I don’t know what it’s like to have a child who is sick or in some kind of affliction or grave danger. I don’t know the feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and desperation that goes with such a traumatic event. But some of you do. And that’s exactly what the Canaanite woman experiences in the Gospel reading.

Her daughter endures spiritual sickness, affliction, harassment, and assault by an evil spirit. The girl’s mother describes her as severely oppressed. While we don’t know what that means exactly, we do know from other situations recorded in the Gospels that demons could go so far that they try to inflict death. It can be that severe—spiritual suffering, physical danger.

The mother acts in the desperation of the mess she’s in. She yells out to Jesus with a loud voice. That’s a big no-no in the first century Middle East. A woman doesn’t yell out to a man like this in public. On top of that, the woman is a Gentile (meaning she’s not a Jew). That’s makes the no-no an even bigger no-no. And yet, the Canaanite woman doesn’t care. She just wants help for her daughter.

We would think that she has come to the right person. After all, Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead, preaches Good News, and drives out demons. She has definitely come to the right person. So, we would expect Jesus (without hesitation) to immediately heal her daughter like the Messiah that He is. We would expect Him to speak healing with such a tender voice that it could calm you and put you to sleep. She thinks that she has come to the right person.

The woman yells out to Jesus—calling Him the Son of David. But does she mean it sincerely. Anybody who has heard the title addressed to Jesus can talk like that. She very well could be pretending that she considers Him the Messiah. And so, Jesus doesn’t answer her a word. He completely turns His back on her in the hour of deepest need and ignores her plea for help. How many people walk away from Jesus after that? Jesus seems to ignore their pleas (their prayers) for help. They cry out to Him in the day of trouble, and they seem to get nothing but a cold shoulder from the Lord. Disappointed, they walk away from Jesus thinking that He’s a jerk who doesn’t care about them or their deepest needs. The Canaanite woman stands firm. She keeps pleading with Jesus to the point that the disciples feel uncomfortable with the situation.

After the disciples beg Jesus to deal with the matter so that their discomfort may be relieved, Jesus finally speaks to the situation. But He doesn’t talk to the woman directly. Possibly within earshot of her, Jesus answers His disciples: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” That seems really out of character for Jesus. He acts as though she doesn’t exist. What’s going on?

We need to understand that what Jesus tells the disciples is absolutely true. Jesus came for Israel. They are God’s Old Testament people. The angel told Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus’ ministry took place almost entirely within Israelite territory. So, the Lord reminds the disciples that the woman isn’t an Israelite.

After such a dismissive comment like that, how many more people would walk away from the Lord? There are many people today who walk away because they don’t like the things that Jesus says, even though the things Jesus says are the truth.

The woman kneels right in front of Him, pleading for help. The original Greek word indicates that she kneels down in a posture of worship. The exact same word describes the disciples last week: “those in the boat worshiped Him.” They knelt down before Him in a posture of worship. Thus, the Canaanite woman kneels down before Jesus in worship. She pleads to the Son of God for mercy.

In response, He finally speaks directly to the woman—and He calls her a dog. Even today, in certain contexts, to be called a dog is insulting. How many people walk away from the Lord because He says something they find offensive?

But the woman stands firm. She won’t give up. She won’t take no for an answer. She doesn’t feel entitled to His help. She doesn’t feel worthy of His help. She has nowhere else to turn. She knows who Jesus is and desperately seeks His salvation. The Canaanite woman will not give up no matter what Jesus says. She knows and understands that He is the way and the truth and the life. She trusts that He is salvation in the flesh. She understands Jesus to be God’s Son come to save sinners. She can’t and she won’t turn away from that no matter what Jesus says. She trusts that no matter how many “nos” she seems to hear from Jesus, eventually she’s going to hear the greatest “yes” she could ever hear. Just like Jacob wrestling with God, she’s not going to let go of the Lord until she gets that “yes.” She wants Jesus’ blessing.

The Lord called her a dog, but that’s all the hope this humble woman needs. You see, she gleans from His response the tiniest crumb of promise and she immediately eats it up. The promise is so small that most people may not even notice it, but she treasures the promise in her heart. She is called a dog, but in that potential insult she hears a promise that her faith joyfully grasps. She understands that the family dog is still a part of the family. Family pets act as the woman. When mealtime comes, they often shamelessly beg for just a morsel.

The woman’s response exclaims, “Yes, Lord, I am the family dog. I’m not one of the children. I’m not an Israelite. But at the same time, if I’m the dog, I’ll eat the crumbs from your table. Your table crumbs of salvation are still better than anything else this world has to offer.” The Lord Jesus appears to coldly, insultingly reject the woman’s plea for help. And yet, she perceives in His rejection something in which she can trust and hope when many may not.

The Lord’s apparent rejection didn’t deter the woman. In fact, Jesus’ words of rejection had the opposite effect. It made the very firm and steadfast faith in her heart known to the disciples. The Pharisees, the crowds following Jesus, and even the disciples at time struggle to believe who Jesus is. Not this Gentile woman. She’s an example to the disciples (she’s an example to us) of faith that unwaveringly trusts Jesus even in the dark moments, even when the Lord Himself seems to be against you.

The Lord Jesus commends her: “O woman, great is your faith!” Yes, Jesus did absolutely come for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And guess what…? She is a part of the house of Israel. Not biologically, but through faith in Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul stresses that those who share the faith of Abraham are sons and daughters of Abraham, and thereby are of the house of Israel. Those who reject Jesus do not share the faith of Abraham and are not part of the house of Israel. Abraham believed God’s promises (including the promise of the Savior), and His faith was credited as righteousness. He was saved by God’s grace through faith in the promised Savior. Like Abraham, the Canaanite woman trusts Jesus and is part of the house of Israel. So are you, who share in the faith of Abraham. You are part of the Lord’s family, saved in Christ Jesus.

When the woman’s faith in Jesus is revealed, He heals her daughter instantly. The healing didn’t happen because of the greatness of the woman’s faith. The woman’s daughter was healed because of the greatness of her faith’s object. Jesus healed the daughter. The woman simply trusted that He would, even when it looked like He wouldn’t.

Every time you gather together here, you come together not as those who are entitled to or worthy of Jesus’ help. You gather together as broken, bloodied, beaten up sinners in desperate need of Jesus’ mercy. Like the woman, you gather to Jesus here, because He is salvation in the flesh. We plead for His promised mercy, even accepting the crumbs from the Lord’s table.

But oh what wonderful crumbs are received. You hold Jesus to His promise. You joyfully grasp what He has offered and you will not leave this place until your sins have been forgiven. You won’t let go until you are comforted with His peace. You plead until you are assured of the new life you have in Christ Jesus. Every word of forgiveness. Every promise of reconciliation. The body of Christ, the blood of Christ, given and shed for you—these are the ultimate crumbs from the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are the crumbs that Jesus desires the whole world receives unto salvation. He was “sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Amen.