The Canaanite woman and JESUS (P2): the encounter

Sannu precious! Dobro jutro, pillar! May the help of the LORD come to you. May messengers of the Good News meet you. May intercessors pave the way for you. May a cavalry of angels descend upon your house. You will receive more than healing, more than a miracle. Do not be discouraged, hold on. GOD is LORD. GOD is your father. He is good and faithful.

2. The encounter

❖ (Mark 7:24-27, NKJV) : " 24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter..."

❖ (Matthew 15:21-26, NKJV): " 21 Then JESUS went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 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.'"

I get the impression that she was the only one crying out. She was the only one insisting. It is clearly written that she was crying out. So I suppose that those who were in the house could hear her. How did she manage to get into that house? She had heard about Jesus, but she had never seen him. Perhaps she had asked to meet him, but she had been told: no, not today, not now. But she said to herself: Yes, it will be today, now. So she started shouting.  It would have been useless for her to argue with people who were unable to help her.

She began to cry out. When she knew who JESUS was, when she saw him, she threw herself at his feet and continued to cry out. But JESUS did not pay attention to her, he did not respond, and probably did not even look at her. Isn't that surprising? I wonder. What do you think?

First, I think that faith makes you bold, but not disrespectful. She could have followed JESUS and the disciples without shouting. They weren't deaf. But I notice one detail: she was a woman, a woman alone among men. If they had gone to another house, she might not have had the strength to follow them. Perhaps she had gone from house to house to find JESUS. How long had she gone without eating or drinking? She was alone. Where was her daughter's father? Was he at home with their daughter? Was he going from house to house, looking for Jesus? Had he died? Had he abandoned them? Was there no one in her family who believed that a miracle was possible? Surely her daughter's condition was so critical that every minute counted: at any moment, her daughter could die.

Beloved, there are times in life when we must stop talking to people and go to meet GOD. Oh, I talk to someone, it's very good to talk to brothers and sisters. But there are prayer meetings during which we must not worry about what the neighbors think. There are teaching meetings during which you shouldn't chat with your neighbors. There are people you shouldn't sit with when you want to pray. They come to take pictures and hang out. They come thinking: "You never know, maybe the LORD will speak to me, maybe the pastor will lay hands on me, maybe the prophetess will have a word for me, maybe a brother will propose, maybe the sister will finally say yes." 

These are people who come into the presence of GOD without any intention of meeting GOD. They have not yet understood that GOD speaks to those who listen to Him. They have not yet understood that the laying on of hands does not replace faith. They have forgotten that a word from the FATHER, JESUS, and the HOLY SPIRIT can change not only circumstances, but lives. They have forgotten that GOD looks at the heart and not at presence. They have forgotten that JESUS said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38) He did not say if anyone is empty. He did not say wait for me. He said if anyone is thirsty, let him come.

Someone who is thirsty and comes. So it doesn't matter if it's a woman, it doesn't matter if it's a child, it doesn't matter if it's an old person or a young person, it doesn't matter if that person is disabled, sick, poor, rich, black, white, Jewish, or Arab. Someone who is thirsty and comes. It doesn't matter if that person can't speak well. It doesn't matter if that person doesn't know all the verses of the Bible. It doesn't matter what that person's past is. As long as that person is thirsty and comes, the miracle is possible.

Secondly, I think that if I had been in the disciples' place, I might have reacted like them. Yes, it was JESUS, but he had not yet risen from the dead. His body had not yet been glorified. He too needed to rest, eat, pray, and spend quality time with GOD and his loved ones. He too had to prepare his messages. His disciples were his disciples, not the disciples of the sick. They respected JESUS' request not to be disturbed. 

Beloved, you must know that your situation, your problem, your challenge, your project, will not be the priority of others. At least, not always. We all have priorities, situations, challenges, etc. We all have a situation.  Just because your situation is not a priority for others does not mean that it is not important or a priority for GOD.   Just because someone does not make you their priority does not mean that they are a bad person. We must not fall into the trap of believing that GOD and men are only there to serve our needs. GOD accomplishes His will. Through His will, He provides for our needs. Men fulfill their destiny and/or their will. Along the way, GOD, through them, provides for our needs.

Some teachers say that the disciples, seeing that the Syro-Phoenician woman would not stop, asked JESUS to send her away. Others say that the translations are not accurate, and that in reality, they asked JESUS to answer her so that her cries would not attract people from outside. Otherwise, they asked Jesus to deliver her daughter. I believe that both hypotheses are possible. Probably, some were annoyed to hear her. Others, not knowing what to say to her, asked Jesus to tell her to be quiet. Others, filled with compassion, asked the Lord to give her a word, to send a word, to save her daughter.

🙂 Some remembered that one day, JESUS entered Capernaum. That day, a centurion approached him and said, "LORD, just say the word and my servant will be healed.  I don't need to explain myself, beat around the bush, or pretend, because you know everything. Nothing is hidden from you."  Some remembered JESUS' response: Go, let it be done according to your faith.

❖ (Matthew 8:6-13, NKJV): " 6 and said, 'LORD, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. 7 JESUS said to him, 'I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, 'LORD, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' 10 When JESUS heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 13 Then JESUS said to the centurion, 'Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour."

🙂 Some understood that they were with JESUS to pray, not to take pictures. Some understood that they were with JESUS to open the door to this Canaanite woman.  Some understood that they cannot say No to a person to whom GOD has said Yes. Some understood that this woman could be my sister, my mother, my daughter, my father, my grandson, my friend, my neighbor. Some knew JESUS. Some knew that GOD seeks intercessors.

❖ (Job 33:23-24, NKJV): "23 'If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, 24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, "Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom'".

Parenthetical

The intercessory angel (Job 33:23) is not an angel (spiritual being), but a person like you and me, who prays for his neighbor. The word angel, in Hebrew Mal'ak (Strong's 4397) and in Greek aggelos (Strong's 32), means messenger or envoy. In the Bible, the word angel does not refer only to angels, spiritual beings in the service of GOD. There is absolutely no reason to address prayers to angels and no excuse for idolatry.

🙂 Have you not wondered how she entered that house? How did she know that JESUS was in that house and not in another? GOD had guided her steps. Only those to whom GOD reveals Himself can recognize GOD. GOD had an appointment with this woman. If you are that woman, I say to you: do not be discouraged. Hold on. The LORD's help will come to you. The LORD will meet you. GOD is your father. He is good and faithful.

People don't know what you're going through. What your daughter or son is going through. They don't hear your daughter's or son's cries. They don't know that you're living with cancer, that your son is missing, that the bailiffs have taken everything from your parents, that tomorrow it may be too late, etc. They only know that the doctor said: Alzheimer's disease. They don't understand why you insist. They are not you, and you are not them. They don't know that you don't have a plan B. They don't know that the very fact that you can stand upright is a miracle. They don't know that it's not just about you and your daughter. It's also about others. Those thousands of others you must save. They don't know that you only have the name of JESUS. Once again I say to you: don't lose heart. Hold on. The help of the LORD will come to you. The LORD will meet you. GOD is your father. He is good and faithful.

🙂 Let us pause for a moment. Let us pray in tongues and in understanding. Pray for your soul. Ask the LORD to strengthen you, to help you keep the faith. Pray for a brother, pray for a father, for a sister, for a mother.  Pray for an evangelist who is about to tell a Canaanite woman about JESUS.  Pray for a persecuted Christian, imprisoned. Pray for someone who is sick. Pray for someone. Someone who needs to meet JESUS. If that someone is you, then cry out inside yourself! Tell GOD, I have no one else and I want no one else. Tell JESUS, I know who you are, I have heard about you. Tell him, I just want one word, one word. I know that you do not rejoice in my misfortune or my distress. I know that your goodness is not exhausted. I know that my name is written on your hand and that all the days of my life are written in your book. I know that you gave me this child, this health, this life, this destiny. Tell him, I refuse to pretend that I have not met you. I refuse to let the devil have the last word. I refuse to despise the price you paid for my salvation. Amen! 

Questions

• What lessons can we learn from the attitude of the Canaanite woman?

** Sannu = Good morning in Hausa

** Dobro jutro = Good morning in Croatian