church

INI
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
August 14, 2011
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

BULLDOG FAITH
Matthew 15:22-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Our text today comes from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, beginning with the
22nd verse, as follows:

And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him,
saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely
demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came
and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He
answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 But He
answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the
little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs
which fall from their masters' table." 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. So far the holy Word.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who is near to all those who call upon Him in truth,
Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Winston Churchill was prime minister of Britain during the darkest days of World
War II. He was known as ‘The British Bulldog,” partly because he somewhat
resembled one, but mostly because of his incredible tenacity. In 1940, with France
conquered and America not yet in the war, only tiny England and its prime minister
stood between Hitler and world domination. But Churchill refused to give up. He
said, in one of his most famous wartime quotes, “We shall not flag or fail. We shall
go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the
oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we
shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” We know now, of course, how
Churchill’s “bulldog” attitude paid off. Total victory was the reward for his
tenacity.

This morning we meet someone else who displayed a surprising tenacity. A woman
of Canaan who had a crisis in her life – a crisis that, for her, was as devastating as
any world war. But she knew where the solution to her crisis lay, and she refused to
give up. If you have challenges in your life on which you’ve been tempted to give
up, and especially if you’ve found yourself daunted by the seemingly
insurmountable problem of sin, then this morning’s text will be just the
encouragement you need. Our theme for today is a short one:

BULLDOG FAITH
I. Faith that knows its Master.
II. Faith that knows its place.
III. Faith that won’t let go.

What is the root cause of all evil and suffering in the world? Sin. Every disease,
every tragedy, every sad and painful circumstance, great or small, finds its basis in
sin – the original sin that, since the fall, is inherent in our very human makeup, and
the actual sin that we human beings commit every day. The woman in our text was
dealing with a very sad and painful circumstance. Her little daughter was demon
possessed. At the time of Christ when demon-possession was apparently a much
more common occurrence than it is today. Well, the parents among you know what
a heartache it can be when your child is even mildly ill. We can only imagine the
horror and the heartbreak that this mother must have been going through, back

Our text says she was a “Canaanite” woman. The parallel account in Mark tells us
that she was from the area of Tyre and Sidon on the northwest coast of Palestine.
This small strip of land was never conquered by Israel, and the Canaanites who
were expelled from the rest of the land survived there. Jesus was nearing this region
on his travels, and the woman came out from her homeland with the specific
purpose of seeking Him out. And right here we see the first quality of a
BULLDOG FAITH – it’s a faith that knows its Master.

The name she used for Jesus is very revealing. Did you notice that? A woman of
Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me,
O Lord, Son of David! She was a Canaanite, a Gentile, outside the religious
tradition of the Jews. And yet one thing is very clear - she knew who Jesus was.
“Son of David” was a very specific technical term. It referred to the Messiah God
had promised to send. “Son of David” meant Savior, and nothing else! This
Canaanite woman knew her Master. She knew where her help lay, and it wasn’t in
doctors, and it wasn’t in home remedies and it wasn’t in Baal or any of the other
false gods of the Canaanites. It was in Christ.

BULLDOG FAITH knows its Master. And it won’t let any obstacles come
between it and its Master. And what were the obstacles in the case of the
Canaanite woman? Unfortunately it was Jesus’ disciples again, wasn’t it? His
disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."
They were embarrassed. It was undignified. One after another the disciples pleaded
with Jesus to get rid of her. And there’s a play on words here in the Greek, by the
way, that you can’t see in the English. Because the word for “have mercy” (eleison)
sounds very similar to the word for “get rid of her”: (apolison). It’s like two
opposing choruses addressing Jesus: Eleison! Apolison! “Have mercy on me!”
pleaded the woman. “Get rid of her!” grumbled the disciples. But the woman
wouldn’t let them keep her from Jesus. She had a BULLDOG FAITH. She knew
her master.

What about you? Do you know your Master? Do you know where to go when to
go when trouble strikes and you desperately need help? It’s not an idle question.
Many people rely on their own resources to get them out of trouble. And many
people rely on their own good works to solve the problem of sin. But that won’t
work – Scripture says that by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in His
sight. No. We know our Master. When trouble strikes us, when a guilty conscience
torments us, there is only one place to go. Only one Person to whom we can and
must flee, as we sing in that best-loved hymn:
Nor alms nor deeds that I have done
Can for a single sin atone.
To Calvary alone I flee:
O God, be merciful to me! –TLH 323:4

Yes, a BULLDOG FAITH knows its master. And what is the second quality of a
BULLDOG FAITH?– it’s a faith that knows its place. And what Jesus said to the
Canaanite woman that day certainly seemed to put her in her place. Jesus answered
and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Wow! That sounds kind of discouraging, doesn’t it? Now, some say Jesus was just
acting here. That He was pretending to put the woman off in order to test her faith.
But Jesus isn’t an actor. Jesus doesn’t pretend and Jesus doesn’t deceive. He was
simply stating a fact when he said I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. Jesus was commissioned by His heavenly Father to bring salvation
first to God’s chosen people, the Jews, and that was His primary mission during his
ministry on earth. After His crucifixion it would be different. Then, He told His
disciples, "You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth." -- Acts 1:8. When I am lifted up from the earth, Jesus
said, I will draw all peoples to Myself. But not before. For now this woman was an
outsider, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel.

What’s amazing is that she didn’t contest this or complain about it. She humbly
accepted it. She knew her place. Undaunted, she approached Jesus again …and
worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" Then Jesus made a remark that, on the
face of it, seemed quite harsh. He answered and said, "It is not good to take the
children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." Which again is perfectly true if you
think about it. Many people have pet dogs in their home, but they don’t set places
at the dinner table for them. They don’t take the roast out of the oven and set it on
the floor.. That would not “be good,” Jesus said. That’s not their place. The dogs
get their food, but in a different way.

Every good dog knows his place, and so does every Christian. Do you know your
place? I hope that doesn’t offend you, by the way. A lot of people might be
offended to be compared to a dog. Or if we have to be compared to a dog, many of
us might prefer to be watchdogs, like the disciples, barking apolison! “Get rid of
her” Setting ourselves up as judges deciding who gets access to Jesus, and who
doesn’t. Keeping the riffraff out – those people who aren’t like us. Are we that
way? God forbid! Let’s remember that we ourselves are Gentiles, outsiders exactly
like that Canaanite woman. Paul reminds us that, before our conversion, We were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

That’s us Gentiles! He’s talking about us! Thankfully he goes on to say, But now
in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. -- Ephesians 2:12-13. The Canaanite woman had a BULLDOG FAITH.
She knew her place. But in the beauty and simplicity of faith she seized on Jesus’
metaphor and turned it to her advantage. She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little
dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Yes, she knew her place.
She knew she didn’t belong with the children. But she knew that there was food for
her also. She believed that there was grace even for an outsider like her, and she
hung onto that belief with the tenacity of a bulldog! And this is the final quality of
a BULLDOG FAITH – it’s a faith that won’t let go.

Because bulldogs don’t let go, of course – that’s one of their main characteristics.
In fact, when I was preparing for this sermon I ran across an account of two
bulldogs that got into a fight so fierce and severe that they both died. Afterward
they actually had to pry them apart – that’s how strong the grip of their jaws was.
They just wouldn’t let go, even in death. That Canaanite woman wouldn’t let go.
With her BULLDOG FAITH she held onto Jesus. She was persistent, and that’s
important. As Calvin Coolidge once said, "Nothing in the world can take the place
of persistence. Talent will not - nothing is more common than unsuccessful people
with talent. Genius will not - unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education
will not. The world is full of educated failures. Persistence alone is omnipotent.
The slogan PRESS ON has solved, and will continue to solve, the problems of the
human race." There’s one thing in that statement, of course, with which we would
disagree: persistence is not omnipotent. But God is omnipotent, and the main
problem of the human race – the problem of sin – is one that only the omnipotent
God can solve. That’s where BULLDOG FAITH comes in. Bulldog faith clings
tenaciously to the grace of God. It cannot be defeated, because the OBJECT of its
faith – Jesus Christ – cannot be defeated. Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you
have faith and do not doubt, …if you say to this mountain, `Be removed and be
cast into the sea,' it will be done. 22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer,
believing, you will receive." -- Mt 21:21-22.

And after all, when it comes to mercy, Jesus isn’t a hard nut to crack. He’s a
pushover. He yearns to have mercy on you. He’s just waiting to answer your
prayers. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that …we do not have a High Priest
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we
are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. -- Hebrews 4:15-16.
Come to Jesus with all your problems. Particularly with the sins that burden your
conscience. Confess them, and cast yourself on the mercy of Christ. Seize upon
your Savior with a BULLDOG FAITH, and don’t let go! Are you an outsider? We
all are! God doesn’t care! He still has food for you. He still feeds you with the
bread of life. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord
over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the
LORD shall be saved." -- Romans 10:12-13. Are your sins great? Be like the
publican and pray God be merciful to me, a sinner. Your Master Jesus won’t
withhold His pardon from you. Jesus said, I tell you, this man went down to his
house justified!

The Canaanite woman held on with a BULLDOG FAITH, and wouldn’t let go.
She was like Jacob, you recall, who “wrestled with God” and wouldn’t let go until
God gave him a blessing. Jacob got his blessing, and so did the Canaanite woman.
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. Imagine her relief!
To return home and find the demon gone, the nightmare over, her precious little
girl healed and in her right mind. Imagine her relief to find, in Christ, healing for her
own sinful condition, and the promise of everlasting life! We don’t have to imagine,
do we? Because that’s our story, too. To us, as well, …the kindness and the love of
God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. -- Titus 3:4-5. To our relief
and joy, our sins too are covered by the blood Jesus shed on Calvary. To our relief
and joy, hell no longer threatens, and the gates of heaven beckon!

According to His mercy He saved us. One Sunday at church a pastor noticed that
one of the men was wearing a lapel pin that had a bulldog on it. He knew his
member worked for Mack Truck (whose symbol is a bulldog), but he thought he’d
have a little fun with him, so he said, “I see you’re wearing a bulldog, Frank. That
must stand for the tenacity with which you hold onto Christ.” “No,” said the man,
in all seriousness, “I got this pin from my company. But for me it stands for
something else – not the tenacity with which I hold onto Christ, but the tenacity
with which Christ holds onto me!” That’s true of course. Jesus said, "My sheep hear
My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. – Jn
10:27-28. God grant to each of us a BULLDOG FAITH: faith that knows its
Master, faith that knows its place, and faith that won’t let go. Because one thing’s
certain: our gracious Master won’t let go of us! AMEN.