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)
The Lord Jesus had just exposed the heart of man which, He says, was so bad that those things which come out of the heart defile the man; then He shows the heart of God in His grace to a poor Canaanite woman.
But the lesson to be learned from this case is one which each sinner needs to take deeply to heart. The lesson is—he must take his true place before God in order to get the blessing.
The woman was a Gentile and therefore outside the privileges of Israel; besides, she belonged to the accursed race of Canaan, and such ones were not to enter into the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation. But she was in deep sorrow and need, her daughter being grievously vexed with a devil. Her need was real, her sorrow was great; but when her cry for mercy fell on the ear of the Savior, He answered her not a word.
Was He indifferent to her appeal? Had He not a heart filled with love and compassion for every needy soul? He had. But she came to Him on wrong ground. She said, "Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, Thou Son of David." What had the Son of David to do with a Canaanitish woman? As Son of David, He had come to fulfill the promises to Israel, and she was outside the pale of Israel. The disciples wanted the Lord to grant her request and send her away, but He answered that He was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then we have her second appeal, "Lord, help me." Was there even a trace of hardness in His reply, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs"? Oh, no; it was all designed to bring her down to take her true place as having no claim upon Him whatever. And so it is in principle with every sinner. Sometimes it requires a long process to bring us to own our utterly lost and helpless condition before God.
And now the question was, Will she be turned aside because her request is not granted at once? Will she go away sorry and disappointed? No, indeed; her faith rises above everything that might seem adverse in His dealing with her, and she goes right down to the bottom as to her true place and standing before Him. She gives up all claim, every bit of right to anything, and casts herself on pure grace. Was there not even a crumb for a dog like her?
And thus it was her faith that opened the door so that all the grace and love which dwelt in the heart of Jesus might flow out, and He answered, "O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Her daughter was healed from that very hour.
So it ever is. Faith would lead the sinner to take his place as lost, and thus get the blessing on the ground of pure grace.