(Matthew 15:21-28) Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
When I first came to this text, my list said Jesus Heals a Gentile Woman’s Demon Possessed Daughter. I didn’t realize it was that woman, the Syrophenician woman, the yet the dogs eat of the crumbs woman. Oh I read the words of this passage and I’m full, full of wonder, relief, gratefulness. I don’t know what else. What an amazing passage of the Word of God. I’m just going to jot down what comes to mind. Glory to God.
Be it unto thee even as thou wilt…
The first things that comes to mind can be best summed up in the last sentence of the passage. And her daughter was made whole… You see the earnest desire of this woman, the brokenness, the sincerity, the passion, the pain, the sorrow, the desperation. But it’s not for her condition, but for her daughter’s. O that God would give us a burden for our children that gains the attention of the Savior, a burden for sinners, a burden for others.
Look at those blessed words, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Several times recently as we’ve bowed in prayer in church during the invitation, I’ve got to a point where I’ve said, Lord, you’ve done all you can do. You’ve died on the cross. You’ve drawn them in this close. I know you can’t make them get saved. And at times, I’ve felt my prayers fruitless. I mean, there’s the free will of man that we’ve been taught he does not breach. Or does he? Most of the people that are healed by Jesus do not come to him on their own volition. They’re brought to him. For goodness sake, some are dead and they’re headed to the cemetery.
(Psalm 37:4) Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Jesus gave that poor mama the desires of her heart. All we know of her daughter is that she is grievously vexed with a devil. We need to have a burden for our children, our loved ones, because they may not have even a burden for themselves. We pray that their hearts be moved and their hearts be broken, but it may be that it’s our hearts that need to be broken. It’s our faith that will see them saved.
I know they have to come to God on their own and it’s between them and God, but maybe we’ve excused ourselves from the matter a bit too much. It wasn’t her daughter that came to Jesus. It wasn’t the lame man that brought himself through the roof to get to Jesus. There was nothing of the widow’s dead son of Nain that beckoned Jesus, but the tears of his dear mama. Don’t stop asking the Savior to save. Don’t wipe away the tears, but let them run and fall at Jesus feet. Faith? Praying, beseeching the Lord, is an act of faith. Jesus said O woman, great is thy faith…
Send her away…
The woman besought Jesus saying Save my daughter! But the disciples besought Jesus saying Send her away! Oh Lord, forgive us where we’ve failed. Jesus granted her what was in her will, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Her will was in harmony with His will. (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. May our will not run contrary to God’s will. I think we see the reality of submitting ourselves to God’s will in that there is no gray area in this Christian life. There is no in-between. There is no fence to straddle. Jesus said (Matthew 12:30) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. We think we’re sitting it out. We think we’re working on it. We think we’re almost there. But not so, we are working utterly against him. He told Peter (Mark 8:33) Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
I don’t know what more to say. I want to do. Boy this passage hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe we’ll come back to it some day. This passage is packed full of things to consider and meditate upon.