Politics
Article of Faith: Faith against the odds (3), By Femi Aribisala
They are not all Israel who are of Israel.
In the scriptures, the women are largely exemplary, but the men are ingrates. The disciples, especially, were a terrible lot. They specialised in driving people away from Jesus. They were determined to preserve their exclusive relationship with Jesus.
When they brought little children to Him, so that He would bless them, the disciples tried to drive them away. When the Samaritans denied Jesus an easy passage to Jerusalem, the sons of Zebedee asked Jesus to send fire from heaven to destroy them.
One of them, Judas, betrayed Jesus. Another one, Peter, denied Him. All of them ran away when He was arrested. They did not believe the report that He had risen from the dead.
True to form, they told Jesus to rebuke the Canaanite woman and send her away.
Matt 15:23
His disciples came and urged (Jesus), saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
Jesus Raised the Stakes
Jesus did something worse. He told the woman:
Matt 15:24
“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Go away! “My ministry is not for you. It is only for Israelites.”
But this woman would not be denied. She changed her tack. She knew she was not entitled because she was Canaanite and not Jewish. But her entitlement would stem from her faith and belief in Jesus.
Faith opens closed doors. Faith makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Isa 43:19
(Faith) even makes a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Faith does not give up. Faith does not accept “No” for an answer. Faith does not draw back.
Josh 8:26
Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
Heb 10:38-39
Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
So, rather than draw back, this Canaanite woman pressed on:
Matt 15:25
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
If she was not entitled because of her tribal origin, then she was entitled because of her faith. She found the door of faith. She called Jesus “Lord.”
What! Is Jesus the Lord of a Canaanite woman? Yes, siree!
From the Impossible to the Possible
Jesus says:
Matt 19:26
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Luke 18:27
“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Where does this leave men? Are we left in the stagnation and mire of the impossible? No!
Heb 11:6
Without faith, it is impossible.
But Jesus says the impossible is now possible to men:
Mark 9:23
“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
He says:
Matt 17:20
Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
If there is faith, faith will find a way even where there seems to be no way. Jesus says:
Matt 9:29
“According to your faith, let it be to you.”
The Good Fight
Paul says:
1 Tim 6:12
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life
Jesus amplifies this:
Matt 11:12-13
The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Jesus decided to put this woman’s faith to the greatest stress test of all. He said to her:
Matt 15:26
“It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
Now this is too much. “I was only asking for healing for my daughter.” “If you are not prepared to help, you should just say so.” “That is no reason to call me a little dog.” “I am not a little dog.” “You are the big dog.” “Take your healing. I am no longer interested.”
That was what she was expected to say. But she did not say that.
“You can call me whatever you like, but nothing will prevent me from getting a healing from my daughter today.”
Instead, she said:
Matt 15:27
“Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
Matt 15:28
Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Questioning Jesus
As a new believer, a greenhorn, I asked the Lord why He called the woman a dog. I was intrigued by His answer. He said to me:
“Femi, I wanted to see if this woman was a Jew.”
“But she was not a Jew,” I protested. “The woman was of Greek origin, a Syro-Phoenician by birth.”
The Lord would not be moved but insisted that: “I wanted to see if she was a Jew.”
It took me a while to unravel this puzzle, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The Lord does not define a Jew by nationality but by heart condition:
Rom 2:28-29
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
In effect, this Canaanite woman was a Jew. She was a spiritual Jew. She belonged to the Israel of God. Paul says:
Rom 9:6-8
They are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
This means, according to God, who alone searches the hearts and minds, an unbeliever can be a believer inwardly. Roman Cornelius was a spiritual Jew. That was why Peter was sent to him. The Samaritan woman by Jacob’s was a Jew. The Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant was a Jew.
What about you? Are you a spiritual Jew? When Jesus returns, will He find faith in you?
It also means that a Christian can be inwardly an unbeliever. Only God is the determinant, and His final determination on Judgment Day will surprise us.
The Lord knows those who are His.
Mal 3:14
So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up;
But on the last day:
Mal 3:18
18 Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Lessons to Learn
When Jesus returns, will He find faith in you? Will you get tired of waiting?
Matt 24:12-14
Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. CONCLUDED.
[email protected]; www.femiaribisala.com
