MATTHEW 15: 21-28

THE MEN’S GROUP BIBLICAL EQUIPPING – November 10, 2004

21
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22
Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started
shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is
tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his
disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps
shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help
me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to
the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that
fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great
is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was
healed instantly.

Background
Writer: Matthew, a Jewish tax collector and one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. Very similar
gospel to Mark. Whichever one was written second probably borrowed from
the one that was written first.

Date: About 50-60 AD.

What’s Going On: Jesus has just left Nazareth, where he was rejected by the
leaders of the Synagogue. John the Baptist has just been killed by King
Herod, and Jesus has just fed the five thousand people who followed him
with five loaves and two fish. He has also just walked on water. After this
passage, Jesus feeds four thousand people along the Sea of Galilee with
seven loaves of bread and a few fish. The woman who confronts him in this
passage is a Gentile.
St. Matthews Emmaus Groups
Men’s Group Biblical Equipping: Fall 2004

SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE WEEK: CHARITY/HELPING

Explore:
1. How does the woman display her faith?
2. Why did Jesus react this way to the woman? How does his
attitude toward her jibe with the many other instances in the Bible
where Jesus reaches out to sinners, prostitutes, and tax
collectors?
3. Why do you suppose that Matthew (and Mark, by the way)
included this story among all of the other stories of miracles that
Jesus performed?

Connect
1. What does this passage say about how hard charity is for us?
2. How do you react when you are busy or distracted and you
encounter someone who needs your help?
3. What can we learn from this passage about charity and helping?

Prepare
Everyone writes down how they plan to apply the concepts discussed here to
their daily life in the ensuing week. We will discuss how that went during
Check In next week.