august 20 2023
August 20th 2023
Old Testament: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Psalm: Psalm 67
Epistle: Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32
Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28
Sermon Text: Matthew 15 and Isaiah 56
Sermon Title: “Great is Your Faith” or “For All Peoples”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“A Canaanite woman came out and was crying … Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David”. (Matthew 15:22a) “But He did not answer her a word, and His disciples came and begged Him saying, send her away”. (Matthew 15:23a) “Jesus answered, it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs”. (Matthew 15:26) “My house will be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares, I will gather yet others, besides those already gathered”. (Isaiah 56:7b-8) “Your saving power (will be made known) among the nations”. (Psalm 67:2b)
The Lord promised this through the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament readings this morning, and in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans; but at first glance, Jesus’ reaction to the Canaanite woman seems less than welcoming. Our text begins with Jesus “going away from there (Galilee) and withdrawing to the district of Tyre and Sidon”. (Gentile territory) (Matthew 15:21) This was a rare visit by Jesus to a foreign land. Jesus had gone away from there with His disciples, to (briefly) avoid a direct confrontation with the Pharisee and scribes; and also likely to get some rest.
But almost immediately, “A Canaanite woman from that region, came out and was crying; Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon”. (Matthew 15:22) This is not surprising since we know that the Canaanite people were guilty of worshipping false gods, including demons. It was so severe that in the book of Deuteronomy, God ordered the destruction of all the Canaanite peoples; which historically, Israel failed to do.
Yet despite being a descendant of these people and inheriting many of their ways, she also knew who Jesus was (Lord, Son of David) and that He could heal her daughter. But Jesus tests her right away by not immediately answering her prayer. “He did not answer her a word”. (Matthew 15:23a) If she wanted healing for her daughter, she would have to be persistent. But this persistence seemingly made things worse, “His disciples (also came) and begged Him saying, send her away, for she is crying out after us”. (Matthew 15:23b)
In the hearing of the woman, Jesus then reminded His disciples, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. (Matthew 15:24) The Canaanite woman had no standing as a child of Israel; which Jesus makes abundantly clear. SO, at first Jesus was silent and now He seems angry, or at least not as “nice” as we would imagine. Later on, Jesus would give the Great Commission, to go into all the world, but for now this was true. Yet, even this did not deter the woman, for “she came and knelt before Him saying; Lord help me”. (Matthew 15:25)
“Jesus answered, it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs”. (Matthew 15:26) These words of Jesus seem to go beyond simply testing her; they appear to be cruel and heartless; but again, He is testing her, and she does not fail the test saying, “Yes Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table”. (Matthew 15:27)
We see three good things in this example of the Canaanite woman; first of all, she is extremely humble and very patient in her requests/prayers to Jesus. Second, she is very fervent and persistent, continuing to pray, even after initially receiving no answer. She did as Jesus commanded elsewhere, “you ought always to pray and never lose heart”. (Luke 18:1b) Third, she clung to God’s Word “in spite of her experiences and the feelings of her heart”. (CFW Walther, Sermon for the Second Week of Lent)
She does not complain about how unfair Jesus is; she does not argue with Jesus or take offense at His Word; in fact, she agrees with it. She simply refused to be turned away, even if all she gets are crumbs. It is as if she is saying, I don’t need the whole loaf, or even a slice of bread; the crumbs are enough for me and my daughter. Jesus praised her for it; “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly”. (Matthew 15:28) Her faith in Christ is an example for all times, even though she was a Gentile.
Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus had praised a Roman centurion saying of him, “nowhere in Israel have I found such faith”. (Matthew 8:10b) In both of these situations, Jesus was fulfilling the words of our Old Testament texts this morning, “That Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among the nations. Let all the peoples praise you” (Psalm 67:2-3a).
“Soon My salvation will come and My deliverance will be revealed … and foreigners will join themselves to the Lord … My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples”. (Isaiah 56:1b, 6a, 7b) As you probably recall, these were the words Jesus spoke to the moneychangers in the Temple, calling them out for making God’s house a “den of robbers”. (Mark 11:17b)
In light of Christ’s atoning death for all people and these wonderful promises of God from Holy Scripture, we are to continue to proclaim Christ’s saving work from that same Word. The Christ/Messiah came from the people of Israel; God giving His promise through the Old Testament prophets. So, the Savior would be an Israelite, but God’s plan of salvation was never limited to the Jews.
Just to give you a couple of examples of this; God’s universal promise of salvation was given already in Abraham’s time. God said to him, “in you all the nations/peoples of the earth will be blessed”. (Genesis 12:3) In the book of Exodus, (Exodus 12:48-49) God makes provision for believing Gentiles to partake of the Passover meal, which foreshadowed Jesus’ shedding of His blood for the world. There are also many examples, like our two Old Testament readings today, that speak of Gentiles coming to worship the true God.
Then, there are also multiple accounts in the Old Testament of Gentiles converting to and believing in the one true God. Ruth, a Moabitess, marries a Jewish man and after he dies, she has opportunity to return to her old way of life, but instead she clings to the faith of her husband and mother in law. Then, we have the account of Rahab, who hid the Israelite spies from being discovered. She saved her own life and the life of her family. Both Ruth and Rahab are listed in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospels.
Of course, there is also the mass conversion of the violent enemies of Israel, the Ninevites. This conversion happened even under the reluctant preaching of Jonah; who at first fled in the opposite direction. Jonah was even “exceedingly angry” with God, when the Ninevites repented and God didn’t punish them as He had threatened to do.
This is another biblical example of God using those whom He has called, in spite of their sins, faults, and attitudes. In all of these examples of conversion, God called those who converted, through the preaching/teaching of His Word; again, as we heard last week, “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ”. (Romans 10:17)
Therefore, God commands us “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy”. (Exodus 20:8) What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word; but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it”. (3rd Commandment and explanation, Luther’s Small Catechism.) Let me quite clear here, to despise God’s Word is despise God Himself.
Many people think the pastor urges them to God’s house because he wants the numbers to go up, to boost his ego, or to increase giving. (NO) your pastor urges you to God’s house because YOU need to be there. As under shepherd, your pastor knows that God calls you to His house; so that He can care for you, feed you, and nourish you with His Word and Sacrament.
If you think that coming to God’s house is unnecessary because you can “feel it in your heart” while doing other things; or you choose not to come because, “you don’t get anything out of it, the hymns are boring, the sermon isn’t upbeat or inspiring”, then (quite honestly) you need to go to God’s house even more. If you think it okay to stay away from this preaching, Luther warns, “God insists on a strict observance of this commandment and will punish those who despise His Word and refuse to hear and learn it”. (Luther, Large Catechism, 3rd Commandment, par. 95)
Therefore, it is out of concern for your souls, your pastor urges you to God’s house; For you need forgiveness, you need to be fed, you need your wounds washed and your guilt removed. So, listen to your pastor when he urges you to go to church; for he is calling you to come, not for his own benefit, but for yours. When he calls you to repentance, he is simply urging you to practice what you claim to believe/confess by “daily repentance”. (4th part of baptism, Small Catechism)
And as we have talked about before, in the Divine Service, God’s Word is not just proclaimed in the sermon, but each part of the service comes directly from Holy Scripture. (Again) It is called the Divine Service because it is God’s service to you and me; this is how He distributes the gifts Christ won for us on the cross.
The Lord said through Isaiah, “I will gather yet others”; (Isaiah 56:8b) which includes all of us here today, who have been brought into God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ, by baptism and the Word. Therefore, we are glad to gather in His “house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7b) to receive the gifts God has for us in His means of grace; the forgiveness of sins, strengthening of our faith, and the promise of eternal life.
Both our Gospel and Old Testament readings this morning remind us that although Jesus is exclusive; meaning that faith in Him is the only means of our salvation; for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) He is also inclusive, meaning that Christ has indeed reconciled all people to Himself; “making peace by the blood of His cross”. (Colossians 1:20b)
It is the clear teaching of Holy Scripture in numerous places; “that God’s gracious disposition in Christ is not limited … but extends over all people without exception”. (Pieper, Volume II, page 21) And, “He has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation, God making His appeal through us”. (2nd Corinthians 5:19b-20a)
“It is true, we are all indeed beggars” as Martin Luther said on his deathbed, but God is gracious and merciful to (repentant) beggars, who confess their sins and trust in Christ alone. He gives us “the crumbs”; which is everything that we need; in His means of grace; His Word and Sacraments; for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith.
Therefore, we can indeed be joyful in His “House of Prayer”; which He has promised is “for all peoples”. (Isaiah 56:7b) As His people, we continue to support the work of the church in bringing “yet others to Him”. (Isaiah 56:8b) For Jesus said, “whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out”. (John 6:37) Amen.
The peace of God …