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Matthew 15:21-28
A very interesting thing takes place in Matthew 15:21-28; a woman – a Canaanite woman – a Gentile, came to Jesus for help. Her daughter was demon-possessed, and she came to Jesus to ask Him to heal her, as this woman would have known of the healing power of Jesus as the Bible teaches us, and of the many healings of demon-possessed people (Matthew 8:28-34).
The important part of this passage is found in Matthew 15:24-28 as the initial reply of Jesus to this woman is, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24, NKJV). But the woman “worshiped Him” (Matthew 15:25) and pleaded with Him saying, “Lord, help me!”
In Matthew 15:26-28 we find the answer to how the door of healing and salvation opens to the Gentiles as well as the house of Israel; faith – this woman, knowing that she was not an Israelite, still yet had great faith in Jesus to heal her daughter. She had come to an end; she had come to a place where there was no other way to go. She had exhausted all other resources and had no other place to look for healing for her daughter. She came to Jesus knowing that He had healed many other people, and she knew that if He could heal all these other people, then He could heal her daughter as well. When Jesus presented this case to her as if she were a dog asking to eat the valuable food that should be given to the children, she replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:27). This Gentile woman humbled herself in submission to Jesus and believed in Him – she put her faith in Jesus. Jesus then answered the woman, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire” (Matthew 15:28). The Bible teaches us that her daughter was healed at that very moment (Matthew 15:28b).
This is a promise and example of the need to have/put our faith in Jesus.
In this Bible passage, it is important that we realize and understand that the door is open to all people everywhere who will put their faith in Jesus unto salvation. It is a great mystery as to why God heals some who put their faith in Him and yet does not heal everyone who puts their faith in Him of all physical issues. But Jesus did not promise to heal everyone of every physical issue, but that He would be with us always (for all who will put their faith in Him) and that He would help us through this world unto the spiritual eternity that is God’s desire for all of humanity. I believe that God allows some physical issues to remain so that He can show us that even through physical imperfectness He can work through that and do great things. It is not our will that Jesus teaches us to seek, but the will of God for our lives. He will make lemonade from all the lemons that we may have in our lives – that I know.
Dear LORD,
We thank You for showing us that salvation is for all who will put their faith in You through Jesus, regardless of race, gender, color, or anything else that we use to try to separate ourselves from others. The Apostle Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Please open our eyes so that we may see, and open our ears so that we may hear of Your great love and forgiveness for all who will put their faith in Your One and only Son – the Savior of the world (John 3:16-17), Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.