Matthew 15:21-28 ESV And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, 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.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
For years this passage bothered me. Here Jesus, the loving Savior, likens this woman to a dog because she was a Gentile. Being a Gentile myself, His words stung. Eventually, after enough study and honest seeking of God’s heart, the Holy Spirit revealed to me what was happening here. Jesus was testing hearts and attitudes.
On the one hand Jesus was testing the woman but on the other hand I believe He was testing the disciples. The woman passed but the disciples failed. Let’s start with the disciples. A woman comes to Jesus pleading for Him to help her afflicted daughter. Context seems to indicate that she kept it up for a while until the disciples got sick of it. Their response was to beg Jesus to get rid of her.
I believe one of the reasons Jesus ignored her was to see what the disciples would do. Would they have compassion? Would they help her directly or intervene on her behalf? The disciples had experience casting out demons (Mark 6:7-13). One of them could have offered to go with her and pray for her daughter. At the least they could have interceded for her and ask Jesus to grant her request. They did neither. They became annoyed and implored Jesus to make her go away.
Christians are called to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). Sometimes God allows burdens to exist to give the opportunity for other Christians to step up and get involved. At times that might be physical intervention such as caring for an ill person. Other times it might be fervent prayer. What we are not called to do is ask God to make them go away so we don’t have to deal with them.
(Disclaimer: there are times when people need to endure the consequences of their actions or our help may just enable sin or bad habits. It is important to ask God how He wants us to respond to a person who has long-standing issues such as addictions or who have made rebellious choices that have caused their problem.)
God could fulfill all of our prayers immediately if He chose. In His wisdom however, He knows that sometimes it is best for us to work through issues and situations. The struggle often draws us closer to God and deepens our relationship with Him.
Jesus waited to see how the woman would respond to silence. She responded with persistence. Then He tested her with rejection. She humbly stood fast and trusted Him. In response, Jesus granted her petition. When God seems silent He may well want us to seek after Him harder for our benefit, to build our faith and our trust.
Heavenly Father, hear my prayer. Grant me the wisdom to know when You are saying “no” and when You are saying “persevere”. Give me a compassionate heart that loves the brethren and desires to share their burdens.