Cross Bearing to Conquer Evil Matthew 16:21-24

 Cross Bearing to Conquer Evil

 

Matthew 16:21-24 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  ²² Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  ²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  

 

Introduction:

 

     I heard the story of a Russian man who was born to atheist parents, grew up in an atheist town and attended an atheist school. He had never in his life heard of Jesus Christ. But somewhere along the path of his life he saw a picture of a man who had died on a cross. He never forgot that picture and often wondered why he was strangely drawn to that picture. He wanted to understand it. At first he thought the man must have been a very bad criminal. Then he thought that he might have been a very persecuted man. Eventually he met a Christian who also knew about this picture, and he explained it to him. That explanation, that the Son of God suffered and died on the cross to take away his sin, was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

 

Jesus is the Christ - What Does This Mean?

 

     Last Sunday our Gospel lesson came from the verses right before today’s lesson where Peter boldly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But Peter didn’t fully understand what that meant. Jesus went on to explain that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, die, and rise again. Peter, like so many people before and after him, could not conceive of the Son of God suffering like that. The Son, he thought, should be crushing His enemies, not being crushed by them. But Jesus was only fulfilling the plan that God had in mind from the foundation of the world. In the very first promise of the Messiah, God told Satan, “You will crush His heel, but He will crush your head” (Genesis 3.15). Jesus would suffer and die at the hands of God’s enemies. But in the end He would rise from the dead, and His victory would mean forgiveness and salvation for those who trust in Him. 

 

     If we would all be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that this makes no sense at all. We can understand Peter’s confusion. When has anyone conquered by being killed? What army has ever won a war by being destroyed in battle?  It doesn’t make sense as long as we have in mind the “things of men” as Jesus says.  But so typical of Jesus... There’s much more to this.  

 

     Gregory of Nyssa lived in the 300s A.D. from the region of Cappadocia, which was known for its famous “Cave Churches.” Gregory was a bookish pastor who loved to explain the deep mysteries of the Christian faith. Here is the way he explained the incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus: He said that Jesus, the Son of God, was like a hook buried in the flesh of a worm. He became the bait for the devil who attempted to devour Him on the cross. Instead, when Jesus died, the devil was caught by the holiness and divinity of the Son of God, and all his powers over believers were taken away. 

 

     What Peter was struggling to understand and what Jesus was gradually unfolding before his eyes in His earthly ministry was that He was not just another ordinary man. He wasn’t even just an extra-ordinary man. He wasn’t a man who came to use the ways of men to destroy evil. He was the perfect, pure, righteous, truthful Son of God. Satan had the power to crush anything of this world and of men. But he couldn’t crush Jesus. In fact, by trying, he was crushed. This is why we, like the Russian man, are not only drawn to this picture of a dead man on a cross, but more importantly to the meaning of it. In death, the death of the cross, Jesus defeated the cause of death and ended its reign of terror over this earth.  

 

     Now, Jesus says something just as shocking about the cross. He says that those who follow Him must take up their cross as well. Please remember that in Jesus’ day the cross represented the worst punishment for evil that anyone could think of. Today He might have said, “Take up your electric chair, or lethal injection, or a bullet to the head” This was serious. As He defeated sin and Satan through death, so must we. What are our crosses?

 

Your First Cross: Repentance

 

     The first cross, and the most difficult of all, is the cross of repentance. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about that change in our hearts that causes us to quit making excuses, and to quit blaming others or even God for our failure to live according to God’s commands. If Jesus came to die for our sins, then we have to acknowledge those sins and present them as our spiritual sacrifice to God. But uncovering our shame and turning from our sins is not easy. The very core of our sinful nature is to lie to ourselves and cling to our self-righteousness. But those sins cannot be forgiven as long as you cling to them. 

 

     How can we repent of them? Jeremiah taught us three very simple but powerful prayers. The first two are in chapter seventeen (v. 14): “Heal me, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for Thou art my praise.” The third comes in chapter thirty-one (v. 14): “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned.” “Turn,” is the main Hebrew word for repentance, and this prayer shows us that repentance is something that comes from God. He gives us the power to do what we can’t do by ourselves. Job also prayed in this way: “Make me to know my transgression and my sin” (13.23). This, the hardest of all crosses, can only be taken up with the help of God. 

 

Your Second Cross: Scorn of the World

 

     The second cross is that which the world puts upon us for being Christians. In chapter ten of Matthew Jesus said, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (10.22). The world despises true faith because it despises the object of true faith: God. The world either denies the existence of God or exchanges God for an idol of its own creation. In either case it is men who become their own lawgivers. Rather than seeking God’s pleasure, they seek their own. One by one what God calls evil they call good: disrespect of parents, disrespect of life, disrespect of marriage, promoters of dishonest gain, denial of truth, and uncontrollable desire to have whatever they want. Jude describes them well saying they are: “wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever! ... These people are discontented grumblers, walking according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage” (Jude 13, 16 HCSB). Truth and righteousness become whatever they say it is, and woe to anyone who tells them otherwise.

 

     How do we handle this? Paul tells us, “Speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4.15). Jesus said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5.44). This cross also can only be lifted up with prayer. I have often said that when we watch the news of the world, we are watching the dispatches that come from a spiritually dysfunctional world. It is tempting to become disgusted and even angry about it. But don’t let that take you off track. Instead write down the dark things you see and hear and add them to your daily prayers. You must look at the scoffers not as your enemies. Satan is the enemy, and they are simply living under his influence. Pray that they would be delivered from that influence to the influence of the Holy Spirit as you have been delivered. 

 

Your Third Cross Is Satan

 

     The third cross is Satan himself. Satan wants us to think that he is a joke. But he is very real. He works to tempt us and to draw us away from God, and he has many disciples doing his bidding for that purpose. But finally, he is our earthly destroyer. John, in Revelation 9.11 says that the world has a king,  “whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.” Both words mean “destroyer.” Jesus told us of a woman who had “a spirit of infirmity” who was bent over and could not stand up for eighteen years. Jesus healed her, and when she could stand up she immediately glorified God. He went on to say that this woman had been “bound by Satan” (Luke 13.10-17). Peter said that Jesus, “Went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10.38). Paul had a thorn in the flesh that he called, “a messenger from Satan” (2 Corinthians 12.7). This world is totally afflicted by Satan which God allows because of sin. 

 

     What do we do when we are told we have a disease or are injured in an accident? What do we do when we face pain and suffering? We can ask for something to numb the pain, and there is nothing wrong with this. Even Jesus drank sour wine when He was dying on the cross. But there is something else we can do. We can face the pain and pray for God’s help to endure it faithfully. We can look upon the pain and suffering of this world as a battle with Satan, which it is. Satan wants the pain to drive us to despair. He wants to use it to drive us away from God. But when that doesn’t happen, when a Christian responds to pain and suffering with faith and prayer, he is defeated. He is defeated in so many ways. First, he failed to turn you from God. Second, many people who saw you suffering and yet trusting in God were inspired in their faith and drawn closer to God as well. 

 

Conclusion

 

     Let’s summarize this message by focusing again on Jesus’ words “the things of men” and the “the things of God.”  We cannot fight evil with the things of men.  Humans are by nature sinful and weak. Our powers may seem great, but they are no match for ultimate evil. The things of God are truth, righteousness, love, and good works.  These are the things that defeat evil.  This is what Christ has given us in His cross bearing, and this is what empowers us for our cross bearing lives.  

 

     Andy had the unfortunate fate of being born to a very immature and ignorant father. His father routinely mocked him for his lack of athletic ability and for his difficulties in relating to girls. Andy was tempted to hate his father, and for a time he did. He even had day dreams about killing his father. But something was holding him back. Andy was a Christian, and his family regularly attended church. For Andy this sometimes made everything worse. His father was a blatant hypocrite. Andy, however, took up his pastor’s recommendation that he actually read one of the Gospels to learn about Jesus for himself. As he read through the Gospel of Matthew, he came to this passage that we’ve read today, and he realized what his cross was. It was his father. From that moment on he stopped hating him and began to pray for him. Andy didn’t allow Satan’s venom that was working so effectively in his father to infect him. He grew up to be an outstanding young man, advancing far beyond his father’s achievements in every way. Andy didn’t flaunt his success in front is father. He didn’t stop talking to him, visiting, or praying for him. He just felt sorry for him. I wish I could tell you that his father finally came to repentance, but I can’t. This isn’t a fairy tale, this is real life. But I can tell you that Andy’s life did not go unnoticed. He had a brother and a sister who also struggled with the pain inflicted by their father. Through Andy’s cross bearing life they also learned to be cross bearers themselves instead of hypocrites full of hate.

 

     Here is your challenge today:  Look at all the problems you face. You may pray that they go away, and I’m sure some of them will. But just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” so be prepared for the fact that not all of them will go away. Now, looking to Jesus, who bore the cross for you, take up your cross and follow Him.  Good will come of it, I promise.  Amen.  

How to Help the Poor - 3

3. Helping the Poor Today

     In the last lesson we looked at several Biblical remedies for poverty. In the Old Testament farmers were required to leave grain in their fields for the poor. Slaves were given freedom and debts were cancelled every seventh year. In the New Testament Jesus and the Apostle Paul collected offerings to give to the poor. The Christians of the church in Jerusalem voluntarily pooled their resources to help one another. Paul said we should “do good to all, especially to the household of faith” (Galatians 6.10). James 2.14-19 stresses that Christians need to help the poor. Yet Jesus said in Mark 14.3-9 that the poor will be with us always, and that the gospel of salvation is foundation for all help that we might give for the poor. 

 

1. Support for the Poor Through Our Regular Offerings  

 

     These services of the church are often offered to all free of charge: Worship, Bible Study (for all ages), Counseling, Pastoral Care, Evangelism, Food Pantry, Emergency Assistance, Scholarships, Micro-Loans

 

2. These Organizations Are Often Supported by Local Churches.

 

     LCMS Disaster Relief

     Orphan Grain Train

     Salvation Army

     Pregnancy Centers

     Food Pantries

     Lutheran Hour Ministries

 

3. These Are Some of the Most Well-Known “Christian” Missions to the Poor

Samaritan’s Purse

Lutheran World Relief

Operation Blessing

Catholic Relief Services

World Vision

Salvation Army

Bread for the World

Compassion International

Food for the Poor

 

4. These Are Some of the Current Strategies Used to Help the Poor

 

Asset Based Development & Asset Mapping: Approach development by looking first not to the needs but to the assets of the community. Look to what is good and build on that.

Participatory Learning: Involving the community in the plan for development

Family Advocates: Single mothers were matched with family advocates who worked with them to improve the situation. 

Jobs for Life: This program involves classroom training, mentors and businesses that work with poor people to get them into good jobs.

Micro Loans: Small loans to help the poor start businesses

Individual Development Accounts: This program provides matching funds to the poor to help them build savings.

Savings and Credit Associations: This is like micro loans except that the loans come from the people within the community rather than from outside donors.

Business as Missions: This program helps start for profit businesses within a poor community that will help provide jobs.

Circle of Allies: This is a mentoring program in which allies (mentors) and participants meet monthly and at other times to plan and work together for development.

5. How Shall We Evaluate Poverty Programs?

 

     A. Is the mission to feed both body and soul?

 

     B. What proportion of donations are spent on administration and advertising vs. actual help. 

 

     C. How is the mission connected to the local church? 

 

     D. How does the mission focus on sustainable transformation?

Pastor Michael P. Walther, Vacancy Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois

The Renewing of the Mind

 The Renewing of the Mind

Romans 12.1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

 

Introduction

 

     The human mind is one of the most amazing miracles of God’s creation. If you want to upset an evolutionist, ask them if the mind can be seen under a microscope and how it supposedly evolved. The mind is clearly one of the unique features of human beings. It has the capacity for immense good and for immense evil and everything in between. Many people mind their clothes they wear, the car they drive, the work they do, and the friends they have. But we don’t always pay much attention to our minds. We’re very concerned about our blood pressure, our weight, our strength, etc. But what about our minds? Is our thinking good or evil? Are our desires pleasing to God or not? Are our feelings hurting us or helping us? God wants our minds to be renewed according to His will that we might live our lives constructively and not destructively, dedicated to holiness and not to evil. Our minds need to be renewed by God’s wisdom rather than ruined by sin. How? That’s what this sermon is about.

 

1. Refuse to Be Conformed to the Mindset of the World

 

     The apostle Paul urges us to be living sacrifices to God. That is the goal of the “transformed mind.” But I’m going to set that aside for a moment and start with the problem that we all face. Paul said, “Do not be conformed to the world.”  The first thing we need to know is that our minds can be shaped in a good or bad way. Our thoughts, feelings, and desires can be turned to the good or the bad.  The good mind comes from God, who created our minds. The bad mind comes when there is no input by God and when we have forsaken our Creator. These two ways of thinking – Thinking the thoughts of God and thinking the thoughts apart from God will always be contrary to one another. 

 

     The Bible shows us how this has happened in the past. Pharaoh resisted the mind of God when he refused to let Israel go free from slavery. The prophets of Baal resisted the mind of God when they lured Israel to worship the idol of materialism and lust. The Pharisees resisted the mind of God when they refused the forgiveness of God in Jesus. Solomon said that the talk of a foolish man, a man who rejects the mind of God, ends in “raving madness” (Ecclesiastes 10.13). Paul warns us in his letter to the Ephesians not to walk with those who in the “futility of their mind” are “alienated from the life of God,” and have given themselves over to “lewdness” (NKJ), “licentiousness” (KJV), ἀσέλγεια (Greek) “total lack of self-control.” This is literally “losing your mind.” 

 

     Is this not the mind of many around us today? Unrestrained lust fed by the steady online stream of pornography? Unrestrained anger which explodes into domestic violence, road rage and murder suicides? Unrestrained imaginations that wage war against nature itself with people thinking they can do and be anything they want without any consequences? None of this will end well. 

 

      All of these examples point to one thing: Either our minds are formed by the teachings of God’s word or not. In every age there are those who want to force people to conform to ideas that are contrary to God’s word and His will. Paul urges us not to be conformed in this way. The word here for “conform” literally refers to the way something is forced into a mold and forced to take the shape of that mold. The Christian mind is molded and shaped by God’s word. 

 

     Many people reject this Christian mindset. They have in every age, and they always will. They prefer to see themselves as God and to live by their own will. You and I cannot stop that. We cannot control that. But we can refuse to be controlled by it and conformed to it. We will always be of another mind, another will, another way of living – this is the way of Christ, to whom we have been called.   

 

2. Be Transformed By the Renewing of the Mind

 

     Our resistance to all of this comes when our minds were “transformed” by what Paul calls the “renewing of the mind.” Paul’s words show us that we were once conformed to the mind of this world. We were also gods unto ourselves, dominated by sin, and destined to destruction. But our minds were renewed by the word of God. The Holy Spirit enabled us to accept our guilt, to repent of our sins, and to believe in Jesus for our forgiveness. 

 

Paul talks a lot about this transformed mind in the eighth chapter of Romans:

 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8.5-8) 

 

     Notice that there are two different mindsets. One is of the flesh, that is, it is without God’s input. It is the mind of sin and transgression. The other is the mind of the Spirit, that is, of Gods word. We remain transformed and renewed when God’s word is continually shaping our thoughts, desires, words, and actions. A person with the mindset of the Spirit is a person who simply asks themselves a lot: What does God want me to think, say, & do? This question never comes to the mind of those conformed to the world.

 

     Let me share with you a good example of a mind that was transformed by God’s word. Rosaria Butterfield was a professor of queer theory and feminist criticism at Syracuse University, and an advocate of LGBTQ+ causes, an atheist, and was in the process of writing a book against Christianity. She received a letter from a pastor that was warm, intellectually serious, and raised legitimate questions about life. This led her to begin reading the Bible seriously. She realized the Bible presented a much different moral universe, but she was also attracted to the beauty, coherence, and the authority of the Bible. She began to realize that she was not just reading Scripture. She said in her own words: “Scripture was reading me.” She felt convicted of her sin and was turned to Jesus and His grace. She knew this would destroy her career and friendships. But she couldn’t go on opposing the will of God. She was transformed. You can read more about her experience in her book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. There have been many, many examples of this throughout history. 

 

     But I would like you to think about your own transformation and how it happened and is happening. Think about the events of life and the people you have met that have drawn you closer to God. In my life I think my parents, my sixth grade Sunday School teacher, the vicar who taught my confirmation class, my pastors, and my Christian college and seminary professors. All of them were part of the team that transformed my mind to the mind of Christ. They all had one thing in common: They pointed me to the word of God and encouraged me to read it so that I could “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” 

 

3. Be a Living Sacrifice to Help Save.

 

     When our minds are working in this way, our lives will show it. This is what Paul means when he says that we should become “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” The transformed mind asks this question: Am I pleasing to God? Just asking yourself that question several times a day can make a big difference in your life. The sacrifices that God commanded the people of Israel before the sacrifice of Christ were very important. They were the means of grace through which Israel received forgiveness and through which they also offered to God their thanksgiving and praise. But even then, God also expected Israel to be living sacrifices through faithful living. David said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and crushed heart, God will not despise” (Psalm 51.17).

 

     Jesus Christ became the ultimately pleasing sacrifice that took away not only the sins of Israel but also those of the whole world. And, when we live in that joy and renewal of that forgiveness, our lives also become a living sacrifice.  St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) preached about this when he said, 

 

"How can the body become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on no evil, and it is a sacrifice. Let the tongue utter nothing base, and it is an offering. Let the hand work no sin, and it is a holocaust (burnt offering). But more, this suffices not, but besides we must actively exert ourselves for good; the hand giving alms, the mouth blessing them that curse us, the ear ever at leisure for listening to God" (Chrysostom). [Isn’t it amazing that a sermon that is more than more than 1,600 years old still speaks today!]

 

     Sometimes Christians think that they must have some kind of control over the age in which they live, that somehow they should be able to convince the world to operate by the transformed mind in Christ. This has never happened and never will happen. “Broad,” Jesus said, “is the way of destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7.13). This is what I call the “minority temptation.” When we were children, we asked our parents: “Everyone else is doing it, why can’t I?” Now as adults we wonder: “Everyone else is still doing it and even more so, maybe I’m wrong?” Not at all. Those who told us not to follow the crowd that doesn’t follow Christ were right because it is God that ultimately tells us this. He urges us to stand fast, and to be the living sacrifices – the representatives of His Son, Jesus, in this world. This is what Paul calls “our reasonable service.” Don’t worry when the world scorns you for believing that God created the world, that the one way of salvation is in Jesus, and that we are called to holy not an unholy life. We are here, in this situation now, to show people the mind of God. How would they ever come to know it and perhaps believe it unless they see it in us?

 

Conclusion

 

     Every Sunday morning when you come to worship, every day when you read and remember some words from the Bible, and every moment spent in prayer is a “renewing of the mind” experience. Maybe some will join you. Maybe many will join you. Maybe none will join. But either way we have no choice but to live in the mind of Christ. The only other alternative is the mind of the world and sinful flesh which is nothing more than a step into the abyss of madness. I thank God; we thank God, that He has awakened us to this, and that every step we take in this walk with Jesus is a step to a better life, a better future, and better eternity. Amen. 

How to Help the Poor 2 (Biblical Approaches to Poverty)

 Introduction

     

     As we noted at the end of the first lesson, Jesus said we would never end poverty in this world. But that does not give us the option to give up trying to help the poor. In this lesson we’ll explore God’s concern for the poor and some of the ways people helped the poor in the Bible. Hopefully these examples will help us for next week’s lesson: How We Can Help the Poor Now.

 

1. Why we should care for the poor...  

 

     Isaiah 3.15

 

     Isaiah 61.1

 

     Luke 4.17-19

 

     Matthew 11.4-5

 

     Matthew 25.36-40

 

     John 13.29, 34

 

     1 John 3.14-18

 

2. How did the first disciples do this?

 

     Acts 4.32ff

 

     Act 6

 

     1 Corinthians 16.1-4

 

2 Corinthians 9.1-5

 

3. Did the church do for the poor what they can do for themselves?

 

     Ephesians 4.28-29            

 

2 Thessalonians 3.6-15

 

     1 Timothy 6.17-19

4. How did God instruct Israel to care for the poor?

 

     Leviticus 19.9-10 & Exodus 23.11

 

     Leviticus 25.25-30

 

     Exodus 22.25

 

     Deuteronomy 15.12-15

 

5. What conclusions can we draw from these teachings and examples?

 

A. Both Israel and the New Testament Church were heavily focused on feeding both the soul and the body. If salvation is about sin, then we have to be concerned with sin.

 

B. If sin is the ultimate cause of poverty, then all relief efforts must focus on repentance and forgiveness. We must focus on bread for the body as well as bread for the soul. This also means that helping the poor must be done in a spiritual way.

 

C. The commandment to love your neighbor as yourself provides a foundation for wisdom when it comes to helping the poor. What would you want someone to do for you if you were poor?  (Caution: We have to be careful about assuming we can understand their situation.)

 

D. Because of sin, work has become difficult. But work itself is not sinful. Everyone works, if able – the rich and the poor. 

 

E. Helping the poor, like trying to do anything good in this life, will produce mixed results. Some projects will succeed better than others, but we can’t give up trying. 

 

Conclusion

 

      Our incentive to help the poor is not the idea that we are going to bring an end to poverty. Our incentive flows from the love of God that He has shown to us. We help the poor because God has helped us, and we know that He wants us to help the poor through us. God’s ultimate goal for all is life, physically and spiritually. Some will choose death, and we cannot help that. We must choose life and urge everyone else to do the same. 

Yes, Lord, and the Crumbs?"

Sermon for Sunday, August 16, 2026 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois 

Audio

 “Yes, Lord, and the Crumbs?”

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." ²³ But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." ²⁴ But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." ²⁵ Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" ²⁶ But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." ²⁷And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even (or just and) the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." ²⁸ 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. (NKJ Matthew 15.22-28)

 

 Introduction

 

     Today’s Gospel lesson introduces us to one of the most remarkable ladies of the Bible. We do not know her name, but if we did, I’m sure there would be many Christian girls named after her. She is one of those interesting people in the Bible who seems to “get it” before everyone else. As we look back at her story God impresses upon us three important things: First, that Jesus is truly the Messiah; Second, that Jesus, the Messiah, came to help people of every nation no matter how far away they may be either geographically or spiritually; and Thirdly, that Jesus helps us in the most needful way by healing us of spiritual wounds. 

 

The Background

 

     At the beginning of chapter fifteen Jesus had an encounter with the scribes and Pharisees. They came questioning him about “the tradition of the elders.” They had fallen into that temptation of focusing on their own man-made rules rather than focusing on the word of God. Jesus really let them have it by calling them hypocrites and the blind leading the blind. We can get caught up in this also when we skip over the word of God and start chasing all sorts of religious fads that replace the Gospel with psychology, politics, motivational self-help lectures, musical concerts, or perhaps most dangerous of all – the popular tradition of today: I don’t need the church to help me find Jesus, He’s always in my heart. Because of this confrontation with the Jewish leaders, Jesus probably decided to de-escalate the situation by venturing into the non-Jewish region of Tyre and Sidon. This is the Southern part of modern Lebanon. 

 

     There a woman came crying out to Him to heal her badly demon possessed daughter. Jesus tested her by first ignoring her and then telling her that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She cried “Lord, help me.” Now Jesus really tested her by saying, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” He actually calls her a “dog,” which is exactly what the Jewish people thought about these people from this region. They descended from the ancient Canaanites who were terribly wicked, practiced child-sacrifice, and were sworn enemies of Israel. Then the woman makes this remarkable statement: “Yes, Lord, and the dogs eat the crumbs that are falling from their master’s table” (my translation – See note below). Then Jesus said, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” Her daughter was then healed instantly. How can this woman, in her great faith, refresh us in our faith this morning? 

 

Jesus Is the True Messiah

 

     First, this woman shows us that Jesus is truly the Messiah. Almost everyone I’ve ever met likes Jesus. The problem with many is that they don’t love Jesus. They don’t fall down before Him and worship Him as the true Son of God, Messiah, and Savior of the world, and they really don’t know Him or listen to Him. Instead, they bend Him around to fit their own ideas about God. You hear this when people say things like Jesus was a failed prophet. Jesus wasn’t sinless. Jesus never said anything about abortion or homosexuality, therefore He affirmed those things. These are people who hold to Scripture and to Jesus loosely. They conform Jesus to their own ideas instead of being transformed by Jesus, who called us all to holiness according to the Ten Commandments. But, the Canaanite woman was not at all like this.

 

     The Canaanite woman began by acknowledging Jesus to be the Son of David, and when Jesus says He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, she agreed. This woman knew the important prophecies about the Messiah… that He would come out of the people of Israel and particularly from the family of King David. Why is this important? Satan doesn’t want anyone to believe in Jesus. So, he misleads people with false messiahs such as the “restitution Jesus;” or the “politically correct Jesus;” or the “health and wealth Jesus,” and the “Jesus welcomes everybody repentant or not Jesus.” But the true Messiah is the Son of David. David always looked to God first for forgiveness and then for all the other blessings of this life: “Look on my affliction and pain, And forgive all my sins.” And again he blesses the LORD, “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 25.18 and 103.3). 

 

The Messiah for All Nations and for You

 

     Secondly this woman shows us that Jesus is truly the Messiah for all nations and for all people. The Canaanites had a horrible history. In many ways the deeds of her ancestors followed her like a shadow. But God doesn’t hold people guilty by association, either by association with your race, your family, or even your own past. It is precisely because Jesus is the Messiah of forgiveness, earned not by you but by His life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection that He can be the Savior for all nations, for all people and for you. The Canaanite woman knew this with such certainty that she could say, “Yes, Lord, and the crumbs...” Even the crumbs of the powerful blessings of Jesus were good enough for her. This is why the Canaanite woman could approach Jesus so boldly. She knew that God’s Messiah was her messiah, even as a foreigner descended from a people that were hostile to God. 

 

     Are you haunted by things you’ve done in the past? Have you ever wished that you could undo some things that you have done? Perhaps it is just all the little things that you wish you could change – like a cloud that hangs over your past? Jacob, who was also called Israel, was a man like this. Early in life he deceived his father and cheated his brother. But at the end of his life he gave thanks to God saying that He was, “The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil” (Genesis 48.16). Jesus came, indeed, to redeem the lost house of Israel; and He came to redeem all nations; and He came to redeem you from all your lost ways.

 

Spiritual Wounds and Healing

 

     The last thing I would like to take from this account of the Canaanite woman is the healing she received from her spiritual wounds. Jesus said, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” Listen closely to that. She came for the healing of her daughter, but Jesus first recognizes the healing of her own soul, then the healing of her daughter. People came to Jesus for many kinds of healing. But this woman came especially for spiritual healing. Her daughter was badly demon possessed. I don’t know where the line is between biology and demonology, but I believe that sin works in both. I believe that the afflictions of life can be both biological and spiritual. I thank God for doctors and for the physical healing they can bring. But I look to God even more for the healing and protection I know that I need against the non-biological evils of this world. They are powerful and prevalent. I pray for myself, for my family and for all of you the words of Jesus in the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Deliver us from evil.” 

 

     Look at the problems in your life. (None? Be thankful. Prepare. They are coming!) How many are biological and how many are spiritual? How many can really be fixed with a pill or another dollar, and how many really need to be fixed with God’s help and a prayer? This Canaanite woman would not be dissuaded... Not by the disciples who wanted to shoo her away and not by Jesus who was testing her faith. Twice she came to Jesus with her fervent plea for help, and the third time she simply trusted in the truth of God’s word. We can learn a lot from that pattern: Pray and pray and finally just trust God according to His word. Does He like evil? No. Has He promised to save us from it? Yes. Might it take awhile? Perhaps. But we, like the Canaanite woman, will not lose heart. 

 

Conclusion

 

     Jesus tested the Canaanite woman three times. Should we be surprised when God tests us? It has rightly been said that there are at least three answers to prayer: Yes, No, and Wait. God tests our faith for good reasons – one of the most important is that it allows us to be a witness to His faithfulness. When this woman said to Jesus, “Yes Lord, and the little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table…” she was holding God to His promises. Martin Luther said about this moment: “She catches Christ with His own words.” This is exactly what God wants us to do. Hold fast to Jesus. He is your Messiah, your Savior from sin and from every malady caused by sin. Amen. 

 

Translation Note and the Importance of Israel

Verse 27 deserves special attention. Almost all English translations translate the woman’s words in a contrastive sense: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs…” But the Greek words for yet even are kai gar. Jeff Gibbs, in his commentary on Matthew, points out that this phrase is used approximately 40 times in the New Testament. In all cases but this one it is translated in an affirmative sense. For example Mat 8.9 when the centurion says to Jesus, “For I too am a man under authority…” 

When it is translated in a contrastive sense, it sounds as it if the woman is correcting Jesus or contradicting Him. But this is not the case. She is affirming Him. Jesus was sent to the lost house of Israel. Israel is a priority in God’s plan of salvation. This is so important in order for us to understand and properly interpret the New Testament and the Gospels in particular. Many of the discussions that Jesus had with Jewish leaders and many of His parables were about this. The Messiah comes from Israel for Israel but is rejected by Israel. This was all prophesied and is one of the ways that Jesus is identified as the true Messiah. But the prophets also emphasize the universal reach of the Messiah’s ministry. Paul deals with this in Romans chapters 9-11. So this woman has a deep understanding of the ministry of the Messiah. 

How to Help the Poor 1 (Bible Study)

 How to Help the Poor

 

1. The Causes of Poverty

 

Introduction

     

     Moses taught Israel: For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land’ (Deuteronomy 15.11). Poverty is a complicated problem that causes much suffering in the world. Yet at the same time there is great wealth in this world. Why does this happen, and how should Christians respond to it? If all the wealth of the world were distributed evenly to all people, would that solve the problem of poverty? Are there other (better) ways to address the problem of poverty? I hope this Bible study will help answer some of these questions and encourage us to do all that we can to love our neighbors.

 

1. Discuss the following causes of poverty and the typical responses. How would you change this chart or add to it?

 

Causes of Poverty	Responses
Ignorance, Lack of Knowledge	Education
Oppression by Powerful People	Work for Social Justice
Laziness, Drug & Alcohol Addiction	Evangelism
Religious Beliefs (Karma, Evil Spirits, etc.)	Evangelism
Local Violence	Work for Social Justice
Lack of Material Resources	Give Resources / Help People Move
Lack of Jobs	Economic Development
Debt	Education / Economic Development
Mental Illness	Social Care

 

2. Has there been progress?

 

     Various studies show that extreme poverty* has been reduced substantially across the globe (as much as 50%). Most of that reduction has been in China.

 

     * Living on less than $1.25/day

 

3. What does the Bible say? 

 

     Exodus-Deuteronomy – There are many references to the poor and ways to help the poor. But there is no discussion of the cause of poverty. You often hear, “when a person becomes poor.”

 

     Ruth – Here poverty was caused by a famine in Israel. However, this is also the time of the Judges when there was a lot of lawlessness and violence.

 

     Job and Psalms – The predominate cause of poverty mentioned is oppression such as Psalm 72.4: “He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.”

 

Proverbs – There are a number of references pointing to personal responsibility as a cause of poverty.  In Proverbs 10:4 we read, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

 

The Prophets – There is a strong emphasis on the cause of oppression as in Isaiah 3:15 “What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the faces of the poor?” Says the Lord God of hosts.”

 

New Testament – The poor are often grouped together with the sick, the lame, the blind, the widowed, etc. 

 

4. Poverty is undoubtably a sin problem. Sometimes the sin is personal. Sometimes it is oppressive. Sometimes it is both. Poverty can also be caused by a lack of resources and innovation. 

 

5. Can the problem of poverty be solved? 

 

     There are many organizations, both Christian and secular, that are trying to find ways to help the poor. Even secularists acknowledge that the problem of poverty is complicated, and despite billions of dollars in aid and much effort, the problem of poverty remains. There is an obvious difference between Christian aid organizations and secular aid organizations. Secularists often believe that poverty can be eliminated through resources, education and innovation. Christians believe that poverty will never be eliminated until the problem of sin is eliminated, as Jesus said, “For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always” (Matthew 26.11).  Christian aid organizations seek to solve the problem of both spiritual and physical poverty. 

 

6. Does that mean we should give up trying to help the poor?

 

     Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

 

     2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

 

     The second great commandment tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. The causes of poverty are complicated, and that will be important as we consider the best ways to help the poor. As difficult as it may be, we certain have God’s command to do good to all.