Matthew 15:21-28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. [1]
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Jesus initial attitude toward the Canaanite woman is quite striking. He seems dismissive and even insulting, calling her and her people dogs in comparison to the Israelites. But then he commends her as having great faith. What is it about her faith that leads Jesus to commend her in this way?
Her faith is humble. She accepts His comparison of her people to dogs, and uses it ask once again for His favor. She acknowledges that she is not entitled to His favor or His healing. She makes no claims upon Jesus, and in so doing admits that any help from Him would be by grace, a free undeserved gift. It is similar to the faith of the centurion in Matthew 8:8 who told Jesus that he did not deserve for Jesus to come into his house. Jesus commended the centurion’s faith as well. Jesus values humble faith.
We base our confidence in prayer upon the promises of Jesus. But it is important to keep in mind that the granting of our requests and the fulfilling of these promises are all acts of undeserved grace. Jesus owes us nothing. He is not contractually obligated to us. He is not in our debt. There is no room for a sense of entitlement in faith. All that we are and all that we have and all that we hope for comes to us by grace, entirely undeserved.
Lord Jesus, I praise you for your rich gifts and treasured promises. But Lord, keep me from ever developing a sense of entitlement regarding my relationship with You. I praise You for your infinite grace to me.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 15:21–28). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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