Matthew 15:21-28 “Included at the Lord’s Table”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 07 Oct 2012

Translation

15:21 Then setting out from there, Jesus retreated into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

15:22 And, check [this out], a Canaanite woman came out from those boundaries and cried out to Him saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is badly demonized.”

15:23 But as for Him, He did not answer a word to her.
Then the disciples approached Him and were making a request of Him, saying,
     “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.”

15:24 But He, in reply, said, “I was not commissioned to [any] except the lost sheep of Israel’s house.”

15:25 Then she came and she was bowing down before Him saying, “Lord, rescue me!”

15:26 But as for Him, in answer He said,
     “It is not good to take the children’s bread and toss [it] to the puppies.”

15:27 She then said,
     “Yes, Lord, for the puppies also eat from the crumbs that fall from the table of their lord.”

15:28 So then, in answer, Jesus said to her,
     “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done to you as you desire!”
And her daughter was cured from that very hour.

Exposition

15:21 Then setting out from there, Jesus retreated into the [coast/region] district of Tyre and Sidon.

Και εξελθων εκειθεν ο ιησους ανεχωρησεν εις τα μερη[1] Τυρου και Σιδωνος

 

15:22 And, check [this out], a Canaanite woman came out from those boundaries and cried out to Him saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is badly demonized.”

και ιδου γυνη Χαναναια απο των ‘οριων εκεινων εξελθουσα εκραυγασεν[2] [αυτω[3]] λεγουσα Ελεησον με κυριε ‘υιε[4] Δαυιδ[5] η θυγατηρ μου κακως δαιμονιζεται

 

15:23 But as for Him, He did not answer a word to her. Then the disciples approached Him and were making a request of Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.”

‘Ο δε ουκ απεκριθη αυτη λογον και προσελθοντες οι μαθηται αυτου ηρωτων[6] αυτον λεγοντες Απολυσον αυτην ‘οτι κραζει οπισθεν ‘ημων

 

15:24 But He in reply said, “I was not commissioned to [any] except the lost sheep of Israel’s house.”

‘Ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν Ουκ απεσταλην ει μη εις τα προβατα τα απολωλοτα οικου Ισραηλ

 

15:25 Then she came, and she was bowing down before Him saying, “Lord, rescue me!”

‘η δε ελθουσα προσεκυνει[9] αυτω λεγουσα Κυριε βοηθει μοι

 

15:26 But as for Him, in answer He said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and toss [it] to the puppies.”

ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν ουκ εστιν καλον λαβειν τον αρτον των τεκνων και βαλειν τοις κυναριοις

 

15:27 She then said, “Yes, Lord, for the dogs also eat from the crumbs that fall from the table of their lords.”

η δε ειπεν ναι κυριε και γαρ τα κυναρια εσθιει απο των ψιχιων των πιπτοντων απο της τραπεζης των κυριων αυτων

 

15:28 So then, in answer, Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done to you as you desire!” And her daughter was cured [healed/made wholeKJV] from that very hour.

τοτε αποκριθεις ‘ο Ιησους ειπεν αυτη Ω γυναι μεγαλη σου ‘η πιστις γενηθητω σοι ως θελεις Και ιαθη ‘η θυγατηρ αυτης απο της ωρας εκεινης

Conclusion

What would this woman say she learned in this episode?

  1. Keep trusting Jesus, even if He doesn’t answer right away.
  1. Bring the concerns of your children in prayer to Jesus.

 

What would the disciples say they learned?

  1. God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble… therefore humble yourself before the mighty hand of God.” (James 4:6-10, NASB)
  2. “In humility of mind, consider one another as more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3) And don’t despise people who are different. Foreigners have a place at the Lord’s table.
  3. And whenever you become “weary of the [bread our Lord has given us and are tempted] to play with it and find fault with it and crumble it away… when we are ready to [glut] on the children’s bread, we should remember how many there are what would be glad of the crumbs[12]” “let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God” (Heb 13:15) for including us at His table in His kingdom!

 



[1] Judea, Galilee, and Caesarea Phillippi were also separate “districts” (Mt. 2:22, 16:13), perhaps due to the division of Herod the Great’s kingdom among three of his sons. Interestingly enough, hell is also called a separate district in Mt. 24:51, obviously for a different reason.

[2] Older manuscripts seem to use a simpler synonym εκραζεν(Imperfect tense)BDΘf1Ct εκραξεν(Aorist tense)אZf13 Because of the disagreement, I kept the traditional text (which is Aorist) and is found in the Majority, Textus Receptus, and Byzantine traditions, following C, L, and W. Both words are found in the LXX, elsewhere in Matthew, and in other NT writings.

[3] Found in K, L, Γ, Δ, f1, and in the Maj., Byz. and T.R. editions, but not Critical editions of the Greek N.T.

[4] On the basis of B, D, W, and Θ, Critical editions read the nominative instead of the vocative case of this word, which makes no difference in English translation.

[5] The Textus Receptus has an odd spelling (Δαβιδ) which follows Hebrew letter usage, but is the same David.

[6] Older manuscripts (א, B, C, D) spell this word with a more complex vowel combination at the end, but it is merely an alternate spelling that indicates the same verb with the same parsing. The older spelling is found in Critical editions.

[7] This is all from p. 624 of Hendricksen’s commentary.

[8] Although Miciah’s prophecy of Israel being scattered like sheep has some of the same words (2 Chron. 18:16), as does Ezekiel’s prophecy of the undoing of that condition in the context of the New Covenant (Ezek. 36:37).  Isaiah 53:6 also comes to mind, although only containing the word probatwn in common: “All we like sheep have gone astray…”

[9] The Byzantine Majority, following C, L, and W spells this word in the Aorist tense, but the TR and CT, following א, B, D, Θ, f1, and f13, spell it Imperfect tense. I’ve chosen to go with the latter. However, whether she bowed once or many times is not important to the story.

[10] Matthew Henry adds, “[It] is a good prayer, if well put up; and it is a pity that it should be turned into a byword, and that we should take God’s name in vain in it.”

[11] "You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep… You shall be holy men to Me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs. ~Brenton (LXX = τῷ κυνὶ ἀπορρίψατε αὐτό)

[12] Matthew Henry