Meaning, after the big brouhaha over ceremonial washing, where Jesus really offended some Scribes and Pharisees who came down from Jerusalem, He left the region of Galilee...

...which was at minimum a twenty mile trek to the northwest, probably more like 40 to 50 miles. Mark (7:24) tells us that when He arrived, He entered into a house privately, so nobody would know He was there, but it's hard to hide Jesus. It seems that He headed into the land of the Gentiles to "get away" for a little while, but was that His only reason for going so far out of His way?

Luke 6:17-19

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; . And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Now, back to this "safe house" in the land of the Gentiles, far away from the arguments over hypocrisy and how the religious types were making God's commandments void through their vain traditions...

Somebody from her home town; somebody who had been to that sermon in Luke 6; somebody who had witnessed the healing power of this Man Jesus, brought word back, and gave her hope. (Did you tell anybody about Him this week?) And now, for this woman whose daughter so badly needs His help, He's here! Her hope had become faith, and it gushes forth as she pleads for His mercy...

Devastating! What do you think happened to her hope at that moment?

I don't think they were asking Jesus to heal her. I think the noise was getting to them. Even when this woman's hopes were dashed and changed into mourning, she didn't give up. It's still true today. This woman lived amongst people who worshipped the gods of pleasure, and she probably did, too. Today these folks put up the "peace poles" that you see all over Fayetteville. What was true then is still true today. The gods of peace and pleasure won't help you when things get really bad. When the awful circumstances of life hit home, like they did to this woman and her daughter, all that vain philosophy and worldly religion has to go. It doesn't work. Whenever the opportunity comes, let these people know that when the time comes, when they reach the point where all else has failed, the true and living God will be there to receive them. Let them know that you'll be there, too. You're like the ones in Luke 6, who come back from a sermon, from healing, and tell others so they can have hope in times of despair. But now we might say, "This woman didn't get an answer." "Jesus acted as if she didn't even exist." "His followers even wanted Him to get rid of her, because she was crying and wouldn't go away." "Where's the love in that?"

24. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

In other words, He tells the disciples, "I am not sent except unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." It's true. Paul would write (Rom 1:16), ...I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." "Jesus was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers" (Rom 15:8), but the children rejected Him, and after His resurrection, Jesus told his followers to, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

If I had been this Canaanite woman, I might have given up at this point. Jesus is not being mean. He knows what He's doing, because...

25. Then came she and worshipped him, (This means that her knees were bent, and her nose was flat on the ground.) ...saying, Lord, help me.

Now that's a proper picture of how to approach Jesus. Back in verse 22, she addressed Him as the "Son of David", which is a term used by the Jews when referring to the Messiah, but it's like praying according to a formula, and He didn't respond to that. Here in verse 25, she falls on her face and says the simple prayer, "Lord, help me." Now, this is the way to come to Jesus! The sacrifice that God wants is a broken spirit; a heart that is torn and crushed (Psalm 51:17). If you come to Jesus in that way, those three simple words, "Lord, help me," might actually be the most effective prayer you ever say. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He said, "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matt 6:8), so why is it that we think formalities and great swelling words make prayers better? "Lord, help me" gives Him a lot of room to work things out for the good. So, if this is the way to pray, a simple prayer that cuts through all the discouragement, a prayer that drops all the formalities, and comes from a broken and contrite heart, Jesus is going to help her now, right?

Oh my! Now this is adding insult to injury, practically calling her a dog. She'd better have a broken and contrite heart, because the slightest amount of pride would cause her to leave in a huff now. "The children" in this allegory are the Jews, and "Dog" is a term used by the Jews for anyone other than a Jew. Again, Jesus isn't being mean, He just using a common figure of speech that she would understand. Even so, this is the worst discouragement yet, because she's not one of "the children." She's not eligible for the healing power of the Bread of Life, so does she give up now? No...

She says, "Truth, Lord." Humbly, on her face before Him, she owns her unworthiness. She admits who He is; she admits who she is, and she says, "It's true,"...

All she wanted was a crumb of mercy. Can you see the smile breaking out on Jesus' face? Can you see all her discouragement fade away as her new Master smiles on her? This whole time, Jesus was developing her, not being mean. This is what He was after all along. If we all would start out our prayers like this, and not give up, then we might hear what He says to her...

And Mark tells us that when she went home, she found her daughter lying on the bed, healed.

It was discouraging for her: having a daughter in danger, having no hope of her getting better, and when hope actually came, it ignored her, told her that her kind wasn't the reason He came, even emphasizing that she wasn't worthy of receiving His help, but she didn't give up. Faith is what breaks through discouragement like nothing else can. Her faith was like a mountain stream, and pesky beavers kept trying to stop her with logs. The more logs, the more discouragements to her faith, the more her faith pooled up, and eventually, the beavers ran out of logs, and her faith broke through. All those impediments and discouragements were swept away when her faith broke through.

The only event recorded on this trip was what we just read. Jesus walked at least twenty miles away from His home country, and this is the only thing the Bible recorded of it. He returned straight back to His home country after this. Do you believe in divine appointments? Do you think He went all the way into Gentile territory just to tell this woman He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel? He walked all that way not just to get away for a little while, not just to heal her daughter, but He gave to her a greater faith, and something tells me that, for the rest of her life, she cried a lot less .