Matthew 15,21-28. 17th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ 

Matthew 15,21-28  4715

17. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  062

Cosmas and Damian, physicians, Martyrs 303 

404. Anniversary of the King James Version translation (1611) 

27. September 2015 

1. O Gracious and Righteous God, Thou hearest our petitions, we pour out our heart ever again to You, crying for mercy and justice in a world full of wickedness and evil. Hear us and save us. Be merciful and just.  Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for 17. Sn. n. Trinitatis  § 1 2015) 

2. Then  Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan went out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying: Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples went and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But He answered and said: I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then she went and worshipped Him, saying: Lord, help me. But He answered and said: It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said: Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 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.

3. By the 15. Chapter of St. Matthew, the holy apostle and evangelist has told us about two instances where Jesus remarks upon faith. The first instance was in Matthew 8 where a Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his sick servant. Jesus was willing to go into this Roman’s home (thereby making Himself ritually unclean in the process) to heal the man. The centurion replied that such a visit was not necessary. Jesus only need give the command that his servant be healed and it would be carried out. Jesus then remarked that He hasn’t found such faith in Israel as He has seen in this Roman centurion. The second second instance is Matthew 15 where Jesus remarks that this Canaanite woman’s faith is great. 

4. The woman approached Jesus with a serious need: her daughter is vexed by a demon. Jesus uses her request for help to open a dialogue regarding faith. Jesus says He is the messiah of Israel and His primary ministry at that very moment is to the Jews. This woman then does something extraordinary: she worshiped Jesus and asked for His help. Jesus has only been worshipped twice thus far in the Gospel according to Matthew: the magi after He was born (2,2) and the apostles after Jesus had walked on water (14,33). The magi worshipped Jesus as the King of the Jews and the apostles worshipped Him as the Son of God. 

5. Her worship expresses her faith in Jesus, and it is a faith that was sorely lacking among most of Jesus’ own people. She not only agrees with Jesus, but she also understands that Jesus is the messiah of Israel and she’s merely a Canaanite. It’s enough for her to merely receive the crumbs left behind from the main meal. She’s not asking for the children’s bread, but merely asking for the crumbs that are appointed from the messiah’s table for the Gentiles. She has a profound understanding of who Jesus is, and that whatever He gives is enough to satisfy the need at hand. 

6. During His public ministry Jesus went first to the Jews, preached to them and healed them. Among these Jewish crowds were foreigners: Romans, Greeks, Samaritans and Canaanites. Jesus spoke to them and healed them too. The messiah of Israel isn’t only for Israel, but He is for them first. The Apostle Paul followed a similar practice: He preached the gospel to Israel first, and then to the Gentiles. 

7. The Prophet Isaiah promises twelve times throughout his book that Israel’s messiah will also be a blessing to the Gentiles. Isaiah 2 says that all the nations shall go up to the house of the God of Jacob so that they shall learn His ways and walk in His paths (Isaiah 2,2-3). Isaiah 11 proclaims: »In that day the Root of Jesse will recover the remnant of Israel and He will gather the nations« (Isaiah 11,10-12). Isaiah 42 prophesies: »My Servant will bring forth justice to the nations« (Isaiah 42,1). Isaiah 49 confesses that the Christ will be a Light to the Gentiles and God’s salvation as far as the end of the earth (Isaiah 49,6). Isaiah 56 says that the Gentiles will join themselves to Yahweh (Isaiah 56,6). Isaiah 66 proclaims: »For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is drawing near to gather all nations and tongues. They shall arrive and see My Glory« (Isaiah 66,18). 

8. The Old Testament, and Isaiah in particular, teaches that God desires to gather both Israel and every other nation into His arms and save them. Jesus’ discussion with the Canaanite woman further reveals that He desires to heal and save both her and her daughter. This dialogue also reveals that even Canaanites can worship God’s messiah and have faith in Him. What Jesus does for a Roman centurion here and a Canaanite woman there during His public ministry, He does in full measure after His ascension. Shortly before Jesus ascended back to His heavenly throne He told the apostles: »All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age« (Matthew 28,18-20). 

9. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was so enormous and universal that all the sins of the world have been forgiven. And with forgiveness comes the end the devil’s tyranny that manifests itself in our lives. We attain the forgiveness of sins through faith. This word is not our word, but the voice and word of Jesus Christ, our Savior  (Apology 12,2). 

10. Christian faith is the medium lepticon (the means of reception): a special creation and gift of God whose only purpose is to receive God’s gifts. And this faith is simple trust in Christ’s words. He says He forgives us, and we believe Him. We don’t need to comprehend all the particulars of this redemption. We don’t need to write an essay on forgiveness with many footnotes and impressive sounding Greek and Latin words. We only need to believe what Christ says. That’s it. And we have what He promises. Just like the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman. A little grace from our great savior, Christ Jesus, our Lord. Our faith is great because it receives an even greater Christ: be it unto thee even as thou wilt, for ye have Christ, His absolution, His  healing and His salvation.  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the nations, we will sing of Thy mercies and make known Thy faithfulness to all generations so that in hearing the gospel the nations believe on You for their salvation.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm 

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.