{"id":452,"date":"2025-08-06T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=452&2025"},"modified":"2025-08-04T18:00:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:00:11","slug":"a-bigger-vision-matthew-15-21-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/a-bigger-vision-matthew-15-21-28\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bigger Vision: Matthew 15:21-28"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 15:21-28 (NIrV)<\/div>
\r\n

21<\/sup> Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22<\/sup>\u00a0A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, \u201cLord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

23<\/sup> Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, \u201cSend her away. She keeps crying out after us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

24<\/sup> Jesus answered, \u201cI was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

25<\/sup> Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. \u201cLord! Help me!\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n

26<\/sup> He replied, \u201cIt is not right to take the children\u2019s bread and throw it to their dogs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

27<\/sup> \u201cYes, Lord,\u201d she said. \u201cBut even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owners\u2019 table.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

28<\/sup> Then Jesus answered, \u201cWoman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for.\u201d And her daughter was healed at that very moment.<\/p>\r\n

Read Matthew 15:21-28<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

The dialog in this journal entry\u2019s passage is one that has challenged many Bible students. While we are given a picture of an always kind and caring Jesus, it seems that in this case, Jesus was quite rude and insulting. First He ignores, then He dismisses, thirdly He insults, before finally granting the request.<\/p>\r\n

Perhaps this was just as much of an object lesson for the disciples and teaching them about prejudice as it was about helping this woman with her request. After all, the disciples are the ones who prompt Jesus to stop ignoring the woman and move to dismissing her.<\/p>\r\n

In His statement, Jesus states a piece of His mission, but it seems as though He chooses the most generic and popular way to describe it. In verse 24, Jesus responds to the woman, \u201cI was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Now while this statement was the common perspective of the Messiah at that time, I find it difficult to truly think Jesus felt His mission was exclusively to Israel \u2013 except that I also do not think that Jesus would lie to the woman. This means that Jesus really was \u201csent\u201d to the people of Israel. When Jesus says, \u201cThey are like lost sheep<\/strong>\u201d, I can completely understand what He is saying.<\/p>\r\n

But this idea also makes me wonder a little. If \u201cGod\u2019s people\u201d living at that time were \u201clike lost sheep\u201d, does that tell us anything about our lives today? Could this same phrase be used to describe the Christian church today \u2013 with hundreds, if not thousands, of groups claiming different beliefs, traditions, doctrines, and methods?<\/p>\r\n

I also wonder about Jesus\u2019 initial statement: \u201cI was sent only to the people of Israel.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Does this mean that Jesus is only the Messiah for the Jews? On the surface, it might look like that, but take this phrase and apply it spiritually, and in the role of Messiah, only those who see their sin and need of a Savior will actively seek out Jesus.<\/p>\r\n

The Greeks were not looking for a Savior or a Messiah, so they would not have understood the real reason Jesus came.<\/p>\r\n

But Jesus helps this non-Jewish woman, which tells me that Jesus saw His mission as being broader than just the people of Israel. This woman needed help that only Jesus could supply, and He grants her request. If Jesus came to help \u201cspiritual Israel\u201d, who is everyone who seeks to follow the God of the Jews who know they need a Savior to bridge the gap sin has caused, then Jesus can fill that role. This also means Jesus is a stumbling block for those who think they can do it themselves.<\/p>\r\n

Jesus was sent only to the people of Israel, but it seems He saw His mission as helping people of all nationalities who realized their need of a Savior.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dialog in this journal entry\u2019s passage is one that has challenged many Bible students. While we are given a picture of an always kind and caring Jesus, it seems that in this case, Jesus was quite rude and insulting. First He ignores, then He dismisses, thirdly He insults, before finally granting the request. Perhaps […]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"\nA Bigger Vision: Matthew 15:21-28 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/a-bigger-vision-matthew-15-21-28\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Bigger Vision: Matthew 15:21-28 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The dialog in this journal entry\u2019s passage is one that has challenged many Bible students. 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