In Matthew chapter 15, it's on page 982, if you're using a church Bible.
Matthew chapter 15, and we're going to read the whole of this chapter.
So let's hear God's Word together.
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?
They don't wash their hands before they eat.
Jesus replied,
Jesus called the crowd and said,
Listen and understand.
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.
Then the disciples came to him and asked,
Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?
He replied,
If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.
Peter said,
Explain the parable to us.
Are you still so dull?
Jesus asked them.
Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
These are what make a man unclean.
But eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out,
Lord, son of David, have mercy on me.
My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.
Jesus did not answer a word.
So his disciples came to him and urged him,
Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.
He answered,
I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.
The woman came and knelt before him.
Lord, help me, she said.
He replied,
It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.
Yes, Lord, she said,
But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.
Then Jesus answered,
Woman, you have great faith.
Your request is granted.
And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee.
Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
Then great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others,
and laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.
And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said,
I have compassion for these people.
They've already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.
His disciples answered,
Where can we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?
How many loaves do you have?
Jesus asked.
Seven, they replied, and a few small fish.
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
and when he'd given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples,
and they in turn to the people.
They all ate and were satisfied.
Afterwards, the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The number of those who ate was 4,000 besides women and children.
After Jesus had sent the crowd away,
he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
Amen.
But thinking about this,
so we're continuing to look at grace in the Gospel of Matthew.
And here is our theme for this morning,
that you and I are invited to the feast to enjoy God's grace.
In 19th century High Society New York,
there was a group that was simply known as the 400.
They were led by a lady called Mary Astor,
and they were very carefully ranked.
They were called the 400 because that's how many people she could fit into her ballroom.
That's how many people she would invite to her great banquets.
And she was very careful about who was in and who was out.
To be 401 in 19th century New York was to be a nobody,
to find yourself with no place at the party.
Different day, different era.
But do we recognize that mindset in our own day?
Jesus' day had barriers of division based on religion,
based on gender, based on geography.
We also, we have different labels,
but there are still divisions within society
based on economics or based on the work that we do,
based on our appearance perhaps.
There are still this tendency,
there's still this tendency to divide into insider and outsider.
It has been said, I think rightly said,
that we are by and large a graceless society.
We are so busy competing with one another,
we are so busy comparing ourselves,
sometimes jealous, sometimes proud,
that there is little or no room for mercy,
for apology, for forgiveness,
or to extend a welcome to somebody outside of our group.
I think we've seen that even this week in our national politics.
Maybe you come here today and that's your life.
You are exhausted because you're very aware
that there is a grade that you want to make.
You're looking for approval and you're finding that to be tiring.
Perhaps you may be in that state of despair.
I know I'm never going to be in that group.
I'm never going to be that person.
I'm never going to make it.
Or maybe we're just looking around thinking,
does life really have to be this way?
Or is there a better way?
Is there a way of grace?
Do you know when we think about
the way people tend to divide and label and judge?
It's really important for us to ask the question,
is this what God is like?
Does God label?
Does God have a 400 club
that we need to earn our way into?
Do we need to measure up
to make the grade?
That's why Matthew chapter 15 is good news for us.
Because in Matthew chapter 15,
we find Jesus once again offering the greatest of all invitations.
We're going to see Jesus offering the invitation to life with God,
to enjoy in God.
And that comes not on the basis of performance or background.
It comes on the basis of God's grace,
God's free and undeserved kindness to sinners.
And that's something that's received, again,
not by working really hard to receive.
We get it through faith in Jesus.
So we're going to hear an invitation to God's feast.
In some of our readings, some of our singings,
we've heard of this theme that the kingdom of God
is pictured throughout the Bible as a feast.
It's a repeating theme.
We could see it, in fact, from the very beginning.
When Adam and Eve, the first people were made,
they were placed in the Garden of Eden,
which was this wonderful garden where there was plenty,
there was generous provision.
Or we could go to the story of the Exodus.
We can remember that God set the people free
from being slaves in Egypt.
They found themselves in the wilderness
and they had nothing to eat.
And what did God do?
God literally rained down food on them
so that they would be satisfied.
And they were heading towards the promised land,
which was described as a land flowing with milk and honey.
God's place was a generous place.
God wants to meet with His people to provide for them.
Even when things began to go wrong
in Old Testament Israelite history,
when they turned to other gods,
when they walked away from God's law,
there was still hope of restoration.
So you come to a prophet like Isaiah.
In Isaiah chapter 25,
he gives this wonderful picture
of life at the end of the age
where there's no more death and pain and crying.
And God has laid out this great feast
so that He can provide for His people,
for those who have faith.
And then Jesus comes.
And if you know anything of the teaching of Jesus
and the parables of Jesus,
He spent a lot of time teaching at meals,
using meals and feasts
as a picture of the kingdom of heaven.
And two of His most famous miracles,
the feeding of the 5,000,
in this one that we read,
the feeding of the 4,000,
again, here is Jesus saying,
I am God.
And just like God did in the Old Testament,
I am here to provide a feast
so people can enjoy grace
and to enjoy it freely.
So that is a big theme
that you can trace all the way through the Bible.
And we can also see it
working its way through chapter 15.
So we met in the first 20 verses,
the Pharisees,
the religious leaders.
These were the guys
who considered themselves to be the insiders.
You know, we judge everyone else
who's not like us.
We are sure we are in God's team.
But what happens is
because they don't have faith in Jesus,
because they reject His authority,
because they are hostile to Him,
they won't sit and eat with Him
and with His friends.
That's a picture of being outside of,
receiving God's grace through Jesus.
But then by contrast,
we come to verses 21 to 28.
And we see Jesus in conversation
with a Canaanite woman.
And we see that proverb in verse 27,
from verse 26 rather,
it's not right to take the children's bread
and toss it to their dogs.
Jesus is using a proverb
based around the family table.
And what we discover is that this Canaanite,
this enemy by nature of God's people,
she has faith.
And so she gets to enjoy grace.
And then it moves,
Jesus moves from there towards the Sea of Galilee
and He feeds 4,000 people in great need
who are also outside of Israel,
outside of sort of the line of the covenant promises,
but they enjoy a feast in the wilderness.
So this is a really significant chapter for Matthew.
He's saying to us,
Jesus is God.
He is doing exactly what God did in the Old Testament.
He's come by grace to invite people to enjoy life with Him,
which is pictured as a feast.
And Matthew is telling us,
here is the way to enter into that,
and it's by faith.
Not by claiming our own goodness or self-righteousness like the Pharisees,
but coming aware of our need,
coming with faith.
And for those who do,
there is a feast of God's goodness to enjoy.
So the feast,
that's our theme for today.
So two questions for us.
First one is this,
who is invited to the feast?
And we can make that personal,
am I invited to the feast?
Look with me at verse 21.
Simple words,
but with great significance.
Verse 21 begins,
leaving that place.
So where has Jesus been?
He's been in Israel.
He's been with those religious insiders who reject Him,
who are hostile to Him.
So He's leaving that place.
Where does He go?
We're told Jesus withdrew
to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Now that might not mean too much to us,
but to Matthew's first century readers,
there are alarm bells going off all over the place.
Because if you hear Tyre and Sidon,
you hear enemies of God.
Tyre and Sidon was one of those groups in the Old Testament
that made a habit of attacking Israel as the people of God.
They robbed the temple.
They took some of Israel away to be slaves.
These are not the good guys.
And yet here is Jesus,
and He's on a long walk,
50 to 60 miles.
He's walking here,
not to judge enemies,
but to show grace to enemies.
And so we're presented with this almost shocking contrast.
You've got the insiders,
the Pharisees,
and they reject Jesus.
They want nothing to do with God's Savior.
But by contrast,
this former enemy,
this Canaanite woman,
she receives the invitation,
and so she enjoys grace.
Jesus is on this mission of extravagant grace.
And the guest list,
just as was the case last week,
the guest list highlights that for us.
So we're told in verse 22 quite explicitly
that Jesus is dealing with a Canaanite woman.
And again,
the label that would have been attached to her
from a religious society would be,
this is a sinner.
This is somebody to avoid,
but not Jesus.
And once he's finished ministering,
helping her,
Jesus then moves on.
And look at verse 30 and 31.
We read,
Great crowds came to him,
bringing the lame,
the blind,
the crippled,
the mute,
and many others,
and laid them at his feet.
And he healed them.
The people were amazed
when they saw the mute speaking.
The crippled made well,
the lame walking,
and the blind seeing.
And they praised the God of Israel.
So here are some foreigners
in desperate situations.
We know they're foreigners
because in the end,
they turn and praise the God of Israel.
Implication,
that's not naturally who they belong to.
But here are some of the lowest in society.
Those who have,
as it were,
nothing to bring to the table
except their own need.
And what we discover
is that Jesus feeds them.
Jesus shows grace.
To these two,
this woman and this group,
they know their place.
They know that they have no claim
on Jesus' love and mercy and kindness.
The Pharisees thought,
absolutely,
they earn it.
And so they get nothing.
But for those who see themselves
as needy,
with no claim,
Jesus instantly heals
the woman's daughter.
Jesus heals this vast crowd.
And then he provides a feast
in the wilderness,
just as God had done
in the Old Testament.
It's so that we're beginning to see
that life in God's kingdom
is about enjoying God's grace
as it comes to us in Jesus.
And we are invited to receive that
as a gift
with thankfulness,
with humility.
One of the truly unique things
about Jesus
and about Christianity
compared with every other religion
is this.
Your religion says,
climb the ladder up to God.
Work really hard.
Make merit.
Go on great walks
and make great sacrifices
in the hope that
you can do enough
that the gods
might be pleased with you.
The Bible reveals to us
that our God is perfect
and that He is holy
and that He is without sin
and that He hates sin.
And so Christianity
is very honest
in saying,
in the first place,
well, as sinful people,
we cannot ever be good enough
for a holy God
if our hope rests
on making our way up
to God's standard.
We have no hope.
But then there is
this wonderful news
that Jesus has come down.
Not that we go up,
that Jesus has come down
to be Emmanuel,
to be God with us.
And that He's come to do that
to bring us to God
as an act of undeserved grace.
Our King has come near
to save us
and to provide for us.
I watched a documentary
from Bhutan.
The former King of Bhutan
in 2016,
he was celebrating
his 60th birthday.
So his son,
who was the new king,
put on this lavish celebration.
It was a day
of national holiday.
And then there was,
I think,
30,000 tickets issued
so that you could go
to the national stadium
and you could watch
singing and dancing.
And then at one point,
the king came
and he sort of did
a walk around the pitch.
And the person
who was doing
the documentary,
he interviewed
one excited student
who'd spent two days
on a bus
to have the chance
to see the king.
And he was like,
this is the happiest day
of my life
to be able to see
the king.
He was very glad.
What Christianity offers
is much, much better
than that.
The amazing news
of the Bible
is that Jesus
is God's king
who invites us in
and not just to see him
at a distance
in a stadium,
Jesus invites us
to feast with him,
to enjoy grace from him,
to enjoy God's love
through knowing him,
to find peace and joy
and eternal security
in him.
He is inviting us
to a feast.
It's what makes Jesus
so different.
Jesus, the one who came
to break down barriers
in order to show grace
to people that don't earn it
and deserve it.
Here is Jesus
on a long walk
to Tyre and Sidon,
but we can think
of another long walk,
another long journey
of Jesus.
Think about Jesus
leaving the glory of heaven
to come,
to take on human nature,
to live among us
and think about the walks
that Jesus does
on his mission
to show compassion
and mercy
and love
to those who are rejected,
despised,
and hated by others
and then see Jesus'
long walk
to the cross.
Think of Jesus
there
being regarded
as the ultimate outsider,
rejected by the people,
feeling forsaken
by his father
so that you and I,
we might become insiders,
we might receive
that grace
that's promised.
Jesus has come
to die on the cross
to deal with
the greatest
of all walls
of division,
the barrier of sin
that separates us
from a holy God.
Jesus takes
the sin
of his people
on himself,
dying,
facing the penalty
that sin deserves
so that by faith
in Jesus
we might know
and enjoy
life with God.
This is our
good news message
and this is our
church mission,
this is the walk
we are to take
to tell people
of a God of grace
and love.
This explains
the work
of our global
mission partners.
We can think
of Manuel
and Patty
Rianno
in Colombia
as they work
with teens
who live
on the streets
in Colombia.
Or we can think
of Patrick Jock
in South Sudan
who's caring
for refugees.
We can think
of Hendro
from Indonesia
who's training
evangelists
to go and share
the gospel
with unreached
Muslim people groups.
Why?
Because our God
is a God
of grace
and a God
who wants
to break down
barriers of division
so that all people
can hear of
his great love
for them
seen in Jesus.
And this is
to motivate
our mission
to in our
day to day
that we would
pray,
please make me
an agent
of grace.
To ask God
for help
for us
to make
our long
walk of grace.
Perhaps to walk
across a room
to talk to
a student
who looks lonely
or looks
stressed.
Perhaps it's
crossing the street
to spend time
with a neighbour
that you know
is going through
hard times.
Perhaps
like Jesus
we can share
a meal
as a way
to extend
something of the
grace of God
to others.
To buy a coffee
to invite someone
into a deeper
friendship.
To welcome
someone into
our family
meals.
For those of us
who have received
grace
it is then
to motivate us
in our mission
to share
Jesus
with the hope
that anyone
who will trust
in Jesus
is invited
to this
feast.
Second question
to think about
and this is where
we're going to
concentrate on the
faith of the
Canaanite women
here.
How does
someone
enter this
feast that
Jesus
provides?
How do I
enter the
feast of
God's
grace?
You know
so we're
saying that
King Jesus
has come
to do
all that
God had
done in the
Old Testament
to give us
this wonderful
access into
his kindness
into his love
into his joy.
That's only
good news
if we see
that that's
something that
we need.
That's only
good news
if we will
come to him
in faith.
And so we're
going to think
about the
faith of
this Canaanite
woman for a
few moments.
Let's think
about her
situation.
Verse 22,
a Canaanite
woman from
that vicinity
came to him
crying out,
Lord, son
of David,
have mercy
on me.
My daughter
is suffering
terribly from
demon possession.
Here is a
desperate parent.
I met a
friend this
week whose
child years
ago now had
been seriously
ill and he
was speaking
about living
with that
trauma still.
And so it's
important for us
to think how
is this woman
feeling as she
sees day after
day her
daughter who
she loves
controlled by
the forces of
evil.
What's she going
to do in that
helpless situation?
She comes to
Jesus.
And as she
comes to Jesus
we're presented
with one of the
most, on one
hand, fascinating
on the other
hand, difficult
conversations that
Jesus has with
another person.
It can seem like
Jesus is being
harsh with his
silence.
He can seem
like he is
perhaps unwilling
to help if we
read it at a
surface level.
And so it's
important for us
to do our
background work
to think what
do we know,
what have we
discovered about
Jesus?
So remember
we've already
been told he's
coming to Tyre
and Sidon, he's
leaving behind
those who are
hostile, he wants
to show grace
and kindness to
outsiders.
So we know
that, that's why
he's on the
move and we
see that because
he feeds a
great crowd of
people who
aren't Jew.
And that ties
in with all
that we know
of Jesus'
mission.
Jesus said it's
not the healthy
that need a
doctor but it's
the sick.
He's not come
to call the
self-righteous but
those who know
that they are
sinners to repent
and to come to
him.
We also saw a
couple of weeks
ago in Matthew
chapter 1 we
were clued into
this fact in
Jesus' family
tree, family
history where
you discover here
are women who
are outsiders who
have surprising
sometimes shocking
stories and they
are brought into
the family line
of Jesus.
A few chapters
back we also
meet another
person who's said
to have great
faith.
Two times Jesus
said in Matthew's
gospel somebody
had great faith.
One was this
woman from Canaan,
the other was a
Roman soldier,
an enemy
centurion who
is also said to
have great faith
and he too
receives help.
So we understand
at least in part
something of the
heart of Jesus
and the mission
of Jesus and the
disciples know that
as well.
They have never
seen Jesus turn
anyone away who
comes to him
for help.
So let's think
about how this
goes and especially
let's think how
do we see her
faith?
First of all I
think we can see
it in the posture
that she adopts.
Verse 22, what
does she look for
from Jesus?
She cries out
for mercy.
She wants Jesus
to look on her
in her helpless
misery and to
act.
She's not claiming
any right or
merit.
And then in
verse 25 is she
draws near to
Jesus.
What's her
posture there?
The woman came
and knelt
before him.
She is humble.
She is begging
for help.
Faith is humble.
Faith sees
our needs
and recognizes
that by rights
we have no claim
on God
and his love.
But faith
comes.
We also see
that faith
in this woman's
case is extremely
persistent.
So we hear her
crying out for
help in verse 22
but then in verse
23 perhaps
surprisingly Jesus
did not answer a
word.
She keeps on
going.
And again Jesus
says to his
disciples,
I was sent only
to the lost
sheep of Israel.
So he's been
silent and he said
I'm only sent to
the lost sheep of
Israel.
Then as she
continues to beg
Jesus then says
it's not right to
take the children's
bread and toss it
to their dogs.
Which again sounds
on a surface level
like Jesus is being
harsh or being
unwilling.
What's going on
here?
Well two things I
think.
First of all
Jesus is making
a point that his
first priority is
to the people
of God to
Israel because
he has come to
fulfill all the
promises of the
Old Testament.
He has come to
be the true king
in the line of
David, the one
who will reign for
God forever.
And he's also
come to be the
seed of Abraham
that will bring
blessing not just
to Israel but to
the nations and
that's significant.
So Jesus is
talking about his
priority and we
see Jesus is very
focused in his
mission.
He makes
occasional forays
into sort of
outsider or enemy
territory but most
of his time he is
on this mission to
fulfill the promises
that God had made
in the Old Testament
that he had come to
be their saviour.
But there's one other
thing I think that
Jesus is doing and we
see him do it in other
places.
He's wanting to see
this woman's faith,
to exercise faith.
Will she keep on
asking?
Will she trust that
Jesus has grace
sufficient to meet
her needs?
And her faith is
amazing.
So even after that
family table proverb
verse 26 where
Jesus is saying you
know if you had
children and you
have a dog in the
family home it is
natural that you feed
the children first and
that's what we do if
we have dogs.
But here her
persistent faith in
verse 27.
Yes Lord she said
but even the dogs
eat the crumbs that
fall from the
master's table.
She says yes I
agree absolutely
that Israel has
priority but remember
you've given that
that family proverb
and there's a dog in
there.
I'm happy to be
considered a dog if
you would just give
me even a scrap so
that I can get help
for my daughter.
I know this isn't my
time perhaps until
after Jesus' death and
resurrection that when
when the gospel goes
global but she says
please feed me anyway.
Please give me grace
and mercy anyway.
And what we see is
that her faith is in
line with the message
of Matthew and the
mission of Jesus.
Very beginning we have
that genealogy that
reminds us that God's
people has always just
been wider than
simply national Israel.
We get to the end of
Matthew 28 and we come
to the Great Commission
and we see go and make
disciples of all nations.
And so her faith stands
in that line that says
God's kingdom is bigger
and wider than we
imagine and that's good
news.
Does the woman get
scraps?
Verse 28.
Woman you have great
faith.
Your request is granted.
And her daughter was
healed from that very
hour.
She don't get scraps.
She gets a feast of God's
kindness.
She has faith.
She's part of the family
of God.
And so Jesus lovingly
provides for her.
The crucial thing about
her faith is that it
rests in the person of
Jesus.
Look at how she talks
about Jesus in verse 22.
She calls him Lord.
There's honor.
There's respect.
But then she calls him
son of David.
And son of David is
savior language.
That she understands that
this man standing in front
of her is God's promised
king.
God's promised savior.
And so she knows by faith
to come to him with her
needs.
And that's the wonderful
lesson that we receive
from her story.
You and I,
we need to come hungry
to Jesus.
To see our need
of his grace
in our lives.
And when we do,
we will discover
that he can
and he does
truly satisfy
our deepest needs.
Whatever that might be.
So you might be here
and you feel
burdened by
sin
and guilt
and you
want to be
right with God.
You know that all
is not well
between you
and God
and you know
that you can't
fix it.
So you need to come
to Jesus
in faith
and recognize
that his work
on the cross
is for you.
That he has died
so that you might
be forgiven.
That you might
be reconciled
to God.
That you might
be adopted
into the family
of God.
But perhaps
we're here today
and our need
is different.
Perhaps burdened
by responsibilities.
Perhaps caring
for family
and friends.
Perhaps working
through some
difficult situations
and we feel
empty
or we feel
tired
and again
in faith
we need to
invite Jesus
in there too.
To invite him
to be
our strength
when we feel
weak.
To be our
wisdom
when we feel
like we don't
necessarily
have the
answers.
To be that
friend that
we need
as we seek
to be a
friend to
others.
Because grace
doesn't just
sustain,
doesn't just
save us,
it also
sustains us.
And so every
day as Christians
we also need
to put our
faith in God
to receive
grace from
him day
by day.
Truth is
whoever we
are today,
whatever our
story coming
into this place
today,
grace is on
offer to
each one
of us
and grace
is what
we need.
And so all
of us,
whoever we
are,
we are called
like this
woman to
come to
Jesus,
to trust
in him.
If we are
here today
and we're
tired of
the graceless
culture that
we see,
tired of
division and
separation and
competition and
rivalry and
you want a
new way,
you find it
in Jesus.
If you're
aware of
guilt and
wanting rescue,
you find that
in Jesus.
If we're
spending ourselves
on others and
we feel empty,
we find grace
through Jesus.
So the message
to all of us
is the same.
Come to
Jesus in faith
and feast on
the grace that
he longs to
provide for us.