21Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.  Matthew 15:21-28

Do you believe Jesus did not hear what his disciples were hearing? Of course, Jesus heard every word the Canaanite woman said but only feigns not to hear. Why? Jesus had a purpose. Jesus turns her away three times in this passage, but the woman overcomes each deterring step building the strength of her hope in him.

Though Jesus ignores her when she first comes out of the crowd to approach him and his disciples, she continues to follow him and ask for help. The woman is so persistent that the disciples ask Jesus to send her away. Jesus’ disregard causes her to put more effort in her persistence. We learn here that, despite not getting immediate results, those who persevere in their hope, like this woman, grow in their commitment to that hope. 

When we find ourselves seeking God’s help in our lives, there will be times when it seems God is ignoring us, but we must not give up when we do not see immediate results. We must persevere, so we can grow in our hope and belief in God’s love for us. Many mistakenly believe, like the disciples here, that God is not listening. Those around us will say we are foolish for continuing. These are the moments when how we react determines our success or failure.

When Jesus says he was sent for the “lost sheep of Israel,” the woman is being rejected again. To the disciples and the world, Jesus is telling her that he was not sent here to help her and her kind. But in actuality, Jesus was there for her, calling her, and pushing her to grow stronger in her faith. She was the “lost sheep.” Jesus was providing an obstacle for her to overcome, and the woman responded: her hope endured. The same is true for us. There will be a time where we think God is not going to help us and even turns away from us. We may even have doubts about whether we are chosen to receive God’s help as the disciples thought here. It is at that time we build an even stronger hope. 

When Jesus says, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” rejecting her for the third time, the woman does not become resentful and abandon her hope. Even being referred to as a “dog” does not stop her. She accepts she is full of faults, lowly like a dog. However she did not get angry at Jesus for saying this. The Canaanite woman responds that even dogs feed off the crumbs that fall off the table. 

Similarly, when we receive ridicule and are treated poorly for pursuing our hope in God, we must also humble ourselves: accept our lowly position but increase our hope in Jesus. Our work, society, economics, and various other worldly concerns will try and break our faith. Though we face hardships and are seemingly ignored, turned away, and even ridiculed, we must persevere, humble ourselves, and never abandon our hope in resentment. We must firmly believe God is sending these challenges our way to build our faith just as Jesus does in this passage.  

The Canaanite woman never gave up the hope for curing her child but persisted and accepted her faults. Because her hope was greater than the hurdles she faced, Jesus rewards her and says, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once. Overcoming these three levels of rejections from Jesus, she built up her hope through her faith and her prayers were answered. 

Though we may not know exactly what it will require, God has designated exactly what we must overcome and persevere to realize our hope. Why do we receive tests to overcome? We not only grow in our faith but will also recognize the value of what God is giving us. We must sacrifice something in order to receive God’s blessings and to build the right faith which enables us to receive his grace. If all our hopes are quickly answered, we take them for granted, grow complacent, and can even lose that hope.

Jesus comes to the region of Tyre and Sidon specifically to help this woman and show us how we must have an enduring hope.  Though she is turned away in three stages, she has the faith to build her hope through each step. When we hope in God, we must believe and persevere knowing God is sending these challenges our way to increase our hope.

Please click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1981-1-14-mixdown-12