The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The Gospel reading today, with the Canaanite woman coming to Jesus for help, may stir a variety of emotions in us. Sympathy for the woman and her daughter; confusion or even shock at Jesus’ initial cold reaction. And probably amazement at the woman’s unforgettable faith in pursuing Jesus’ help till she received it. But one emotion might be absent that was present among Jesus’ disciples and the original listeners. Resentment. You see, she was a Canaanite—not a Jew. The shadowy history of her ancestors included lewd and barbaric practices connected to idol worship. That’s why God drove them out of Israel. That stigma hung over her. The disciples thought she was a nuisance, and wanted to be rid of her, and assumed Jesus would too. She followed them around, crying out loudly, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!” But the most puzzling part of the story is why Jesus seemingly played alo...

Sermon sentence outline 1. The Gospel reading is thick with tension. Different than we expect. Ignored, rebuffed, rebuffed again. Finally she turns the tables…one final rebuff to send her away? Surprising turn as He praises her faith and grants her request 2. John Gerhard compares this to Jacob wrestling with God—a test of faith where she had to wrestle against Jesus and prevail. “Often times Christ, our best friend, hides His blessed, kindly-disposed face from us, and He presents Himself against us as a stranger whom we have to engage in a wrestling match.” Just like Jacob wrestled and had the victory of faith (insisting on a blessing), so the woman had a victory of faith and held Jesus captive to her request. She persisted in chasing after His mercy. He was willingly held captive by His own words. Imagine a father play-wrestling with their child and surrendering to them. 3. How would our faith stand up under this kind of trial? In the shoes of that woman, would we have give...