Mat 15:28 | KingComments | STEP | In the previous verses we see an oh so religious people whose hearts are in reality far from God. The Lord leaves the borders of Israel to visit places far removed from Jewish privileges. He goes to the countryside with the cities He has used as an example of those that are furthest removed from repentance ( ). Here He meets a pagan woman who is outwardly far from God, but who is close to God in her heart. The woman comes from a cursed race because she is “a Canaanite”. The emphatic ‘Canaanite’ underlines once again that she is under the curse as a great contrast with the people where God’s blessing is. She has a great need. Her daughter is cruelly demon-possessed and therefore she makes a call to the mercy of the “Lord”. But she also speaks to Him as “Son of David” and that is not appropriate for this woman of the Gentiles. He is the Son of David, but not for her. He is that only for His people. She has to learn to approach Him on the right basis. She cannot speak as one of the people of God and on that ground God cannot help her. The Lord could not bless us either as Messiah of Israel. The Lord does not answer her. It seems strange that He doesn’t answer the cry of help from someone in need and calls Him. As said, the woman calls upon the Lord as the Son of David. As such He has nothing to do with this woman of the Gentiles, so He does not answer her. But He does not send her away and that is what the disciples want. They want Him to send the woman away, “because”, they say, “she keeps shouting at us”. They would rather not have to deal with this woman and do not share the Lord’s feelings. Therefore, He does address the disciples’ remark. He points to the purpose of His mission. His mission concerns only the lost sheep belonging to Israel. He thus establishes that Israel is as lost as this woman is. There can only be hope for those who acknowledge it. The woman will have heard what He has said. Therefore she goes on and on, for the Lord hints that everything is now based on grace, and then there can be no borders. The woman shows persevering faith. She only asks if He wants to come to her aid in her distress. The answer the Lord then gives is even more dismissive if possible. First He said in veiled terms that she did not belong to Israel and was therefore not an object of His mission. Now He says in veiled words that she does not belong to the children of Israel, but to the nations whom He compares to despised dogs. Then the effect of His words becomes clear. He achieves, by His apparent hardness, that the woman feels and pronounces her true place before God. She immediately takes that place, like a Mephibosheth who once assumed the place of a dead dog with David ( ). This does not mean that God is less good or merciful to her. That would be a denial of Himself, a denial of His nature, of which Christ is the expression. He cannot say: God has no crumb for such people. Crumbs are not thrown to the dog, but accidentally fall to the ground and remain lying there so that the dog can eat out of grace. No one who has ever appealed to the grace of God has done so in vain. The Lord answers from the fullness of His heart. For the second time He perceives a great faith and this again with someone from the Gentiles ( ). Both these Gentiles take a place of self-judgment. Both think low of themselves. Then there can be great faith. She receives everything out of grace, while she knows in herself to be totally unworthy. In this way and this way alone a soul can receive the blessing. It doesn’t just depend on the feeling of need. That has been there from the beginning, and it has brought her to the Lord. It is not enough to recognize that He can fulfil all needs. We must be made to feel in the presence of the only source of blessing that, although we are there, we have no right to enjoy it. Once one is there, everything is grace. Then God can act according to His own goodness and He responds to every desire of the heart to make it happy in fellowship with Him.

‏ Matthew 15:28

The Canaanite Woman

In the previous verses we see an oh so religious people whose hearts are in reality far from God. The Lord leaves the borders of Israel to visit places far removed from Jewish privileges. He goes to the countryside with the cities He has used as an example of those that are furthest removed from repentance (Mt 11:21-22). Here He meets a pagan woman who is outwardly far from God, but who is close to God in her heart. The woman comes from a cursed race because she is “a Canaanite”. The emphatic ‘Canaanite’ underlines once again that she is under the curse as a great contrast with the people where God’s blessing is.

She has a great need. Her daughter is cruelly demon-possessed and therefore she makes a call to the mercy of the “Lord”. But she also speaks to Him as “Son of David” and that is not appropriate for this woman of the Gentiles. He is the Son of David, but not for her. He is that only for His people. She has to learn to approach Him on the right basis. She cannot speak as one of the people of God and on that ground God cannot help her. The Lord could not bless us either as Messiah of Israel.

The Lord does not answer her. It seems strange that He doesn’t answer the cry of help from someone in need and calls Him. As said, the woman calls upon the Lord as the Son of David. As such He has nothing to do with this woman of the Gentiles, so He does not answer her. But He does not send her away and that is what the disciples want.

They want Him to send the woman away, “because”, they say, “she keeps shouting at us”. They would rather not have to deal with this woman and do not share the Lord’s feelings. Therefore, He does address the disciples’ remark. He points to the purpose of His mission. His mission concerns only the lost sheep belonging to Israel. He thus establishes that Israel is as lost as this woman is. There can only be hope for those who acknowledge it.

The woman will have heard what He has said. Therefore she goes on and on, for the Lord hints that everything is now based on grace, and then there can be no borders. The woman shows persevering faith. She only asks if He wants to come to her aid in her distress. The answer the Lord then gives is even more dismissive if possible. First He said in veiled terms that she did not belong to Israel and was therefore not an object of His mission. Now He says in veiled words that she does not belong to the children of Israel, but to the nations whom He compares to despised dogs.

Then the effect of His words becomes clear. He achieves, by His apparent hardness, that the woman feels and pronounces her true place before God. She immediately takes that place, like a Mephibosheth who once assumed the place of a dead dog with David (2Sam 9:8). This does not mean that God is less good or merciful to her. That would be a denial of Himself, a denial of His nature, of which Christ is the expression. He cannot say: God has no crumb for such people. Crumbs are not thrown to the dog, but accidentally fall to the ground and remain lying there so that the dog can eat out of grace. No one who has ever appealed to the grace of God has done so in vain.

The Lord answers from the fullness of His heart. For the second time He perceives a great faith and this again with someone from the Gentiles (Mt 8:10). Both these Gentiles take a place of self-judgment. Both think low of themselves. Then there can be great faith. She receives everything out of grace, while she knows in herself to be totally unworthy. In this way and this way alone a soul can receive the blessing.

It doesn’t just depend on the feeling of need. That has been there from the beginning, and it has brought her to the Lord. It is not enough to recognize that He can fulfil all needs. We must be made to feel in the presence of the only source of blessing that, although we are there, we have no right to enjoy it. Once one is there, everything is grace. Then God can act according to His own goodness and He responds to every desire of the heart to make it happy in fellowship with Him.