I’ve been ruminating on this one for several weeks. Scripture says, “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
This passage has flayed me.
Perhaps you are familiar with the Gentile woman who asks Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. The passage is found in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30.
Here, we see Jesus leaving the land of Gennesaret, after rebuking the Pharisees for teaching their rules as if they were God’s doctrine, and journeying to the lands that border Tyre and Sidon.
Being so close to the Gentile lands, He tries to stay hidden in a private home. But that doesn’t stop one desperate woman from finding Him.
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” (Matt 15:22)
Her cry for mercy is familiar. We’ve all felt that agony. The weariness and pain of coming to the end of yourself, able only to cry, “Lord, help me!” (v25)
This is why Jesus’ response is so devastating.
He IGNORES her. Flat out refuses to acknowledge or answer her cry for mercy. (v23)
What?!
My first response is confusion. But as I read further and see that Jesus then calls her a dog, which is what the Jews called the Gentiles, I am ashamed to admit that my confusion turns to indignation.
For years, whenever I read this passage, I would feel that affront. Even though the woman eventually receives the healing she desires for her daughter, Jesus’ initial treatment of her always offended me.
I’m not proud of this, dear readers. My pride blinded me to seeing the truth in these verses until much later.
It was through the message of a guest speaker at church that the Lord began to open my eyes to the genuine work of the Spirit.
I’ve been transcribing the book of Mark as part of the discipleship program at my church. As I wrote out the verses in Mark, pausing after each punctuation, I was struck by the humility of this woman.
If I were in the presence of Jesus, I doubt I would have responded with anger or insolence. But I would have been hurt and despondent.
This woman is none of these things.
She is persistent. She continues to cry out to the disciples after Jesus ignores her. (v23)
She doesn’t argue. She knows she isn’t of the house of Israel, but she worships Jesus anyway. (v25)
She agrees with Jesus. She knows she has no right to the children’s bread.
Yet, here we see a faith that can find encouragement, even in that which is discouraging.
In all of this, I was sorely convicted of my pride. But God wasn’t finished with me yet.
The message I heard at church, the one God used to open my eyes, was about the Word of God. The psalmist describes it in many places as being worth more than pure gold! (Psalm 119:72, 127) He encouraged us to view the scriptures like a treasure map. And when we come to something that seems out of place or confusing, X marks the spot! That’s where we need to dig deeper to uncover the real gems.
Using Matthew 15 as an example, we see the woman crying out for mercy, yet Jesus ignores her. What?!
Jesus’ response doesn’t make sense. It is contrary to what we know to be true about our Savior.
We know Jesus is merciful, kind, compassionate, and long-suffering. He answered the plea of a centurion (a Gentile) in Matthew 8. So why not this woman?
Clearly, this is a place where X marks the spot.
The enemy had snared me with one of his oldest lies, straight from the garden: God is holding out on you.
I didn’t like how Jesus treated this woman, and, in my pride, I was reaching for the apple!
Instead, I should have allowed my confusion to fuel a humble search of the scriptures. I should have dug deeper for the hidden gem.
What about you?
When Jesus doesn’t respond to your prayers the way you want Him to, or think He should, do you look deeper? or do you assume something about Him that goes against the Truths of scripture?
How do you approach confusing passages in God’s Word?
I’m looking forward to sharing with you the hidden gem I found when I dug into Matthew 15:21-28: X MARKS THE SPOT!
Shalom.
