Jesus said nothing... for a while...
Mismatched
And God is good
A homeless
man slouched on a park bench beside St Andrews Cathedral. I watched a group of
teenagers in smart navy blue uniforms from the college skirt past him, and the
stark contrast startled me. Why was he living on Sydney’s streets? Although I didn't know what had cause his situation, my heart overflowed with compassion, and I wandered
over to him, feeling somewhat inadequate.
“Would
you like my lunch pack?”
“What’s
in it?”
“Sandwiches and an apple.”
“Apple? Have you seen my teeth? How’d you think I could eat an apple? Get lost,
lady.” (Politely rephrased!)
I stared
at the man’s mouth. His teeth were broken or missing, and his bottom lip had curled over
his lower gum. How did it escape my notice? I apologized and crept away in
shame, as I realized my right motive hadn’t considered an appropriate solution.
Although I could have avoided him altogether, it didn’t feel right. Besides his obvious need for dentistry, maybe he'd refused my charity because of pride. I struggled with the best way to give and receive gifts while assuaging others’
needs.
A Syrian Greek woman from Tyre asked Jesus to
heal her demon-possessed daughter. I wonder how often the demon used the little
girl to attack the mother while it inflicted painful wounds on the child. Every
torturous day would have exacerbated the woman’s distress and depression.
What
caused Jesus to refuse her?
A few
hours earlier, the Pharisees had criticized Jesus’ disciples’ laxity over hand
washing, while they prized their pious adherence to cleanliness above loving
and obeying God. Although Jesus healed and taught with authority, they hated him
because he exposed their arrogance and superficiality. When he sought respite
from their supercilious attacks in a nearby home, someone told this woman where
he was, and in her desperation, she threw herself at his feet.
“Jesus,
I beg you! Heal my little daughter. A demon is tormenting her, and we live in
constant fear. Our family and friends avoid us and treat us as if we’re underdogs.”
Had Jesus heard her? When he didn’t see or respond, she raised her voice a
notch.
“Lord, son of David, please, I don’t know what
to do for my daughter. I beg you to have mercy on us.”
But
Jesus still didn’t answer, and she turned to the disciples.
“If you’re his disciple, will you ask
him to help me?”
“Okay, woman. Can’t you see he is resting? You’ll
have to wait and see what he says.”
Disgruntled, they went to Jesus. “Why don’t you
send her away, for she keeps bothering us?”
“I came to the lost sheep of Israel.”
What did he mean? (I was confused until I
remembered John 1:11: ‘He came to his own, but his own did not receive
him.’)
Jesus’ first responsibility was
to teach and heal Jews, but this Gentile woman knew Jesus could help her
because he’d already cast out demons. She kneeled before him and pleaded again.
“Lord, help me!”
“I can’t take food from children to give to
dogs.”
Did Jesus consider her no better than a dog? No!
He was highlighting common prejudices among the Jews who berated her people as
dogs, and the woman actually believed she was inferior.
“Even the dogs lick up the crumbs that fall
from the master’s table.” Her humility and desperation drove her to her knees
and revealed her sincere faith in Jesus.
“Woman, your faith is genuine, and the demon
has left your daughter.”
When she arrived home, she discovered the little girl quietly resting on her
bed.
.
Her low social status had no bearing on her faith.
Her need consumed her and she persisted
until Jesus helped her daughter. Although the Pharisees needed God’s forgiveness, their arrogance blinded them to their sin and they refused Jesus, later crucifying him on a Roman cross. Nevertheless, Jesus offered eternal life and healing to
the Gentiles and the Jews.
Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, Jews and Gentiles
alike.
Jesus’s delayed response had contrasted the Jews’
arrogance with the Greek Syrophoenician woman’s humility. When we ask God to forgive
our sins, he never refuses, but we must first see ourselves through God’s eyes.
Are we humble or arrogant? Do we love God or substitute our love for him with overbearing
pedantic rules?
The man on the park bench needed appropriate
care and the right person to give it to him. He refused my inappropriate help.
Jesus healed this child because he had the power to thwart the spirit world. He is God, able
and sensitive to each person’s needs.
Two thoughts:
I should
persist in prayer because Jesus meets my needs when he has everything in place
to deliver the best response. He may use my problem to show someone else they
need God’s love and forgiveness, just as Jesus endured his suffering for the spiritual
healing of everyone, every Jewish and Gentile sinner. We never suffer alone when we commit our pain and
trauma to the Lord Jesus to use for his glory. His delay has a purpose.
When I come to God in faith and humility, I’ll
understand my failures and depend on Jesus’s perfect deliverance. ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find. Knock
and the door shall open for you.’
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