Do Not Pass Me By

Matthew 14:21-28

A Canaanite woman came to Jesus to ask him to free her daughter from demon possession, and Jesus told her, "It is not right to take the the children's bread and toss it to their dogs" (Matthew 15:26). Christ's response didn't phase her. She quickly replied, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table" (Matthew 15:27). Her response drew one of the greatest compliments in the Bible. He said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted" (Matthew 15:28).

She had great faith. Why did she have great faith? I suspect there are several reasons. The first is that she must have known something about Jesus. When she approached him she said, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Matthew 15:22). She is calling on him as someone familiar with his ministry. Maybe she has heard him teach and watched him heal others. Her heart is sparked with hope by the way he interacts with the crowd.

Second, she has a great need. Her daughter is demon possessed. The Bible doesn't describe how the demon possession manifested itself in her daughter's life: maybe the daughter threw herself into fires, maybe she yelled in public, maybe she withdrew and huddled in the corner of her house. However the demon possession played out, the mother's ongoing experience of her daughter's suffering must have made the mother cry often. What mother can rest easy when her daughter is struggling?

Two things came together: a knowledge of who Jesus was and an unquenchable longing for her daughter's freedom. So when Jesus indicated that he was not willing to help her, she persisted. She recognized that his capacity to set her daughter free was as great as her longing for her daughter's freedom.

This story is one of the more disturbing stories in the gospels. It's hard to imagine Jesus turning anyone way let alone implying that they are dogs. Some people say that he did it to test her faith as well as to let his disciples think about how they treated outsiders. Whatever the case, what I'm walking away with is that I must know who Jesus is--I must look at the work he has done in other's lives and believe that he can do a same work in me. I must turn to him and say, like the old hymn, "Pass me not oh Gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by."