The Canaanite Woman:

“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” (Matthew 15:22, NKJV).

A Gentile Shows Her Faith

“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” (Matthew 15:21-28, NKJV).

This story of the Canaanite woman shows us Jesus’s mercy. At this time, Jesus came only for the Jews and not the Gentiles. Because of her persistence and faith, Jesus healed her daughter. “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” (Matthew 15:28), According to Matthew Henry's Commentary, she was a Gentile, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel; probably one of the posterities of those accursed nations that were devoted by that word, cursed be Canaan. If Christ had not now visited these coasts, though the mercy was worth traveling far for it, it probably she would never have come to him.” This woman not only had faith in Jesus but also love for her daughter to have traveled far just to see Jesus. This begs the question; do we today have the faith this woman did about Jesus? If Jesus were alive today, would we travel far to see him, worship him, or seek him for healing? We need to have faith, this faith for the rest of our lives. This Canaanite woman is a great example we need to emulate.

This woman showed her humbleness. She cried out to Jesus, which may mean that she wasn’t close to him but afar. She being a Canaanite may have kept her distance so she wouldn’t offend him. Then she comes and worships him asking for his mercy, believing He would heal her daughter of being demon-possessed. In the end, she was healed. How happy the woman must have felt when she came home to her daughter healed. As a mother, when my son was sick, I would do anything to get him better and when he was better, I was happy. Like this woman, we would pray to God so our kids would get better, and we know by praying it would happen. The difference between us today and the woman, we are children of God even though we are Gentiles.

In the commentary of Matthew Henry, he explains why Jesus might have treated the woman like he did. “Christ treated her thus, to try her; he knows what is in the heart, knew the strength of her faith, and how well able she was, by His grace, to break through such discouragement; he therefore met her with them, that the trial of her faith might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory (1 Peter 1:6,7). Her faith was such that it healed her daughter. We all are tested every day, and we must pass. Satan will do anything to test our faith.

Conclusion

With the counter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman, we see her faith, perseverance, and humbleness., as well as the mercy and compassion of Jesus.

This woman's faith is an example to us today and in the future of how our faith should be. This woman travelled far to see Jesus believing He would heal her daughter even though she was a Gentile. How far will we go to have this kind of faith? We don’t have Jesus on this earth like she did, but we do have His word. We are saved today even though we are Gentiles.