Matt. 15:21-2821Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came 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. 23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28Then 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 15:21‑28).
THERE was no lack of earnestness in the Syro Phcenician. But she appealed at first on the ground of promise and prophecy. This was a mistake which the Lord corrected. A Jew might have done so, and rightly, and never in vain. But she was a Gentile, and under the curse of Canaan. Her faith in the Lord was strong, but she must be in the truth in order to be blessed.
Therefore when she invoked Him as Son of David, He answered her not a word. The disciples, shocked by her importunity and far from sympathy, besought the Lord to send her away, for she cried after them. But He would do nothing of the sort. He meant her better blessing; and He answered, "I was not sent but for the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Persisting in her appeal, she came and paid Him homage, saying, "Lord, help me;" which brought out His seemingly hard but helpful and gracious explanation, "It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs." Apprehending the truth by grace she at once exclaimed, "Yea, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee even as thou wilt!”
The Canaanite reached to the fullness of love in God, the grand and ultimate object before the Lord. Grace and truth came through Him. He had shown man's worthlessness in the beginning of the chapter. Here He shows, what God is. If she took her true place as a dog, outside and unclean, God would not deny Himself as the God of all grace. And the Lord, Who came to give its deepest ground and fullest effect by His cross, delighted in the faith of her who owned the truth as to herself and looked for His grace.
Oh what a Savior is the Lord Jesus! If He tries the soul, it is to remove mistake and hindrance; and when the soul is brought down to confess its real state, grace meets it to the uttermost. Doubt not then, but believe.