The Faith That Surprises Jesus

Series:  Faith That Gets God's Attention 9/25/11 Jesus had withdrawn to the region of Tyre and Sidon, but Mark 7:24-25 says that He could not keep his presence secret.  As soon as this woman heard that he was there, she seeks Him out, and pleads for her daughter.  The Scripture is sure to point out that she had three strikes against her, according to the Jewish thinking: she was a woman, a Gentile, and a Canaanite. Someone has said “The greatness of faith often can be measured by the obstacles it overcomes” and she had to overcome many. In this passage,  we find a stark contrast between the Jewish leaders who were rejecting Jesus had a Gentile woman who is seeking after Him.  Here is a dramatic difference between the unbelief of the Jews, and the faith of this woman.  She has such great faith that it surprises Jesus.  Interestingly, there are only two people in Scripture, that Jesus commended for having great faith, the centurion and this woman, and both were Gentiles.  But what was it that so surprised Jesus about this woman’s faith?  As we consider this story today, I want us to look at what it was about this woman’s faith that surprised Jesus, so that we too may have that kind of faith.