"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. (22) And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil."
We here enter upon that beautiful history, of the woman of Canaan; whose faith is so highly commended by Christ. Every particular in it is interesting. The Evangelist saith, that she was a woman of Canaan; consequently a Gentile. Mark adds in his account of it, Mark 7:28, that she was a Syrophæician; that is, she belonged to that part of Phænicia which bordered on Syria. She came from those coasts to seek after Christ. But who taught her of Jesus? And how came she to know that Christ was the Son of David? Surely none but God himself could be her teacher, or give her such faith as to follow Jesus. I pray the Reader, before he goes further, to turn to two scriptures in proof. Isaiah 54:13, and John 6:37-40. And when the Reader hath duly pondered these precious truths, let him behold Jesus directing his steps towards Tyre and Sidon to meet this woman, before that she was coming out of those coasts to meet Christ. Yes! for so the charter of grace runs: It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking l will hear. Isaiah 65:24. So sure, so very sure is that scripture If we love him, it is because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
But what was it that prompted this poor woman to come to Christ? Her daughter was grievously vexed with a devil. And who but Jesus could help her? The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8. How blessed is it to have such a deliverer to fly to, under distresses. If every mother, every father, whose children are under evil possessions, had the same knowledge of Jesus, and faith in Jesus, as this poor woman had: how would they hasten to his mercy-seat to spread their sorrows before him and seek his favor. I pray the Reader to notice how comprehensive her petition; and the ground upon which she asked for mercy. Have mercy on me, O Lord! Christ himself is mercy: the first born in the womb of mercy. And the ground on which she hoped it was, that Jesus is the Son of David, meaning, God in human nature. God and man in one person; Emmanuel God with us. Let not the Reader overlook this. Here is a poor woman, a Gentile, pleading for mercy, with Christ, because he is Christ; while thousands who saw Jesus daily, knew nothing of him! Whence could this be? Surely from the Lord himself. So that we gather two grand truths from the case of this woman, illustrated as it is, by her history; namely that God and none other could have taught her of Jesus. And, secondly, that that teaching infallibly led her to seek to Christ, as the Christ of God. John 6:45-46.