Well, last week, we were looking at Matthew 15, the first half, and essentially, Jesus declares all foods clean.
And so what he's doing there is he's removing these boundaries between Jew and Gentile.
And so basically, he's removing this kind of restricted access sign to Jews.
We've all seen restricted access signs.
You've seen them like this.
Keep out.
No trespassing.
Employees only.
Maybe you've been in an airport.
You're thirsty and you want to sit down and you want to go into one of those nice clubs and it says members only.
Authorized personnel only.
For the majority of us in the room, we're all Gentiles.
Which means this.
If you're of European descent or Central or South American descent or African descent or Asian descent, if you're not of Jewish descent, you're a Gentile according to the flesh.
And because you're a Gentile leading up to the time before Jesus, you would have had restricted access to God's grace, to the God of the Bible.
But that all changed with Jesus.
And we saw that last week as he declared all foods clean.
And it's like it's not about what you eat that makes you dirty.
It's what comes out of your heart that makes you dirty.
And that applies to Jews as well as Gentiles.
This morning, we're going to see how Jesus gives Gentiles unrestricted access to the saving grace of God by faith.
For Gentiles, there's no more keep out sign from the God of the Bible.
The God of the Bible has come to all people and said, come to me through Jesus.
So this morning, we're going to look at Matthew 15, verses 21 through 39.
And there are three scenes in this stretch of Scripture.
And it's three scenes of Jesus interacting with Gentiles.
It's really interesting.
We're going to be spending most of our time on scene one where Jesus interacts with a Canaanite woman.
But we're going to look at the other two scenes briefly.
And what we're going to see is that God has given unrestricted access to Gentiles through Jesus.
So if you would turn in your Bibles now to Matthew 15, verses 21 through 28.
I'm going to read that for you.
One of the things that we're going to see woven through these three scenes,
we're going to see the compassion of Jesus for Gentiles.
Now hang in with me on this first scene.
You're going to hear Jesus say some things that are like, did he really just call that woman a dog?
Hang in there with me.
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman from the region came out and was crying,
Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David.
My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.
But he did not answer her a word.
And his disciples came and begged him, saying,
Send her away, for she's crying out after us.
He answered,
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
But she came up and knelt before him, saying,
Lord, help me.
And he answered,
It's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.
She said,
Yes, Lord.
Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.
Then Jesus answered her,
O woman, great is your faith.
Be it done for you as you desire.
And her daughter was healed instantly.
In verse 21, we read that Jesus,
that he withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
And what you need to know is that Tyre and Sidon,
they are coastline cities in the area called Phoenicia.
And Phoenicia was a Gentile region just north of Galilee.
And so basically, what this means is,
Jesus was going into the unclean zone.
Phoenicians were Canaanites.
And that should ring a bell if you're familiar with the Bible a little bit.
Because do you remember when God delivered His people out of Egypt,
and He brought them to the promised land,
the land of Canaan,
and God's people were to remove the inhabitants of the land of Canaan
in order to occupy the land of Canaan?
Well, the Canaanites became a just thorn in the side of Israel
for century after century.
And they were the ancient arch enemy of the nation of Israel.
So, when we read in Matthew,
Jesus withdraws to Tyre and Sidon,
which is up in Phoenicia,
to the Jewish mind reading this or hearing this,
they're thinking that Jesus is headed to an unclean region
of historically hostile people.
Now, Jesus is going outside the boundaries of Israel.
He's going off the reservation, so to speak.
And so the question we need to ask is,
why is He leaving?
Why is He leaving Galilee?
Why is He going up to Phoenicia?
What's going on with that?
Well, there are two reasons why.
The first one is this.
There's a pattern of Jesus that we see in Matthew 12 and Matthew 14
when there is hostility and tensions rise.
When He confronts Pharisees
or He hears about Herod being afraid of Him,
He will withdraw
so that any kind of tensions can de-escalate
so that His effectiveness of ministry isn't hindered.
So, He's seeking to withdraw
in order to fulfill the mission that His Father has called Him on.
So, that's one reason why He's withdrawn.
The second reason is this.
Remember, at the beginning of Matthew 15,
the first half,
Jesus has just called the Pharisees from Jerusalem,
you hypocrites,
and then He brings down Isaiah on them.
You honor me with your lips,
but your hearts are far from me.
And so, with that tension,
Jesus withdraws up into Tyre and Sidon,
up to this region.
But that's not the only reason why He's up there.
Jesus is going to reveal God's heart for all people
while He's in this region.
He purposely heads north from Galilee.
He's got kingdom work to do
up around Tyre and Sidon.
Jesus has already had some interaction with Gentiles
in the Gospel of Matthew,
in Matthew chapter 8.
Remember the centurion?
He heals his daughter from a distance.
And then when He casts out the demon
who occupied those two men
up in those grave sites,
that was in Gentile land,
in a Gentile region called the Decapolis.
Here in verse 22,
we have an interaction between Jesus and a woman.
But it's no ordinary woman.
She is what Matthew calls a Canaanite woman.
And so let me just read verse 22 again.
And behold, one of Matthew's favorite expressions
to draw your attention to something,
and behold, a Canaanite woman from the region
came out and was crying.
Now in the Gospel of Mark,
that's written to Gentiles,
Mark calls this woman a Syrophoenician woman.
And so Syria, Phoenicia, woman,
Mark doesn't really care about what Jews
would think about that.
Matthew does care.
And so the Gospel of Matthew,
Matthew is heightening this woman's Canaanite background
just to remind everybody reading,
there's going to be some tensions here.
And so this Canaanite woman,
she comes out,
and she's yelling.
And she's yelling for a reason,
because she's at a distance.
And so when your mind imagines this,
you've got to think about this woman
being at a distance,
and she's crying out.
She's raising her voice.
And what is she saying?
She's saying this.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.
Have mercy on me.
She's obviously in a desperate place.
She needs some kind of help.
And we're going to learn
that these cries were incessant cries for mercy.
She's pleading for grace.
Just help me.
She's not saying anything.
Look what I've done for you.
I've been so good.
Blah, blah, blah.
Help me.
Have mercy on me.
That's what she's crying out.
And did you notice
how she addresses
this Jewish foreigner?
Lord.
O Lord, Son of David.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.
Now that word Lord
can be a simple and polite title
like greeting someone like,
hello, sir.
But when you combine that word Lord
with that title, Son of David,
you realize she is confessing him as Lord.
Do you know what the Son of David is?
It's a reference to Jesus
being descended from King David.
It is pointing to his Messiahship
that she recognizes somehow, someway,
she's heard somehow, someway
that this Jewish guy
who's come up from Galilee
is the Son of David.
O Lord, Son of David,
have mercy on me.
And then she elaborates
her need for mercy.
My daughter is severely oppressed
by a demon.
She is watching her daughter
brutally oppressed
by a demon.
She's got to be feeling helpless.
Anybody in the room
ever feel helpless before?
You know how this woman is feeling.
And maybe you've come into the building
feeling helpless yourself.
Maybe you're living with some kind
of brutal oppression.
As a Gentile,
is the Jewish Messiah
going to hear you
when you cry out to Him?
Will He have mercy on you?
Well, let's see what Jesus does.
In verse 23,
but He did not answer her a word.
She's crying out.
She's desperate.
Jesus seemingly does nothing.
He ignores her.
He remains silent.
Now, for those of us
who've been walking through
the Gospel of Matthew,
this is highly unusual
for Jesus.
Because up until this point,
we have not seen one instance
of Jesus turning someone away
who has honestly sought His help.
We haven't seen it.
And so when He is approached
by this desperate woman
and He kind of gives her
the cold shoulder
that's somehow playing hard to get,
we're kind of like,
Jesus, what are You doing?
This is so unusual.
We wouldn't expect that.
What He's actually doing
is what would have been expected
for any other Jewish rabbi
interacting with a Gentile woman.
And that would have been
to ignore her.
But this is Jesus.
Now remember that Jesus
is a master teacher.
He knows the heart of people
and He knows the heart
of this woman.
He's playing hard to get
for a reason.
We're going to see that come out
as we walk through
this little passage.
What He's doing is
He's drawing out
this woman's faith.
And in just a few verses,
we're going to see her faith
bloom in spectacular fashion.
Jesus is silent,
but His disciples,
they can't take it anymore.
This Canaanite woman,
this mom,
is just,
have mercy on me!
Have mercy!
And the disciples are like,
Jesus,
will You just give her
what she wants
and send her away?
This is killing us!
The best way to visualize
all this is that
this Gentile woman
is at a distance
crying out incessantly
for mercy
from Jesus and His disciples,
but Jesus has not engaged
the woman yet.
He hasn't said anything to her.
And against the background
of her crying out for help,
the disciples now
are making their own case
to Jesus.
Would You just send her away?
Give her what she wants!
This is brutal!
In verse 24,
Jesus says to His disciples,
I was sent to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
So they ask Jesus
to essentially,
would You just give her
what she needs?
And Jesus responds to them,
Hey, I was sent
to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
The people of the nation
of Israel.
The Israelites,
the Jews,
that's the ones
to whom I was sent to.
Did this Canaanite woman
hear what Jesus said?
I'm guessing she did.
I think Jesus said this
just loud enough
so that she could have
heard Him say that
to His disciples.
And so what Jesus
is essentially saying
is like,
No, I'm not going to
give her what she wants
because my mission
is to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
So here is Jewish Jesus
and Gentile Phoenicia
denying mercy
to a Gentile mother
in need
because apparently
His mission
is restricted
only to
the lost sheep
of Israel.
but we know otherwise
because we've already
gone through
Matthew chapter 8.
We have seen
how Jesus
compassionately
heals the centurion's
daughter.
We've already seen
Jesus
deliver
two men
around the Decapolis
from
demonic oppression.
We've already seen it.
Even in Matthew 10
when Jesus sends out
His twelve
to the lost sheep
of Israel,
He sends them out
and He tells them
there's going to come a day
where you're going to be
brought before the Gentiles
and you're going to need
to bear witness to them.
And you will be given
words at that time.
So we know
that there's more
going on here.
We know that Jesus
is saying these things
a little tongue in cheek.
That there's something
else happening.
He's drawn out
the woman's faith.
I would argue
that Jesus in fact
wants to show her
mercy.
He's just waiting
for the right moment.
Now,
have you ever been
praying your guts
out to Jesus
and you feel like
He's not answering you
or not hearing you?
You feel like,
okay,
I'm just pleading my case
and it doesn't seem like
He's anywhere around.
Well,
I just want to encourage you.
Don't give up.
the Lord Jesus,
the risen Christ,
He just,
He very well may be
just drawing out
your faith.
Just bringing you
to a point
where He then acts
on your behalf.
And this woman,
she doesn't give up.
Look at verse 25.
Jesus says,
hey,
I'm not going to help her
because I'm,
you know,
going to the lost
sheep of Israel.
And then she came
and knelt before Him.
So she was at a distance
and now she comes
to Jesus
and not just comes,
she doesn't get
in His face,
you're going to give me
what I want.
She drops at His feet.
She kneels down.
And when someone
kneels down
before somebody else,
it's an act of humility
and an act of reverence.
This Gentile woman
has recognized this man
to be her Lord.
The son of David
and she drops
at His feet.
This is happening
in Phoenicia.
Just a few verses ago,
Jesus was confronting
male Pharisees
who were experts
in the Bible
who were anticipating
some kind of Messiah
in the country of Israel.
And they didn't get it.
They rejected Him.
But here,
we have this woman,
Canaanite,
who has no expertise
in the Bible,
but somehow she's heard
that this guy
is the son of David.
She has no position
of authority
in that here she is,
come in Phoenicia,
drops at the feet
of Jesus,
confessing Him
as Lord,
son of David.
Isn't that a bit ironic?
So,
the second time,
she drops at His feet
and she says,
Lord,
help me.
And don't you wish
you were there
just to hear,
was it a whisper?
Were there tears?
We don't know.
But what we do know,
this is the second time
she has called Him Lord.
And it should get your attention.
What is Jesus going to do?
Well,
in verse 26,
Jesus says this,
it's not right
to take the children's bread
and throw it to the dogs.
It's not right
to take the children's bread
and throw it to the dogs.
So this woman is at His feet
crying out for help
and He says,
it's not right
to take the children's bread
and throw it to the dogs.
Is this the same Jesus
that we have been watching
all throughout the Gospel of Matthew
just compassionately engage
anybody that came to Him?
It is.
Something else is going on.
God's looking to get
something done here.
And He's looking to get
something done for us.
Now at this point
in history,
dogs would have been
considered unclean to Jews
even though some Jews
would keep them
as household pets.
But at this point,
Jews would often
call Gentiles
dogs
because they're
unclean pests.
And so it was slang.
And so it's like us
calling someone
a dirty rat.
You rat!
And so when a Jew
would call a Gentile
a dog,
it was just further
separating the two
races out.
Jew from Gentile.
Clean from unclean.
And so Jesus
is using the slang
of the day
to bait this woman
to see how she's
going to respond.
And so it's a bit
tongue in cheek.
That's the way
you've got to be
listening to this.
Now,
so the dogs
is a reference
to not women
but to Gentiles.
And then the children
is a reference
to the people
of Israel.
The children
of Abraham.
And Jesus
is saying
it's not right
to take what
the kids need
and throw it
to the dogs.
It's just not right.
That's what Jesus
is saying.
Tongue in cheek.
Again,
we don't know
the tone of his face
or his voice
or the expression
on his face
but I'm convinced
that what he is saying
is not harsh
but kind.
There is some kind
of invitation
to what he is saying
because what we're
going to see next
is just
full bloom
of this Canaanite
woman's faith.
She is a spicy lady.
Feisty.
And full of faith.
Look at verse 27.
She said,
Yes, Lord.
Yet even the dogs
eat the crumbs
that fall from
their master's table.
Yes, Lord.
The best way
to take that yes
is yes it is.
And so what this woman
is saying to Jesus
is this.
He says,
it's not right
to take the bread
of the children
and throw it
to the dogs.
And she says,
oh yes it is.
Oh yes it is right.
It is right.
To take the bread
for the kids
and give them
to the dogs.
Do you see what
she's doing?
Do you see the spice
in her?
She's disagreeing
with the king.
With the Messiah.
It's right to feed the dogs.
She says,
yes Lord.
It's the third time
she's called him Lord.
So here's what she's saying.
She's saying,
I'm not asking you
to choose between
children and dogs Lord.
I'm not asking you
to just give it all
to the dogs.
She's saying,
there's enough bread
to go around.
For even the dogs
like me
is what she's saying.
For even dogs
like me
will eat the crumbs
that fall from
their master's table.
She's saying,
I'll take anything
from your kosher table
master.
Anything.
Feed the kids first.
I'll take the crumbs.
It's a striking
profession of faith.
She's saying,
Lord, Lord,
I'm not asking you
to stop to feed
your children
for the sake
of this dog.
I'll take the crumbs.
This Gentile woman
is claiming
this man
as her Jewish Lord.
It's phenomenal.
She's so desperate.
She doesn't care
what Jesus calls her.
Just give me
some of your leftovers,
Jesus.
Just give me
some crumbs.
It's like,
Jesus,
if it comes from you,
it's going to be enough.
This woman's faith
is humble
and persistent
and we have so much
to learn
from her.
It's exactly
the place
desperate people
need to be.
At the feet
of Jesus
saying,
give me anything
you've got
because I know
it's going to help.
In verse 28,
Jesus turns
his full attention
to this woman
and says directly
to her
in fullness
for the first time,
he says,
O woman,
great is your faith.
That O
of the O woman
that is
an emotionally
packed O.
It is full
of compassion.
O woman,
Jesus has been
waiting for this
moment for her
to say this,
for her to reach
this point
and say,
I'll take
anything.
And he's going
to give her
everything.
O woman,
great is your
faith.
The only people
in the Gospel
of Matthew
commended for
their faith
are Gentiles.
This woman
here,
and the centurion
whose faith
was like
nobody else's
in Israel.
this Canaanite
woman knew
she was in
the presence
of the son
of David.
This was her
Lord,
and he alone
was able to
show her
the mercy
she needed.
Very unlike
the Pharisees
we just saw.
They didn't
care.
They thought
he was a
kook.
But not
this woman.
She sees him
for who he is.
He's the son
of David.
The Messiah.
He goes on
to say,
be it done
for you
as you desire.
And at that
moment,
her daughter
was instantly
healed.
But did you
notice?
The focus
isn't on the
healing.
The focus
is on the
faith of
this woman.
Her persistent,
humble faith.
Jesus is
saying,
O woman,
you are
right.
I am
the son
of David.
And I
am your
Lord,
and you
are welcome
to my
table.
Receive
my
mercy.
And he
heals
her daughter.
What we're
seeing here
is this.
Access
to the
kingdom
is no
longer
a matter
of
ethnicity.
It's a
matter
of faith.
what you
believe
about this
man,
Jesus
of
Nazareth.
And when
we compare
and contrast
it to the
way of
the Pharisees,
this woman's
response
is striking.
So if I
were to
summarize
what is
the point
of this,
it would
be this.
Gentiles
now have
unrestricted
access to
the saving
grace of
God by
faith in
Jesus.
Jesus is
doing a
game changer
up in
Tyre and
Sidon.
He's
healing
Gentiles.
He's
welcoming
their
engagement
of him.
Now,
a couple
walkaways
from this.
Here's
how I
want you
to be
thinking
about this.
remember
that you
have
Gentile
roots.
Remember
that.
Remember
that.
Remember
you are
a Gentile
according to
the flesh.
By and
large,
the majority
of us
in this
room
are
Gentiles
according
to the
flesh.
And
remember
there was
a time
when we
were
outside,
we had
restricted
access
to the
God of
the
Bible.
Remember
that.
Jesus
said to
the woman
at the
well,
salvation
is from
the
Jews.
And
we had
restricted
access,
but no
more.
Jesus
has
opened
the
way.
And
so
remember
your
Gentile
roots,
but
rejoice
in your
Jewish
Messiah.
Because
He has
opened
the way
for you
as a
Gentile
to come
into
a
saving
relationship
with the
God of
the
Bible.
You
remember
in Matthew
27
when Jesus
died on
the cross
and
immediately
afterwards
the
curtain
was torn
in two
from top
to bottom.
It's a
picture of
God
opening
up a
way.
That's
not just
good news
for Jews.
That's
great news
for Gentiles.
God
has
opened
the way
for all
people
through
Jesus
to come
into
His
holy
presence.
And it
was
through
the
shedding
of
Jesus
blood
that
He
secured
our
access
to
the
holy
living
God
forever.
Remember,
rejoice,
cry out
for help.
If you're
in a
hard
place,
take your
cues from
this
Canaanite
woman.
Help
me
Lord.
Lord,
help
me.
Lord,
help
me.
In this
passage,
four times,
the word
Lord shows
up.
When she
first
acknowledges
Jesus,
when she
comes and
falls at
His feet
and says,
Lord,
help
me.
Help me.
In
verse
26,
excuse me,
verse 27,
she says,
yes,
Lord,
that's the
third time.
For even
the dogs
eat the
crumbs that
fall from
their
master's
table.
That
word
master
is another
way of
translating
the Greek
word
Lord.
From
their
Lord's
table.
Four
times in
this brief
passage,
we see a
Gentile woman
referring to
Jesus
as her
Lord.
Cry out
to her.
Cry out
to your
Lord,
brothers and
sisters.
He may
be Jewish,
but He
is your
Lord.
And He
has a
compassionate
heart to
you.
When He
says,
O woman,
could it
be that
He is
saying the
same to
you?
O
Michael,
O dear
one,
O you
of great
little faith,
come to
me.
Well,
scene one
is we
see Jesus
interacting with
this Canaanite
woman.
And what
we see
happening here
is God
through Christ
has made
a way for
Gentiles to
have unrestricted
access to
God's grace.
The next
scene takes
place,
we see that
happening,
starting in
verse 29
through 31.
Jesus leaves
Tyre and
Sidon,
and He
goes south
and He
ends up
on a hill
by the
Sea of
Galilee
and He
sits down
and it's
the posture
of teaching
and then all
these crowds
start bringing
people in
various kinds
of physical
need to
Jesus and
He starts
healing them
one after
another.
And so
it's striking.
So in
verse 30,
and great
crowds came
to Him
bringing with
them the
lame,
the blind,
the crippled,
the mute,
and many
others,
and they
put Him
at His
feet,
literally
threw Him
down at
His feet.
They're like,
only you can
do something
about this.
And look
what He
does.
And He
healed them.
Do you
know why
He healed
them?
Because He
had compassion
on them.
And so the
compassion with
which He
spoke to
the Canaanite
woman is
the compassion
in action
we're seeing
right here
as He
heals
people.
But you
know what's
interesting?
It's who
the crowds
are.
At the
end of
Matthew 14,
Jesus,
after walking
in the
water,
they go
to this
place called
Gennesaret.
And when
Jesus shows
up,
all these
people flock
to Him
and everyone,
as many
touched Him
were made
well.
All these
were Jews.
What's
happening here?
These crowds?
These aren't
Jews.
These are
Gentiles.
Thousands
of Gentiles
coming to
Jesus,
bringing people
to be healed.
And here's
how I know
that.
In Mark
chapter 7,
Mark makes
it clear that
Jesus is in
Decapolis,
which is a
Gentile
region.
But in
this text,
if you look
at the end
of verse
31,
we see,
so that the
crowd wondered.
He's healing
them.
They're amazed
at what's
happening.
They saw
the mute
speaking,
the crippled
healthy,
the lame
walking,
and the
blind seeing.
And they
glorified the
God of
Israel.
There's no
reason to
include the
God of
Israel if
this were
Jewish people
giving praise
to God.
These are not
Jewish people.
These are
Gentile people.
And so what
we see happening
in this scene
is that
Jesus is
providing
unrestricted
access to
hundreds if
not thousands
of people.
He heals
one after
another.
One after
another.
Now if you
were on that
hill with
Jesus watching
this happen,
I think you
would be glad
to just stay
with Jesus as
long as you
could.
And that's
what we see
happening in
the final scene.
Scene 3,
starting in
verse 32.
this is where
Jesus feeds
the 4,000.
Jesus heals
all these people
in need because
of His
compassion.
He's welcoming
the Gentiles.
And in
scene 3,
we see in
verse 32,
Jesus calls
His disciples
to Him and
says,
I have
compassion on
the crowds
because they
have been with
Me now three
days and I'm
nothing to eat
and I'm
unwilling to send
them away
hungry lest
they faint
on the way.
These are the
same crowds.
These are the
people He's
been healing.
These are
Gentile crowds.
And so what
we see going
on here is
this.
These Gentiles
who came out
to see Jesus
weren't planning
on spending
three days with
Him.
They've run
out of food.
Jesus knows
this.
He has
compassion on
them.
And so He
tells His
disciples,
hey, I've
got compassion
on them.
Let's do
something about
it.
And I can
just see Peter
saying to
Andrew, oh
no, Master's
having one of
His compassion
moments.
What does
this mean for
us now?
The disciples
say to Him,
where are we
going to get
enough bread
in such a
desolate place
to feed
4,000 dudes?
Probably
8,000 to
10,000 people
altogether.
Jesus says,
how many
loaves do you
have?
They say,
seven loaves
and two fish
probably dried
fish for
transport.
Carry around
with Him.
I want you to
see something
really sweet.
So here we
have 8,000 to
10,000 Gentile
dogs around
Jesus.
and His
12 disciples,
these
children of
Abraham.
What is
Jesus going
to do?
He's going
to take
the bread
of the
children
and He's
going to
share it
with the
dogs.
And so
the feeding
of the
4,000
shows
Jesus
doing the
very thing
that He
spoke of
with a
Canaanite
woman.
It was
tongue-in-cheek
then,
but here
it's on
glorious
display.
His
compassion
in action.
He
takes this
bread,
He gives
thanks for
it,
He breaks
it,
and then
He gives
it to
His
disciples
who then
distribute it
to the
crowds.
Now what's
amazing about
this is
some of the
language here
at the risk
of making
you yawn.
When Jesus
gives thanks
for this,
it's a
one-time
event.
Pop,
give thanks,
done.
When He
breaks the
bread,
pop,
one-time
event,
done.
But the
language of
when He
gives the
disciples,
it's
ongoing
language.
He gives
and gives
and gives.
He keeps
giving them
bread.
He keeps
multiplying
it out.
So I
don't know
if you
have imagined
this miracle
as the
miracle actually
taking place
in between
people passing
the bread
from one
to the
other.
What we're
reading here
is the
miracle was
taking place
at the
ground zero
of Jesus.
He was
multiplying
the bread.
He kept
handing it
out,
giving it
out,
and the
disciples
would give
it out.
The
satisfier,
the multiplier,
is the
one doing
it.
The miracle
is happening
at Jesus.
He kept
giving and
giving,
and He
eventually
gave so
that all
8,000 to
10,000
people,
men,
women,
and children,
ate to
their fill.
Not just
crumbs.
He satisfied
them.
And there
were seven
baskets left
over.
He takes
the bread
of the
children of
Abraham,
and He
distributes
it to the
Gentile
dogs,
because He
had compassion
on them.
What we see
happening here
is that Jesus
is giving
unrestricted
access to
these Gentiles,
to God's
grace,
by faith.
In verse
38,
Matthew
just
reiterates
the numbers.
Verse 39,
Jesus,
after satisfying
them,
sends them
away.
He gets
in the
boat and
heads back
to Magadan,
which is
back in
Jewish
country.
These
three scenes
are Jesus
interacting
with
Gentiles.
And in
each of
these scenes,
we see
Jesus'
compassion,
O woman.
He heals
every Gentile
laid before
Him out
of His
compassion.
And here,
the feeding
of the
4,000,
from His
lips,
He says,
I have
compassion
on the
crowds.
All three
scenes work
together to
show that
Gentiles now
have unrestricted
access to
God's mercy
grace and
grace through
Jesus,
their
Jewish
Messiah.
And that's
really good
news for
us.
So this
morning,
I want to
remind you
of this.
The
kingdom of
heaven is
a multi-ethnic
kingdom.
It's a
diverse
kingdom.
The citizens
of the
kingdom come
from varying
ethnic
backgrounds,
ones.
But they're
united with
one faith
in the
one Jewish
Messiah,
the compassionate
King,
Jesus.
So this
morning,
remember your
Gentile roots.
Remember that
you were once
outside of
the covenant
and now,
because of what
Jesus has done
on the cross,
He now brings
you into
the covenant.
A new
covenant.
A new
covenant
covenant that
He has
established
in His
blood.
There's more
that we can
say,
but let me
just close
with this.
If what
we're reading
here is
true,
if the
Jewish
Messiah is
the Lord
of both
Jews and
Gentiles,
that's really
good news
for Jews
and Gentiles.
That's really
good news
for us.
That's really
good news
for the city
of Kenosha.
A primarily
Gentile
city.
God has
made a way
to give
unrestricted
access to
every person
living in
this city
to God's
saving,
transforming
grace.
Let's pray
together.
God in
heaven,
we thank you
so much
for this
passage in
the Bible.
Lord Jesus,
our Lord
Jesus,
we give you
the praise,
do your
name.
God,
we ask
that you
would draw
to yourself
many,
many Gentiles
and that you
would show
your compassion
to them,
especially the
greatest work
of compassion
you did by
giving yourself
on the cross.
We give you
praise and
glory.
It's in the
name of Jesus
we pray.
Amen.