait. And 
you persistently ask them, when? When am I going to get my ice 
cream? When am I going to get my sucker? When do we get to 
go to the park? That's persistence. You do not 
take no for an answer. And that is precisely the type 
of petitioning or request or asking that this woman exemplifies 
for us. Just by way of a preliminary 
observation, she is told no on several occasions and she keeps 
coming back. This is the kind of faith that 
we must have. This is the triumph of faith. 
Well, let's look first at the surprising sighting of the miracle. 
The region visited, again, Tyre and Sidon. Matthew couldn't have 
introduced this place with more prejudicial terms. It is Tyre 
and Sidon. Remember in Matthew 11. 20 to 
24, when Jesus upbraids the cities of His day that did not repent 
when they saw His mighty words, He says it's going to fare better 
for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment. What is He saying? 
He is saying these pagans These heathens, these Baal worshippers, 
these enemies of God, and enemies of the covenant people, in Matthew 
11, 20-24, will fare better on the Day of Judgment than those 
in Jesus' cities who saw His deeds and did not repent. Tyre 
and Sidon, which should conjure up in our minds enemies of God. Notice now the woman specifically, 
she's identified as a woman of Canaan. Now if you don't read 
your Old Testament, you should. What do we know about Canaan? 
was the land of promise, right? God made a promise to Abraham 
in Genesis chapter 12 that I'm going to give you a land, I'm 
going to give you a people, I'm going to give you blessing, I'm 
going to give you all these things. Well the problem was that there 
were Canaanites who lived in Canaan. Now what does God say 
with reference to these Canaanites? Does God say to Israel, I want 
you to cross the river Jordan and I want you through a social 
media campaign to request that those people leave the land? 
I want you to Facebook it. I want you to Twitter it. I want 
you to blog about it. I want you to write invitations. 
I want you to send emails. I want you to canvas neighborhoods. 
I want you to hang door flyers. We really need these Canaanite 
people to leave and vacate. No. Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses 
1 to 5. When you go into the land, you 
are utterly to destroy every one of them. You are to dispossess 
the land of the Canaanites. What's a Canaanite? A Canaanite 
is an enemy of God. A Canaanite is the enemy of God's 
people. So right away, as you're thinking 
through this narrative, Jesus goes to Tyre and Sidon, and a 
woman who was a Canaanite came to him. This is bad in terms 
of Israel's Messiah. Matthew identifies her as a Gentile, 
a non-Jew, and he also calls her a Syrophoenician, because 
that's the regions from which she hailed, Syria and Phoenicia. 
So we are introduced to this particular woman. Now notice, 
specifically, her need. Cried out to him. The tense of 
the verb indicates that it was continual. We see that when the 
disciples say, will you please send her away? She continues 
to ask us for this particular thing. She cried out to Him. She, a Canaanite, she from an 
enemy region, she from an enemy territory, recognized that He 
had the ability and the power and the mercy to render aid and 
render healing, so she sought Him. Beautiful! She came to Him. A Canaanite 
woman came to the Lord of Glory. Great needs demands great earnestness. You throw off respectability 
at this particular time, but I'm a Canaanite and He's the 
Messiah of Israel. My daughter is severely demon-possessed. I don't care about the fact that 
I'm a Canaanite and He is the Messiah of Israel. As we work 
our way through the passage, she doesn't care that she's referred 
to as a dog, as long as she as a dog gets entitlement to the 
scraps that fall upon the floor. You see, when you have necessity, 
you will throw off respectability. When you have issues that press 
you, you will not care about deportment. When you have great 
need, you will go a great way to see a great Savior and lay 
your petition before Him, and you will hold on and not let 
go until He gives you the verdict that you seek. That's what this 
woman is doing. That's what this woman is about. 
Great needs demands great faith, great needs necessitate earnest 
prize, and great needs demand persistence. Learn that from 
this woman this morning. How many times do we throw up 
a prayer to God and say, well, he didn't answer me. Interestingly 
enough, Jesus doesn't answer her. Jesus rebuffs her and Jesus 
tells a parable against her and she still keeps coming. You can't 
stop this woman. Why? Because her daughter is 
severely demon possessed. How many times do we stop because 
we're afraid what people might think? When your daughter is 
severely demon-possessed, you go to the master. And you don't 
stop going to the master, and you don't let the master go until 
he gives you your verdict. That's what this woman teaches 
us this morning. You see, when we have need, we don't just throw 
one up to God and then be content. We throw it up to God, we are 
content that He is sovereign in His dispensing of grace and 
response to us, but we are persistent. Didn't the Bible teach us that 
concerning prayer? What about that woman in Luke 
chapter 18? It's a woman who came to that unjust judge and 
she would not let him go. She continued by her persistence 
so that the judge who didn't fear God and who didn't regard 
man said, I'm going to give her what she wants lest she weary 
me by her incessant requests. What's Jesus' implication after 
he tells that particular story? He says, shall not God avenge 
his own elect who cry to him day and night? elect, cry. Believer, pray. You got a daughter 
vexed with the devil, what should you be doing? You should be on 
your knees before the Lord God Almighty. This woman is not only 
an example of faith, she's a great example of motherhood. She could 
actually get mother of the year award. I would make sure she 
got the mug. Though my daughter is vexed with 
the devil, my heart still goes out to her. Though my daughter 
is in the possession of Satan himself, she's my daughter, and 
I love her, and I want her released. You see, parents' persistency 
at the throne of grace is the name of the game. Sometimes, 
and I know this, we're led to believe, well, what more can 
I do? I've taken away their Nintendo. I've kept them from their friends. 
I've told them that they can't do this or that. Are you praying? Could it be said, by Christ of 
you shall not God avenge his own elect who cry to him day 
and night? Don't you face this tendency 
in your own parental life? How are we going to compete with 
all of the media that is out there today? How do we compete 
with a sex-crazed culture? How do we compete with all the 
things that vie for the attention of our children, all these strong 
poles? How do we compete at the throne 
of grace? How did she compete when the 
devil himself captures her daughter? She cries to the Lord. She cries 
to Jesus, and she doesn't stop crying. And notice the persistent 
petitioning of the Canaanite woman. There are two encounters 
here that we see with this woman. That's how we'll expound it. 
Two encounters. Note first the woman's request, 
verse 22b. Have mercy on me, O Lord, son 
of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed. Isn't that beautiful? Her daughter's 
possession is her problem. Her daughter's spiritual bondage 
is her affliction. Her daughter's alienation from 
God and good is what she says to the Lord, have mercy on me. She makes her request known unto 
the Lord Christ. Notice as well, she recognizes 
as authority. You got to see the contrast between 
these two sections. What happens with the Pharisees 
when they meet with the son of David? Do they say, you're the 
son of David? Do they hail him as Lord? Do 
they bow before him? Do they submit to his authority? 
Do they confess him as Savior? Absolutely not. They reject him, 
they resist him, they mock him, they ridicule him. They'll ultimately 
deliver him up on the cross. Jesus has to leave Galilee to 
go up to a cursed tire inside it for a woman of Canaan to come 
out and meet him and confess him as Lord and confess him as 
son of David. Matthew is telling us something. 
There are varying responses to Christ. Just because you identify 
with the ethnic people of Israel, doesn't mean you get it. This 
is what Christ already affirmed in Matthew 15, 13. Every plant 
which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 
This woman, however, who was a Canaanite enemy of God most 
high and his people, calls Jesus Lord. The commentators say, well, 
that probably had the meaning of Sir. Okay, maybe it did in 
her mind, but Matthew is telling us something more is at stake 
here. The fact that she confesses him as son of David tells us 
she knew something of Israel's religion. She knew something 
of the Messiah. She knew something of those Old 
Testament scriptures. And she comes to him, as is often 
the case when people are in desperate need, They don't play games with 
wondering, well, is this really the Son of David? Is this really 
the Lord? No, they throw off convention 
and they say, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me. That's what 
she needs. True faith, Ryle says, may sometimes 
be found where it might have been least expected. I dare say 
when you leave Galilee, you leave the company of Pharisees and 
scribes, and you have 30 and 50 miles away to tire inside 
it, and a woman who is a Canaanite comes out to greet you, the last 
thing you ever expect to hear from her lips is, Lord, Son of 
David, have mercy on me. Notice she reveals her need. 
Son of David, my daughter is severely demon-possessed. That's the only time The adverb 
is applied. What's severe demon possession? Demon possession is terrible. Demon possession is wretched. 
Demon possession is horrid. She says, Lord, my daughter is 
severely demon possessed. It was obvious. This wasn't the 
flu. This wasn't a bug that was going 
around the region of Tyre and Sidon. This wasn't food poisoning. My daughter is severely demon 
possessed. Now note the Lord's response, 
verse 23a, but he answered her, not a word. That's hardcore, isn't it? You've 
probably read that over in your Bible several times, but you 
haven't stopped to consider. Here's a woman who confesses 
His Lordship, who understands that He is the Messiah, He is 
the Son of David. She casts herself upon His mercy. She recognizes His power. She 
recognizes His ability. And she says, my daughter is 
severely demon-possessed. And He answered her, not a word. We know the end, don't we? We 
will see that Jesus is most likely testing her, most likely demonstrating 
something through her. But in this instance, have you 
ever gone through to the front door of heaven, and you've knocked, 
and you've petitioned, and it's as if He didn't answer you with 
a word? What do we typically do? We give 
up. Not this lady. The Geneva Bible 
says in that Christ doth sometimes, as it were, stop his ears against 
the prayers of his saints. He doeth it for his glory and 
our profit. You see, it is not the case that 
in every instance we always give our children, the first time 
they ask, everything they want. If you do that, you're a bad 
parent. You can go home and cry and say, 
Pastor Butler said I was a bad parent. That's okay. Nobody indulges 
their child that way. Or they do, and we say, man, 
they've got problems. They need to read some books 
on how to be a better parent. They need to read Bridges on 
Proverbs and start letting fly that rod and reproof. You know, 
there are instances and times and seasons where we go through 
the front door of heaven, we make our request be made known 
to God, and we don't immediately get answers. That's what's happening. He answered her, not a word. 
Which we say, well, that's kind of rude. In fact, one of the 
commentators gets really wretched. That's rude. It was vicious. 
It was unkind. No, it was typical. A Jewish 
rabbi typically didn't converse with a woman, and certainly not 
a Canaanite. He's not doing anything outside 
of the ordinary in this particular instance. Note the disciples' 
request. Again, we're in this first encounter. 
She makes a request. The Lord responds. Now note the 
disciples' request in verse 23b. His disciples came and urged 
him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us. There's 
a bit of difference of opinion on what's going on with these 
disciples. Ryle seems to think that their 
request ran this way. Send her away because she's bugging 
us. send her away because she's bothering 
us." And Ryle draws out the implication, though a James and a Peter and 
a John may not have time for such a woman, our Lord demonstrates 
that He in fact does. In other words, they get a bit 
of a bum rap from the good bishop. Some of you may have read it 
that way. You hear the disciples, and this woman is persistent. 
She isn't stopping. The language that they employ 
indicates that. His disciples came and urged 
him saying, send her away for she cries out after us. And the idea of crying out is 
not removed from the passage. This wasn't a, please can you 
help? Please, will you assist? Please, 
will you come and visit? She is crying. She is shouting. She is begging. She is imploring. She is persistent. I don't think 
that the disciples say, send her away because she's bugging 
us. These are 12 strong men, certainly they could send away 
a woman on their own. And as well, Jesus' response 
in verse 24 indicates that he didn't come to help. these Gentiles, 
but the house of Israel. I think what these disciples 
are saying is send her away, answer her request, deal with 
her need, tend to her daughter. We want her to get that alleviation 
because of her persistence, because of her earnestness. Lord, intervene, 
send her away with the verdict that you alone can give to her. 
Now notice the Lord's reminder. We're still in the first discourse. 
The first encounter, verse 24, but he answered and he said, 
I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 
This defines the focus of his ministry. Certainly he has healed 
Gentiles along the way, but the focus of his ministry is to who? The lost sheep of the house of 
Israel. You see how it's playing out. She makes her request be 
made known to Jesus, he doesn't answer her a word. The disciples 
intervene on her behalf and say, send her away, answer her. deliver 
her daughter from this demon possession. And Jesus then takes 
the occasion to remind them of this particular mission. Verse 
24. It is not, I'm sorry, verse 24. I was not sent except to the 
lost sheep of the House of Israel. This is consistent with what 
we find in Matthew 10, 5, 6 when he sends out his disciples. He 
tells them to stay away from Gentile lands. Why? Because I 
was sent for the lost sheep of the House of Israel. The Apostle 
Paul picks up this whole theme in Romans chapter 15. He sees 
a priority, the Jew first and also to the Greek. Now I say 
that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision 
for the truth of God. to confirm the promises made 
to the fathers. The Lord Jesus was Israel's Messiah. But as we know from Matthew 1-1, 
as we know from Matthew 2, as we know from Matthew 4, as we 
know from Matthew 8, as we know and we'll learn even more from 
this dealing with this woman, Gentiles are being included into 
the plan of God. But imagine this woman. She's 
probably an earshot. The disciples say, send her away. 
Please, render the verdict. Deliver her daughter. She's probably 
keen on that. Yes, she doesn't listen to me. He'll certainly listen to them. 
What does Jesus do? We need to have a Bible study 
on the focus of my particular ministry. I was not sent except 
to the lost sheep of Israel. Certainly, that's going to destroy 
her spirit. Certainly, that's going to send 
her away. Certainly, that's going to take the wind out of her sails. 
And certainly, she is no longer going to continue to bother the 
master after he has made this statement. That brings us to 
the second encounter. Notice. Verse 25. Do we do this? Does this happen to us? We get 
a no response from heaven. We're reminded of a particular 
focus in His mission. And so we say, we have to read 
more books on how to pray. We've got to go to sermonaudio.com 
and get a shot in the arm about how to pray. We've got to reevaluate 
our entire life and learn how to pray. Those aren't necessarily 
bad things. She has been refused. She has 
been told that He is not going to render aid. In essence, verse 
24. What does she do at this point? 
Verse 25. Then she came and worshipped 
Him, saying, Lord, help me. See, I think that's what faith 
is. Even though He says no, Even 
though He narrowly defines His mission and we're outside of 
it, we recognize that He is Lord, we recognize that He is Son of 
David, we recognize that He is full of pity, joined with power, 
and so we nevertheless worship. This is always the response, 
isn't it? Shame on us for getting angry. Shame on us for getting 
resistant. Shame on us for blogging or emailing 
and telling people how the Lord just doesn't answer my prayers. 
What does this woman do? She worships Him. She bows before 
Him. She says, Lord, help me. She's 
throwing all decorum to the wind. When you've got a daughter demon-possessed, 
lying in bed, screaming out, frothing at the mouth, whatever 
her issues are, you just say, Lord, help me. Parents, pay attention. Your kid may be rotten. Your 
kid may have issues. Your kid may have a lot of challenges. Is your kid demon-possessed? 
You may say, yes. Sure about that. But even so, 
that doesn't change the response. She worships. What does Job do 
when he's stripped of everything? He worships. What do the godly 
do when they suffer? They worship. What do the righteous 
do when they meet with difficulty? They worship. You see, all of 
that doesn't change the reality that God is good, God is holy, 
God is glorious. No matter what the severity, 
no matter what the affliction, no matter what the trial, no 
matter what the difficulty, it can never destroy the reality 
of Romans 8.28. That is axiomatic! I love the way Asaph starts Psalm 
73, that Psalm where he tells us and reveals to us the struggles 
of faith that he had. What does he do in Psalm 73? 
He says, I saw the wicked and they flourished and they thrived. 
I saw the righteous and they suffered and they were destitute. 
He says, as for me, my foot nearly slipped when I saw this. But 
how does he begin the Psalm? God is good to Israel. That is axiomatic for the Psalter, 
for the psalmist, for the poet there. He reveals his situation, 
he reveals that his foot nearly slipped, and what made sense 
to him, what put it all into perspective, was not the physical 
eye of sight, it was until I went into the sanctuary, until I got 
a Godward view of what was going on, and I realized that thou 
hast set them in slippery places. Brethren, this is the response 
of faith. she had been unanswered, she 
worships and begs. The woman had been rebuffed, 
verse 24, she worships and begs. The woman will not take no for 
an answer. You seeing that in the text, 
I hope? Now notice the Lord's response again, verse 26, and 
this is directly spoken to her. But he answered and said, it 
is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little 
dogs. Now we are something of a pet 
loving culture, aren't we? I have a little dog and I'm quite 
fond of her. She sits in my lap and brings 
me a degree of joy, happiness, and pleasantness. I come home 
and she's wagging her little tail and she's there to meet 
me and greet me and be all kinds of nice, because I feed her. We're a pet-loving culture, so 
we probably miss the impact here. The woman takes the little dog 
and does make it a house pet. But what Jesus says in this instance, 
you've got to remember that dogs, be they large or small, small 
kind of diffuses it for us, not just the little dog, big dogs, 
little dogs, brown dogs, black dogs, white dogs, whatever dogs, 
were not looked upon favorably in Israel. They just weren't. We ought not to miss the rhetorical 
gut punch of what Jesus is saying. He is saying, in the grand scheme 
of things, Israel is the children and you are a dog. That's heavy. What's happened? She asks, he 
doesn't answer. She asks, he reminds of his focus. She asks, the disciples even 
throw in their lot. She asks and worships, and he 
tells her that you are not fit to have the blessings of Israel. Certainly this will diffuse her. Certainly this will send her 
on her way. A couple of the commentators 
say this. At length he turns, this is Spurgeon, 
and gives a reply to her pleading, but it is not a cheering one. Is it? You ever stop to consider 
the answer? You think you've got problems? 
You think your kid needs help? Her daughter is at home possessed 
with the devil. She expresses her petition to 
the Lord of heaven and earth, identifies him as the son of 
David himself, calls him Lord, worships him. He doesn't answer. He rebuffs her. He refocuses 
his mission. And now he tells this parable 
to tell her, you're not worthy. Chrysostom, one of the early 
preachers in the church, says, the more urgent she makes her 
entreaty, so much the more doth he also urge his denial. R.T. France. who, by the way, 
has helped me considerably in that whole Gentile aspect in 
Matthew 15. I want to give credit to where 
credit is due. That brother went to be with 
the Lord in 2012. And the church, whether you've 
heard of him or not, has lost a servant. His commentary on 
Matthew, in my estimation, is second to none. Anyways, Frantz 
says, after the negative tone of Jesus' silence in verse 23 
and his statement in verse 24, this little parable of verse 
26, his first direct address to the woman seems to add insult 
to injury. That's what's going on. Now note 
the implication that the woman draws. Faith has moved for this 
woman in gradual degrees, and now she, as it were, leaps. She 
said, verse 27, yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat 
the crumbs which fall from their master's table. The woman had 
been unanswered, she persists. The woman had been rebuffed, 
she persists. The woman had been told the bread 
was not due to her because she's a dog, she persists. And using the very parable specified 
by the Lord, she uses this as a reason and an argument why 
He must bless her! Yes, Lord! But even or because the little 
dog that you do invite into your home and you do make a house 
pet, you are entitled to feed it. If you take a pet into your 
home and you starve it to death, you ought to go to jail. You 
got problems. Jesus understands the implication. And look at the way that she 
couches this. Carson notices this. She does 
not argue that her needs make her an exception. Does she? She does not argue that she has 
a right to Israel's covenant and mercies, or that the mysterious 
ways of divine election and justice are unfair. She simply asks for 
help. It's beautiful. She uses his 
parable against him. Do you know how many times in 
the gospel narratives people come head-to-head with the Lord 
Jesus, and they lose? How many times people confront 
Christ rhetorically, and they lose? How many times they go 
toe-to-toe with the Savior of man, the one who is the Son of 
David, and they go away cowering because he bested them in an 
argument? This woman doesn't lose. This woman is right. Again, France says it this way, 
far from being the meek acquiescence which most versions imply. I mean, you read it, yes, Lord, 
but even the little dogs, that's not our disposition. That's not 
it. He says it is a robust refusal 
to accept the apparent implication of Jesus' words. She turns Jesus' 
own parable against him. He's not being unkind. He is 
simply highlighting what the woman is doing. Jesus goes this 
route. Jesus says it's not right to 
give to the Gentiles the things that are due only for the children, 
for Israel. He says if Gentiles are to be 
dogs, then at least let the dogs have their due. For those of you who have dogs, 
who do they usually go after? They go after the children, because 
they know the children are going to drop food. And they're there 
ready, waiting to get those scraps. She's putting herself in that 
camp. I just want the scraps that fall 
from the master's table because I know that scraps in the hands 
of the son of David are enough to cast devils out of my daughter. This woman's amazing. She is 
incredible. He goes on, the dogs do have 
a right to be fed, even if all they get is the leftovers. Jesus, 
as the Messiah of Israel, Son of David, must indeed first go 
to his own people. She doesn't discount that. She 
doesn't say no. She doesn't neglect that reality. 
She doesn't de-people Israel. She doesn't dispossess them of 
rightful heirs to being children. He says, but that does not mean 
that his mission must stop there. And I thought this was so perceptive. He says, her reply, whether she 
knows it or not, thus encapsulates the important biblical theology 
of the election of Israel, not for their own benefit alone, 
but to be a means of blessing to all nations, a light to the 
Gentiles. This is consistent, this is consonant 
with Israel's calling. Deuteronomy 4, they were a city 
set on a hill so that they could mediate the salvific blessing 
of Yahweh to the nations around them. We know that Israel of 
old fails. Jesus is the Israel of God that 
mediates those blessings to Gentiles like this Canaanite woman that 
hails from Tyre and Sidon. She doesn't know it, but she's 
articulating, as France points out, a biblical theology of why 
Israel was elected, so that they could be the conduit of blessing 
to all the nations. Because this was the promise 
made to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. And incidentally, isn't it 
beautiful that if that approach is correct, that what we have 
is Jesus ministering in Gentile country, Isn't it significant 
that he feeds the 400 or 4,000 with bread? Gentiles are entitled. Gentiles do eat the bread. Gentiles 
are going from a place of gathering scraps to being those who sit 
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the marriage supper of the 
Lamb. How does Jesus respond? Verse 
28, O woman, How great is your faith! He doesn't 
say, how dare you turn that against me! This is where He's going! This is what He wants to communicate! This is what He wants His disciples 
to get! This is what He wants us to appreciate! This is great faith! Incidentally, 
he says the same sort of thing in Matthew 18, when he heals 
that centurion servant. There are so many similarities. 
Again, a Gentile who admits to Christ as the son of David, who 
gets a healing, and who expresses great faith. And Jesus says, 
I've not seen such great faith even in Israel. The Gentiles 
are besting the Israelites in terms of their appropriation 
and appreciation of who Jesus is. The Pharisees and the scribes 
can't stand Him. Canaanite women are confessing 
Him as Lord, are confessing Him as Savior, are confessing Him 
as the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth. And what 
does He do? He says, Oh woman, great is your 
faith. He commends her. He concedes 
her point. She is not only a Gentile Canaanite, 
she's a woman. And he says, great is your faith. 
Spurgeon says, to believe in a silent Christ, in one who treated 
her with a rebuff, in one who calls her a dog, is exceedingly 
great faith. Measure it how you will. Isn't 
that what happens? Is he wrong? No. Silence? Rebuff, dog. She worships, she says, help 
me. She says, Lord, even the dogs have a right to the table 
scraps. And he says, oh woman, great 
is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And then verse 28 at the end. And her daughter was healed from 
that very hour. The devil's gone. The demon is 
gone. Mark tells us when she went home, 
she found the daughter lying in her bed. She probably hugged 
that child. She kissed that child. She told 
that child, this healing came because of the son of David, 
Israel's Messiah. And they probably worshipped 
together. This highlights Hart's hymn, come ye sinners poor and 
wretched, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands 
to save you, full of pity joined with power. He is able, he is 
able, he is able, he is willing, doubt no more. Thus the faith 
of the Canaanite woman. I want to draw just a couple 
of lessons and then we conclude. First, the triumph of faith. the triumph of faith were justified 
freely by His grace, and that comes to us via the instrumentality 
of faith in Christ. We're justified. But as we live 
the Christian life in sanctification, what is it that helps? What is 
it that assists? What is it that sends us on our 
merry way? It's faith in the living God. 
It's faith in the risen Savior. She recognizes Christ as Lord 
and as the Son of David. Again, if you look at the map 
in your Bible, you've got Galilee here, you've got Tyre inside 
in here. These are enemies. These are 
Canaanites. These are bad people. These are dogs. And yet she comes 
to the Messiah and confesses Him as such and calls Him Lord 
and subsequently worships Him and will not let Him go till 
He blesses. It's like Jacob, persisting, 
earnest in prayer. I will not let you go until you 
give me the answer. She knew that Christ had power 
to heal her daughter. Why didn't she go to the Twelve? 
I mean, she did in the sense of, I want this from Him. She 
went to where the power was. You want salvation from your 
sin? It ain't gonna be anywhere else 
than in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you want to go to bed tonight 
having had your sins forgiven? Do you want to be able to meet 
the Lord God Most High clothed in a righteousness not your own? 
It's not going to be moral reform. It's not going to be being a 
better you. It's going to be by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ alone, because He has the power. 
Peter says in Acts 4.12, there is no other name given under 
heaven among men by which we must be saved. Paul, when he 
starts out to expound the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus in Romans 
1, he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power 
of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. She recognized 
his power. But she also recognized his mercy. 
She said, Lord, have mercy on me. And he does. He answers her 
prayer. You see, that's what heart tells 
us. Full of pity, joined with power. He is able. He is able. He is 
able. He is willing. Doubt no more. You say, well, I understand that 
Jesus in His blood can save a sinner like me, but I'm not sure He's 
willing. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will not certainly 
cast out. Come. Believe. Turn. I don't care if you're 5 or 55. 
I don't care if you're 1 or 101. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He's full of pity, joined with power. She was persistent. Demon possession. That's a huge 
Everest in and of itself, right? You know, we got trials with 
this guy at work who gave us a look. What am I going to do? I only had two donuts this morning. I need three! I mean, those are, 
you know, some of the things that we deal with. Actually, 
some of us are trying not to deal with donuts. She's got a demon-possessed daughter. 
She hears no from the Savior. She hears a rebuff from the Savior. 
She's called a dog by the Savior. And yet... Help me! Help me! Help me! Help me! My daughter's afflicted! And what does he say? Oh woman, great is your faith! 
With reference to faith, it produces dependence, doesn't it? That's 
what faith should do in your heart and life. It produces dependence. To whom shall she go? To the 
Son of David. To whom shall we go? To the Son 
of David. It promotes earnestness, right? You see that with this woman. 
Her knuckles are bleeding because she's pounding at the door so 
incessantly. We've forgotten that. We want 
it right now. We are an ATM society. We are 
a microwave society. If God doesn't answer my prayer 
right now, well, I'm just not going to pray anymore. No, faith 
promotes earnestness. Faith persists in trial, doesn't 
it? I can't think of a trial worse 
than praying to God and getting no answer. Or praying to God 
and being rebuffed. or praying to God and being called 
a dog, and yet she persists in trial. It passes on protocol. Faith will always display itself 
this way. I do not care if you think that 
I'm a dog, provided I'm eating scraps. Some of us are just too 
high and mighty to ever be identified with anything below our station. She doesn't argue with the Lord 
over the analogy. She doesn't argue with the Lord 
over his choice of imagery. She simply embraces the reality 
that she's one of those little dogs, but as one of those little 
dogs, when those scraps fall off the table, let me eat them. 
Passes on protocol. And it presents itself through 
humility. That's what this woman does. 
She may have gone home and somebody would have said, you know, you 
basically admitted that you're a dog. She'd say, yeah, but I'm 
going to go home and hug my daughter, who no longer has a demon. I 
don't care what you call me. My Lord has smiled upon me. It's 
humility. That's faith. Secondly, in this 
passage, we learn the Christological emphasis. Matthew loved doing 
this. Didn't he just love to display 
Jesus? And he'd just love to say, behold 
your God, behold your Lord, behold the One who is the Son of David. 
Look at His power, look at His mercy, look at His ability. He 
doesn't even have to be present with that demon-possessed girl. 
All He has to do is heal her. It's not magic, it's not incantation, 
there's no potion. He doesn't have to mix this up. 
He simply tells the woman that it's going to be done for you 
as you wish, and then the woman's daughter is healed. See, this 
is another instance where the Apostle is telling us to behold 
your God. His mission is described here. 
It is to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But as we see, 
it includes Gentiles. By the time we get to the end 
of Matthew's Gospel, it will be universal in its scope. Not 
universal in its application, but universal in its scope. Go, 
therefore, and make disciples of whom? All the nations, even 
Tyre and Sidon, where those Canaanites live. And we learn something 
as well in this passage concerning Christology. We note what is 
His due. What ought to be our response 
to the Lord Christ? Worship. Worship. I don't know what else I can 
do. Worship. It's as if he hasn't heard my 
prayers. Worship. It's as if he's rebuffed me. 
Worship. It's as if he doesn't concern 
himself for me. Worship. It's beautiful. Thirdly, we ought to see in this 
passage the benefit of affliction. The benefit of affliction. I gotta say, when I come to preach, 
I usually in my head think of things I hope everybody gets. 
I hope everybody gets the whole kit and caboodle. But having 
done this for a while, I know that's typically not the case. 
That's no diss on you. You can ask me five minutes after 
this sermon, what was your third point? I may not be able to get 
it. I want you to get these next two things. Again, I want you 
to get everything, but I want you to get these two things. 
The benefit of affliction. What brought her into contact 
with the Lord? A holiday in the sun? What brought 
her into contact with the Lord? A good job? A happy family? A well-adjusted daughter? What brought her into contact 
with the Lord was affliction. We read at the outset of worship, 
Psalm 119, 71. The psalmist says, before I was 
afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. That's 
verse 67. 71 says, it is good for me that 
I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. Earlier 
I disagreed with Bishop J.C. Ryle in terms of these disciples. I cannot agree with Ryle anymore 
on the quote that I'm about to read. This is gold. Please email me so I can send 
it to you." Unless you have his expository thoughts, then underline 
it, think through it, and suck the sweetness out of it. He said, 
this Canaanite mother no doubt had been sorely tried. She had 
seen her darling child vexed with the devil and been unable 
to relieve her. But yet that trouble brought 
her to Christ and taught her to pray. Without it, she might 
have lived and died in careless ignorance and never seen Jesus 
at all. Surely it was good for her that 
she was afflicted. Let us mark this well. There is nothing which shows 
our ignorance so much as our impatience under trouble. We 
forget that every cross is a message from God and intended to do us 
good in the end. Trials are intended to make us 
think, to wean us from the world, to send us to the Bible, to drive 
us to our knees. Health is a good thing, but sickness 
is far better if it leads us to God. Prosperity is a great 
mercy but adversity is a greater one if it brings us to Christ. Anything, anything is better 
than living in carelessness and dying in sin. Better a thousand 
times be afflicted like the Canaanite mother and like her flee to Christ 
then live at ease like the rich fool and die at last without 
Christ and without hope, the benefit of affliction. Ryle's right, isn't he? Nothing 
shows our ignorance more than our impatience under trial. There's almost this admission 
that, how in the world could God allow such bad things to 
happen to me? How in the world could God deliver 
us from our sins, those who are deceitful above all things, and 
desperately wicked, and pour on us every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ? How dare Him do that? And yet, 
we balk under the rock." Ryle's bang on. It was affliction that 
brought her to Christ. It was affliction that taught 
her to pray. Learn the lesson. And then, and 
I've alluded to this one, the lesson for parents. I think you probably agree with 
me that being a parent is one of the most difficult things 
in the world. I've said to my children, I really 
like grandchildren because I don't have the ability to ruin them 
the way I ruin my own children. It's kind of tongue-in-cheek, 
but it's also true. Parents directly deal with their 
kids. They just come over to my house 
and I play with them and throw them in the air and yell at them 
and give them dirty looks and make them afraid of grandpa. 
But then they go. But when you're schlepping kids 
around day in and day out, there is nothing more difficult. You 
have a high calling and a difficult task. You mess up with children? Wow. You only get one crack at 
the can and one kick at the can too, don't you? It's not like 
at 18 they go back to one. Okay, we have to try this again. 
No, you either do it well or you don't. It's huge. It's weighty. It's massive. It's perplexing, it's trying, 
it's heartbreaking. You deal with the kid all his 
life so that at 16 he can give you lip, or reject, or despise, 
or scoff. It's enough to take the wind 
right out of your sails, isn't it? Learn from this woman. Matthew Henry says, the vexation 
of children or the vexations of children are the trouble of 
parents. And nothing should be more so 
than their being under the power of Satan. He says, tender parents 
very sensibly feel the miseries of those that are pieces of themselves. These Puritan brothers and these 
men in the tradition, that's beautiful. You ever look at your 
kid as a piece of yourself? He says, though vexed with the 
devil, yet she is my daughter still. How many of us at this 
point would have said, that's it, I'm done. They're at 16 in 
my house, 17, I'm having them sign contracts, and if you don't 
abide, you're out, go find a place to live. She's vexed with the devil, but 
she's my daughter still. He says, the greatest afflictions 
of our relations do not dissolve our obligations to them and therefore 
ought not to alienate our affections from them. There may be a case 
when you have an adult rebel that you need to remove from 
the home. but your affections don't stop, your prayers do not 
end, you do not stop with the Savior. Lord, have mercy on me. Cast the devil out of that child 
and bring him or her to their senses, so that they may see 
the glory of God, they may appreciate the gospel of Christ, and they 
may know what everlasting life is. If ever there was a woman 
in the scriptures that we ought to look to, to teach us how to 
be parents, It's this Canaanite because she gave him no rest 
until he blessed. This woman is a model. And if 
you are here this morning and you don't know her savior, he 
is the son of David. He is the Lord of all. He is 
the one upon whom you can rest your soul. Some of you children, 
some of you young people may not be possessed with a devil, 
you may not be in the wretched state that this woman's daughter 
was in, but outside of Christ you're no better. There's only 
one remedy, there's only one hope, there's only one place 
of refuge for a sinner in this room this morning, and it is 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Him. lay hold and then go as this 
woman does in trust upon her Lord. Well, let us pray and ask 
God to take these things and write them on our hearts. Father, 
we thank you for the Lord Christ as he so beautifully displayed 
in this passage of Holy Scripture. And we thank you for the faith 
of this woman that is on display as well. God, I pray that you 
would increase our faith, increase our earnestness at the throne 
of grace and help us to know something of persistence in prayer. 
As well, Father, I pray that as parents we would take the 
lesson afforded to us in this passage and that we would give 
you no rest on behalf of our children, on behalf of our grandchildren, 
great-grandchildren. Help us, God, to intercede We 
know the best thing that a godly man can leave is an inheritance 
to his children. If not monetary, it must be spiritual. Give us grace, Father, to be 
bold at the throne of grace. Give us grace, Father, to come 
often on behalf of the children and the young people in this 
congregation. And I do pray for them. I pray that as they may 
be captivated by a world in alienation to you. I pray that you'd reach 
down in sovereign grace and mercy, and you would save them to the 
uttermost. I pray the Spirit would come, that He would bless 
the gospel, and that sinners would be saved. And we ask through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.