Jesus allows Himself to be caught (September 6, 2009)
By Rev. Bert Thompson

Little Billy is three years old. He is running after his Daddy. Daddy is running just slow enough so Billy can catch him. Billy grabs Daddy’s leg and six-foot-three, 220 pound Daddy comes crashing to the ground.

Billy shouts, “I tackle you!”, but we know the truth. Billy’s daddy allows himself to be caught. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus allows Himself to be caught.

God grant us open ears to hear and willing hearts to believe what He tells us in His holy Word.

Many people think when one becomes a Christian, one’s life will be easier. If something bad happens, it either means one is not a good Christian or it means God doesn’t care.

Both of the above conclusions are wrong.

The truth is when a person is converted, either in infant baptism, or later in life, now the battle begins. Now the devil rages. Christ has staged a jailbreak for us from Satan’s prison and Satan wants us back. Now the wicked world around us sees us as dangerous and tries to destroy us. Even our godless Old Nature inside us sees a new King ruling in our mind, body and soul. Our wicked Old Nature tries to kill this new King, called Christ.

As Christians, our lives can become worse. A Christian is constantly attacked by his former masters: his sinful old self, the godless world around him and the devil himself. We are ridiculed if we do not accept as normal the sinful things others are doing. We are even attacked by fellow Christians who stumble under the pressure to sin. Even inside us the battle rages. Daily we see our sins of thoughts, words and actions.

Like a three-year-old facing the defensive line on Super Bowl Sunday, we don’t stand a chance. Only Christ can save us.

Christ did. Christ defeated sin and Satan. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”: that is, keep us out of their dying grasp and rescue us from their power. Yes, sin and Satan are defeated, but we can still choose to follow them. We can choose to leave Christ and head back to Hell.

Only the crucified and risen Christ can deliver us. He made us His own in Baptism. He has come to defend us from all evil.

We follow Christ. Therefore, we continue to think that our life should be easy, but look what happens to Christ here on earth. He is slandered, abused and attacked. For a while, His own mother and family think He’s crazy. After He worships with the congregation one weekend, the congregation takes Him outside and tries to kill Him. He suffers hunger, thirst and fatigue. In agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, blood vessels under His skin burst. He sweats blood. The temple police thugs bring Him to a midnight sham trial where He is sentenced to die. He receives the most gruesome execution: crucifixion.

All this happens to Him in punishment for our sins. But now, it’s over. It’s done. It is finished. Daily we live in His forgiveness. Daily, we submerge our sin in His Blood.

However, our daily battle with sin and evil goes on.

Such is the life of the woman in our Gospel lesson. She is a believer. She calls Jesus “Lord”. She is a Gentile, not Jewish – but someone has proclaimed to her the Old Testament promises of the coming Messiah. Through this Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, faith has been created in this dear woman’s heart. She is a diamond in a heap of unbelievers. She holds this precious treasure of faith surrounded by unbelief, mockery and put-downs. Although she is set apart from this heathen mob by her faith, she is still physically right in the middle of them. Everywhere she turns, there is constant temptation. Only with God-given faith can she hope to endure to the end (Matt. 24:13).

Now, an even heavier cross is laid upon her. Her beloved daughter is demon-possessed. Her heathen neighbors can ridicule her even more by saying: “Ha! Where is your God now?”

With her sorrow and suffering at an unbearable level, Jesus comes to her. We have Jesus’ promise: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5 NIV) and “God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to endure.” (Heb. 13:5 NKJV) Jesus will surely help!

Wouldn’t we expect Jesus to treat this woman quite tenderly? But at this crisis point in her life, Jesus turns away!
Have you ever felt when you needed Jesus the most, He turns away?

An even heavier cross is slammed down on this woman’s back. Jesus seems to say “No.” Jesus says, “Let the children be filled first. It is not good to take the children’s food and throw it to the little house dogs.”

What can she do? Her God-given faith wrestles with God Himself. In that faith, she reaches right into His “No!” and she pulls out a “Yes!”

She exclaims, “Yes! You called me a little house dog and You are right! By birth, I am not a child of Abraham. I am not one of Your original children at Your table. But You called me a house dog. You said that I am a house dog in Your house! That means You are my Master. You feed me the very same food You feed Your own children. It falls from Your table. Even if it is only crumbs, You will always make sure it is enough. You said it! You said I belong to You. You chose me and placed me in Your house. I will rest safely in Your arms and You’ll feed me all I need.”

Her faith catches Christ in His own words. But we know the truth. Jesus allows Himself to be caught, so this, His precious daughter can grow and be strengthened in her faith. Christ is like the dad that never gives his child more than the child can handle, but at increasing levels of difficulty, so that when the really hard knocks of life come, his child will not be crushed.

Jesus knew her faith, but He also knew what strength she would need in the days ahead. He came to give her two gifts: healing for her daughter and increased strength for her faith.

If God wrestles with us through affliction, poverty, sickness, death of a loved one or disgrace or persecution because of the Name of Christ, we do not see these struggles the same way unbelievers see them. Rather, we take refuge in Christ and in His Word. Jesus says: “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline” (Rev 3:19 NIV). He matures us through His discipline.

Do not think because Christ preaches the Gospel of pure undeserved grace for us rebellious sinners, that this means the Christian life will be a life of health and happiness. Instead, learn from God’s Word that the Christian life is a vicious battle with our old sinful self, the wicked world around us and the devil and his demons. We live in constant confession of sin and a constant turning away from sin. We struggle with the evil around us and inside us. But Christ uses this struggle to strengthen us and bring us closer to Him.

This is to be a joyous struggle, just like it is for Billy and his daddy. In this struggle, you’ll need food. Christ provides that food every week, here at His Table. It’s Supper time. Come and eat. Be joined to God.

In this meal, even in a crumb of bread and a drop of wine, you receive His forgiveness and His strength to follow Him, no matter what happens.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.