Do You Feel Entitled or Unworthy? (Matthew 15:21-28)

"He replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs'" (Mt 15:26).

• Can you be humble and humorous when humiliated?
• Do You Feel Entitled to Wonder Bread or Leftover Crumbs?

1.   Why is the location of this encounter significant (Mt 15:21)?

2.   What does she reveal about her understanding of Jesus (Mt 15:22)? Like her, what burdens do you carry for others?

3.   Why did Jesus initially remain silent (Mt 15:23), and limit his mission to Israel (Mt 15:24)? How does this foreshadow the global gospel (Isa 49:6; Mt 28:19; Acts 1:8)?

4.   Was she discouraged by Jesus’ silence/apparent rejection (Mt 15:25)? Have you felt that in prayer?

5.   What do “children’s bread” and “dogs” mean (Mt 15:26)--Insult? Test? Lesson? Are you/others too easily offended? How would you respond to such treatment? Do you feel entitled or grateful?

6.   What does her reply affirm about Jesus and about herself (Mt 15:27)? What does Mark add (Mk 7:24-30)? Do you come to God feeling deserving or unworthy?

7.   Why did Jesus commend her faith (Mt 15:28; Jas 4:10; 1 Pet 5:6)? How does it compare to the centurion's faith (Mt 8:5-13)? To the faith of Jesus' own disciples (Mt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Lk 12:28)? What is "great faith"?

      ** Trace the sequence of responses: Jesus’ silence → the disciples’ request → Jesus’ first statement → the woman’s persistence → Jesus’ “dogs” remark → her reply → His final commendation and healing.

    "Faith is not in what Jesus Christ can do, but in Himself, and anything He can do is less than Himself." Oswald Chambers. p685.

      "There are stages in life when there is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him." p811.

Summary of passage: Jesus withdraws to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Mt 15:21). A Canaanite woman cries out to Jesus for mercy for her sick demon-possessed daughter (Mt 15:22). Jesus is initially silent. The disciples urge Him to send her away (Mt 15:23). He says He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (Mt 15:24). Undeterred, she kneels and pleads for help (Mt 15:25) He replies that it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs (Mt 15:26). She counters that even the dogs eat the crumbs from their master’s table (Mt 15:27). Jesus commends her great faith and grants her request; her daughter is healed instantly (Mt 15:28).

"Then Jesus said to her, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.' And her daughter was healed at that moment" (Mt 15:28).

18th-century evangelist George Whitefield teaches that true biblical preaching should confront human sin and pride, leaving listeners convicted and driven to repentance rather than merely flattered or entertained. Core Meaning: 

Conviction over Comfort: A faithful sermon acts like a spiritual mirror, showing people their flaws so they feel displeased with their own sin.
The Cost of Truth: A real gospel message challenges the values of a fallen world, which naturally causes friction or "offense" to human pride.
The Preacher's Burden: The preacher should feel the weight and gravity of the message, delivering truth earnestly rather than trying to win cheap popularity.

Context in the Great Awakening:

The Cross as a Scandal: The teachings of Jesus demand total self-denial, meaning an honest presentation of the faith would always face pushback.
Arousing Conscience: His passionate, extemporaneous preaching during the 1st Great Awakening, aimed to awaken dead spiritual conditions rather than soothe congregations with polite, traditional essays.

Jesus often shocked listeners with radical demands, harsh rebukes of religious authorities, and unsettling metaphors that alienated crowds rather than pandering to popular opinion.

Radical Family and Loyalty Demands. Lk 14:26: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." (Using hyperbole to show that allegiance to God must surpass even the closest human bonds). Mt 10:34: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Signifying that following his teaching would fracture households and divide families).

Rebukes and Insults. Mt 23:33: "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" (Directly insulting the religious elite, the scribes and Pharisees). Mk 7:27: "It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs." (A striking cultural slight used during an initial exchange with a Gentile woman in Tyre). Mk 8:33: "Get behind me, Satan!" (Rebuke directed squarely at his close disciple, Peter).

Shocking Metaphors and Exclusivity. Jn 6:53: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (A graphic statement about spiritual consumption that caused many early followers to abandon him). Mt 8:22: "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." (An abrupt response to a follower asking to delay discipleship until after his father's funeral).