Boundaries and Belonging: Matthew 15:21-39

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ZjIYmmAjk

Matthew 15:21-39

Jesus went away from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed."

But he did not answer her, even with a word. And his disciples came up and urged him, saying, "Send her away because she keeps shouting at us."

But he answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came up and began to bow down before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

Yet he answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." And she said, "Yes, Lord, but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from the master's table." Then Jesus said to her, "Oh woman, your faith is great. It shall be done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed at once.

Departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. And after going up on the mountain, he was sitting there, and large crowds came to him, bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others. And they laid them down at his feet and he healed them. So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing, and they glorified the God of Israel.

Now Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with me now for three days and have had nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry for they might faint on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?"

And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven. And a few small fish." And he directed the people to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and fish. And after giving thanks, he broke them and started giving them to the disciples. And the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were 4,000 men beside the women and children. And sending the crowds away, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

When Love Tests Your Boundaries

I remember when I was in high school, I was at a friend's house, sitting in a different room from them, reading scripture with the smell of weed in the air, thinking, "Should I be here?" I wouldn't set a boundary that I would only have friends that were godly, good, moral, a good influence—anything you want to call it. However, what was I to do when the friends I had for years started making the wrong choices? Started drinking, partying, and making any reckless choice you can name.

Of course, not participate with them, but am I to walk away or give an ultimatum? I decided to stay against the advice of pastors and mentors. It wasn't easy. I thought at times that maybe I was a fool, a sucker, just letting a few peers do whatever they want. And I never knew if I was really helping or just afraid to be alone.

But what I learned from this is what every boundary ends up teaching you: boundaries only matter until someone you love is on the other side, and then they seem to get shaky.

Jesus Faces a Boundary

Jesus too faces a boundary, a boundary that has been solid for centuries. Gentiles—anyone who is not of the people of Israel—way over there. Israel settling nice and neat in the land, being God's chosen people. The disciples wanted her to go away. And Jesus hesitates for a moment as this woman comes up to them. And then Jesus calls her a dog.

Now, let's not skip past this discomfort like so many times we do, because something special, something vital is happening here if we have the courage to rest in the tension.

Many pastors like to gloss over this, sweep it under the rug and say, "Oh, well, Jesus said this tongue-in-cheek." However, our text does not give us such an easy out. Why would Jesus joke around with a woman sitting across the boundary line of centuries of racial prejudice when this woman is begging for the life of her child? It would almost be more cruel if Jesus were joking in this moment than if he just told her flat out no, which seems to be his initial response.

A Woman Who Refused to Back Down

However, this woman, rather than backing down, places herself in Jesus's story and says, "Even if it takes me being a dog, as long as I'm in your house, I'm your responsibility, Jesus. And if you're as good a master as you say, then even the crumbs off your table will be enough."

And Jesus, amazed at this woman's faith, puts her in a very small club. Because in Matthew's story, there are only two people in which Jesus is amazed and calls their faith great: this Canaanite woman and a Roman centurion, which we read about a few chapters before. Both outsiders.

So here's the contrast that's being made. The insiders are the privileged, the religious elite, blind, entitled, unmoved. The outsiders are desperate, daring, relentless and see what the insiders have missed the entire time.

Where Are We?

So where are we? Many of us walked in today, if we're honest, assuming we know. However, before we assume, if history's taught us anything, it's this: Those surest of their place are normally the furthest from the heart of God. Those assuming they're sitting in the seat of honor and in the right are normally those who are missing it the most. The Bible itself shows us that God's insiders are normally those we don't expect.

Let's look at who it does say are his insiders in Hebrews 11:35-38:

"Others were tortured, not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others experienced mocking and flogging and further chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted. They were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute, afflicted, tormented. People of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts, on mountains, and sheltering in caves and holes in the ground."

These people were not those with a reserved seat up front. They were the wanderers, the invisible, the excluded, the outcast. The world couldn't see their value, but God wrote their names in the hall of faith.

The Example of Martin Luther

Centuries later, we see this same dynamic with Martin Luther, the figurehead and pretty much agreed leader of the Protestant Reformation. Martin was a monk at first, at the center of power and tradition of the Catholic Church of the time. However, the more he searched for belonging and purpose, the more he found out the same thing the wanderers of Hebrews did.

Luther famously said, "I am captive to the word of God." And he showed what true captivity looks like when he stepped out of being a monk and risked excommunication, his reputation, and even death. Martin learned that sometimes true faith leads you to step out of the systems you have always depended on.

Questions for Us Today

So are we clinging to our insider status? Are we clinging to systems more than we're clinging to Jesus? Are we willing to be misunderstood and excluded by the world or even the church itself?

Who among us needs courage to walk away from false belonging and security? And like the Canaanite woman, the wanderers of Hebrews, and Martin Luther, take Jesus at his word and follow him wherever he goes, even to death if that's where faith requires.

From the margins of Canaan to the caves of Hebrews to the door of Wittenberg church, God's story has always been written by those willing to step out. Even Abraham, who had wealth, security, an inheritance waiting—when God called, stepped out of his household and his system of security and followed God into the wilderness and into the unknown. Abraham became the father of faith not by protecting what he had but by surrendering it.

Evaluating Our Boundaries

So what boundaries have we put up that may actually be keeping us from God's best for our lives? What boundaries have we put up that actually impede the mission God has given to us? Because boundaries are good. I'm not saying forgo them all. But what I am saying is that we must realize when boundaries start getting in the way of God's mission for us, that's when they become a blockade rather than a tool for God's plan for our lives.

Here are a few boundaries we can evaluate: Have we made theological certainty a prerequisite for belonging? Because the early church didn't have that. Have we made cultural assimilation to norms the price of admission for community? While those are all good things, while we need those, we need to first welcome people in with open arms, remembering the love of the mission God has given us, the purpose of the mission God has given us, and then all other boundaries come after.

Because we as longtime Christians can get so caught up in drawing boundaries, we forget what it's like to be this woman—desperate, on our knees, begging, longing, wanting God to move in our lives. We just need a hand to reach across the boundary and help. We just need someone to see us. And even though we're not what you would normally choose, even though they're not who you normally reach your hand out to, maybe that's exactly what God is calling us to do. Maybe that's exactly where God is calling us to be.

The Gift Beyond the Cost

The cost of giving up our boundaries isn't just something we give away. It's not something that says, "Oh, we have to lose everything we believe in." No. It leads to a gift, to a benefit, which is when we put God's mission at the forefront, we become and start living in the center of his new creation where lives are changed, our purposes are found, and the world around us is transformed.

So where can we reach across boundaries we have drawn? Not forgoing them, but temporarily reaching across them to pull someone else to the other side.

The Desperate Faith That Changes Everything

I want us to imagine this Canaanite woman, her voice raw from shouting after Jesus—which the text seems to indicate she shouted for a decently long time before Jesus even gave her notice. This woman's eyes red from sleepless nights worrying over her daughter. She lets go of her dignity, her pride, and even her identity—whatever it takes to get to Jesus.

And what we see afterward is her desperate faith was not misplaced. The healings and the feeding of the 4,000 show us that much, because Jesus breaks bread on yet another mountain. But this time not in the company of the familiar, not with the Israelites. No. On this mountain, he is still a long way from the territory of Judea, of Israel, and in the territory of Gentiles. And he breaks bread with the strangers, the Canaanites, the Samaritans, and others who've been excluded from God's promise.

And here's the good news: there was more than enough for everyone. There was more than enough. At first, when we thought Jesus was going to hold that boundary strong at the beginning of our story, he not only reaches across to the woman but then goes and sits with over possibly 12,000 Gentiles and feeds them all, just like he did with the Israelites on another mountain just a few chapters before.

Even in this moment, so early on in God's story, we see that Jesus unites God's people. And that definition of God's people is greatly expanding beyond being an Israelite. We see in this passage that desperate outsiders become beloved insiders only through God's grace.

So, who wants more bread? Because there's more than enough for you and anyone else you love at the table.