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Humble Hero
a look of pity and love, He said, “O woman, great is your faith! Let
it be to you as you desire.” From that hour, her daughter was healed.
The woman left, acknowledging her Savior, and happy that He had
granted her prayer.
It was for this miracle that Jesus went to the borders of Tyre and
Sidon. He wanted to help the afflicted woman and at the same time
leave His disciples an example of mercy for the time when He would
no longer be with them. He wanted to lead them to be interested in
working for others besides their own people.
Jesus longed to reveal the deep mysteries of the truth, that the
Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews and “partakers of His
promise in Christ through the gospel.”
Ephesians 3:6
. In rewarding
the faith of the centurion at Capernaum and preaching to the people
of Sychar, He had already given evidence that He did not share the
Jewish intolerance. But now Jesus brought the disciples in contact
with a heathen who they thought would have no reason to expect
favor from Him. He would show that His love was not to be limited
to race or nation.
When He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel,” He stated the truth. This woman was one of the lost
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sheep that Israel should have rescued. The work they had neglected,
Christ was doing.
This act opened the disciples’ minds more fully to the work ahead
of them among the Gentiles. They saw people carrying sorrows that
others, more highly favored, knew nothing about. They were longing
for help from the mighty Healer, hungering for truth. Afterward,
when the death of Christ had broken down the dividing wall between
Jew and Gentile, this lesson had a powerful influence on Christ’s
representatives.
The Savior’s visit to Phoenicia and the miracle He performed
there had an even wider purpose. Today, the same pride and preju-
dice have built strong walls of separation between different classes
of people. Many feel virtually shut away from the gospel. But we
should not let them feel that they are shut away from Christ.
In faith the woman of Phoenicia flung herself against the barriers
piled up between Jew and Gentile. Regardless of appearances and
against discouragement that might have led her to doubt, she trusted
the Savior’s love. This is how Christ wants us to trust in Him. The