MINISTRY AND FAITH AMONG THE GENTILES

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Matthew 15:21-39
Lesson #39

MINISTRY AND FAITH AMONG THE GENTILES

• Memory verse: Mat 23:12
• Read Mat 15:21-28 Healing the Canaanite woman’s daughter
  • Opposition to Jesus in Jewish territory was mounting. Jesus needed to be alone with his disciples to further teach them until God’s perfect timing for the crucifixion.
    • Therefore, in this chapter Jesus is outside of Jewish territory in the area of Tyre and Sidon where the Phoenicians lived.
    • The Canaanite woman (Syro-Phoenician) was a Gentile. Not only was she a Gentile, but these people were ancient enemies of the Jews.
  • This woman approached Jesus.
    • Therefore, she had evidently heard about Jesus and the miracles He had done.
    • The woman had a great love for her daughter.
      • She first suffered Jesus’ silence and inattention. At first Jesus did not pay any attention to the woman’s pleas for help.
      • She was persistent in her pleas in order to gain the greater prize.
      • She was willing to be humiliated in order to obtain what she wanted.
  • Jesus’ disciples were annoyed by this woman rather than feeling compassion for her.
    • Finally his disciples pressured Jesus to give her what she wanted simply to get rid of a nuisance.
    • Why did Jesus not immediately help her?
      • It was probably a training lesson to the disciples.
      • They needed to see ministry done in compassion not annoyance.
        • Jesus always ministers at the level of people’s faith.
        • We always see Him take the person’s level of faith and elevate it.
  • What was it that proved to Jesus the woman had a great faith?
    • She began by calling him “son of David“, the title for the Jewish Messiah who would rule as a King.
    • She ended by calling him “Lord“.
    • She had a faith that worshipped Him.
      • She began with a request and ended by falling on her knees before Him in prayer.
      • She was persistent and not discouraged.
    • She maintained her hope that He would not disappoint her.
  • Jesus’ verbal response:
    • What did Jesus mean when he said that it was not right to give the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs?
    • The bread of eternal life was first sent to the Jews. She had used the title “son of David” which was the title of the covenant given to the Jews for which the Jews were the heir.
      • On the surface it seems to be a terrible insult.
        • The Jews commonly called the Gentiles dogs meaning they were like unclean street dogs that lived in the garbage dumps.
        • These dogs were diseased and vicious.
        • Later they used the insult for Christians as well.
      • However, Jesus used a different word for dog rather than the word for street dogs.
        • Jesus used kunaria which means = a little household pet. It is an endearing word.
        • The woman understood that the vocabulary Jesus used, as well as the compassion she saw in His face, was not meant as an insult but a challenge to her faith.
  • This is the only recorded incident where a demon is cast out without the patient being present.
  • What do you learn about faith from this healing?
    • Humility is an important ingredient of faith.
      • Why?
      • Pride is an attitude that you are in control and that you need no one.
      • Humility is a recognition that God is in control and you must trust in Him.
    • Faithful persistence is rewarded by God. (Luk 18:3-8)
• Read Mat 15:29-39 Feeding the 4,000
  • Jesus travels from Tyre and Sidon to Decapolis.
    • Decapolis was a Gentile area of 10 Greek cities united together for trade and commerce.
    • After many miraculous healings, Jesus has compassion on the people because of their fatigue, their sicknesses, and their lack of food.
  • There are some teachers who think this miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 is the same event as the feeding of the 5,000 we already studied in Mat 14.
    • However, this is not the same miracle:
      • There is a difference in the location. Mat 15 occurs in Gentile territory (15:21) while Mat 14 occurs during the time of Passover in Jewish territory.
      • The time of year is different. Mat 15 occurs in the summer when the grass is dried (15:33) while Mat 14 occurs in the spring when the grass is green (14:19).
      • The crowd of 4,000 in Mat 15 had been with Jesus 3 days (15:32) while the crowd of 5,000 in Mat 14 had been with Jesus 1 day.
        • The word for baskets full in Mat 15 is sphurides. This is a man-sized basket used by the Gentiles.
        • The word for baskets full in Mat 14 is kophinoi. This is a small neck basket, the type used by the Jews to carry food when they travelled.
    • Of course, the numbers are different. In Mat 14 we had 5,000 men, 5 loaves and 2 fish, and 12 baskets full.
    • In Mat 15 we have 4,000 men, 7 loaves and a few fish, and 7 baskets full.
      • Remember that 4 is the number symbolizing the 4 corners of the world.
      • The number 7 symbolizes completeness.
  • Why are there two similar miracles?
    • Usually when there seems to be a repetition of a miracle of God, it is because one is directed toward the Jews and the other directed toward the Gentiles.
    • God indicates that He is the God of the Jews and the God of the Gentiles.
      • How do we know these people were mostly Gentiles?
      • Mat 15:31 says that they glorified the God of Israel. It does not say they glorified the God of their (Jewish) fathers.
  • The reaction of the disciples:
    • The disciples reacted in exactly the same way as they had in the feeding of the 5,000. Their view was that of material reality.
    • Why did they not remember their experience in Mat 14? Probably they did not expect Jesus to treat Gentiles in the same way he treated Jews.
  • What do we learn about Jesus from this miracle?
    • Jesus is King of the Gentiles as well as King of the Jews.
    • Jesus is the bread of life to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews.
  • What do we learn about faith from this miracle?
    • The disciples’ lesson of faith needed to be extended to the Gentiles.
    • So often we limit God thinking He will only work in certain ways and situations. We need to see a bigger God who can do anything, in any way He so desires.
• Summary:
  • Jesus refers to the bread of life in Mat 15:26 when He is lifting the faith of the Canaanite woman.
  • Then Jesus multiples the bread to feed the 4,000 to indicate that eternal salvation is for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews (Rom 1:16 Eph 2:11-16) and that He is the bread of life (Joh 6:32-35).

Homework

Matthew 16:1-17

• Application of Mat 15:21-39
  • In what ways do you limit God’s work in your life?
  • How does Mat 15:21-39 expand your view of God?
• Preparation for Mat 16:1-17
  • Read Mat 16:1-17
    • Why do you think Jesus asked who people thought He was?
    • Why is Peter’s confession important?
• Memory verse: Philippians 2:10