A little over a week ago I bought a new used car. I went to a dealership and so I got to talk to one of those guys who works in that storied career of being a used car salesman. This particular guy was pretty good, but it made me think about how that job comes with such a reputation. I think there are two reasons why most of us would prefer to avoid a used car salesman. One is that there’s a long history of such salesman who are not so honest. And that makes for a bad combination with the other reason, which is that they really, really want to make a sale. Step foot in one of those places and you’re in for it. They want your money. They want you to sign that contract. They are not going to let you go.
The whole situation can be pretty uncomfortable, and that’s a big part of why most people don’t really like shopping for cars. In our society this isn’t how normal human interaction works. We’re told, “Don’t bother people.” “Don’t nag.” “Don’t be too insistent.” And there’s a kind of humility there too. Is what I want so important? Shouldn’t I be patient? Shouldn’t I consider your needs, and your wants, even above my own?
That’s all true for our human relationships, but what about our relationship with God? With God it’s actually different. God wants us to refuse to let go. He wants us to bother him. He wants us to nag. He wants us to insist on his mercy.
Our Gospel for today comes from Matthew 15, at a time when Jesus had taken a bit of a vacation. It wasn’t really a vacation as we think of it, but it was a trip and he was getting away. Things with the Pharisees had gotten heated, and so he took his disciples and traveled outside of Israel to let them cool down. This wasn’t Jesus avoiding conflict or avoiding the cross. He knew that was coming, but it wasn’t time for that yet. And this would be a great opportunity for him to teach his disciples, in a place where people wouldn’t know him and they wouldn’t bother them.
They went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Those were two historic cities in the land of Syria. This isn’t all that far away. They were about a hundred miles from Jerusalem, and maybe 35 miles from Capernaum. Of course in those days they were walking. And Matthew writes
Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. There a Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!”
It wasn’t exactly turning into the quiet get-away they were looking for. Clearly news of Jesus had been spreading even among some Gentiles, which is a fascinating thing to consider. How had this woman heard about Jesus? What had she heard? We can’t answer everything, but we can take note of some things from what she said. She addressed Jesus as Lord and Son of David. In the Bible the word “Lord” can be used in three different ways. Sometimes it’s a simple polite term, like “sir.” Other times it’s a title for someone who has authority; a master, a ruler, a lord. And other times it’s a title for God. In the Old Testament, this was a special name that our English translations write with all capital letters.
The only possibility here is that she was calling him God. He obviously was no earthly ruler, and she wouldn’t go to just any gentleman and ask, “Excuse me, sir, but could you drive a demon out of my daughter.”
This is reinforced even more by the other title that she used. She called him, “Son of David.” It had been a very long time since any Son of David had ruled on the throne in Israel. But there was one Son of David that all of Israel was longing for. The Messiah, the Son of God, the one who would gather all the nations to himself and establish a kingdom that endures forever.
And what’s particularly amazing about this is that this woman was not a Jew. She was a Canaanite. She came from a people who were enemies of David. David fought wars against the Canaanites. And now here she was calling on the Son of David for help and mercy.
This is truly a wonderful thing, and certainly a miracle of God that this woman had heard of Jesus, believed in him, and called on him for help. We all appreciate it because we’re no different. There are all sorts of ideas in the world about who Jesus is. Some consider him a good man and an influential teacher. Some consider him to be someone who was dangerous and destructive. Some think he was no more than a myth or a legend. But by a great miracle of God you and I have heard his word and believed that he is the Lord, the Son of David, who has mercy on us. That’s not because you and I are so much wiser than all the people of this world. It’s not because God knew that we would make such wonderful, pious Christians. No, our ancestors might not have been taking up swords against King David, but we are no less by nature enemies of God. How is it that we know Jesus as our Lord? It’s because God has chosen us by his grace.
But if it was Jesus who had chosen this woman by his grace, and therefore she was no stranger to him at all, then why did he treat her the way that he did? Matthew says
He did not answer her a word.
His disciples came and pleaded, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But she came and knelt in front of him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to their little dogs.”
This whole account might seem shocking at first. In fact there was a video going around a year or so ago where a pastor even preached in a church that Jesus was in the wrong here. I was glad to see all sorts of Christian people calling that out for some terrible false teaching. But if there’s one good thing that can come out of something like that, it’s the fact that people were thinking about it. “How would I answer that?” I can sympathize with the person who says this isn’t very kind, because a part of me says this doesn’t seem very kind. If I act in a way that is unchristian it might be disappointing to others but it’s not inconsistent with who I am. But it doesn’t make sense that Christ could act in a way that is not Christ-like.
I suppose that if I had come to Jesus with some request and he treated me this way I would probably accept it and go back home. After all, I wouldn’t want to be too insistent. I wouldn’t want to nag. Jesus is very busy, I’m sure. He knows what’s important and what isn’t. And more than that, I think I would suspect deep down that there’s a good reason for Jesus to give me a cold shoulder. It’s not that he’s inconsistent or that he’s in the wrong. It’s that he knows my sins and how very unworthy I am to ask anything from him. I’d probably slump my shoulders and mumble, “Oh, you’re not going to answer me, Jesus? Yeah, that’s OK. I wouldn’t want to talk to someone like me either.”
In fact, isn’t that one of the reasons that we don’t pray all that much to begin with? Why would God, who is all-knowing, and all-powerful, and righteous in everything he does, listen to someone like me, who is foolish and short-sighted and weak and sins all the time? Sure, I can pray, but what good does it do? Leave God alone. He knows what he’s doing.
But that’s not what this woman did. Jesus gave her the cold shoulder and she kept on following him, crying out after him. The disciples asked Jesus to do something, just to get her off of their backs, and Jesus said that he came for Israel, not for people like her. She finally got the chance to kneel in front of him and beg for help and all he said was that it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and give it to their little dogs.
And at every stage she kept on insisting on his mercy. This was not because she was arrogant or lacked humility. It wasn’t because she felt she deserved it. It was because she knew the grace of God that had chosen her and that had sent his onlybegotten Son to be her Savior and to walk all the way to her town and she would not let that Savior go until he blessed her and healed her daughter. “Compare me to a dog, that’s just fine. Oh, to be a dog in the house of the Lord! To eat the crumbs that fall from such a rich table!”
This woman had been blessed with a faith that was wise enough and trusting enough and insistent enough that she realized Jesus was not doing this because he despised her for her sins, even though that is truly what she and all of us deserve. Jesus was testing her. He was asking her to consider, “Do I trust this Son of David or not? Will he treat me as my sins deserve, or will he treat me according to his mercy?” And on the basis of the ever-sure promises of God she cried out all the louder for the mercy she knew was hers.
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet their little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour.
You are also in need of God’s mercy. You need it every day. It’s his mercy that provides for you, body and soul. It’s his mercy that defends you from every evil. It’s his mercy that forgives your sins and takes away your guilt.
Jesus did not battle Satan and suffer death and hell for you so that you could say, “Well, I suppose, maybe you could forgive me, if you want to.” He has called you to a Christian faith and a Christian life that insists on his mercy. “I will hold you to your promise,” it says. “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And to Jesus, this is not nagging. It is not bothering him. It is not impolite. It’s what he wants for us.
Insist on Christ’s mercy. His promises to you are not “maybe.” Do not treat them as such. He rejoices in a faith that holds him to his word. “Your sins are forgiven. Your guilt is taken away. Life everlasting is yours. This I have said. This I will do.” Amen.