Lamentations 1-2
Hebrews 10:1-18
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” Matthew 15:28
Where is our faith? Would we say it is 50% Jesus, 25% ourselves, 15% our bank accounts and 10% on who we know? Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30 give an exchange that Jesus had with a Canaanite woman begging Him to heal her daughter that was demon-possessed and suffering terribly. Although the woman encountered push back not only from Jesus’s disciples, but also Jesus Himself, she was not deterred. Not even when Jesus said He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel and that it is not good to take what is given to Israel and toss it to the Gentiles, the woman told Him that the crumbs were enough. She was not looking to take from Israel, but recognized the shared Master between Israel and the Gentiles. At this, Jesus exclaimed, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Matthew 15:28). The exchange climaxed with Jesus praising the woman’s faith and then proving that her faith was vindicated and validated by healing her daughter. Throughout the Gospel, this unnamed Canaanite woman was the only person whose faith was described as “great” by Jesus.
As we consider the healing story of the Canaanite woman’s daughter, we find it parallel to the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13, where both had a request on behalf of someone and Jesus healed them from a distance. While the centurion’s faith was praised as being exceptional in Israel and the NIV translation adds the word “great” to describe his faith, it does not exist in the Greek text. The Canaanite woman was the only one that was praised by Jesus for having great faith.
This begs the question, what is great faith? From the woman, we could consider three elements to great faith. Firstly, great faith is relying solely on Jesus and no one, nowhere and nothing else. Secondly, great faith is steadfast. Even though the woman was pushed back and discouraged three times by Jesus, she was a rock and did not move. She knew Jesus was the Messiah and that He was the Messiah for the whole world, including her. Lastly, great faith has limitless scope. The woman believed there was no limit to Jesus’s love and His ability to heal her daughter.
Jesus’s gift to the Canaanite woman was not the healing of her daughter; His gift to her was taking faith and turning it into the reality of life experience. She had met Jesus and her life had changed.
Where is our faith? Even when we receive push back and discouragement, will our faith remain steadfast upon Jesus?
Lord Jesus, You are worthy of all my faith. Despite the circumstances that I face, help my faith to remain steadfast upon You. Thank You, Lord.
Hebrews 10:1-18
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” Matthew 15:28
Where is our faith? Would we say it is 50% Jesus, 25% ourselves, 15% our bank accounts and 10% on who we know? Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30 give an exchange that Jesus had with a Canaanite woman begging Him to heal her daughter that was demon-possessed and suffering terribly. Although the woman encountered push back not only from Jesus’s disciples, but also Jesus Himself, she was not deterred. Not even when Jesus said He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel and that it is not good to take what is given to Israel and toss it to the Gentiles, the woman told Him that the crumbs were enough. She was not looking to take from Israel, but recognized the shared Master between Israel and the Gentiles. At this, Jesus exclaimed, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Matthew 15:28). The exchange climaxed with Jesus praising the woman’s faith and then proving that her faith was vindicated and validated by healing her daughter. Throughout the Gospel, this unnamed Canaanite woman was the only person whose faith was described as “great” by Jesus.
As we consider the healing story of the Canaanite woman’s daughter, we find it parallel to the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13, where both had a request on behalf of someone and Jesus healed them from a distance. While the centurion’s faith was praised as being exceptional in Israel and the NIV translation adds the word “great” to describe his faith, it does not exist in the Greek text. The Canaanite woman was the only one that was praised by Jesus for having great faith.
This begs the question, what is great faith? From the woman, we could consider three elements to great faith. Firstly, great faith is relying solely on Jesus and no one, nowhere and nothing else. Secondly, great faith is steadfast. Even though the woman was pushed back and discouraged three times by Jesus, she was a rock and did not move. She knew Jesus was the Messiah and that He was the Messiah for the whole world, including her. Lastly, great faith has limitless scope. The woman believed there was no limit to Jesus’s love and His ability to heal her daughter.
Jesus’s gift to the Canaanite woman was not the healing of her daughter; His gift to her was taking faith and turning it into the reality of life experience. She had met Jesus and her life had changed.
Where is our faith? Even when we receive push back and discouragement, will our faith remain steadfast upon Jesus?
Lord Jesus, You are worthy of all my faith. Despite the circumstances that I face, help my faith to remain steadfast upon You. Thank You, Lord.
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