Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus. The woman shouted, "Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much." But Jesus did not answer the woman. So the followers came to Jesus and begged him, "Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting." Jesus said, "God sent me only to the lost people of Israel (the Jews)."
—Matthew 15:21-24
Key Thought
Jesus' mission was expressly to the Jewish people. Yet as the leaders of the Jews reject him, there are seekers who come searching for the Messiah. They will not be put off just because they are not Jewish.
Here is a woman who had no right to the blessings of the Jewish people, yet she greets Jesus with Messianic titles and calls him Lord three times in today's verses and the following ones! Unlike the "religious" leaders, she is an earnest seeker. She is the reminder that seekers can find, even when the time is not right. As the following verses show, her faith is great, like another Gentile we meet in this Gospel. (Matt. 15:21-28) Both are reminiscent of God's love for foreigners trumpeted in the Law, the prophets (Isaiah 56:1-8), in the book of Jonah, and in the small book of Ruth. They are reminders that Jesus' ultimate mission is to the whole world.
Today's Prayer
Give me eyes, O God, to see peoples of every nationality and language and culture as precious. I know you love all people. Give me that same love. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus. The woman shouted, "Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much." But Jesus did not answer the woman. So the followers came to Jesus and begged him, "Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting." Jesus said, "God sent me only to the lost people of Israel (the Jews)." Then the woman came to Jesus again. She bowed before Jesus and said, "Lord, help me!" Jesus answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs." The woman said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master's table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! I will do the thing you wanted me to do." And at that time the woman's daughter was healed. Then Jesus left that place and went to the shore of Lake Galilee. Jesus went up on a hill and sat down. Many, many people came to Jesus. These people brought many other sick people and put the sick people before Jesus. There were people that could not walk, blind people, crippled people, deaf people, and many others. Jesus healed all these people. People were amazed when they saw that people that could not speak were able to speak again. Crippled people were made strong again. People that could not walk were able to walk again. The blind were able to see again. All the people thanked the God of Israel (the Jews) for this. Jesus called his followers to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home." The followers asked Jesus, "Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town." Jesus asked, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" The followers answered, "We have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish." Jesus told the people tosit on the ground. Jesus took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. Then Jesus gave thanks to God for the food. Jesus divided the food and gave it to the followers. The followers gave the food to the people. All the people ate and were full. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. There were about 4,000 men there that ate. There were also women and children that ate. After they ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. Jesus got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.Matthew Matthew 15:21-39
Related Scripture Readings
The officer answered, "Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed. I myself am a man under the authority (power) of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes. I tell another soldier, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and my servant obeys me. {I know that you also have power like this.}" When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Jesus said to those people that were with him, "I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any person I have found, even in Israel. Many people will come from the east and from the west. Those people will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And those people (the Jews) that should have the kingdom will be thrown out. They will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind their teeth {with pain}." — Matthew 8:8-12
So Jesus came to them and said, "All authority (power) in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach those people to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world." — Matthew 28:18-20
"Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, if a person continues asking, that person will receive. If a person continues looking, that person will find. And if a person continues knocking, the door will open for that person. — Matthew 7:7-8
Ⓒ 1996-2017 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware. Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
View the full article
—Matthew 15:21-24
Key Thought
Jesus' mission was expressly to the Jewish people. Yet as the leaders of the Jews reject him, there are seekers who come searching for the Messiah. They will not be put off just because they are not Jewish.
Here is a woman who had no right to the blessings of the Jewish people, yet she greets Jesus with Messianic titles and calls him Lord three times in today's verses and the following ones! Unlike the "religious" leaders, she is an earnest seeker. She is the reminder that seekers can find, even when the time is not right. As the following verses show, her faith is great, like another Gentile we meet in this Gospel. (Matt. 15:21-28) Both are reminiscent of God's love for foreigners trumpeted in the Law, the prophets (Isaiah 56:1-8), in the book of Jonah, and in the small book of Ruth. They are reminders that Jesus' ultimate mission is to the whole world.
Today's Prayer
Give me eyes, O God, to see peoples of every nationality and language and culture as precious. I know you love all people. Give me that same love. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus. The woman shouted, "Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much." But Jesus did not answer the woman. So the followers came to Jesus and begged him, "Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting." Jesus said, "God sent me only to the lost people of Israel (the Jews)." Then the woman came to Jesus again. She bowed before Jesus and said, "Lord, help me!" Jesus answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs." The woman said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master's table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! I will do the thing you wanted me to do." And at that time the woman's daughter was healed. Then Jesus left that place and went to the shore of Lake Galilee. Jesus went up on a hill and sat down. Many, many people came to Jesus. These people brought many other sick people and put the sick people before Jesus. There were people that could not walk, blind people, crippled people, deaf people, and many others. Jesus healed all these people. People were amazed when they saw that people that could not speak were able to speak again. Crippled people were made strong again. People that could not walk were able to walk again. The blind were able to see again. All the people thanked the God of Israel (the Jews) for this. Jesus called his followers to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home." The followers asked Jesus, "Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town." Jesus asked, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" The followers answered, "We have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish." Jesus told the people tosit on the ground. Jesus took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. Then Jesus gave thanks to God for the food. Jesus divided the food and gave it to the followers. The followers gave the food to the people. All the people ate and were full. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. There were about 4,000 men there that ate. There were also women and children that ate. After they ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. Jesus got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.Matthew Matthew 15:21-39
Related Scripture Readings
The officer answered, "Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed. I myself am a man under the authority (power) of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes. I tell another soldier, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and my servant obeys me. {I know that you also have power like this.}" When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Jesus said to those people that were with him, "I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any person I have found, even in Israel. Many people will come from the east and from the west. Those people will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And those people (the Jews) that should have the kingdom will be thrown out. They will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind their teeth {with pain}." — Matthew 8:8-12
So Jesus came to them and said, "All authority (power) in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach those people to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world." — Matthew 28:18-20
"Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, if a person continues asking, that person will receive. If a person continues looking, that person will find. And if a person continues knocking, the door will open for that person. — Matthew 7:7-8
Ⓒ 1996-2017 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware. Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.