Lent 2, Reminiscere

1  God’s Mercy Means Victory

Genesis 14 describes a great clash of kings:

five kings with their armies against four with their armies.

In the middle was Abraham’s nephew, Lot.

The four kings prevailed,

and they pillaged the cities of the other. They took Lot with his possessions and his household.

When Abraham heard about it,

he armed the men of his household and pursued.

He pursued to the northernmost part of the Promised Land,

then he divided his forces and attacked by night,

routing the four armies.

He pursued them to a town north of Damascus,

retreiving Lot and all the possessions of those cities.

Can you guess how large Abraham’s army was,

to pursue and defeat the four armies of powerful kings?

318 men.

If they squished together, they’d all fit in this building!

That was the army of Abraham.

But what really happened?

This isn’t about the heroics of Abraham,

It’s about the work of God.

We’d think it crazy to try what Abraham did!

But what other choice did he have?

He wasn’t relying upon the numbers or strength of his men,

but upon the mercy and protection of God.

In Galatians 3:7, we read: Know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

Today we hear about a true son of Abraham,

an heir of the blessings promised to his descendants.

This son of Abraham is a woman, and a gentile.

Yet she is included in those who rely in faith upon Jesus Christ,

so we will meet her one day in eternal life.

What we saw with Abraham we also see with her.

God’s mercy means victory.

Because He listens to every poor sinner. Because every poor sinner has a Savior.

2  Matthew 15:21–28

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

2.1  Because He listens to every poor sinner.

Most likely, you don’t consider yourself to be quite like Abraham.

He was a giant of faith, a hero.

But we have to work hard just to muddle through each day

without losing our patience, or getting too prideful.

But now we have someone else to consider.

Unlike Abraham, we don’t know much about her.

She might call herself a nobody.

Not only that, but she’s a Canaanite:

of that stock of people who inhabited the land

back when God told Abraham to live there, and told Joshua to conquer it.

She was descended from those

who were left behind by the Assyrians and Babylonians, because they were so meager, powerless, and harmless.

What’s more, her problem was somewhat different from Abraham’s.

Instead of four armies moving off with prisoners and loot, she has to deal with a demon-possessed daughter.

There’s no mention of a husband or father.

This woman seems quite a bit more like us than like Abraham.

She understands that she has no right to expect a blessing from God.

We also have no right,

because we have not lived according to His Law.

We are poor sinners before God.

She brought Jesus nothing, because she had nothing.

We also have nothing to bring Him,

because our service to Him is no more than we ought to do.

It might seem as though Jesus would never listen to you.

Maybe you’ve been crying out to Him already,

but your prayer hasn’t been answered.

Maybe you think sometimes that you’re really on your own.

The faith of this Canaanite woman shows us something.

God’s mercy in Christ never fails:

He listens to every poor sinner.

It seems that she was on her own,

but when Jesus came as far north as her home, she knew that she wasn’t.

The Canaanite woman was bold enough to call out to Jesus,

Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.

She called out not only once,

though we sometimes give up after the first try.

She called out again, and again, and again.

Finally, Jesus’ disciples asked Him to send her away,

because they were annoyed.

What did she have to lose?

If He sent her away,

she would be no worse off than she was before.

But if He spoke to her,

that was more than any Canaanite might expect.

If He spoke to her,

she believed that God’s mercy must prevail.

He spoke to her, and He didn’t send her away.

It was enough for her: she trusted in His mercy.

His answers seem harsh.

She was happy that He spoke to her at all.

Listen to what she heard in those “harsh” answers.

Jesus said He was sent

to the lost sheep in the house of Israel.

Where were the sheep? In the house of Israel.

Yet, there He was in the north of Canaan.

Then, Jesus said,

It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.

What children does He mean?

The children in the house of Israel.

What little dogs does He mean?

The little dogs in the house of Israel!

We might hear those words and think He’s insulting her,

but she heard them and knew that He was including her.

She heard words of mercy.

The same is true for us.

Only now that Jesus has ascended to heaven,

the Gospel is preached to the Gentiles, and everyone can be sure of God’s mercy.

After He rose from the dead, Jesus told His disciples,

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

If the Canaanite woman could be sure that Jesus would hear,

then we can most definitely be sure.

A Christian life is no picnic.

We belong to the Church militant,

because we are surrounded on all sides by the enemies of our salvation.

Maybe we don’t have demon-possessed children,

maybe, but then we have ten other afflictions to deal with.

Those may also be caused by real, live demons.

Will God hear our cries for mercy?

Will Jesus even pay attention,

or is He kept too busy with the people that matter?

Yes, He hears you. He knows your suffering.

When you call upon Him in humility, as she did, He may delay His answer to strengthen your faith,

but He listens to every poor sinner.

He listens to you.

2.2  Because every poor sinner has a Savior.

God’s mercy means victory,

because every poor sinner has a Savior.

Do you remember what we learned here last week? We saw Jesus begin His ministry.

Jesus didn’t get to kick back and relax. Instead, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

to be tempted by Satan.

That spiritual battle was even greater

than the earthly battle between those five armies.

And we saw that Jesus won. He defeated Satan’s most powerful temptations.

The Canaanite woman probably didn’t know about that,

but she knew that Jesus had even greater power than the demons.

In that respect,

many famous superheroes are imperfect reflections of Jesus.

Batman, Spiderman, and others,

who defend the weak and powerless against powerful foes.

Only Jesus is real.

This woman had no power to help her poor daughter,

so she came to the only one who really did.

The result was victory for her and her daughter.

So the Son of God who could not be overcome by Satan,

now overcomes Satan for people like you and me.

What does that mean in our own lives?

Think about the evil things that have some grip upon you, the afflictions you are powerless to remove.

Behind much of our suffering is the devil and his minions, Yet there is also great power in our own sinful flesh.

Addictions to ungodly and hurtful things, the loss of self-control and virtue, rebellion against authority:

these are ready to tempt or control us at any time.

We are not so unlike the Canaanite woman in our needs.

Just as Jesus encouraged and honored her faith,

so He does for us too.

He can provide strength over our addictions through His Word. He can grant us self-control and virtue by His Spirit. He can help us to serve happily in our own stations in life. He can even relieve us from the afflictions of demons.

This is all possible, because He has redeemed us

from the guilt of our sin, from the power of the grave, and from the dominion of the devil.

Follow the example of this Canaanite woman’s faith.

Fall down on your knees before Him, and pray:

Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! and Lord, help me!

Then, listen to Him.

Don’t listen to the voices in your mind or heart:

who knows where they come from.

You are a sheep of the Good Shepherd,

so listen to His voice, His Word.

This is what He says:

He who believes and is baptized will be saved.

And again:

This is My body which is given for you;

And again:

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

A Savior is one who rescues us from foes beyond our strength.

That’s what Jesus was for this poor Canaanite woman. It’s what He is for us.

We know, like her, that if He only hears our prayer, we have victory.

Well, He hears your prayer.

Jesus is our merciful Savior,

victorious over all the powers that would destroy us.

You have His forgiveness,

and with it, freedom from death and from hell.

God’s mercy means victory,

because every poor sinner has a Savior.

Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!