TD12: Love and Life For All
Matthew 15:21-39
October 23, 2022
Jay Haugh
Jesus addressed true spirituality.
Jesus sees right through external spirituality.
God’s delight and desire is heartfelt obedience.
Legalism is the keeping of external rules as if those rules make you righteous.
We can’t be duplicitous AND we all have this tendency.
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. —Matthew 15:21
Jesus is rejected by His people, Israel.
They think the best thing for their nation, their culture, and their spirituality is to rid themselves of Him.
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” —Matthew 15:22
But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” —Matthew 15:23
Jesus is looking for a recognition and a confession first.
Jesus wants a recognition that deliverance comes through Israel.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” —Matthew 15:24
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” —Matthew 15:25-26
Children = Jews.
Dogs = non-Jews.
Bread = Jesus.
The dogs would be fed, but they are fed after the children.
She has to wait her turn.
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” —Matthew 15:27
“He came to his own and his own did not receive him.” —John 1:11 NKJV
This Gentile woman recognizes and confesses who Jesus is. He is the Israelite crumb that gives life.
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. —Matthew 15:28
“Send her away because she keep shouting at us.” —Matthew 15:23 NASB
Jesus trains His followers for future missions.
Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. —Matthew 15:29-31
And they glorified the God of Israel. —Matthew 15:31
God identically loves and cares for all people.
Big Idea:
God identically loves and cares for ALL and is sufficient for those who come to Him.
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Memory Verse: 1 Timothy 4:7-8
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Read Matthew 15:21-28
God sees past our religious ceremonies, emotionalism, and intellectualism. Instead, He looks at our heart. Have you ever found security or felt secure in your faith because you followed certain rites/rituals, behaved a specific way outwardly, or knew a lot about the Bible? Do those things matter to God? What does matter to Him?
Jews viewed Gentiles as unclean and therefore isolated themselves and did not want to share their God with a people who they felt would tarnish His name. Are there any types of people you purposefully stay away from (ex. less fortunate)? What does this reveal about your heart? How can we transform it to be more aligned with Jesus?
Why did Jesus say that the Canaanite woman had great faith? If Jesus were to describe your faith, what do you think He would say?
There is no training without sending. Jesus never equipped a person just to be an information warehouse. He equips people so that they may be used to continue God’s mission. In what ways are you equipped to help others? Are you serving in this capacity? In what ways would you like to be equipped to serve?
Read Matthew 15:29-39
What impact do the healings performed by Jesus have on the people? When we minister to people, what should be our goal? How can we help people praise the God of Israel?
Just as Jesus helped provide for the physical needs of those in the crowd, we also should be attentive to the needs around us. What are the needs around you that you can meet?
When has your hunger for the Lord outweighed your physical hunger? Would you go three days without eating if it meant you could be present with Jesus?
The message that Christ is sharing is not ethnocentric. Where would you like to see greater diversity in our congregation? How can you be an active part in that process?