Daily Devotional For Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Good morning Southside. Thank you for taking the time to delve into God’s Word through these daily devotionals. We have been making our way through Matthew’s Gospel and at times, even with a few verses, the devotionals have been longer than unusual. In order to do justice to the text, I have spent some extra time setting up the context such as cultural groups and their significance, the topography and geography of the land, the politics and traditions of the Jews. In doing this, this helps you understand the text better. Today, we come to Matthew 15:29-31:
“Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. (30) A vast crowd brought to Him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and He healed them all. (31) The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel” (NLT).
What a remarkable passage this is to read. Jesus traveled with His disciples from Tyre and Sidon east to the Sea of Galilee. Though much of this is in Jewish territories, Mark’s Gospel lets us know that Jesus avoided these and stayed in Gentiles territories called The Decapolis – the Ten Cities (see Mark 7:31). The Decapolis, which means 10 Cities, consisted of these 10 Roman/Greek Cities: (1) Philadelphia (Amman, Jordan today) ; (2) Gerasa (Jerash, Jordan today); (3) Gadara (Umm Qais, Jordan today); (4) Pella ( Tabaqat Fahl, Jordan today; (5) Dion Rell Ashair, also called Aydoun (Tell Ashair, Syria Today); (6) Raphana (Ar-Rafi’ah, Syria today); (7) Scythopolis (Beit She’an, Israel today); (8) Hippos (Sussita, Israel today; (9) Canatha (Qanawat, Syria today); and (10) Damascus (Syria today).
This passage is so moving of the compassion of Jesus. All these people wanted from Him was physical healing and Matthew says Jesus healed every single person. The lame could walk. The maimed were made whole, the blind could see, and the mute could speak. To those in the future reading this passage, it would have reminded them of the prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 35:5-6. As in our previous passage, Matthew was showing that even though Jesus came first for the Jews (see Matt. 15:24), the Messiah and His Gospel were also for Gentiles.
Matthew’s Gospel has already shown us Jesus’ compassion and ministry to Gentiles: Other Gentiles had received Jesus’ healing touch (the centurion who had come on behalf of his servant, Matthew 8:13; the demon-possessed men who lived in this same region in Matthew 8:33. It is as if Matthew is mirroring an account in Mark’s Gospel in Mark 1:32-34. Jesus loved people, even when He knew that they were attempting to use Him for only physical healing and not spiritual healing.
Matthew records Jesus walking great distances to get to people. Look at Matthew 15:21, “Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon” (NLT). In Matthew 15:21, Jesus is in Gennesaret. Why would Jesus walk from Gennesaret to Tyre and then from Tyre up to Sidon? It is thirty-five miles from Gennesaret to Tyre and twenty-five miles from Tyre to Sidon. That’s a long way to walk. Why walk? And why walk there? The distance is not as shocking as the destination itself. Tyre and Sidon? That’s Gentile territory. What’s Jesus doing out there and up there? New Testament scholar Emil Bruner asks this question: “Why is Jesus leaving the promised land for “paganland”? (Source: Emil Bruner, The Churchbook: Matthew 13-28, p. 97).
If Jesus came first for the house of Israel, the Jews, what in the world is He now going into pagan Gentile territory? What is the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the Messiah doing this? New Testament scholar Craig Bloomberg writes this: “Jesus has obviously withdrawn from Israel ideologically in Matthew 15:1-20 now he … withdraws geographically” (Source: Craig L. Bloomberg, The New American Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 242). I think Jesus took a short-term mission trip to reveal to His disciples the Great Commission before He officially gave it to them.
In Matthew 15:21 Jesus travels to Tyre and Sidon (Gentileville, folks). Then who does He meet first? – A Canaanite woman (See Matt. 15:22, Mark 7:26). When you read the word “Canaanite,” what pops up in your mind from the Old Testament? These were the bad people occupying the land the Hebrews had to conquer to receive the Promised Land – all archenemies of Israel and the Jews. You can imagine that Jesus’ disciples were shocked that Jesus would extend grace to a Canaanite who was also a Canaanite woman. Jewish cultural laws forbid a Jewish man from associating with any woman who was not their wife, daughter, mother or sister. And Jewish cultural laws forbid a Jewish rabbi from associating with any Gentile. We see this in the reaction of the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus in John 4:9.
Jesus was willing to let both Jews and Gentiles dine at the Messianic table (See Matt. 15:21-28). Both Jew and Gentile are invited to the table and the means to get there is faith in Jesus. The Gospel is inclusive to all. One must come through the gate, the door that God has provided—Jesus alone—and one must unlock that gate or door with the just the right key—faith alone. The Bible rarely defines faith. I know you might say, well what about Hebrews 11:1?
I am not discounting this. What the Bible does is give us biblical examples of people stepping out in faith: Abraham, Joseph, Job, Joshua, David, Elijah, Elisha, Ruth, Rahab, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Jeremiah, Esther, Elizabeth, Joseph/Mary, and etc.. It is God’s way of saying to us, “Let Me show you what faith in Me looks like.” We’ve already seen that the disciples have little faith (see Matt. 14:31, Matt. 6:30). God’s promise to Abraham was that God would bless all nations through Abraham (See Gen. 12:3).
Assignment: Where in your life are you struggling with faith? How do these biblical characters above help you with your faith struggle? How might you help someone with their faith struggle? Take a moment and really look at a couple of these biblical characters. What odds and challenges did they have to overcome to put their faith in God? This means it will not be any less for us also. That is the point of Hebrews 11:6. Are you more like the people in Jesus’ day? Just wanting a sign as proof. Who in the Bible demonstrates the greatest life of faith and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (NASB).Prayer To Pray: “Lord, help my unbelief. Please forgive me when I want proof, signs to sustain my faith. Please use me to help someone struggling with faith in their own life. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly