The Heart Of A Good Mother
Matthew 15:21-28
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’”
“I’m Pregnant!
There was a young woman who just found out she was pregnant and she is just thrilled and she really wants to surprise her husband with the news. Mother’s Day is just around the corner so decides that would be a great day to tell him. They wake up that Sunday morning and when he gets to the table there is an envelope waiting for him. It just says “Surprise” on the outside and there is nothing in it. So he asks his wife what this is about. She exclaims, “It’s Mother’s Day and I thought this would be a great time to tell you, “I’m pregnant!” “That’s amazing!” He replies. “Yes, but that is just the half of it” she replies. “What do you mean?” He asks. “Well,” she replies, “I am having twins.” “Twins? How can you know that so early on?” He asks. “Well,” she says, “When I bought the pregnancy test at the store it came in a two pack and I took both tests and they both came back positive!”
There is a story about a mom who really cares about her child and is in need of Jesus help in Matthew 15. I thought it might be a good story to revisit this Mother’s Day and talk about what the heart of a good mother really looks like.
Read Passage – Matthew 15:21-28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 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.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Going Against The Norm
In the story we just read, this woman had a lot of things going against her. It says in verse 22:
“A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him…” vs. 22
In almost every aspect of what is happening here, this woman should not have approached Jesus or even confronted him in any way. It so happened that she had everything going against her. Here are a few of the things that were not working in her favor:
-She was a woman – women were not supposed to approach men in public unless they were accompanied by another man.
-She was a Gentile – Gentiles were considered second class and most Israelites wanted nothing to do with them. It was rare for an Israelite to converse with a Gentile.
-She was a Canaanite – Canaanites were those who inhabited the land that the Israelites eventually took over as the Promised Land. There was a lot of bad blood there.
So, here was a mother who in her need was prepared to cross any obstacle to turn to Jesus for help. In her great need the only answer was to get some help beyond what she could provide.
Confusion
There is also some confusion that occurs in the story; one thing that the story makes mention of that I felt needed clarifying in order to fully understand what is going on. It comes when the disciples respond to her. Jesus does not to respond. They are kind of annoyed with her and they don’t really want to deal with her. She is bothering them so they ask if they should send her away. That was the reaction you would typically expect from a Jewish male in this kind of a situation. Jesus answers with a statement that can be a little confusing: verse 24:
“He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’” vs. 24
This response would make sense to many of the Jewish people, especially the men, who are standing there because the Messiah was suppose to be Israel’s savior. It is also interesting that Jesus doesn’t make it easy for her either. But his response does make us stop and think. It is true that Jesus was sent as the Messiah and that it was to Israel first, but that didn’t exclude others. In fact, Jesus paves the way for all people to come to God. So what does this mean? It means that Jesus was first sent to Israel because they are waiting for the Savior where the rest of the people need the Savior but they are not necessarily waiting for him. He was first sent to Israel and his subsequent work on the cross opens the gospel for all who come to him. He was there to turn Israel to God so that through them the gospel would spread to all people. This could have stopped this mother in her tracks and discouraged her and make her turn and leave; but this doesn’t deter her.
When Answers Don’t Come Right Away
Another obstacle that happened here is one that we may experience in our lives as well, Jesus didn’t answer right away.
“Jesus did not answer a word.” vs. 23
We are not told why Jesus didn’t answer right away; we could guess. Did he want to see how the disciples would react? Or how the woman would react? Maybe he needed time to think about the situation. Who knows? The interesting thing is that it is noted here. Many times when we don’t get an answer right away we assume the worst or that the answer is no.
Ex. Prayers
The Heart of a Good Mother
This unnamed mother, who seemed to have so much going against her and really just wanted her daughter to get well, provides a model for us of what the heart of a good mother looks like and how we can react to difficult situations in our lives.
• Caring
The first thing that jumps out me is how caring this mother is, I believe this comes across in verse 22:
“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” vs. 22
Notice her perspective of the situation, her daughter is hurting terribly. Moms hate to see their children hurting. Most good moms will do anything they can to help their children and even try to prevent harm or hurt from happening. Most good mothers, like this one, care more about their children than they do themselves and their care for their children overrides their own concerns and the obstacles tht get in the way. It’s obvious even though we don’t hear the tone of her voice that she cares a great deal about her daughter. It must have been difficult for her every time that demon reared it’s ugly head and possessed her, maybe throwing her into convulsions, speaking in weird voices, acting in ways that are not normal for a young girl, etc. to watch theis go on and it probably tugged her heart. Even the hardest of moms many times have a soft heart when it comes to their children hurting.
Paul, when writing to the Thessalonians, wants to tell them how much he cares for them and uses this as an analogy in 1 Thess. 2:7:
“…we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her young children…” 1 Thess. 2:7
Most of us would even think about our moms in this way too. Even the hard ones and the tough ones. There are exceptions to the rule but for the most part many of us think of moms in terms of their care.
Kids: If you think your mom is being tough on you or overbearing or difficult, I challenge you to look deeper. I’ll bet she really cares a ton for you and she is only doing all that she is out of love. She cares for you deeply.
• Persistent
A second trait that comes out is her persistence; verse 25:
“The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’” vs. 25
Sometimes we can give up way to easy. Moms can be tenacious. She is desperate. She is willing to go to extreme measures. No matter what is thrown at her, she keeps pushing. Her persistence is driven by her hope; her hope of seeing her daughter healed, whole, in her right mind, and normal. It didn’t matter the barrier, she was going to every measure and pushing through every barrier to help her hurting daughter.
Faith still requires that we make the effort to cross whatever barriers may stand in our way. What barriers, you say? What causes us to be less than persistent and aggressive?
-Time
-Status
-Pride
-Self-Esteem
-Background
We all face barriers and obstacles that can either be blocking our forward progress or appear to be blocking our progress and many times we can only move forward by overcoming those barriers. Another word for this is perseverance. James 5:11 says about perseverance:
“As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered.” James 5:11
A great trait of mothers is their persistence.
• Wisdom and Common Sense
Then comes the third trait, she uses her wisdom; verse 27:
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” vs. 27
She understands what Jesus is saying but she also knows that there is more to the story. It is interesting that she compares herself to a dog. Remember there is bad blood between the Israelites and the Canaanites and she knows how they view her. She is willing to put herself down, to humble herself and to take a lower stance is it means healing for her daughter.
And that brings up the point: she also has the wisdom to know that Jesus is the only one that can help her. Let’s face it, parenting is hard work. It’s humbling. It throws us to our knees; to prayer. Parenting is not for the faint of heart. Ask any parent and they will tell you that they are trying hard, putting it all out there and doing the best they know how. But there are no guarantees. Some things parents can prevent and some things are in out control but many things are out of our control. In this case, it was a physical ailment and there is nothing you can do as a parent to stop or prevent things like that happening.
It reminds me of a verse from that famous passage about a Godly woman found in Proverbs 31:26:
“She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26
If a mother is turning to God and seeking His wisdom and guidance, that is one wise woman.
Woman, You Have Great Faith
This story has a great ending. I love the words of Jesus in verse 28:
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’” vs. 28
He says of this woman that she has “great faith.” He is not speaking about the not amount of faith she has as much as the depth of her faith. We are not told her response but can you imagine the joy and elation that she must have had. Her daughter healed. The demons gone. Can’t you just imagine the tears of joy, the hugs, the love that poured out of her and the relief as well. I think it’s becaue she never took her eyes off Jesus. Reminds me of Hebrews 12:1-2:
“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2
This was one good mom. You know, I think we have a lot of women like that here today. Women of great faith, women that should be honored and told how much we appreciate them.
Anyone know how Mother’s Day started? Well, the creative geniuses at Hallmark were brainstorming how to make more money…no, just kidding.
It all stated by Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) who first suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother’s favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother’s Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established the day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day.
So as a little token of our appreciation, and a way for showing how much we care about you, we have carnations in the back and a little card for each of you.
