I’ve felt compelled to preach
lately on a story in the gospels that I’ve always disliked and wished I
could delete from the Bible. I’ve called it a toxic text in that it
seems to depict Jesus as exclusive, unfair, even mean. Now I’m finding
this text extremely challenging and even inspiring.
In Matthew 15:21-18 a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus desperate for
help for her daughter, who is “cruelly” demonized. Jesus ignores her,
rejects her and humiliates her by referring to her as a dog, and then
finally relents and delivers her daughter. What is happening in this
story? What does it mean for us?
The Syrophonecian woman approaches Jesus desperate for
breakthrough. Not a Jew herself, she “comes out” of her region, leaving
her allegiances and securities to enter into Jesus’ Jewish world. She
exercises exemplary prayer protocol. She cries out, and the text uses
the same language as Exodus, where Israelite slaves cry out to God (Ex
3:9). She addresses Jesus by the Greek equivalent of the proper name
for Israel’s God, YHWH, Kurios. “Have mercy on me Oh Lord!” She
identifies Jesus as “Son of David,” a title that identifies him as
Israel’s Messiah.
Jesus doesn’t answer her even a
word. Yet the woman presses in, persisting dramatically in her
intercession. Jesus’ disciples don’t help either. They cold-heartedly
order Jesus: “Send her away, for she is shouting after us” (Matt
15:23). While Jesus doesn’t send her away, he excludes her by saying:
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (15:24). How
are we to understand the limited ministry priorities of Jesus “only”?
Jesus’ answer shows he still committed to his Father’s agenda to
raise up Israel as the kingdom of priests called to be a blessing to
every family on the earth (Gen 12:1-3). God had called Abram and Sarai
out of Haran, Israel out of Egypt and then again out of Babylon to
bring justice to the nations (Isaiah 42:1), to be a light to the
nations, to open blind eyes, set prisoners free (Isa 42:6; 61:1ff) “so
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6). Israel
had been stiff-necked, rebellious. Yet God’s gifts and call are
irrevocable. Jesus’ plan is to start with the lost sheep of the house
of Israel who remain the beloved of God—in spite of their offender
status. He wants to see his people mobilized. He will not give up
seeking after lost sheep until he finds
them. When he sends out the twelve on their first mission trip he is
precise in Matthew 10:5-8 and consistent with his stance here:
“Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of
the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons…”
The Syrophonecian woman refuses the Jesus’ time-line for ministry.
Though she’s destined to be a future beneficiary of God’s coming
Kingdom (once Israel becomes obedient), she refuses Jesus’ silence and
rejects his “not yet.” Jesus’ silence and rebuttal provokes her to
pursue him relentlessly in a way that makes her an exemplary
intercessor. She comes and bows down before Jesus with a desperate
prayer right out of the Psalms: “Lord help me!” Are we as relentless?!
Jesus responds by simultaneously upgrading his people’s “lost
sheep” status to “children” and downgrading her to scavenger dog: “It
is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (vs.
26). Yet there on her knees at his feet, like a dog before children
prone to kindness to their pets, she humbles herself further before
Jesus and Israel: “Yes Lord, but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which
fall from their master’s table” (vs. 27). The woman humbles herself to
the extreme, acknowledging the oppressed Israelites who Jesus calls to
their highest vocation are her masters.
Many scholars think there is a historical basis for arguing that
this woman was wealthy. I’m not so sure. But if so this woman would
then be recognizing the place of the poor as bearers of the Good News
to the world and her masters!. At the same time her humble yet
relentless pursuit of deliverance for her daughter there and then is a
call to seek the future things of God’s kingdom here and now. Jesus is
willing to change his mind, to give her and us the future now.
Are we willing to go out of our region (nation, denomination,
ethnicity..) to seek the Gospel that has the power to save? Do we love
enough to cry out, follow after, humble ourselves to such extremes so
as to call in God’s future promises into the present? When we pray
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven” let us
expect an acceleration of God’s coming salvation. While in Korea I
found myself compelled to pray for every North Korean knee to bow every
tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord—since that is in God’s future (Isa
45:23; Phil 2:10).
Now I’m on a plane to Guatemala where I and my Tierra Nueva
colleagues Chris and Angel David will be crying out for healing and
salvation of hard-core salvatrucha gang members incarcerated in the
Guatemalan prison system. We want to see them touched and converted by
Jesus’ love now, so there will be no more victims of brutal gang
violence. Please pray with us as we train ex-gang member prison
chaplains and at-risk urban youth workers over the weekend.
What you have written here fills me with real hope and faith for His/your purposes.
YES... I will pray with and for you!
Posted by: anns | September 17, 2008 at 08:12 PM