{"id":7904,"date":"2023-10-04T10:09:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T14:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=7904"},"modified":"2023-10-04T10:09:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T14:09:18","slug":"pastor-shares-why-those-who-stay-focused-on-jesus-can-experience-the-greatest-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/10\/pastor-shares-why-those-who-stay-focused-on-jesus-can-experience-the-greatest-miracle.html","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Shares Why Those Who Stay Focused on Jesus Can Experience ‘The Greatest Miracle’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Matthew 15:21-28 reads, \u201cAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, \u2018Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.\u2019 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, \u2018Send her away, for she is crying after us.\u2019 He answered, \u2018I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>But she came and knelt before him, saying, \u2018Lord, help me.\u2019 And he answered, \u2018It is not fair to take the children\u2019s bread and throw it to the dogs.\u2019 She said, \u2018Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master\u2019s table.\u2019 Then Jesus answered her, \u2018O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.\u2019 And her daughter was healed instantly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know much about St. Matthew, who\u2019s credited with writing the Gospel of Matthew. When Jesus called Matthew to be one of His disciples, he was working as a publican or tax collector, a despised profession at the time. He\u2019s one of the Gospels\u2019 authors, but St. Matthew is only mentioned seven times. Pastor Jerry Sander of Calvary Chapel Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Florida, says the location of Jesus\u2019 preaching in the verses is significant. Pastor Sander told Fox News Digital, \u201cHe went from the heart of the Jewish culture and belief to two Gentile regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said that the wording of the Canaanite woman\u2019s pleas is worth noting. Pastor Sander added, \u201cAn unnamed woman cries out to Jesus and says, \u2018Have mercy upon me,\u2019 although she\u2019s not the one with the issue. It\u2019s actually her daughter.\u201d According to Pastor Sander, this is what an attack from Satan does. It doesn\u2019t only affect us but those around us. Additionally, the woman used Jesus\u2019 Messianic name, something Pastor Sander said was \u201cprofound because she\u2019s just a lowly, unnamed Gentile woman.\u201d<\/p>\n