A Woman of Great Faith (Matthew 15:21-28)
In this lesson we will look at the passage where Jesus healed the daughter of the Syrophenician woman who was possessed with a devil. This is another great place in the scripture where we can learn something in regards to faith. Jesus himself said that the woman had great faith.
The Rejection :
From the book of Mark we find that the woman who comes to Jesus and wants her daughter healed in a Greek. The first time this woman comes to Jesus and makes the request for her daughter to be healed Jesus does not answer her at all. She then goes to the disciples and they ask Jesus to send her away because she is crying after them. Once again Jesus does not grant her request.
Finally she comes to Jesus again this time worshipping him and saying help me. This time Jesus tells her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” This is not just a refusal but this is a hard statement for the woman who is being referred to as a dog.
The truth is that Jesus as he said in verse 24 at this time in the gospels is dealing with Jews and not the Gentiles. We have to remember that is who he came to first. While it is true that after Israel rejects the Holy Ghost in Acts the gospel does go to the Gentiles but at this time Jesus is dealing with Jews in regards to the kingdom and he has not even been crucified yet so there is no gospel as we know it today.
The Acceptance :
In the response of the woman to Jesus calling her a dog we see a very humbling statement. She simply says truth Lord. Therefore the woman is accepting the fact that Jesus has called her a dog and that she is unworthy of the children’s bread.
This also shows a remarkable faith because she recognizes Jesus as the master. When this is considered along with Proverbs 12:10 we can understand why Jesus said that this woman had a great faith. The verse in Proverbs says that a righteous man takes care of his animals. Jesus is definitely a righteous man and therefore he must care for his animals.
In Mark’s account of this miracle we see that Jesus said it was for her saying specifically that the daughter was made whole.
What can we learn from this woman of faith?
1) Just as the woman our faith must be in the right source (verse 22)
- Jesus is the only way to get to heaven and we are saved by faith in him and that alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
- Also as a saved person if we need help we must go to the right source. And the greatest resource that we have is Jesus Christ.
2) Just as the woman we must be persistent in our faith (verses 22-27)
- This woman continued in her quest until it was accomplished. We must also be persistent in our faith and continue no matter what.
3) Just as the woman our faith must be connected with the word of God (verse 27)
- Whether she even realized it or not she was essentially quoting scripture back at Jesus Christ. We will face things in our lives that are extremely difficult to go through or understand this is why our faith must be founded on the word of God because it is the one constant that never changes.
Let us learn a lesson from this woman and may one day the Lord say the same about us that we have a great faith.
A Woman of Great Faith (Matthew 15:21-28)
Handout
1) What nationality is the woman that is seeking a miracle from the Lord in this passage?
2) Why is it that Jesus ignores the woman at first?
3) What does the woman do to cause Jesus to say she has great faith?
4) How can we apply this to us today?