Zoom
Sunday School Classes – 28 April 2024 at 09:00 AM EST
Meeting ID: 848-9423-0612
Pass Code: 669872
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84894230612?pwd=Zk1ESitzbGZwTlJyV21UZXY5aTVPZz09
Help For an
Outsider
(Faith of a Canaanite)
Matthew 15:21-28
Devotional Reading: Psalm 61
Background Scripture: Matthew 15:21-28
(Rev Ralph Johnson Teaching)
Daily
Bible Readings |
Monday: God Provides for a Gentile
Woman – 8-16
|
KEEP IN MIND:
“Then Jesus
answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even
as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (Matthew
15:28)
LESSON AIM:
KNOW the account of the Canaanite woman and
her faith,
REFLECT on a time when a desperate situation drove us to Jesus, and
START a journal of prayers and track our persistence.
BACKGROUND:
The term "Gentile" was
originally applied to all nations, but after the Jews returned from Babylonian
exile, the term became a slur. Because
of their covenant relationship with God, the Israelites considered themselves
distinct and different from all other people (Exodus 19:5-6). Their dedication to this relationship
dominated their relations with all other nations. The pagan practices of Israel's neighbors
constantly tempted the Jews to violate the covenant by worshiping other
gods. Their struggles against these
temptations led them to harden their attitude toward non-Jews. Thus, the term "Gentile" became one
of scorn. It was common for the Jews of
Jesus' time to refer to Gentiles as "dogs." Dogs were generally looked upon as unclean,
so to call one a "dog" was an even stronger insult than to label
someone a "Gentile."
LESSON COMMMENTARY:
The
Lady's Request (Matthew 15:21-23, NRSV)
21Jesus left that place and went away
to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22Just then a Canaanite woman from
that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of
David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."
23But he did not answer her at all.
And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she
keeps shouting after us."
Having previously
attempted to withdraw into the desert (Mt 14:13), Jesus again
departed from the multitudes which thronged Him, going probably the longest
distance away from Jerusalem. Proceeding
to the far northwest of the coast, where Tyre and Sidon were located, He
encountered a woman of Canaan who pleaded with Him to heal her daughter who was
demon possessed. In the parallel account
in Mark 7:24-30, the woman is declared to be a Greek, a Syrophoenician,
meaning that she was a Gentile, using the more contemporary name for her
nationality.
The
Lord's Rejection (Matthew 15:24-26, NRSV)
24He answered, "I was sent only
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25But she came and knelt before
him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26He answered, "It is not fair
to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
Although she
addressed Jesus as “Son of David,” He did not answer her. Her repeated cries
irritated the disciples, who suggested that Jesus send her away. In an explanation of why He had not replied,
Jesus told the disciples, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house
of Israel” (Mt 15:24). The
woman, however, was not to be easily discouraged, and bowing and worshiping
before Him, she said simply, “Lord, help me” (v. 25).
Jesus, attempting to explain to the woman His commission to preach to the
house of Israel, said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast
it to dogs” (v. 26). The woman, in
reply, pleaded that even dogs were allowed to eat crumbs which fell from the
table. In response to this faith, Jesus said, “O woman, great is thy faith: be
it unto thee even as thou wilt” (v. 28). Matthew comments that her daughter was healed
immediately, implying that they had a later report as to what the outcome of it
was.
The
Lady's Response (Matthew 15:27-28, NRSV)
27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even
the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28Then Jesus answered her,
"Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And
her daughter was healed instantly.
According to Mark,
Jesus also told the woman, “The devil is gone out of thy daughter” (Mk 7:29). Mark also
goes on to say that when the woman returned home, she found her daughter laid
upon a bed and that the demon had departed (v. 30). The story nicely illustrates the power of
prevailing prayer, when coupled with implicit faith. How much has been accomplished by prayer, and
how many times children of God have not because they ask not. This incident is the only recorded miracle on
this trip of Jesus, many miles away from His familiar area of ministry. Could it not be that, though she was a Gentile
and even though dispensationally it was not the time for blessing among the
Gentiles, Christ had come expressly to meet the need and faith of this woman? The lesson of this miracle should be to
encourage Christians to fulfill the command of God to pray in the name of
Christ, claiming the promise, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he will give it [to] you” (Jn 16:23).
DISCUSS THE
MEANING:
- Jesus'
denial of the Canaanite woman's request was based on her ethnicity, yet
her faith overruled her bloodline. What
role, if any, does faith have in overcoming the evils of ethnic or racial
prejudice?
- Is
there ethnic or racial prejudice in the body of Christ?
- Should
people of faith work to eliminate this prejudice?
LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY
The United States is a blessed
nation. Yet for many years, Black people
and others in this country were systematically denied equal access to these
national blessings. In attempting to
redress 300 years of systematic denial in employment, President Kennedy issued
Executive Order 10925 in 1961, which was the first time the phrase
"affirmative action" was used. In 1965 and 1967, President Johnson issued
Executive Orders focused on job-related affirmative action requirements to
benefit Blacks, other minorities, and women. In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act
which forbids race and gender discrimination in employment. These "affirmation action laws" were
established to prevent discrimination in hiring, education, and other matters,
and thereby include minorities in the nation's prosperity.
Recently, there has been a backlash
against affirmative action, and some court decisions threaten to dismantle
these laws. Has affirmative action
outlived its purpose? Should this kind
of legislation be dismantled? Do
minorities in the United States still require special protection under the law?
NEXT WEEK’S LESSON: 5 May 2024
No Need to Boast
(Justified by Faith)
Romans 3:21-30
Devotional Reading: John 3:1-8, 13-17
Background Scripture: Romans 3:21-30
(Rev Ralph Johnson Teaching)
SOURCES:
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Dictionary. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.
Blomberg, Craig,
L., New
American Commentary: Matthew, An Exegetical and Theological
Exposition of Holy Scripture, Volume 22. Nashville:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992.
Brown, Raymond E., S. S., Joseph A.
Fitzmyer, S. J.; Roland E. Murphy, O Carm. The
Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
Dummelow, J. R., M.A. Rev. The One Volume Bible Commentary. New
York: The Macmillan Company Publishers, 1961.
Gaebelein,
Frank E., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Vol.8, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishers,
1984.
Hagner, Doland J., Word Biblical
Commentary, Matthew 14-28,
Volume 33b. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2015.
James Orr,
M.A., D.D., International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, Electronic
Edition, Parsons Technology, Inc., Cedar
Rapids, Iowa 1998.
Morris, William, ed., Dictionary of the English Language,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981.
Schuller, Eileen,
M., The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, Volume
VII: The Gospels and Narrative Literature, Jesus and the Gospels,
Matthew and Mark, New York: Abingdon
Press, 2015.
Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Hrsg.): The
Pulpit Commentary: St. Matthew Vol. II. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc., 2004
Strong, James, Strong’s Hebrew and
Greek Dictionaries, Electronic Edition STEP Files, QuickVerse, a division
of Findex.com, Inc., Omaha Nebraska. 2003.
Vine, W.E. Vines Complete Expository
Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Edited by Merrill F. Unger and
William White Jr. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996.