CHASING AFTER JESUS
Matthew 15:21-29
INTRODUCTION
Jesus had
left Galilee where He fed 5000 men. He was visited by Pharisees and teachers from
Jerusalem who asked why His disciples ate before washing their hands.
Jesus
exposed their hypocrisy, then quoted Isaiah ;
Matthew
15:8-9
8 "'These people honor me with their
lips,
but their
hearts are far from me.
9 They
worship me in vain;
their
teachings are but rules taught by men.'"
Let me
suggest He left Israel and traveled some 60 miles to Tyre and Sidon
To the
regions of the Gentiles in search of some true worshippers.
It may have
taken 2 and a half days to get there.
God works in ways that are mysterious to us.
GOD WILL
COME AND SEE ABOUT YOU
V:21 Leaving
that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite
woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David,
have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession."
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So, his
disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying
out after us."
1. There are times when you come to Jesus, and
you get no answer. There are times when
it appears that your prayers are not answered. When you know He has worked in
the lives of others, you wonder why He wants to do it for you.
This woman came to Jesus with a plea
for help for her daughter and at
first, was ignored. Lord have mercy on me was her prayer.
A. Perhaps she had heard about large crowds
who came to Jesus (Matthew 14:13) and healed their sick. Perhaps she came
because she knew that he bestowed a blessing on those that were in His presence
without discrimination.
B. She was not an Israelite. She was a
Gentile. Jesus was not in Israel. He had traveled 60 miles outside of
Israel.
Was she being ignored because of
her race?
Was she ignored because He only
healed in Israel?
C. She persisted in her cry to Jesus and
got no answer. She was even ignored
By Jesus’s disciples. They said send
her away.
She was making
too much noise. She is a
distraction. Instead of pleading with
Jesus to help this woman, they pleaded to ignore her.
D. She knew Jesus’ background. She
called Him Lord. She also called Him the
Son Of
David. She knew more about Jesus than the crowds that followed
Him.
I
suggest that she knew Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. She came by faith.
None of
this got an immediate response from Jesus.
It is helpful when you are waiting on a response from Jesus
to remember His promises.
Colossians 1:11-13
11 being strengthened with all power according to his
glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us
from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
NIV
Romans 15:3-4
Christ did not please
himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have
fallen on me." 4 For everything
that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance
and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
NIV
1. To God a no answer is not a no but a
test of patience.
2. This Canaanite lady teaches us to
persevere and stay in prayer.
3. She teaches us to never give up on
Jesus.
4. She teaches us in trials and
tribulations to stay encouraged.
TRIALS
ARE A TEST OF OUR FAITH
V:24 He
answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
25 The woman came and knelt before him.
"Lord, help me!" she said.
A. When Jesus answered it was not the
answer she expected.
1. Have you ever got an answer from the
Lord you didn’t expect?
Instead of a solution, you got
another problem.
2. Jesus gave her His mission.
Was His mission only for
Israel? What about the Gentiles?
If He came for Israel, why was He
sixty miles away in the place of
Gentiles?
Genesis
17:4-6
"As for
me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No
longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you
a father of many nations. Look at
Romans 1:16
B. It appeared that her issue was being
minimized.
He healed
others. But her daughter, a Canaanite, was not as important as
The
Israelites
1. We have this situation going on
today.
2. Phrases like, “Black Lives Matter,
Asian Lives Matter” are an indication
That people
are made to feel as if their lives are minimized.
Inequalities
among people of any kind are injustice.
C. The lady was persistent to get help
for her child. No was not an option.
She had
faith in the power of Jesus.
1. She fell on
her knees and worshipped the Lord.
2. She
continued her prayer, Lord help me.
LEARN TO
RESPOND IN LOVE NOT HOSTILITY
V:26 He replied,
"It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their
dogs."
A. When Jesus responded, He compared her
to a dog. Wow!!
1. The flesh in me would have
reacted in a hostile way.
2. When we call someone a dog,
we make them less than human
When calling a person a dog
we usually mean he/she is no good,
Can't be trusted, evil-minded,
and everything less than a child of
Of God.
HAVE YOU
EVER CALLED SOMEONE A DOG?
WHAT WAS THE
REASON?
3. The flesh may see the world valuing
the animals as more important than
People.
There is nothing wrong with love
for your pet. But they should never be
Valued more than a person.
God never said to love your pet
as yourself.
The Greek word for dog, in this
case, means a puppy.
We can know that, but the flesh
sees the comparison to a dog as
troubling.
LEARN THE
LESSON OF HUMILITY
V:27 "Yes, Lord," she said,
"but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters'
table."
A. You should never get rattled because
someone tries to minimize who you are with their mouth. The problem is their
ignorance, not yours.
1. A negative word can throw you off
track. You must keep your focus
On Jesus.
2. The lady was sharp and quick wit.
She could think on her feet. She
would not be outdone.
She responded to the positive
side of a house pet.
B. She didn’t see a dog as derogatory
but as a friendly statement.
She understood the love for a pet.
Her response was how valuable the pet was to the family.
Pets were taken care of by family members
C. She saw herself as the love of the
owner.
She saw Jesus as her owner.
NEVER LET
CIRCUMSTANCES GENERATE DOUBT ABOUT JESUS
V:28 Then
Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
A. Jesus came 60 miles looking for true
worshippers.
1. He found faith in the mother of
a sick child.
2. Your circumstances are designed
to draw you to the Lord.
3. See your circumstances as God’s
design to test your faith
B. God hears your prayers, but it is up
to you to pray without ceasing.
SUMMARY
WHEN YOU
GOT A PROBLEM TAKE IT TO JESUS FIRST
BE PATIENT,
WAIT ON THE LORD
DON’T
LISTEN TO NEGATIVE FOLK
DON’T LET
OTHERS DEFINE WHO YOU ARE
PLACE
YOUR HOPE IN THE LORD
CLASS
QUESTIONS
WHAT IS
YOUR PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING PROBLEMS?
HOW DO
YOU HANDLE FOLK WHO CALL YOU A DEROGATORY NAME?
WHAT
SHOULD YOU DO WHEN PEOPLE DOWNPLAY YOUR WORTH?
ARE THERE
PRAYERS YOU SHOULDN’T PRAY?
Rev. M.
Mitchell
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