Read and Believe in Jesus.

“O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” Matthew 15:28

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REVIEW – Once again, the Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem came to wrangle with Jesus about points in their “traditions.” They followed these more closely and faithfully than they did the very Mosaic Law. (And Jesus pointed that out plainly and firmly, calling them hypocrites.)

After that, Jesus plainly told them that it was what came OUT of their mouths (sins originating in their hearts) that defiled them, not any possibly “dirty” food that went INTO their mouths from improperly (to them) washed hands. Heart attitudes matter to God. HE can see them. People can only see the outside actions and pious words…but that’s what the Pharisees cared about most.

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(NOTE: This reminded me of David’s prayer in Psalm 19:14. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”)

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Matthew 15:21-28.

Jesus was probably so disgusted with the Jewish leaders’ “man-pleasing” ways, and their growing animosity towards Him, that He decided to “leave the country” for a while. He and the disciples traveled northwest from the Sea of Galilee to the coast and north into Syro-Phoenicia.

Verse 21 says that He “withdrew” to that area, which usually meant Jesus wanted “alone time” with His Father, or with His disciples. (In this case, it also meant that Jesus was withdrawing from His ministry in Galilee.)

But quiet time was not to be so, for “Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and followed Him, crying, ‘O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon!'”

This gentile woman knew who Jesus was. Calling Him “the Son of David” meant she was calling Him “Messiah.” Okay, now, lest you think Jesus was rude, or worse, cruel, understand that He was teaching his disciples something while also drawing out this woman’s faith.

(Often our prayers seem rebuked or to fall on deaf ears, but take heart from this woman, and persist.)

Jesus did not answer her a word. He seemed to ignore her, even turning His back on her.

“Send her away,” begged the disciples, “for she is crying out after us.”

Jesus replied as if to them, but so that the woman could hear, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The disciples were about to take that as a “Yes” and send her away when the woman came, knelt before Jesus, and spoke to Him directly. “Lord, help me.”

Jesus answered, perhaps still speaking over her head to the men standing around, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Wow! That seems harsh, but watch how this determined woman persists.

“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table…” (Was there a light in her eyes? Did a small smile play on her lips as, with her head bowed, she waited for His answer?)

Then Jesus turns fully to her, “O woman, GREAT is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.”

And as the woman would discover minutes later, her daughter was healed instantly.

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How is it that the two people whom Jesus exclaimed over for their “great faith” were a Roman Centurion and a Canaanite woman? Both Gentiles. And both of them accepted the authority of Jesus’ WORD to heal from a distance.

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Matthew 15:29-31.

Later, Jesus and the disciples traveled north from Tyre to Sidon, and then cut a wide path around the eastern shore of Galilee to the southern area of the Greek Decapolis (Mark 7:31). (This is where the demoniac was freed and pigs went off cliffs into the sea.)

That southeastern side of the Sea rose into mountains, and Jesus went up into one of them and “sat down.” (A sign of a teacher ready to teach.) Great crowds came to Him from this area. And He also healed the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others who were brought to Him. The crowd was filled with wonder, and they glorified “the God of Israel.”

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Matthew 15:32-39.

Then comes a story so familiar we might think that Matthew is repeating himself. But no, this miraculous feeding of a great crowd is a different occasion. (See Mark 8:1-10)

These folks sat on “the ground,” whereas the people sat on “green grass” in the feeding of the 5000. (This was later in the year.)

Here the disciples collected SEVEN (not five) loaves, and A FEW (not two) small fish for Jesus to bless, break, and pass to the people.

And finally, the disciples collected seven LARGE baskets of leftovers after everyone ate their fill. In the feeding of the 5,000, the disciples collected twelve LUNCHBOX-SIZED baskets.

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(Later, in tomorrow’s reading, we’ll see that Jesus quizzes the disciples on the TWO feedings of crowds, getting the details exactly right, and admonishing them for having “little faith.”)

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For now, after sending the full and physically healed crowd away, both HE and the disciples got into the boat and crossed the Sea of Galilee. This time, they came ashore even further south than Gennesaret, at Magadan (or Magdala), the town where Mary Magdaline was from, although we don’t learn any of her details.

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Jesus ended His ministry in Galilee with that feeding of the 5,000. Now he’s ended his ministry in the Gentile regions with the feeding of the 4,000. After this (Peter’s confession and the transfiguration), Jesus will set His face “like a flint” toward what awaited Him … in Jerusalem.

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