Matthew 15:21-39

Matthew 15:21-39 (New International Version)

 ²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²²A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

 ²³Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

 ²⁴He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

 ²⁵The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

 ²⁶He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

 ²⁷"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

 ²⁸Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

 ²⁹Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

 ³²Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

 ³³His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"

 ³⁴"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. 
      "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."

 ³⁵He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. ³⁹After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Devotion (by Mikey Skoglund)
The thing in this passage that jumps out to me is the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman.  Just look at the exchange between the two.  First the woman asks for Jesus to heal her daughter, and Jesus says nothing! Then the disciples come over and complain to Jesus because this woman won't leave them alone and Jesus tells the woman that He has come to help those that are from Israel and since she was a Canaanite, well, too bad.  Then she pleads with Him to help her daughter and He still has the same answer, this time relating it to feeding His children (the people of Israel).  Now, when I read this part of the passage I'm just thinking to myself, "This just isn't like Jesus, He's always willing to heal people and He's never asked a person where they're from before."  But then the next part of the passage brings everything back around.  The woman then argues her case using the example Jesus gave and finally Jesus says, "Ok, your daughter's fine now."  

Do you ever feel like there's times when you're being tested by God?  I feel like that sometimes.  There's been times in my life where I just know God wants me to be somewhere or to be doing something specific, but the pieces just don't seem to be falling in place.  They don't line up and don't really fit together and it just doesn't seem like things will ever work out.  Times when I know what the Bible says, I know God's promises for my life, but it just seems as if He's not going to allow me to do what I really feel like He has called me to do.  Its in times like these that I have to recall this passage of scripture and be like the woman.  You see, she didn't get angry when Jesus told her at first that He didn't come to help her type of people, you know what she did?  She got on her knees before Jesus and asked Him again, and then she listened to what He had to say before she spoke again. 

Prayer
Lord, thank you for the patience that you have for me.  Thank you for the love that you have shown me today.  I ask that you would help me to humble myself by kneeling before you and listening to that still, small voice.  Lord, thank you for coming to save sinners like me.  
Amen.