Matthew 15:21-39

Jesus Performs More Miracles (also see Mark 7:24-37), Jesus Feeds 4000 (Mark 8:1-10)

Following the encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus went further north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. There a Canaan woman whose daughter was demon-possessed approached Him and asked Him to heal her daughter. Keep in mind the daughter was not with her. Jesus replied by saying, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel....It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (15:24) Now, I'm not sure if you had the same reaction as I did. I thought whoa that was very mean. But then I remembered the fact that the gospel was first to be preached to the Jews then the Gentiles so using Jesus's analogy, you can't feed the children's pet dogs without feeding the children first. But this woman instead of taking Jesus's comment begrudgingly,  was persistent and humbled herself by saying, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table." (15:26) She acknowledges Jesus statement but says she's willing to take whatever blessing that was left over. As a result of her faith, Jesus commanded the healing of her daughter and immediately she was healed.

The rest of the passage illustrates Jesus's compassion as He heals the lame, bind, mute, maimed, and many others. Similar to the feeding of the 5000, after preaching to a large multitude of 4000 people Jesus did not want to send them away without them being fed. The disciples said "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?' (15:33) What baffles me is the fact that not too long ago Jesus fed 5000 people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, this time around there were 7 loaves and a few more fish. How in the world did the disciples forget such a miracle?!? I think this speaks volume into how we forget about the great things God has done for us.

Life Application: When faced with very difficult situations in our lives, let us remember the past and how God came through so many times. Remember the amazing things He has done and believe that He will continue to do amazing things in our lives.

Dear God, please help me to remember the wonderful things you have done in my life and continually look up to you for help even when a solution seems non-existent or far away.