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22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. he said, "why did you doubt?"

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

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Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 14:22-33 - New International Version

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Jesus Walks on the Water - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

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What do you know about the audience and purpose of Matthew's gospel

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What do you know about the audience and purpose of Matthew's gospel

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Summary
The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing. Jesus calls his followers to experience God's mercy anew, constitutes them as a new community of faith, and then, as crucified and resurrected Messiah, claims all power and authority as he commissions these disciples for mission with the promise that he will be with them until the end of the age (28:18-20).
So What?

Matthew's Gospel is important for its distinctive and grand conception of the God who comes to claim and call a people in Jesus the Messiah. The promise of God's presence frames and interprets the whole story of Jesus the Messiah. It thus calls to discipleship and faithful and confident following, shaping a new community that is constituted and lives by the forgiveness of God. The Sermon on the Mount proclaims to Jesus' disciples the blessing of God for a people who are salt and light for the world. This is a people who experience the surprising message of the kingdom as being like treasure hidden in a field and who in the joy of discovery go and sell everything to acquire such a treasure. Such a people are surprised to find a God who desires mercy and not sacrifice, and so calls them to live responsibly here and now in the meantime as a new community empowered by the living presence of God's Messiah, to live in the promise of mutual forgiveness. Matthew adds numerous parables of Jesus that help the disciple reader to imagine this new life; to see what it means to live as ones who are often "weary and are carrying heavy burdens," but who are called to experience the promise of rest from a savior who is "gentle and humble in heart" (11:28-30); and then to live as ones who trust in that mercy and lavish it just as freely on those they are called to serve (see 25:31-46; 28:18-20).

Where Do I Find It?

Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, the first of the four Gospels.

Who Wrote It?

The authorship of all of the canonical gospels, though perhaps reflecting some authentic traditions, is anonymous, the names being attached by later tradition. Tradition associated this Gospel with Matthew the tax collector, and claimed that its author collected the sayings of Jesus in Hebrew dialect for others to translate. This very late sketchy tradition preserved by Eusebius, writing in the fourth century C.E., cannot fit with a text that is clearly Greek and with a later dating necessary to fit an awareness of the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. From the way in which Matthew adapts and supplements the Gospel of Mark, he would seem to have been a Greek-speaking Christian, a "teacher" steeped in Jewish Scriptures and tradition, living in an urban center like Antioch of Syria, who seeks to interpret the message of Jesus the Messiah for a new community in conflict with its neighbors over its relation to a Judaism in transition.

When Was It Written?

Though a precise date of writing is unclear, several clues invite a somewhat confident assumption of the period 80-100 C.E., and thus a date around 90 C.E. is a convenient approximation. Matthew's clear use of Mark, probably written sometime around 70 C.E. places Matthew's Gospel later, as does the almost certain reflection of the 66-70 C.E. war and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (see 22:7). The conflicts with Judaism evidenced in the text seem to reflect the dialogue with Judaism as it developed in the decades following the destruction of the temple. The text of Matthew seems to have been used by the Didache and by Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who writes around 110 C.E.

What's It About?

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims the good news that God is Emmanuel ("God with us"), that Jesus is God's Messiah whose teaching, healing, suffering, death, and resurrection now constitute a new disciple community, and that this Jesus Messiah, with all power and authority, commissions this community with the promise that he will be with them to the end of the age.

How Do I Read It?

The careful reader of Matthew will want to read it while reflecting on what the narrative as a whole reveals about the nature of the gospel message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. By its use and adaptation of Mark and Q and by its addition of much distinctive narrative material, Matthew is certainly in conversation at least with the other Synoptic Gospels. That conversation concerns the message of the kingdom of God as that applies to and makes sense for a particular community seeking to resolve matters of dialogue and conflict with the traditions of Judaism in the late first century, particularly around issues of the law and righteousness, and the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of Israel. The initial genealogy placing Jesus solidly within the tradition of Israel as a child of Abraham and King David, and the angelic announcement of his pedigree as the "savior of his people" (1:21) need to be noted and emphasized both for their initiation of the narrative and as distinctive features of Matthew's particular message. Similarly significant is the literary framing of the narrative with the double assertion that in Jesus God is with God's people as resurrected Messiah (see 1:23 and 28:18-20). That presence of God is certainly part of the central confession of Jesus as "Messiah, Son of the living God" spoken by Peter as representative of the disciple community (16:16). God's presence is signaled in the prevalent theme of the reign of God in Jesus, who, according to Matthew's version of the good news, is to be characterized by mercy and forgiveness (see the doublets 9:13 and 12:7) that comes overwhelmingly as blessing and surprise to God's people (see 5:1-16; 16:17; 19:30-20:16; and 25:31-46).

AUTHOR: James Boyce, Professor of New Testament and Greek

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The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing.

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13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.

18 "Bring them here to me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Read full chapter

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Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 14:13-21 - New International Version

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Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand - When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

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Summary
The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing. Jesus calls his followers to experience God's mercy anew, constitutes them as a new community of faith, and then, as crucified and resurrected Messiah, claims all power and authority as he commissions these disciples for mission with the promise that he will be with them until the end of the age (28:18-20).
So What?

Matthew's Gospel is important for its distinctive and grand conception of the God who comes to claim and call a people in Jesus the Messiah. The promise of God's presence frames and interprets the whole story of Jesus the Messiah. It thus calls to discipleship and faithful and confident following, shaping a new community that is constituted and lives by the forgiveness of God. The Sermon on the Mount proclaims to Jesus' disciples the blessing of God for a people who are salt and light for the world. This is a people who experience the surprising message of the kingdom as being like treasure hidden in a field and who in the joy of discovery go and sell everything to acquire such a treasure. Such a people are surprised to find a God who desires mercy and not sacrifice, and so calls them to live responsibly here and now in the meantime as a new community empowered by the living presence of God's Messiah, to live in the promise of mutual forgiveness. Matthew adds numerous parables of Jesus that help the disciple reader to imagine this new life; to see what it means to live as ones who are often "weary and are carrying heavy burdens," but who are called to experience the promise of rest from a savior who is "gentle and humble in heart" (11:28-30); and then to live as ones who trust in that mercy and lavish it just as freely on those they are called to serve (see 25:31-46; 28:18-20).

Where Do I Find It?

Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, the first of the four Gospels.

Who Wrote It?

The authorship of all of the canonical gospels, though perhaps reflecting some authentic traditions, is anonymous, the names being attached by later tradition. Tradition associated this Gospel with Matthew the tax collector, and claimed that its author collected the sayings of Jesus in Hebrew dialect for others to translate. This very late sketchy tradition preserved by Eusebius, writing in the fourth century C.E., cannot fit with a text that is clearly Greek and with a later dating necessary to fit an awareness of the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. From the way in which Matthew adapts and supplements the Gospel of Mark, he would seem to have been a Greek-speaking Christian, a "teacher" steeped in Jewish Scriptures and tradition, living in an urban center like Antioch of Syria, who seeks to interpret the message of Jesus the Messiah for a new community in conflict with its neighbors over its relation to a Judaism in transition.

When Was It Written?

Though a precise date of writing is unclear, several clues invite a somewhat confident assumption of the period 80-100 C.E., and thus a date around 90 C.E. is a convenient approximation. Matthew's clear use of Mark, probably written sometime around 70 C.E. places Matthew's Gospel later, as does the almost certain reflection of the 66-70 C.E. war and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (see 22:7). The conflicts with Judaism evidenced in the text seem to reflect the dialogue with Judaism as it developed in the decades following the destruction of the temple. The text of Matthew seems to have been used by the Didache and by Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who writes around 110 C.E.

What's It About?

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims the good news that God is Emmanuel ("God with us"), that Jesus is God's Messiah whose teaching, healing, suffering, death, and resurrection now constitute a new disciple community, and that this Jesus Messiah, with all power and authority, commissions this community with the promise that he will be with them to the end of the age.

How Do I Read It?

The careful reader of Matthew will want to read it while reflecting on what the narrative as a whole reveals about the nature of the gospel message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. By its use and adaptation of Mark and Q and by its addition of much distinctive narrative material, Matthew is certainly in conversation at least with the other Synoptic Gospels. That conversation concerns the message of the kingdom of God as that applies to and makes sense for a particular community seeking to resolve matters of dialogue and conflict with the traditions of Judaism in the late first century, particularly around issues of the law and righteousness, and the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of Israel. The initial genealogy placing Jesus solidly within the tradition of Israel as a child of Abraham and King David, and the angelic announcement of his pedigree as the "savior of his people" (1:21) need to be noted and emphasized both for their initiation of the narrative and as distinctive features of Matthew's particular message. Similarly significant is the literary framing of the narrative with the double assertion that in Jesus God is with God's people as resurrected Messiah (see 1:23 and 28:18-20). That presence of God is certainly part of the central confession of Jesus as "Messiah, Son of the living God" spoken by Peter as representative of the disciple community (16:16). God's presence is signaled in the prevalent theme of the reign of God in Jesus, who, according to Matthew's version of the good news, is to be characterized by mercy and forgiveness (see the doublets 9:13 and 12:7) that comes overwhelmingly as blessing and surprise to God's people (see 5:1-16; 16:17; 19:30-20:16; and 25:31-46).

AUTHOR: James Boyce, Professor of New Testament and Greek

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The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing.

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I'm blogging with the lectionary this year, and this week's reading comes from Matthew 14:13-21:
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves; Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat.' They replied, 'We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.' And he said, 'Bring them here to me.' Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. When I was a little girl, the story of Jesus feeding the great multitude was my very favorite of them all.
I loved it because, according to John's account, it was a little boy who provided the disciples with his own packed meal of five barley loaves and two fish that Jesus miraculously multiplied into a feast to feed 5,000, complete with baskets of leftovers to spare.

In that boy, (who I imagined boasted a face of freckles and a mess of black hair smelling of sea salt), I could see a little of myself. I liked to believe that, had it been me, I would have marched right up to those intimidating disciples, Rainbow Bright lunchbox in hand, and volunteered my lunch for the good of the people, fully trusting that Jesus had the situation under control.

And so, whenever the preacher arrived at this text, I found my mind wandering to that little boy. I imagined what happened to him that day, and the day after that, and the day after that-what he told his mother when he rushed home breathless with excitement, how he felt when his best friends didn't believe him, why he almost ran away from home so he could follow the miracle-working carpenter himself. One of my first handwritten stories, scrawled across the wide-ruled notebook I carried under my arm every summer, was a creative retelling of the Feeding of the 5,000 from the perspective of the little boy who helped make it happen. .... Which basically means I was doing midrash when I was in fifth grade, but I digress....

It's an enlightening exercise, really, envisioning a story like this one from the perspective of a single, seemingly minor character. Within this legendary story hides more than 5,000 others- the story of the skinny orphan, the skeptical tax collector, the despised Samaritan, the curious fisherman, the struggling widow, the disdained prostitute, the wealthy mother, the angry zealot, the ostracized Canaanite, the banished leper, the suffering slave, the repentant sinner....and ultimately, the story of you and me.

It is the story of a crowd of people who had little in common except that they were hungry-for food, for healing, for truth, for Jesus. And it is the story of a crowd of people who were fed.

No questions asked.

No prerequisites demanded.

No standards of holiness to meet first.

"The gospel story that makes the most sense to me about the Eucharist is the feeding of the five thousand," writes Nora Gallagher. "Jesus didn't ask those thousands of people camped on that hillside whether they had confessed their sins or how clean they were. He fed them."
In the story of the feeding of the 5,000 we see Jesus once again addressing the most essential, physical needs of his fellow human beings - hunger, thirst, companionship - and once again, breaking down every socially-constructed barrier that keeps us from eating with one another.
He did the same thing when, much to the chagrin of the religious leaders, he dined with tax collectors and prostitutes and told his more well-to-do hosts that "when you give a banquet, invite the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed."
The English word companion, is derived from the Latin com ("with") and panis ("bread"). A companion, therefore, is someone with whom you share your bread.
So when we want to know about a person's friends and associates, we look at the people with whom she eats, and when we want to measure a someone's social status against our own, we look at the sort of dinner parties to which he gets invited. Most of us prefer to eat with people who are like us, with shared background, values, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, beliefs, and tastes, or perhaps with people we want to be like, people who make us feel important and esteemed. Just as a bad ingredient may contaminate a meal, we often fear bad company may contaminate our reputation or our comfort.
This is why Jesus' critics repeatedly drew attention to the fact that he dined with the wrong people. By eating with the poor, the despised, the sick, the sinners, the outcasts, and the unclean, Jesus was saying, "These are my companions. These are my friends."
It was just the sort of thing that got him killed.

Nora Ephron once said that "a family is a group of people who eat the same thing for dinner."

All who feast on the Bread of Life are family. All who dare to feed the hungry, fellowship with the suffering, and befriend sinners are companions of Christ. This, after all, is the Kingdom: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered together, not because we are rich or worthy or good, but because we are hungry, because we long for more. And just as the fish and the loaves continued to multiply, so have the companions of Jesus. The family just keeps growing and growing.

So whoever you are in this ongoing story, these feeding of the many multitudes, if you are hungry, come and eat. You don't have to earn a spot. It is given.

The baskets are overflowing and there's always room for more.

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I'm blogging with the lectionary this year , and this week's reading comes from Matthew 14:13-21: Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

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21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly."

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."

27 "Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

28 Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Read full chapter

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Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 15:21-28 - New International Version

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The Faith of a Canaanite Woman - Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly." Jesus did not answer a word.

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Summary
The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing. Jesus calls his followers to experience God's mercy anew, constitutes them as a new community of faith, and then, as crucified and resurrected Messiah, claims all power and authority as he commissions these disciples for mission with the promise that he will be with them until the end of the age (28:18-20).
So What?

Matthew's Gospel is important for its distinctive and grand conception of the God who comes to claim and call a people in Jesus the Messiah. The promise of God's presence frames and interprets the whole story of Jesus the Messiah. It thus calls to discipleship and faithful and confident following, shaping a new community that is constituted and lives by the forgiveness of God. The Sermon on the Mount proclaims to Jesus' disciples the blessing of God for a people who are salt and light for the world. This is a people who experience the surprising message of the kingdom as being like treasure hidden in a field and who in the joy of discovery go and sell everything to acquire such a treasure. Such a people are surprised to find a God who desires mercy and not sacrifice, and so calls them to live responsibly here and now in the meantime as a new community empowered by the living presence of God's Messiah, to live in the promise of mutual forgiveness. Matthew adds numerous parables of Jesus that help the disciple reader to imagine this new life; to see what it means to live as ones who are often "weary and are carrying heavy burdens," but who are called to experience the promise of rest from a savior who is "gentle and humble in heart" (11:28-30); and then to live as ones who trust in that mercy and lavish it just as freely on those they are called to serve (see 25:31-46; 28:18-20).

Where Do I Find It?

Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, the first of the four Gospels.

Who Wrote It?

The authorship of all of the canonical gospels, though perhaps reflecting some authentic traditions, is anonymous, the names being attached by later tradition. Tradition associated this Gospel with Matthew the tax collector, and claimed that its author collected the sayings of Jesus in Hebrew dialect for others to translate. This very late sketchy tradition preserved by Eusebius, writing in the fourth century C.E., cannot fit with a text that is clearly Greek and with a later dating necessary to fit an awareness of the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. From the way in which Matthew adapts and supplements the Gospel of Mark, he would seem to have been a Greek-speaking Christian, a "teacher" steeped in Jewish Scriptures and tradition, living in an urban center like Antioch of Syria, who seeks to interpret the message of Jesus the Messiah for a new community in conflict with its neighbors over its relation to a Judaism in transition.

When Was It Written?

Though a precise date of writing is unclear, several clues invite a somewhat confident assumption of the period 80-100 C.E., and thus a date around 90 C.E. is a convenient approximation. Matthew's clear use of Mark, probably written sometime around 70 C.E. places Matthew's Gospel later, as does the almost certain reflection of the 66-70 C.E. war and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (see 22:7). The conflicts with Judaism evidenced in the text seem to reflect the dialogue with Judaism as it developed in the decades following the destruction of the temple. The text of Matthew seems to have been used by the Didache and by Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who writes around 110 C.E.

What's It About?

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims the good news that God is Emmanuel ("God with us"), that Jesus is God's Messiah whose teaching, healing, suffering, death, and resurrection now constitute a new disciple community, and that this Jesus Messiah, with all power and authority, commissions this community with the promise that he will be with them to the end of the age.

How Do I Read It?

The careful reader of Matthew will want to read it while reflecting on what the narrative as a whole reveals about the nature of the gospel message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. By its use and adaptation of Mark and Q and by its addition of much distinctive narrative material, Matthew is certainly in conversation at least with the other Synoptic Gospels. That conversation concerns the message of the kingdom of God as that applies to and makes sense for a particular community seeking to resolve matters of dialogue and conflict with the traditions of Judaism in the late first century, particularly around issues of the law and righteousness, and the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of Israel. The initial genealogy placing Jesus solidly within the tradition of Israel as a child of Abraham and King David, and the angelic announcement of his pedigree as the "savior of his people" (1:21) need to be noted and emphasized both for their initiation of the narrative and as distinctive features of Matthew's particular message. Similarly significant is the literary framing of the narrative with the double assertion that in Jesus God is with God's people as resurrected Messiah (see 1:23 and 28:18-20). That presence of God is certainly part of the central confession of Jesus as "Messiah, Son of the living God" spoken by Peter as representative of the disciple community (16:16). God's presence is signaled in the prevalent theme of the reign of God in Jesus, who, according to Matthew's version of the good news, is to be characterized by mercy and forgiveness (see the doublets 9:13 and 12:7) that comes overwhelmingly as blessing and surprise to God's people (see 5:1-16; 16:17; 19:30-20:16; and 25:31-46).

AUTHOR: James Boyce, Professor of New Testament and Greek

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The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Summary
The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing. Jesus calls his followers to experience God's mercy anew, constitutes them as a new community of faith, and then, as crucified and resurrected Messiah, claims all power and authority as he commissions these disciples for mission with the promise that he will be with them until the end of the age (28:18-20).
So What?

Matthew's Gospel is important for its distinctive and grand conception of the God who comes to claim and call a people in Jesus the Messiah. The promise of God's presence frames and interprets the whole story of Jesus the Messiah. It thus calls to discipleship and faithful and confident following, shaping a new community that is constituted and lives by the forgiveness of God. The Sermon on the Mount proclaims to Jesus' disciples the blessing of God for a people who are salt and light for the world. This is a people who experience the surprising message of the kingdom as being like treasure hidden in a field and who in the joy of discovery go and sell everything to acquire such a treasure. Such a people are surprised to find a God who desires mercy and not sacrifice, and so calls them to live responsibly here and now in the meantime as a new community empowered by the living presence of God's Messiah, to live in the promise of mutual forgiveness. Matthew adds numerous parables of Jesus that help the disciple reader to imagine this new life; to see what it means to live as ones who are often "weary and are carrying heavy burdens," but who are called to experience the promise of rest from a savior who is "gentle and humble in heart" (11:28-30); and then to live as ones who trust in that mercy and lavish it just as freely on those they are called to serve (see 25:31-46; 28:18-20).

Where Do I Find It?

Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, the first of the four Gospels.

Who Wrote It?

The authorship of all of the canonical gospels, though perhaps reflecting some authentic traditions, is anonymous, the names being attached by later tradition. Tradition associated this Gospel with Matthew the tax collector, and claimed that its author collected the sayings of Jesus in Hebrew dialect for others to translate. This very late sketchy tradition preserved by Eusebius, writing in the fourth century C.E., cannot fit with a text that is clearly Greek and with a later dating necessary to fit an awareness of the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. From the way in which Matthew adapts and supplements the Gospel of Mark, he would seem to have been a Greek-speaking Christian, a "teacher" steeped in Jewish Scriptures and tradition, living in an urban center like Antioch of Syria, who seeks to interpret the message of Jesus the Messiah for a new community in conflict with its neighbors over its relation to a Judaism in transition.

When Was It Written?

Though a precise date of writing is unclear, several clues invite a somewhat confident assumption of the period 80-100 C.E., and thus a date around 90 C.E. is a convenient approximation. Matthew's clear use of Mark, probably written sometime around 70 C.E. places Matthew's Gospel later, as does the almost certain reflection of the 66-70 C.E. war and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (see 22:7). The conflicts with Judaism evidenced in the text seem to reflect the dialogue with Judaism as it developed in the decades following the destruction of the temple. The text of Matthew seems to have been used by the Didache and by Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who writes around 110 C.E.

What's It About?

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims the good news that God is Emmanuel ("God with us"), that Jesus is God's Messiah whose teaching, healing, suffering, death, and resurrection now constitute a new disciple community, and that this Jesus Messiah, with all power and authority, commissions this community with the promise that he will be with them to the end of the age.

How Do I Read It?

The careful reader of Matthew will want to read it while reflecting on what the narrative as a whole reveals about the nature of the gospel message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. By its use and adaptation of Mark and Q and by its addition of much distinctive narrative material, Matthew is certainly in conversation at least with the other Synoptic Gospels. That conversation concerns the message of the kingdom of God as that applies to and makes sense for a particular community seeking to resolve matters of dialogue and conflict with the traditions of Judaism in the late first century, particularly around issues of the law and righteousness, and the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of Israel. The initial genealogy placing Jesus solidly within the tradition of Israel as a child of Abraham and King David, and the angelic announcement of his pedigree as the "savior of his people" (1:21) need to be noted and emphasized both for their initiation of the narrative and as distinctive features of Matthew's particular message. Similarly significant is the literary framing of the narrative with the double assertion that in Jesus God is with God's people as resurrected Messiah (see 1:23 and 28:18-20). That presence of God is certainly part of the central confession of Jesus as "Messiah, Son of the living God" spoken by Peter as representative of the disciple community (16:16). God's presence is signaled in the prevalent theme of the reign of God in Jesus, who, according to Matthew's version of the good news, is to be characterized by mercy and forgiveness (see the doublets 9:13 and 12:7) that comes overwhelmingly as blessing and surprise to God's people (see 5:1-16; 16:17; 19:30-20:16; and 25:31-46).

AUTHOR: James Boyce, Professor of New Testament and Greek

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The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus the Messiah whose signal genealogy and miraculous birth are the sign and promise that "God is with us" (1:23). Jesus the Messiah proclaims God's continuing righteous reign in his words of blessing and deeds of healing.

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In the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we begin to see signs of the tide turning against Jesus by the leaders of the country, and accordingly Jesus turning more to the Gentiles. In chapter fourteen John the Baptist was beheaded, a clear sign of the opposition to the movement. But Jesus fed the five thousand, showing that He could meet the needs of Israel; and then He walked on the water, showing that He is the Lord of creation. In chapter fifteen Jesus challenged the teachings of the elders because those teachings had been elevated to the status of Scripture. Then, following that confrontation, Jesus went out of the country to the region of Tyre and Sidon and met a Canaanite woman. Then, as he came back to the region of Galilee, he fed the four thousand, a sign that he could meet the needs of the nations. Then, as we shall see, in chapter sixteen Jesus will give His first prediction of His death.

So this lesson will focus on the meeting with the Canaanite woman.

Reading the Text

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to Him and urged Him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." ²⁴ He answered, "I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel."

25 The woman came and knelt before Him. "Lord, help me!" she said. ²⁶ He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." ²⁷ "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

²⁷ Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Observations on the Text

This little story is essentially built around the conversation between the woman and Jesus. We begin with the note that Jesus withdrew far up the coast to the region of Tyre and Sidon. One would have to say that He was not simply trying to get away from difficult events in Israel, and neither was this a chance meeting. The Lord was going to this Canaanite area, to this Canaanite woman.

But the conversation gives the impression that Jesus was not willing to answer her request because she was a Canaanite. This will become a major part of the study, for there is obviously something powerful at work in the ethnic dimension of the conversation. What is clear is that the woman was not going to give up, but kept pleading, even from her Canaanite background, so that Christ recognized her great faith. The contrast is truly striking: in Israel Jesus was trying to convince people He was the Messiah, and was being challenged to prove it with a sign. But here in Gentile territory he met a woman who was convinced He was the Messiah and He could not discourage her efforts. His apparent attempt to put her off was therefore a test, and her great faith must have been gratifying to the Savior.

So in this study we will once again focus on the conversation, because that is the substance of the story. But this is one passage where the reader will have to read up on the ethnic controversy, the Old Testament background of conflict between the kings of Israel and the Canaanites. This will give some insight into the imagery of "dogs" used in the conversation. The story, though, is truly about the persistent faith of this Canaanite woman.

The study could be divided up in a number of ways, because it is not a complicated passages. I will simply make the circumstances the first point (v.21), the conversation the second part (vv. 22-28a), and the outcome as the third point (v. 28b).

Synoptic Questions

The account is also found in Mark 7:24-30. Mark gives us a little more information in some areas. Jesus came to the region and entered into a house and did not want anyone to know it. The woman heard about it and came looking for him. Mark explains that she was Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. This would be typical of the northern country, for it was ruled by Greeks for the period immediately before the time of Jesus. People in the region would be of mixed nationalities.

Mark does not include the disciples' suggestion to send her away, or Jesus' statement that he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Scholars have suggested that that statement was added later to Matthew, as guidance to Matthew's Jewish church in its relation to Gentiles, but that makes no sense. Besides, we do not know much of Matthew's church. The story is better interpreted as part of the development of redemptive history, moving from the late OT concepts to the full Christian idea of Gentiles and Jews in the kingdom. Besides, the Gospel of Matthew had already included such a statement by Jesus in Matthew 10:6. And Matthew's Jewish audience would have been interested to know that Jesus did a miracle for a Canaanite woman, in Gentile land. Mark was writing to a different audience than Matthew, a Gentile audience, and that statement would need a lot of explanation to them. Jesus had healed Gentiles before, but always in Jewish territory.

Analysis of the Text

I. The Circumstances: Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon (v. 21). There are two things you have to explain here: the withdrawing, and the location.

Tyre and Sidon were the two main Phoenician cities just north of Mount Carmel on the coast. In the Old Testament times this was all the region of the Phoenicians, better known as Canaanitish tribes. The word does not refer to one specific ethnic group, but an amalgamation of different groups (usually a list of twelve or more people known as the Canaanites) living in the land of Canaan. The word "Canaan" is the ancient name of the whole land before Abram arrived. The word itself may be related to the purple dye of the shellfish, or the merchant class that traded in the material. Because of its seaports and corresponding trade the Canaanite empire became a dominant power in the third millennium B.C. It had weakened tremendously by the time of the conquest, but still provided a formidable military challenge for Joshua and then later the Judges. But the Canaanites were also thoroughly pagan and corrupt. Their presence in the land was a strong threat to the purity of Israel's religion and morality. So there is a long history of spiritual and military conflict between the Israelites and the Canaanites. David and his royal successors managed to control them; Solomon even did business with them when he was building he temple. But over the years the Canaanites were defeated and most of them fled the land. The bulk of those who fled settled in North Africa in Carthage, and met their doom in 146 B.C., which essentially ended the curse on Canaan and any threat from Canaanites. There were still people of various ethnic origins living in the area of today's Lebanon and Syria, and they would be called Canaanites (like our term Americans). And Jesus met one of them here.

But why did Jesus go to the region? He withdrew from the conflict with the Pharisees and elders about thirty to fifty miles north into Gentile country. He had "withdrawn" before (2:12, 22; 4:12, 12:15, 14:13). Jesus was trying to control the timing of things. He did not want people to make Him king, and He did not want the confrontation with His enemies to come to a head too soon. So frequently He withdrew, or told people not to say anything about the miracle, or a number of other unexpected acts. It appears that Jesus withdrew for a time, both to let the conflict settle a bit, and to turn attention to Gentiles in this act. The timing is most significant--the Jewish leaders were rejecting Him, and Gentile woman who hardly knows Him was seeking mercy.

Some suggest that Jesus only went to the border, but did not enter Gentile land. There is no basis for that, and no reason. He had been in Gentile lands, and while that may have been a defilement in the minds of the Pharisees, it was not so in biblical tradition. It is clear that He left Galilee and entered a Gentile region (v. 21; Mark 7:31).

II. The Conversation: Jesus draws faith out of the Canaanite woman (22-28a). The way that Jesus deals with this woman has been given some very strange interpretations. One scholar suggested that Jesus had been a racist and this woman converted him from that narrow view. That is just silly. If he had been a Jewish racist, and therefore a sinner, he would not have come to Tyre and Sidon. No, what Jesus is doing is typical of the way He dealt with people--He would put stumblingblocks, as it were, in their way to see if they had faith to step over them. For example, when someone called Him "good," He said, "Why are you calling me good, there is no one good but God." How they responded to that would show what they thought of Him (He was not denying that He was good, or God).

The woman came crying out to Jesus, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Her words are significant, given Matthew's description of her as a Canaanite. She is well aware of the ancient rivalry between the Jews and the Canaanites. She believes He is the promised Messiah; but if that is true, then He is to her a Jewish king, "Son of David." As such, He is sovereign over her and her land, and all she can do is cry for mercy. Her words open the old wounds. But she was desperate for her daughter, and so would cry out for mercy from the visiting Jewish king.

It is the setting and her words that prompt the disciples, and then Jesus, to respond the way they do. At first Jesus was silent, no doubt to see if she would persevere--and she did, following Him down the street crying out. The disciples said, "Send her away." Now this could mean a couple of different things. They could mean, "Send her away because she is a nuisance." Or they could mean, "Send her away by healing her because she won't go away." This last interpretation makes the best sense, because Jesus' answer in verse 24 speaks to it and not the other. In other words, "I am only sent to the lost sheep of Israel" would explain why he was not healing her, and would not explain a request to dismiss her without healing her.

His answer, reflecting what He has already said in 10:6, focuses on His primary mission in the world, as reflected by Matthew. He was the promised Jewish Messiah who came to His own (John 1 tells us), but when His own rejected Him, He turned to the Gentiles. The "lost sheep of the house of Israel" does not mean there were lost sheep in Israel, but that all Israel was lost (Isaiah 53: all we like sheep have gone astray). His own mission was primarily to Israel; the mission of the disciples will be to go into all the world. But events like this will inform the disciples that Jesus set the precedent.

Jesus wanted the disciples and the woman to understand fully that His ministry in the brief time He had on earth was very focused. He was the Son of David, the Messiah. That fact did not admit this Canaanite woman to the benefits of the covenant made with the Jews. The kingdom had to be fully offered to them first, in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the kingdom. (The passage is like John 4:22 where it was recognized that "salvation is from the Jews.") So all the woman could do is ask for mercy, general mercy as a non-Israelite.

(Many students of the Bible for one reason or another are afraid of this race issue; but the people of the times were very much aware of it. And Jesus came as a Jew, as the promised king of the Jews, whose kingdom would eventually extend to all the world, as it had in bits and pieces in the Old Testament. But it began with Israel).

Well, this woman would not be put off, and so knelt before Him and begged, "Lord, help me." Jesus pushed her a little further, reminding her of the historic distinction between the cursed Canaanites and the blessed Israelites. In the short saying the Jews are the "children" and the Gentiles are the "dogs." The children get fed first.

But the woman's answer is marvelous: even the "dogs" eat the crumbs that the children drop. She acquiesces to the role of a "dog" in relation to Israel (she knows the Messiah came to Israel first); she may not be able to sit down at the Messiah's table and eat with the "children," but she should be allowed to pick up some of the crumbs they drop. She wants some of the uncovenanted mercy of God, His general saving grace to all people.

The word for dogs here refers to small dogs, perhaps children's pets who are harmless and somewhat helpless. She accepts Israel's historical privilege over the Gentiles, especially the powerful ancient Canaanites; but she is no threat to that in her request for grace that is freely given to the Gentiles. Besides, she will take what the Jews do not want. And that attitude played out again and again in Paul's missionary journey when he turned to Gentiles because the Jews did not want their Messiah, but the Gentiles did.

III. The Conclusion: Jesus rewards her faith by healing her daughter (28b). Jesus honors the faith that seeks mercy. She had no resentment, no anger about her situation; she only knew that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah who came to heal people, and for some reason He was in her town. She sought mercy from Him. And this time Jesus responded with emotion ("O woman" has emotional force). Her faith was rewarded. And she became one of the early Gentiles to enter the kingdom.

Conclusion and Application

The basic theme of the passage is that Christ went into Gentile territory and did this miracle for a Gentile woman who had greater faith than the Jews who were rejecting and challenging Jesus' claims. It teaches us about the grace of our Lord, about faith of people who are in need, and about the coming advance of the kingdom to the Gentiles who will be sent into all the world. They would know that it was the Lord's desire that all come to salvation.

So the conversation has to be understood in its historical setting to capture fully what Jesus is doing here. He is not playing games with the woman--He did not go all the way to her region to avoid her! But the crisis between Jesus and the Jews was soon to intensify, and Jesus is making it clear that the grace of God will be given to all who believe, even though His mission called for Him to present Himself to Israel as the Son of David. It was as if He was saying to the disciples and to her, "You do know I am the Jewish Messiah don't you?"

It is amazing how the Church over the centuries has tried to conceal that point, presenting Jesus as non-Jewish in paintings and art, and even as Aryan in theological writings (as amazing as that may seem). The Church has done such an effective job in this that many Jewish people today have to be reminded that Jesus is their Messiah, a Jew (the Church has adopted a "triumphalist" or "replacement" attitude toward the Jews which has not been a healthy or correct approach). Here, the disciples wanted Jesus to satisfy her need; and Jesus wanted to heal her daughter (He came all the way to her region) but He wanted her to express her faith in spite of whatever racial tensions there were. Ad since she knew that He was the Lord, the Messiah, and asked for mercy, He healed her daughter. Jesus' ministry may have focused on Israel first (as Paul's did, "to the Jew first"), but He extended mercy to all who would believe in Him.

This passage should have become instructive for the disciples, but they still had to meet and decide if the Gospel had in truth gone to the Gentiles, and if so what laws should Gentiles come under (Acts 15). But there was no denying that Jesus went to the Gentiles and extended His grace.

And so the instruction is for us as well, that we are to take the message of grace to the world, to whoever is seeking mercy and will believe. If there is resistance and refusal, we may continue to pray for them (as Jesus prayed for Jerusalem), but we turn to people who want it, whom the Spirit of God has prepared to receive the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Unfortunately, the Church spends the greatest amount of time, money and energy continuing its work at home, when the greatest responses to the Gospel today are in the third world. Our cities have churches and ministries on almost every corner; but in other countries there are people seeking God's grace and the need is not being met.

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23. The Faith Of A Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15:21-28)

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In the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we begin to see signs of the tide turning against Jesus by the leaders of the country, and accordingly Jesus turning more to the Gentiles. In chapter fourteen John the Baptist was beheaded, a clear sign of the opposition to the movement.

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Nadia Bolz Weber: Reflections on the story

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Nadia Bolz Weber: Reflections on the story

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It's Jesus walking on the water Sunday here at House for All Sinners and Saints and we thought maybe during Open Space we should have a kiddie pool set up in the back so you could all "test your faith". You know - go ahead and give it the old Christian try. That's how I've always heard this story preached: like it's the Little Engine Who Could Have. As a matter of fact, here's a 1 minute version of the sermon I just don't have the stomach to preach to you....it might sound familiar: The disciples are in a little boat battered by waves, they see Jesus walking toward them and for a moment, Peter is a hero. He steps out of the boat and has sufficient faith to walk on water. He actually does it. Peter musters up what it takes to be God-like and what it takes is faith. Lots and lots of faith. Because with enough faith you can walk on water all the way to Jesus. If you had enough faith you could do it too. And maybe even better than Peter. Because Peter's only mistake was that he took his eyes off Jesus and that's why he sunk. So the moral of the story, and of course every Bible story is about how to be moral...so the how to be moral of this story is that if you in your life are not God-like in your ability to financially prosper or overcome all your failings as a human or defy the forces of nature and walk on water then the problem is that you don't have enough faith and you should really muster up some more because the thing is, it's all up to you to make your way to Jesus. So, don't be afraid. Get out of the boat but be better at it than St Peter and don't take your eyes off of Jesus. You can do it if you really try. End of sermon. And good luck with that.

OK, this is a cynical view even for me, but it's honest. Yet I know that having a preacher tell me that the solution to my problems is to just try and have more faith - so I can make my way to Jesus never sounds like good news to me. It reminds me of The Simpson's episode where square jawed newscaster Ken Brockman made a set of motivational tapes called "get confident stupid!". In the end, I just don't know how helpful is to say "get faith sinner". It doesn't work.

But the weird thing is, here you all are. Gathered again around this story of the man who walks on water. Some of you are new to the story of Christ, and for some of you it formed who you are from the cradle. I could be wrong but I think maybe we aren't all here because some preacher exhorted us to "have more faith". I think we are here because at some point we heard the Story and the story claimed us. At some point, someone told you the story about this God who created the universe, who spoke through prophets, who came to us in Jesus, who ate with sinners and scoffed at the powerful, who suffered and died and rose again and calls us out of our of own graves to new life. And here's the thing about stories... they tell us who we are. Sometimes a story can tell us what to do but when we hear who we are we then know what to do and God's story found in the Bible does this more than any other story can.

And I guess this particular story of Jesus walking on water can be reduced to a moral about having more faith. But, like so much of the Bible, it can also be a way to see who we are and see who God is for us.

See if you recognize yourself in this story: Because maybe some of us are like the ones in the boat who are afraid. Maybe you are so caught up in the fear of making the wrong decision that you can't make any decision at all. Or maybe you are like the one experiencing the thrill of stepping into the unknown - a new relationship or a new job or you've just moved to Denver leaving behind the familiar - and maybe the first few steps are ok but then it gets scary. Or maybe you or the person next to you is the one who is sinking in debt or depression or maybe you feel like you're sinking because what you could handle last month you just can't handle now. Or maybe you're the one who knows you're doomed, knows that all your own efforts have failed and you are crying out to God to save you and you're the ones who Jesus has reached down to catch and you're clinging on to the sweet hand of Jesus with all you've got. or maybe you're the one in the boat looking in wonder all you've just seen... you're the one who bears witness to the miracle and danger of it all and how the hand of God reaches down and pulls us up and you see it and can't help but say "truly this is God." At some point or other I know I have been all of the above.

Yet, a lot of what I've heard in the church both with this story and with so many others is not who I am but who I should be. I should be the one with enough faith to walk on water. I should be the one whose eyes are always always on Jesus. I should be the one who makes my way to Jesus.

But all these characters in the walking on water story - the cautious ones in the boat, the brave one who walked for a time on water, the same one who is afraid and sinks and calls for help, and the ones who saw it all and confessed that Jesus is the son of God they are all actually equal in their relationship to God because...all of these and you have one thing in common: they are those whom Jesus draws near saying "it is I, do not be afraid". The glamorous part of this story is that Peter walked on water. Which I admit is pretty cool. And maybe he almost had enough faith to make his way to Jesus. But what happens on either side of his short little water walk? Jesus comes toward HIM. In the storm Jesus is walking toward the boat, when Peter sinks Jesus is reaching toward Peter then he comes so much toward them all that finally he just gets in the damn boat. That's about as with them as he can be. Yet we seem to always focus on Peter walking toward Jesus when the whole story is about how much jesus walks toward them reaches toward them and then even gets in the boat with them.

We might see the moral of the story as "you should have so much faith that you can walk on water toward Jesus" but the truth of this story is that Jesus walks toward us. The truth of the story is that my abundance of faith or lack of faith does not deter God from drawing close. That even if you are scared to death you can say Lord Save Me and the hand of God will find you in even the darkest waters. Because this is a story not of morals but of movement. Not of heros of the faith making their way to Christ but of Christ drawing near to you in the midst of fear. As our reading from Romans says the Word of God is near to you - on your hearts and in your lips. And for us for today, I would say the Word of God that was made flash and dwelt among us in Jesus the Christ draws near to you. He is written on your hearts and is proclaimed from your lips. He walks toward you saying "It is I, do not be afraid" and God reaches down when you call his name and as Paul wrote to the Romans Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14But - he writes - how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

So. There is actually a kiddie pool in back filled with water and scented oil. I invite you during open space or during communion not to try and walk on it, but to dip your feet in as a blessing. Feel the cool of the calm waters and know that yours are the beautiful feet of they who have been sent to tell the story of who you are and who God is....and you tell the story of God so that you and others might call out Lord save us as we continually die and rise in the waters of our baptism. Do not be afraid. For that is your beautiful story.

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Jesus Walking on the Water - A Sermon Sarcastic and Serious

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It's Jesus walking on the water Sunday here at House for All Sinners and Saints and we thought maybe during Open Space we should have a kiddie pool set up in the back so you could all "test your faith". You know - go ahead and give it the old Christian try.

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How would the people in the stories answer the question: Who is Jesus?

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How would the people in the stories answer the question: Who is Jesus?

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In what ways do each of these stories reveal something different about Jesus?

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In what ways do each of these stories reveal something different about Jesus?

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What do you think Matthew wants us to know about Jesus?

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What do you think Matthew wants us to know about Jesus?

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The Word of God

Now when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me." Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

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The Word of God Now when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

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The Word of God

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

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The Word of God Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all.

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The Word of God

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

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The Word of God Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.

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The 4C’s routine provides students with a structure for text-based discussion built around: making connections asking questions identifying key ideas considering application