Redeemed Woman

“O woman, great is your faith!” – Jesus, Matthew 15:28 (ESV)

Today, “faith” is a word that can mean a lot of different things to different people. It may mean to have positive thoughts. It may be some kind of spiritual power or force. It may mean to have confidence in another person or in ourselves or in a higher power. Or, even to have certainty of something happening in the future.

During the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus spoke about the faith of the people He encountered, both Jews and Gentiles (Matthew 6:30; 8:10, 26; 9:22; 14:31; 15:28; 16:8; 17:17; 17:20). Of these times, Jesus only commended the faith of two persons, the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13) and a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28).

By God’s providence, the Canaanite woman’s encounter with Jesus gives us profound understanding about faith that is great according to Jesus. We must give careful attention and ponder deeply on those words of Jesus, “O woman, great is your faith!”

In this blog post, we will be meditating on her story as written in Matthew 15:21-28, and what made her faith “great” in the eyes of Jesus our Lord.

Her Adversity

In Matthew 15, Jesus withdrew to gentile territory, the district of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24). And there, He met a desperate Canaanite woman who was driven to seek Him out for her daughter’s healing. She must have heard of His words and great powers (Matthew 8:28-34; Matthew 11:25-30; Matthew 14:35-36). Her dire need brought her to the end of herself and to the Lord:

…”my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon (Matthew 5:22).”

“Faith” during easy and smooth times can be but cheap talk. Can we still worship and declare God as good when our world is falling apart? Adversity not only validates great faith, but God allows adversity to grow great faith through one’s perseverance. A person at the end of her rope calling upon God with ALL her weary heart is the manifestation of great faith. The severity of this Canaanite woman’s circumstance broke her, and she, seeking truth and deliverance, found true hope in the Person of Jesus.

Her Humbleness

The Canaanite woman’s first words to Jesus in Matthew 15:22 were “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David…” These words are windows into this Canaanite woman’s heart.

She acknowledged that she was unworthy to receive anything good from Jesus and asked for mercy. She was not a Jew; she was a Gentile. Canaanites were a cursed people that worshipped other gods and, thus, prohibited by the God of Israel to take part of Israel’s inheritance, aka all of God’s blessings in His coming kingdom (Genesis 9:24-26; Leviticus 18:2-4). This Canaanite woman came before Jesus with a truthful realization of who she was in this exchange between her and the Lord, the Son of David (Matthew 15:25, 27).

Unlike the world’s version of faith which aims to exalt the self or promotes one’s sense of personal strength or power, true Biblical faith requires humbleness. In fact, great faith is directly correlated to the most humble and meek heart as seen with this Canaanite woman.

Her Actions

This Canaanite woman came to Jesus crying and asking for deliverance (Matthew 15:22). Then after what seems like a rejection of her request, she humbled herself even more before Jesus (Matthew 15:23-24). She knelt before Him and petitioned some more (Matthew 15:25). Jesus then reiterated to her His reason for not granting her request. And to make His point clear, Jesus used language commonly known during that time such as “children” to mean God’s nation of Israel and “dogs” to mean pagan or anti-God nations (Psalm 22:16; Matthew 15:26; Matthew 7:6; Mark 7:27; Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15).

Instead of becoming offended, her humble response reflected a deep reverence towards Jesus as Lord. She found herself before the Lord sitting on the throne of grace, asking yet again for His provision of healing knowing that even a “crumb” will be enough for her (Matthew 15:27). She was in essence asking for a place in the LORD’s house, even if it meant eating the crumbs from His table. It was her actions of complete surrender that prompted Jesus’ statement, “O woman, great is your faith (Matthew 15:28)!”

Conclusion

As Christian women, our faith must be sanctified from all worldly definitions of faith. We know that biblical faith is in the Person of Jesus Christ. And here lays the foundational understanding of what make faith great: a great God! (Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21)

Great faith (faith in a great God) requires endurance through adversity, a humble and meek heart, and the actions of surrender to Jesus as Lord. This is great faith that results in true worship to God and carries our prayers to the throne of grace (Matthew 15:8-9; Hebrews 4:16). Faith is not about man-centered, man-made confidence or declarations. It is not about us possessing some power to cause or allow God to fulfill our demands.

God’s seeking of true worshippers who worship with the heart is a major theme that Matthew is drawing out with this particular story (Matthew 15:8-9, 11, 18-19; John 4:23-24). Keep in mind that Jesus went away from speaking with the Pharisees and scribes about traditions, commandments, and the defilement of persons (Matthew 15:1-20). Empty religious practices do not equivocate faith. On the contrary, reverence and humbleness towards God are distinguishing marks of great faith according to Jesus, the author of faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Lord God, how your daughters long to hear those words, “”O woman, great is your faith!” Teach us humbleness, meekness, perseverance, and surrender. May we dwell in the shelter of our great God, the God Most High. Show us your ways and lift our burdens!