A Woman of Great Faith - Matthew 15:28

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus, “departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, you Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she cries after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table”, and in chapter fifteen and verse twenty-eight of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus, “answered and said unto her, O woman, great is your faith” where we read:

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

The verse reads, “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will.”. Matthew began with the words, “then Jesus” which means “at that time and moment Jesus whose name means Jehovah is Salvation and is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “answered” or “responded and began to speak”, “and said” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto her” or “to the woman whose daughter was grievously vexed with a devil”, “O woman” which means “O female human being” “great” or “massive, large and abundant” “is your faith” which means “is the woman's belief, trust and conviction of the truth”: “be it unto you” or “allow and permit it to exist” “even as you will” which means “likewise and in the same manner the woman desired and wished” . Matthew shared how Jesus recognized the “great faith” of this woman, and He granted her request according to her plea.

The verse goes on to say, “And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” Matthew continued with the words, “and her daughter” which means “and the woman's daughter” “was made whole” or “was cured, healed and set free” “that very hour” or “in the selfsame time and moment Jesus made His proclamation”. Matthew shared how the “woman's daughter” was cured and set free from the exact time Jesus said she would be.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see Jesus' power over “evil spirits” demonstrated again. At His word, the daughter was “made whole”, and no “demon” was able to resist His word. This woman demonstrated the persistence and perseverance that God desires in people when they come to Him. God often draws out desperation in people so they come to the end of themselves and rely fully upon Him and His Son Jesus. “Man's extremities are God's opportunities”, and when all else fails, those who are wise shall turn to the One who has power over all things with just His simple words.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus, “departed from there, and came near to the sea of Galilee”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.