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Text: Matthew
15:22
Topic: Things a Mother will go through for her child
A mother is someone who is near and dear to everybody. She is the first lady in our lives. She is the one who gives birth to us, who nurtures us until we were able to do for ourselves. She is without a doubt a very special person. So today has been set aside for people everywhere to remember their mother. Those mothers who are still with us, as well as those who are now resting in the arms of Jesus. In the text, there is the story of a woman who is requesting help from Jesus. She's not requesting this help for herself, but for her daughter. Matthew tells us that the woman's daughter is possessed by a demon. In a word her daughter has some bizarre behavior problems. She wouldn't listen to anything her mother said. She made a lot of excuses for the way she was. She would sometimes blame the cause of her problems on her mother. She made a lot of promises saying, that she was going to get it together, she was going to turn her life around, put the whole package together and make her mother proud of her. But no sooner than her mother would begin to trust her again and believe that she had changed and was going to make it, she would go back to her old ways. That's bizarre behavior; it's weird and unusual out of the norm, for anyone to turn on the very person who nurtured and gave them birth and all of the love they knew how. In the text, Matthew demonstrates for us what a mother will go through for her child. As an acronym the word M.O.T.H.E.R. may help us understand Matthew's lesson
The letter M
M means she had to minister. To minister, is not to be confused with a minister or a preacher of the gospel, but it refers to or it mean to give service, to care for, to aid, or to attend to wants and necessities. Long before a child can say a word or do anything for him or her self, he/she gets bathed, fed, clothed, toys, goes to see the doctor for check ups, gets his feet tickled, you blow on his stomach, you talk to him in a language that has no real words but still make the baby laugh and smile. You also take pictures or have them taken to remind you what they looked like as they grew and developed. All of the child's needs are met through the ministering of his mother. This woman's love for her daughter was so great that her daughter's needs became her needs. So, she makes the request of Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. Notice in verse 22, that the first thing she does is to humble herself. She recognizes who Jesus is. He is the image of the invisible God. She also realizes whom she is being made in the image after the likeness of God. So she humbles herself and says to Jesus, "have mercy on me O Lord thou son of David". Then she tells Him about her situation. my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. According to the text, Jesus was in the woman's hometown Tyre and Sidon, teaching and preaching. Tyre and Sidon, was this place where King Ahab's wife Jezebel was from. Matthew calls this woman a Canaanite, naming her ancestors who were enemies of Israel. So when those who Matthew wrote this gospel to read it, they would immediately understand the significance of Jesus helping this woman..
The letter O
means that she was ostracized.. To ostracize means to exclude, to banish, or in the vernacular known as Ebonics, kicked to the curb. Let us look at verse 23; this mother is pouring out her soul to Jesus, and Matthew tells us, He answered her not a word. Even His disciples came and besought Him or they asked Him or they made a request of Jesus, saying send her away for she crieth after us. Send her away Jesus, exclude her, banish her, kick her to the curb, the disciples wanted to ostracize this mother. We live in a world where there are many single parent homes. Not all of these homes are the result of the father passing away. Many are the result of fathers who have kicked mothers to the curb. They've either left the home or have never been a part of it. And when they introduce the mother of their child, or talk about her to other's she's always called "MY BABY'S MAMA". The trouble with this is too many fathers want to be player's and not enough of them are prayer's. Some mother somewhere, woke up this morning with a dual role of both father and mother, because their baby's daddy has ostracized them. Jesus' disciples wanted to get rid of the women because she was bothering them with her begging, they showed no sensitivity and surely no compassion at all to this woman's needs. Let me say this also about this verse, Jesus did not respond, in fact He made no reply at all. But He listened, you see Jesus hears what you say, but he also listens to what your heart says. In her heart, this woman had faith enough to believe that Jesus could heal her daughter.
The letter T
T means that her faith had to be tried and tested. That's what happens when you walk by faith and not by sight. When you know that whatever you need Jesus is, and whatever Jesus has for you He'll give it you I didn't say that He would give it to you. To give something to you reflect ownership. No one can own anything in this world, because God owns everything. If you owned it, then you have the right to take it with you when you leave here. And I haven't seen anybody yet be buried with their worldly possessions When you know that whatever you need Jesus is and whatever He has for you He'll give it you, your faith in Him is already being tried and tested. Jesus wants to trust your faith, but if your faith doesn't pass being tried and tested, why then should it be trusted. Here in verse 24, Jesus now speaks to the woman saying, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus tells this mother He is not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet He is in Gentile territory on a mission to Gentile people.. These words should have discouraged the woman; they should have caused her to give up and say forget the whole thing, but she had faith. The kind of faith that sees your situation, but focuses beyond; to the one who can fix it. Jesus was not rejecting her, He was testing her faith. He knows that if He test your faith and you come through the test, He can trust that same faith.
The letter H
H means she was humble. The word humility is the quality or condition of being humble; having a modest opinion or estimation of one's own importance. In a word to put you on hold for the good of another is the act of being humble. Mothers you know, you've had to do without many times, so that you could do for your children. You wanted something for yourself, but when you looked around saw that your child's need was greater than your want, you made a sacrifice. Look at verse 25, after her faith had been tried and tested, there still has been no change in the daughter's condition. So her focus moves from the situation itself to the One who could fix it. She comes and worships Jesus, saying, Lord help me. The word worship means to bow down to show reverence and respect. But as it relates to this Scripture, the word emphasizes that only God is to be worshiped. Worshiping God is first recognizing our imperfections in view of His perfection. This is the essence of humility. This mother's faith was stronger than hope for a miracle, it was trust that a miracle would not be denied.
The letter E.
E means that she had to endure. To endure meant that she had to permit or tolerate, or put up with some things that she shouldn't have to. But these are things a mother will go through for her child. In verse 26, Jesus says to her, it's not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. The first reaction is that this is an insult, you don't call people dogs; at least you're not suppose to. But, everyday some woman is called out of her name and referred to as the B word , which means female dog. Some women are very insulted by this, and to some it's just a dialogue. It's the way some women and some men communicate with each other. Jesus being the master communicator says, what He means, and means what He says. The problem is not with what Jesus said, but with the dialogue. The NT Greek word Kuon that means dog, was also a term the Jews applied to the Gentile because they were considered both morally and ceremonially unclean. The Law of Moses prescribed only to the Jews the secret of purification , which rendered them acceptable to God. Thus the Jews where considered God's children and the Gentiles because of there impurity, dogs. Notice how this mother turns this dialogue around in her favor. Verse 27, she says, Truth Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Here another word out of the NT Greek is used Kunarion. This word refers to a little dog or a puppy. And the children who have these little dogs or puppies feed them of the leftovers from their plates. So in response to Jesus, she contends that, even though the children have their share, the dogs can still get some of it. She endured, she put up with and she tolerated some things that she shouldn't have had to.
The letter R
R means she was rewarded. All that this
mother had gone through was worthwhile. Because at the end of it all she was
rewarded.. In verse 28, Jesus says to her. O woman great is thy faith: be it
unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very
hour. This mother had Ministered to her child, she had birthed and nurtured her.
She was Ostracized nowhere is there any mention of the father, and the disciples
didn't want to be bothered with her either. Her faith was Tried and tested, she
could have given up but instead she hung on in there until Jesus trusted her
faith. She Humbled herself bowed down and worshiped the Lord and she made her
request be known unto Him, Then she had to Endure, she had to tolerate, she had
to put up with some things that she shouldn't have had to, And after all that
she had been through she was Rewarded. It was good to know that her living was
not all in vain. Jesus had healed that mother's child.
Conclusion
Why did this mother do what she did when her daughter was in trouble? She did it because of love. Love will make a mother walk to the ends of the earth if it would save her child. Why did God do what He did when His children were in trouble? It was because of love. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. His name is Jesus.