The Syrophoenician Woman, Part 1

Introduction: Context of Jesus' Withdrawal to Tyre and Sidon

0:02 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, December 15th, 1985, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now we return this morning to our consecutive expositions in the Gospel of Mark. Will you turn with me, please, to the seventh chapter and follow as I read this fascinating incident recorded by Mark in verses 24 through 30. Mark chapter 7, beginning the reading at verse 24.

0:39 You will remember, I trust, those of you who have followed the expositions, that the first 21 verses are the record of our Lord's encounter with the Pharisees and certain of their scribes over the whole matter of whether worship will be regulated by men, commandments, or God's precepts, whether God is concerned with external rituals or internal spiritual reality. And after that encounter, Mark tells us, and from thence he arose and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house and would have no man know it, and he could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race, and she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not meet, that is, it is not fitting, it is not seemly, it is not lovely, it is not morally comely, to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. But she answered and said unto him,

2:04 Yes, Lord, even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying, go your way, the demon is gone out of your daughter. And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon. Gone out.

2:29 Now let us again seek the face of God in prayer, that God will, by the Spirit, enable us to understand His own Holy Word.

2:42 Our Father, we have sung together in the language of the psalmist, the earnest prayer of our hearts, that You would give us light and understanding as we study Your Word. You have said, Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm. And our Father, we would not trust in ourselves or any other creature as we now come to Your Word. You alone hold the key to our hearts and to our spiritual perception.

3:15 You alone can impart that light which is unto salvation and unto the increase of grace. Without it, it will be said of us, The word preached did not profit them. Not being mixed with faith. O Lord, we want to hear to our prophet this morning.

3:36 Come then by the Spirit and be our teacher, we plead, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3:48 Now as we come to consider this unusual account of the grace and power of Christ towards this Syrophoenician woman and her demon-possessed daughter this morning, we need to do so understanding, that this section in Mark's gospel finds Mark describing a segment in the life of our Lord Jesus that marks a transition. Some of the commentators point out that there are three periods of withdrawal and then return to the general Galilean area and that this constitutes the third and in a sense final retreat from any kind of permanent retreat. ministry based in that upper part of palestine around the sea of galilee and you will notice that the passage begins with underscoring this element of retreat and withdrawal on the part of our lord and from thence he arose and went away and we shall see as we study this section from chapter 9 and verse 22 through chapter 10 and verse 32 that in this period of our lord's life leading up to his final long journey to jerusalem and his ultimate rejection and crucifixion

The Lord's Withdrawal and Inability to be Hid

5:14 that mark records 10 distinct events all hung together in typical marken style by his word and and so we come to this section beginning with verse 24 and so we come to this section beginning with verse 24 and so we come to this section beginning with verse 24 as a section in which the lord jesus withdraws from that area in which he had been accomplishing many of his mighty works as we attempt to think our way through the passage we shall do so this morning under four basic headings with the third one taking the bulk of the time to expound it and then we will have time to make only one area of application and then god willing the entirety of the message next to it will be the one that will be the one that will be the one that will filings of the blessed light that will be bondage to that which is spirit based remnant of that as was that which is spirit basedront of the gospel!' and of course the background was the current state of verse 24 direction that is both north and west of the Galilean area and he comes the text says into the borders of Tyre and Sidon now if you'll take the time not while I'm preaching but between now

6:42 and next Lord's Day to look at the map if you have one in the back of your Bible you will notice that Tyre and Sidon are north and west of the Sea of Galilee and they are mentioned because they were the two most famous cities of that region that is called Phoenicia or was called Phoenicia in that day and so our text tells us that our Lord went even to the borders of that area Matthew 15 21 says in the parallel passage he came into the parts of Tyre and Sidon but in Matthew 15 22 we are told that this woman came out from those borders so most likely our Lord did not actually enter into an area that was undisputed Phoenician territory but he came right up to that very borderland close to a land that was Gentile country but very near to Galilee that was the northern most and in that sense western most as well segment of the Palestinian territory An area that would be inhabited basically by the Jews. So our Lord withdraws. And Mark tells us that when he withdrew, he entered into a house with a desire to remain incognito.

8:09 Look at the text. He entered into a house and would, literally, he was desiring to have no man know it. And he could not be hid. It was our Lord's purpose that withdrawing into that area and entering into a house, it doesn't tell us whose house it was, whether the owner was a Jew, a Gentile.

8:34 It simply says he entered a house, but his purpose was this. He desired to remain incognito. He desired that no one should know it. Our Lord was seeking again, as he had earlier sought, in the record of chapter 6 and verse 31, to have a period apart from the pressure of the multitudes and their demands upon him.

9:03 It could well be that conscious of the growing opposition of the scribes and Pharisees, an opposition recently stirred up in this controversy over cleansing, and conscious of the increasing opposition and suspicion of Herod, that our Lord, knowing his... His hour had not yet come, also desired to withdraw, lest there be a premature precipitation of his own death.

9:33 Furthermore, it's evident, as we come into this section, that he had peculiar truths that he desired to pass on to the twelve. Since eleven of them were to be the foundation stones in the church he would build, he now was concerned to concentrate much more time, upon the finishing elements of their training and preparation, a work that could only be done as he was away from the normal pressure of the multitudes. And yet, though Mark records the deliberate withdrawal of our Lord, with his deliberate desire and intent that he should remain incognito, Mark tells us that he could not be hid. Because of who he was, Because of the reports about him, reports that had gone all the way up into this area. I refer you back to Mark 3 and verse 8.

10:34 From Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude hearing what great things he did came unto him. So while he was still down in Galilee, the news of his mighty works had spread up into this area of Phoenicia, and people were coming down in order to be the recipients of his teaching and his healing virtue. And so it was impossible for him to be hid. And sermons have been preached on other things that might have been involved, but they are basically imaginative.

11:12 And the text simply says, for whatever reasons, Our Lord could not remain an unknown person in this area. Coming then into the very borders of Gentile territory, Our Lord is yet a marked man by the peoples who dwell in that area. Then we move in the second place from Mark's statement about the withdrawal of Our Lord to consider in verses 25 and 26 what he tells us about the intrusion of a man who was a Gentile. He tells us about the intrusion of a man who was a Gentile.

The Intrusion of a Desperate Syrophoenician Woman

11:46 He tells us about the intrusion of a desperate woman.

11:49 The intrusion of a desperate woman. Now as we look at these verses, it's important to remember that Matthew and Mark are giving independent witnesses to the same event. And because certain details are absent in one account that are present in another and vice versa, it's impossible to reconstruct all of the parts with precision and with dogmatism. But when we bring together Matthew's witness out of Matthew 15 and Mark's witness here, there are certain things that are very clear.

12:26 While Our Lord was yet in the house, or possibly outside the house taking a walk with his disciples, his privacy and his time alone with the disciples is suddenly intruded upon by this unnamed woman who bursts into the midst, throws herself out, goes down at the feet of Jesus and begins to pour out the longing of her heart. Now there are three questions about this woman that we need to answer from the text. First of all, who was she? Secondly, what was her pressing concern?

13:05 And thirdly, what brought her at this time to Jesus? First of all, who was she? Well, Matthew 15.22 identifies her as a Canaanitish, woman.

13:19 In other words, she was a descendant of the ancient dwellers in what was formerly the land of Canaan, that land that had been promised to God's people and captured under Joshua and the borders extended under the wars of King David. This woman traced her bloodlines back to those pagan dwellers in the land whom God had driven out, because of the foul patterns of life that were the fruit of their idolatrous religious perspectives and practices. Mark tells us that she was a Greek, a term often used in the New Testament to describe any non-Jew. Remember, Paul says the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew and to the Greek, that is, to the Jew and to the Gentile. And most likely, since Greek was a universe, a universal language at the time, she was probably a Greek-speaking non-Jew. And we are told that she was a Syrophoenician by race.

14:28 That is, she is someone who belonged to the land of Phoenicia, that particular Phoenicia. There was another Phoenicia in another part of the world, and so Syrophoenicia identifies her as a woman from that area. Now, when we add all of those things up, what do we have? Well, the sum of them is this.

14:51 Canaanitish, Greek, Syrophoenician, and put a line and add it up, and you come up with this sum. She was a pagan. She was a woman who did not have the benefit of taproots of association with the nation of Israel. She did not have a grandmother and a grandfather who were nurtured upon the words of God in synonyms, synagogues, and by the scriptures.

15:21 She was a pagan. She was a Gentile. She was an outcast. She was one described in Ephesians 2 as a stranger from the covenants of promise.

15:32 She was a woman who by birth and breeding was without hope and without God in the world. And it's vital to understand that if we're to understand what unfolds in her interactions, with the Lord Jesus. So we've identified her. Who was she?

15:51 She was a pagan dweller in that area of Phoenicia. Now, what was her concern? Well, obviously, her concern was that she had a little daughter. And the affectionate diminutive is used in the original.

16:08 She had not just a daughter, but she had a little daughter. A little daughter carried in her womb, in her womb for nine months, nursed at her breasts, no doubt the happy companion of her household, and her household duties, the darling of her eyes, and the delight of her heart. But alas, this precious little daughter had become the very habitation of an evil, unclean spirit of the devil. Notice how clear the language of the text is.

16:47 Verse 25, whose daughter had an unclean spirit. And verse 26, she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. And in the parallel passage in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 15 and verse 22, she says that my daughter is badly or severely, or severely demonized. In other words, her little one had turned from what she would call her little angel into someone who would become her little devil.

17:31 She had obviously had opportunity to observe others who were demonized, which is the ordinary term used in the New Testament to describe demon possession. And as she observed others who were possessed of demons, she realized that her daughter had a peculiarly aggravated case of demon possession. She described it as badly or severely demonized. Now there's only one way anyone could judge demon possession, and that was from its manifestations.

18:09 And you will remember already in the book of Mark, we've seen what some of those manifestations are. As we looked at the Gadarene demoniac, irrationality, the self-destruction and the absence of self-control and order, this whole horrible collation of destruction that seemed to be the peculiar activity of the devil when by one of his imps, one of his evil spirits, he possessed a human being. Later on in the Gospel of Mark, we'll read the account of a little boy who, when the demon that possessed him was active, would cause him to foam at the mouth and impel him to jump into the fire. Well, this poor woman had a little daughter who was badly or severely demonized. Now what brought her to Jesus? Well, according to Mark's account, she had heard certain things about him.

19:13 Verse 25, But straightway a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him. No indication that she ever witnessed a miracle. No indication that she was ever in a synagogue when Jesus cast out a demon. No indication that she was ever in a crowd when he multiplied loaves and fishes.

19:37 She had simply heard reports about him. She had not been part of those contingencies that earlier had come down from Phoenicia into that Galilean area to behold his miracles and to hear his preaching. She had only heard reports about him. But she had heard reports about him.

19:59 She had heard of his grace and his power in cleansing lepers, healing all manner of sickness and disease. And no doubt her ears particularly perked up every time she heard a report that Jesus of Nazareth can cast out demons. Well, we've considered the Lord's retirement. We've considered in the second place the intrusion of this desperate woman.

Dialogue Cycle 1: Direct Appeal Answered by Silence

20:26 Now thirdly, and here's where the bulk of the exposition will take place, we have the record of the dialogue between the desperate woman and Jesus. The dialogue between the desperate woman and Jesus beginning with verse 27 and going down through verse 28 to verse 29. And here is one of those times when to be responsible in the exposition we must bring in the light of the other account in Matthew's Gospel. So if you'll keep your hand in Mark 7 but for now turn back to Matthew 15, you will discover with me what I think will be abundantly clear that in this dialogue between the desperate woman and Jesus are four cycles of the woman's appeal and Christ's response. Four groupings of an appeal, a request, and a response by Jesus. A statement by the woman, a response of the Son of God. Cycle number one is what I'm calling a direct appeal answered by silence.

21:39 That's cycle number one. Look at it in Matthew 15, verse 22. And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders and cried out, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed.

22:02 There's her terminology. My daughter is greatly demonized, grievously vexed with a demon. And he answered her, not a word. There's the first cycle.

22:19 A direct appeal to Jesus answered by total silence. Now try to think of the situation. You've heard perhaps for months all of these reports about this healer down in the Galilean area who cast out demons, who preaches with great authority. This one who's causing a disruption wherever he goes.

22:44 And now by some means or other you've heard that he's actually taken up his dwelling in a house that's nearby. And she comes either into the house or beholds him leaving the house on the way to go out for a time of interaction with his disciples. And she intrudes into that circle of our Lord and his disciples and she bursts out with the longing of her heart. Have mercy on me, O Lord.

23:11 Have mercy because my daughter is grievously vexed. She's grievously vexed with the demon. Now can you put yourself in her place? You've heard all of these reports validated by one witness after another about the largeness of his heart, the might of his power, the condescension of his grace ministering to all in all kinds of need.

23:37 And now you're actually in his presence and you, as it were, opened up your deepest wound and you've disclosed it to him to this stranger in whom you have such confidence and you cry out, Have mercy! Pity! Join to action! Do something for me, Lord!

23:54 For my precious little daughter is greatly demonized, exceedingly vexed by the demon that possesses her. And what is she met with? Deathly, oppressive, disappointing silence. He answered her, not a word.

Dialogue Cycle 2: Indirect Appeal Answered by Affirmation of Mission

24:20 Total silence. Strange, isn't it? But that's the first cycle of the interaction. Now cycle number two is an indirect appeal answered by an affirmation of his present mission.

24:38 An indirect appeal answered by an affirmation of his present mission. Verse 23b And his disciples came in and besought him. You see, in the first cycle there was a direct appeal. She cries out, Have mercy, O Lord, Son of David.

24:56 She's met with silence, so she says, I'll try another route. So she comes to the disciples and his disciples in turn come and beseech him, saying, Send her away, for she's crying after us. And in the original it's very vivid. The word used again and again, if any man will come after me, that is, if anyone will come in behind me and be my follower, let him deny himself, take up the cross, the word hopiso.

25:23 Now hopiso is used here. So what they're saying is, Lord, send her away because she's continually falling in behind us and crying out with respect to her need and her request. Now some of the commentators say, Lord, give her a quick healing and send her away. I don't see that in the text at all.

25:44 All I read is that they said, Lord, send her away. Lord, send her away. Could it be that the prejudice of their own proud Jewish hearts is leaking out? She's obviously a Canaanitish woman.

25:58 She's obviously a pagan anyway, Lord. Send her away. We finally have some time alone with you, Lord. We finally have found a house away from the milling crowds and Lord, the only way we're going to realize the purpose for which she came here is to get rid of this nuisance.

26:16 Lord, send her away. So her indirect appeal comes through the disciples and what is it met with? Look at the text. An affirmation of his present mission.

26:28 But he answered, verse 24 of Matthew 15 and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He gives a strange response. He says either to the disciples to carry back to her or I think it's much more likely that he says in her hearing as well and to the disciples that my mission at this time in my father's purpose is to bring the message of the kingdom of God to national Israel. I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

27:12 You'll remember in his own commission to the 12 and then to the 17. Jesus said, go not into the way of the Gentiles. You are to go out and bring the message of the kingdom of God at this time in the purpose of God to the Jew first. That was God's design.

27:30 That in the personal visitation of Jesus Christ upon earth the Jew should be given first opportunity and what proved to be the last opportunity as a nation that the gospel should come to them. Now he didn't say that no grace will ever be conferred upon any but Jews but he says my present mission encompasses the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And we come to cycle number three. And here we have another direct appeal answered by an illustration.

Dialogue Cycle 3: Direct Appeal Answered by an Illustration

28:10 A direct appeal answered by an illustration. Verse 25 of Matthew chapter 15 And she came and worshipped him prostrated herself before him saying Lord help me. A direct appeal with all of the terseness and urgency of desperation. You see a drowning man does not search for a rich and varied vocabulary as he's drowning.

28:42 When he's drowning the word help that's enough. That was enough for her. She came and fell down and without looking for a rich and varied vocabulary she prostrates herself and says Lord help me. And how does our Lord answer this second direct appeal?

29:10 He answers by an illustration. And now we can go back to Mark's gospel. Because here Matthew and Mark are basically the same. Although Mark adds one little phrase that is significant.

29:29 Verse 27 And he said unto her let the children first be filled for it is not seemly it is not morally lovely to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs. Now what does our Lord say? When he says let the children first be filled what does he mean? He means the ones who belong to the household and rightfully sit at the table as part of the family.

30:05 Let the children first be filled in the context and in the light of what we've seen in Matthew. Who were the children? The lost sheep of the house of Israel. Let my ministry to them be adequately discharged first.

30:22 And now he's going to give a reason why this must be so and he does so in the form of an illustration. Follow closely now. For let the children first be filled for it is not morally lovely or pleasant to take the food that is on the table for children and to cast it instead to the dogs. Now here some acquaintance with the original language again is helpful.

30:54 Because Jesus uses a very special word for dogs here that does not refer to those wild packs of unclean carnivorous dogs that roam the streets of Palestine or Gentile cities. That word is used in such passages as Matthew 7. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs neither cast your pearl before swine. When the book of the Revelation says in chapter 22 verse 1 verse 15 without are the dogs that is a different word used.

31:28 Here the diminutive is used which can rightly be translated the little dogs the little house puppies the little pets. No decent Palestinian would have had one of those wild pack dogs in his house. He would have chewed on the legs of the kids. But here is the picture of little dogs that have access to come up and rub alongside the legs of the kids their little puppies their little house pets who when the kids gather to the table are found at the beginning of the meal off in the corner looking very proper but while you are not looking they sneak up and before you know it they are under the table rubbing against your leg and I know some kids that once in a while would take a little piece of something off their thing and slip it under the table to the dogs. Well you see dogs and kids are no different even though 2000 years have passed since this happened. Now what is our Lord saying? He is saying now look we must first feed the children because it is not right when the children come to the table and the bread is on the table before they can eat and be filled to take their bread off the table and throw it under the table to the dogs.

32:37 He said that would be utterly improper. My mission is a mission of ministering to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They are the children at the table they are presently being fed. Shall I in your case take the bread that belongs to them snatch it away before they are filled and give it to you who are like a little puppy under the table near to the place of privilege but not sitting at the table of privilege at this point in God's own working out of the history of redemption?

33:12 That is our Lord's response to her direct appeal. And Lenski has captured the heart of what is said here and I will read this in summary. The bread of the children is the ministry of Jesus and the blessings that he dispenses. This bread is intended for the chosen nation the Jews.

33:35 They recline at table while Jesus dispenses his blessing to them. Any little pet dogs in the house any little pet dog is not allowed to lie on one of the couches as if he too were a child. This would certainly not be a fine thing an ethically morally immoral thing to do. Any pet dog is given food in a different way.

33:59 He is allowed to pick up anything that children may drop while eating at the table. God did not exclude the Gentiles altogether from the ministry of Jesus. Let us note that the little pet dogs does not refer to all the Gentiles in the world but only to such as lived among Jews or came into contact with them in Palestine and could thus in a way obtain salvation. The sweet words of theullen are not nearly as hard as some interpreters have made them.

34:30 These words are not a temptation which this woman is asked to overcome. All such ideas destroy the point of what Jesus said. All that Jesus does is to ask the disciples and the woman to accept the divine plan that Jesus must work out His mission among the Jews alone and that thus, the blessing dispensed by that mission during His ministry shall be set in all their abundance any share of Gentile individuals in any of these blessings can only be incidental during Jesus' ministry in Israel since Jesus was now about to pass through Syrophoenician territory it was vital that this be understood especially right here and now when a Gentile woman was begging on her knees for Messianic help now this brings us to the fourth cycle and I hope you've hung in thus far because this is the glory of the passage in the fourth cycle of interaction what do we have? we have a humble submission and penetrating conclusion on the part of the woman a humble submission and penetrating conclusion on the part of the woman and a word of promise and assurance on the part of Jesus look at the text Jesus says it's not right to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs

Dialogue Cycle 4: Humble Submission and Penetrating Conclusion

35:58 but she answered and said unto him yes Lord I agree with you no argument it is not fitting to take the children's bread away from the table and away from them and to give it at their expense to the doggies that are under the table I cannot agree with you more Lord yes Lord everything you've said is right but then she comes to a point and says to the woman a penetrating conclusion and what is it? look at it even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs I don't ask you to take their bread their meal as it's come from the one preparing it set before the children and take it out from under their noses and give it oh Lord I'll take my place as a little doggie under the table but you have spread the table in my presence and though the lost sheep of the house of Israel have right to the table and I only have access under the table Lord is there anything wrong with dogs licking up crumbs and all I need is a crumb of grace to meet my desperate need she came to a humble submission yes Lord she didn't argue with him then this penetrating conclusion that a crumb under the table would answer to her

37:27 deepest need and at that point how does the Lord respond in this fourth cycle of interaction he gives her a word of promise and a word of assurance turn to Matthew 15 Matthew underscores a commendation of her faith and a commitment to fulfill her desire that's what Matthew emphasizes verse 28 then Jesus answered and said unto her oh woman great is thy faith be it done unto thee even as you will here he commends her faith and then he makes a commitment to her desire for her daughter be it unto you even as you desire commendation of her faith commitment to her desire Mark underscores a commendation of the verbal expression of her faith for this saying verse 29 go thy way this saying show me those that you've laid hold by faith of who I am and what I can and am able to do no matter how desperate the need may be for this saying as it is expressive of your faith go your way and then the assurance that her desire has been fulfilled the demon is gone out of thy daughter the demon is already made an exodus the moment woman you came

38:54 to that true submission to God's sovereign right to constitute the Jews the children at the table and to put you in the posture of a little dog under the table and consenting to that arrangement you're prepared to give what crumbs are left over oh woman for that faith and its expression the demon has gone out and then the passage concludes the conclusion of the incident verse 30 she went away to her house and found the child laid on the ground upon the bed and the demon gone out most likely accompanied by one or more of the disciples she goes to her house she enters through the door and what does she find not that precious little child that had become a habitation of a demon in a frenzy in a froth in an epileptic tight fit what did she find she found her lying upon the bed in that state of exhaustion that people often were found after the demon made its exit by the word and power of Jesus and she sensed immediately that her daughter was a delivered girl and then I dare not let my imagination run loose to try to think what must have passed between that mother and that daughter

Application: The Properties and Actings of Great Faith

40:22 when the one that she had born in her womb nursed upon her breast who had become a habitation of a demon was now again her precious little darling living a normal wholesome life and for the rest of her days was told by her mother who knows how many dozens or hundreds of times the wonderful story of how Jesus made her what she was and so the incident concludes with this wonderful account of the exit of the demon and the return to normalcy on the part of this precious little girl now as we look at this we meditate upon the passage and ask the question what does it say to us a fascinating an interesting story in some ways elements utterly unique in all the recorded ministries of Christ in the gospels what does it say to us well I confess that in the wee hours of this morning I felt myself buried by the sheer massiveness of the practical relevance of this passage and I had to ask myself Lord I'll only have time to make one point of error of application what should it be and leave the others till next week and it is that one point that is dominant in the passage that I wish to focus upon in the time that remains this morning you remember in the Matthew account Jesus commends her faith he says

41:51 oh woman great is thy faith so this passage whatever else it teaches us gives us a vivid demonstration of the proper truth properties and actings of real faith Jesus says the woman had great faith and the Bible is never concerned to give us a philosophical or even a satisfying theological definition of faith rather it gives us description after description of what faith does and how faith acts and in this passage we see great faith at work what then are its properties and its actings well you say Pastor Martin why should I be concerned about that for the simple reason that without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him without biblical faith you will be forever damned in your sins and without a growing understanding of what constitutes faith you will be crippled as a Christian and not grow to the extent you would otherwise grow if you understood what is involved in the properties and actings of faith well then with that as a polemic for what we are doing look at some of the properties and actings of faith in this woman first of all she had a faith created in a context of felt need

43:20 and desperation she had a faith created in a context of felt need and desperation this whole story falls to the ground before it ever gets constructed if such is possible if this woman had not come to the consciousness that my daughter is possessed of a demon when it began to be evident to her senses that something radical had happened to her daughter and all of the indications pointed to the fact that her precious daughter was possessed of a demon the woman had to do one of two things either out of a sense of shame for fear that people might think that she somehow was living in gross sin and brought this upon her daughter or for some other personal reason if she had tried to cover this and say no no my daughter just has this malady or that she really isn't possessed of a demon had this woman not faced reality she never would have come in desperation to Jesus and went away with the promise that her daughter was delivered if she rationalized about the devil's what's of her need she never would have rejoiced in the meeting of that need and you see true faith always begins in a context

44:48 of felt need that faces spiritual reality become a Christian you'll never believe unto salvation until you say I'm as bad as God says I am God says my heart is a sink of iniquity out of it proceed adultery fornication murder theft pride all these other sins God says I am by nature a child of wrath God says I am a slave of sin the world and of the devil God says that I cannot forgive myself change myself God says I must have a new heart or I'll perish my plight is desperate as desperate as the plight of that demon possessed girl God says and you see this woman's great faith all took its starting place from this context of felt need and desperation you go around and God have mercy on stroking preachers tell people you're not really as bad off you know the Bible's a bit antiquated and we understand now

46:16 that the devil and the world and these things are not as gross as they're presented in the Bible my friends you and I if we have the fullest most accurate comprehension of our sinfulness do not know the one thousandth part of our sinfulness but if you and your pride like these Pharisees that we read about this morning are going to be content with external religious ritual going through form and ceremony with no hard experience of grace you'll never know the Lord Jesus speaking a word of comfort to your ear and you see it's also true of us as Christians Jesus says to his own with a heart without me you can do nothing we are not only justified by faith we are to live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us and the ongoing exercise of faith means that I must maintain through the word and the spirit a heart disposition of felton and of desperation I face each day with the conviction Lord I cannot love my wife as Christ loved the church I must but I cannot apart from your grace I cannot be submissive to my husband in everything Lord I'm too stubborn I'm too proud Lord your grace can conquer my stubbornness so that my submission

47:46 will mirror the submission of the church to Christ Lord I cannot say no to the world and to its lust and its passions though I know I must Lord Jesus without you I can do nothing Lord my plight is desperate you see if you believe your plight is desperate your prayers will be in earnest like this woman she didn't come and mumble the rosary in front of Jesus or through a ritual why your prayers are listless and your prayers are listless and perfunctory and routine it's because you really don't believe you're as helpless as God says you are it was faith created in a context of felt need and desperation but I must hasten on and notice in the second place it was a faith awakened by accurate reports concerning the activity the condition the character and the power of Jesus Mark 7.25 says having heard of him having heard of him she came her faith rooted created in this context of felt need and desperation was a faith awakened by accurate reports concerning the activity the character and the power

49:16 of Jesus she had heard about his preaching heard about his casting out of demons his healing all manner of sickness and disease it's most likely that she heard about the mission of the twelve and the mission of the seventy she had had abundant testimony confirmed by far more than the two or three witnesses that Jesus of Nazareth was one who had power to heal who had a heart desire to minister to men in their state of need so her faith you see was not something that was hung on a sky hook it was embedded in the reinforced concrete of accurate reports concerning Jesus of Nazareth now do you see why so much is given to us in the gospels of the life and ministry of Jesus that in being called upon to believe upon him and believe into him we would not take a leap in the dark no but that our souls would run out to him to a Christ whose character and activity and power are fully revealed in the scriptures if you would have your faith strengthened you don't strengthen faith by looking at your faith faith withers when you look at it it's modest and blushing and withers it grows when you look upon Christ

50:42 in the largeness of his heart as he is presented in the scripture see him in the might of his power as he set forth in the word of God and modest faith comes forward to gorge itself and grow strong when the eyes of the soul are fixed upon Jesus she heard of him she heard of him her great faith grew out of the reports that she'd heard of the son of God but then thirdly it was a faith not only created in a context of felt need awakened by accurate reports of Jesus but don't miss this it was a faith enlightened by scriptural information concerning the identity of Jesus it was a faith enlightened by scriptural information concerning the identity of Jesus Matthew tells us that her first direct plea was couched in these words Matthew 15 22 she cried out saying have mercy on me oh Lord thou son of David now where in the world did a pagan Canaanitish Syrophoenician woman learn about son of David there was surely nothing in the writings of their religions that would say anything about son of David somewhere somehow this woman came in contact with people who had the Old Testament

52:11 scriptures who were feeding upon the messianic hope you remember in our regular reading this morning to the Jews mind the son of David was Messiah Messiah was to be David's son raised up after the death of David to sit upon the throne of David to administer the sure mercies of David as Messiah so this pagan has the messianic language upon her lips and messianic faith in her heart and where did she get that she didn't get it from gazing at the stars she didn't gaze it from looking within her own heart somewhere somehow she came in touch with Old Testament scripture and that scripture brought her to the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth could be none other than the promised Messiah and if she had that much contact it's my own conviction that she also knew some of those scriptures that said that he shall be a light unto the Gentiles she came into touch with those scriptures that said that God had pledged to give to his messianic king the nations for his inheritance that his heart would encompass the nations and his grace would spread like a canopy over the nations so this woman's faith that was created in a context of felt need and desperation awakened

53:41 by an accurate report of Jesus is now enlightened by scriptural information as to the identity of Jesus my friend let me pause to say if you ever to have anything that borders on biblical faith in the Bible in the Bible in the Bible in the Bible in the Bible it will be born precisely in the same context it must be a faith enlightened by the scriptural information about the identity of Jesus not enough to just say Jesus Jesus Jesus and tell people trust Jesus Jesus Jesus the question is who is he she says son of David rightful heir to the messianic throne and we know the answer to the question raised in our regular reading this morning if he is David's son how come David calls him Lord in the second song well we know the answer because he is not only son of David he is son of God he is God incarnate we know the meaning of Bethlehem's manger we know the significance of the song of the angelic host unto you is born a savior who is Christ the Lord who is the sovereign Lord who is Jehovah now enfleshed this is why all true faith whether faith on the threshold or the ongoing faith of a believer is faith that comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God

55:11 Romans 10 17 we are not whipped up into a frenzy of faith we are drawn into strength of faith as we feed upon the word of God and particularly what this word says about the identity of Jesus but then I hasten to note in the fourth place it was a faith directed exclusively to and fixed upon Jesus himself it was a faith directed exclusively to and fixed solely upon Jesus himself from the first intrusion to the last conquering word of faith she is having dealings with the Lord Jesus and only with the apostles and the twelve that she might get through then to him if he answers her with silence then she'll get to him by means of his followers but she's going to get to him there is in this woman a clear focus of that great faith that is directed to the Lord Jesus alone fixed upon Jesus alone she enters the scene falling at her feet crying son of David have mercy later on we find her prostrate saying Lord save me help me she is dealing with the son of God himself

56:40 that's one of the most fundamental lessons we need to be taught again and again about the nature of faith in saving faith the sinner has direct dealings with the son of God no water no wafer no priest no minister in between be he Roman Catholic priest or evangelical priest in the prayer puts them in your mouth and then gives you absolution and says you're all fixed up no no priest in between the sinner in the nakedness of his need and the son of God in the plenitude of his grace and power come into direct contact in the exercise of faith and what is true on the threshold is true all the way through don't ever let the church or its ministry or its servants come between you and your dealings with the Lord Jesus him in the way of his appointment don't tell me you've got such direct dealings with Jesus you can despise his institutions no you can despise his instituted rule and government no Jesus is in the midst of his gathered people but don't be content unless you have communion with him in the midst of his people don't be content you've merely seen the face of your friends heard the voice of your elders rest content with nothing less than seeing his face and hearing his voice

58:09 in the midst of his institutions in the fifth place it was a faith fully submissive to the divine will and purpose that was revealed in Jesus when Jesus says to her woman God has so ordered things that my present mission is to the lost sheep of house of Israel she doesn't say wait a minute that's not fair they've been a favored nation for hundreds of years and we pour pagans have had sold in life Lord that's not fair he says look the Jews are the children at the table and you Gentiles are little puppies under the table she says yes Lord and that's perfectly right that it should be that way there is an element of gracious submission in her faith you see faith is not getting God in a hammer lock and pending him to do what he never purposed to do faith is laying hold of what he has promised to do even though the promise may not lie on the surface of his word and I want to show that in the next point and hold off for now simply to say that hers was a faith fully submissive to the divine will and purpose and so it is with us today the fight goes out of us when faith is born in our hearts we don't cavil with God about the original sin and the doctrine of the fall of the race in Adam is not fair we don't cavil and debate about God's right to choose some and bypass others

59:38 no we don't we say yes Lord whatever arrangement you make to bring grace to sinners is right because nobody deserves even a crumb let alone to sit at the table and if you choose a nation to sit at the table that's grace and if you give a little puppy dog a crumb that's grace Lord I've got no argument with grace no matter whether it comes on the top of the table or under the table see the element of submission maybe that's why some of you had trouble with faith you've got too much fight left in you too much fight and spiritual feistiness you've got a whole stack of questions in the back of your mind waiting for God to be accountable to you and answer those questions before you'll fully trust him or his word shame on you who are you to reply against God we've been thinking in past weeks of the incomprehensibility of God get down off your high horse and take the place of that woman prostrate at the feet of Jesus saying yea Lord anything you say anything you do is right yes Lord your ways are right even when they seem to work against you even though they seem to put me in an undesirable posture you see from the posture of submission it's amazing what the ear and the eye can see of hope in an apparent discouragement most of us would have been treated this way and we'd have got up put our tail between our legs and gone home but this woman kept finding a handle by which to draw near in the very things that would drive most of us away and that brings us to the final point it was faith

61:07 determined to press through all discouragements and attain its object from Jesus it was great faith because it was conquering faith it pressed through all discouragements to attain its object now what were the discouragements the first one was the silence of Jesus she cries out have mercy and says he answered not a word but you see there's two ways to interpret that unbelief looks at his silence and says just what I thought he'll be merciful anybody but me others cried he answered others came with demon possessed people he cast about what does he do with me silence I'll go home it's all a Bruce it's all a big cruel joke that's one way to look at there's another way to look at she cried out have mercy she was a pagan and remember she had some acquaintance with the scriptures so when Jesus said to Jews or the children privileged people she had no argument she understood her position but when Jesus met her with silence rather than see that as an occasion of unbelief and discouragement she saw it as an occasion of hope when he said she said have mercy he didn't say no mercy for you woman see she looked upon the silence as making the whole question still open ended oh there was no conferral of a promise but there was no denial either so I'll go after him again so she got behind the disciples and she troubled them and troubled them and troubled till they go and

62:36 tattle tale to Jesus and then Jesus turns around and he says look I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel my main message and mission at this time is to the lost sheep of the house of Israel but she does not see in that any rationale as to why he cannot show mercy to an occasional Gentile did he not do it in the Old Testament you remember Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth when he stood up in the synagogue underscored that very principle among all the widows in the days of the prophet God bypassed all the Jewish Israelite widows went to a Gentile widow among all the lepers in Israel God bypassed them and healed a Gentile leper by the name of Naaman though God's grace has primarily funneled down upon the Jews it has never been exclusively limited to them so she overcomes the apparent difficulty in the mission of Jesus and then what does she do with the illustration of Jesus she finds the very grounds for her request it's not right he says take children's bread and throw them throw it to dogs she says exactly Lord I'd never want you to do that but would you tell a little puppy dog under the table he can't lick up a few crumbs and at that the Lord can hold it in the voice of this woman what can I say to you you've bested me by your faith you've conquered by your faith now was Jesus playing games with her no any more than the angel of the Lord

64:05 was playing games with Jacob when he wrestled with until daybreak and then blessed him it was the Lord Jesus who by his spirit was creating that very faith in her heart but he was drawing it out and drawing it out and drawing it out that you and I might behold in it the actings of an overcoming and a conquering faith oh dear people what is there that stands today in your mind as a great barrier to believe in God's promises with respect to some specific issue in your own life and family don't run away in the discouragement of unbelief but look for the loophole in that word of God that gives faith something to feed upon and to press before the Lord with a heart of submission with a heart determined to obtain any blessing for which you believe you have biblical warrant to press before God well those are some of the lessons of faith and God willing next week we'll look at some of the other very practical lessons about intercessory prayer about the wideness of the heart and the power of Christ but as we close I would simply urge you this morning if you've never taken the posture of that desperate woman before the Lord Jesus may God help you to take it this morning and dear child of God you and I are safe

65:34 when we live in that posture of helplessness vulnerability and need looking to Christ and Christ alone to meet us in that need let us pray our Father how we thank you for this record of the faith created in the heart of this pagan woman by your own gracious spirit we pray that having looked upon this record the Holy Spirit will himself work in us like measures of faith oh Lord we would not have it said of us fools and slow of heart to believe may we not be foolish in our unbelief slow of heart in our unbelief but enable us by grace to be a people strong in faith that the power and grace of Christ may be abundantly manifested in our life together as well as in our individual lives as your people hear us and answer us we plead in Jesus name Amen