What's My Degree of Faith? Counterfeit, No, Litte, Simple or Great?

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

Matthew 15:28

I believe that everyone has great faith. The only question we have to ask is, in what? When many of you sit down in your chair, none of you have ever wondered, even just a little, “Is this chair going to hold me? Or “Am I going to fall?” You simply plopped your behind down and went about your business. You didn’t even think about it because there was no doubt in your mind. But for few like me who have body weight a little over the normal scales, we do think for a moment before sitting just to avoid the laughter later, if the chair is going to hold me.“

The verse that we meditate today makes us ask the question “What kind of faith are we having”?

In the Bible there seems to be different levels of faith. Counterfeit faith, no faith, little faith and great faith.

Counterfeit faith can be seen through the demon that possessed this woman’s daughter. James tells us even the demons believe in Jesus and tremble (James 2:19). Demons believe in the reality of God, the authority of God, the power of God and the Holiness of God, but their belief does not affect their 'heart' resulting in submission and obedience to God. It is a 'counterfeit' unfruitful faith.

The next level is no faith. This can be seen in the Pharisees who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

The next level is little faith. Examples of this can be seen in:

Matthew 8:26 - When Jesus calms the storm - He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

Matthew 14:31 When Peter walks on the water - Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Matthew 16:8 – When Jesus was crossing the lake - Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?"

Matthew 17:20 – When Jesus gives the example of Mustard seed - He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

The next level up is simple faith. Example are:

Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5 – When few men bring in a paralytic - Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

Matthew 9:22 – When the bleeding woman came to Jesus - Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

Matthew 9:29 – When the blind men approached Jesus - Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”

And the last and highest level is great faith. Examples of this are:

Matthew 15:8 – The Canaanite woman -Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

Matthew 8:10 – The centurion - When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

We don’t know a thing about her. We don’t know her name, her background, and her looks. Max Lucado says, “She came from nowhere and went nowhere. She disappeared the same way that she appeared, like a puff of smoke. But what a delightful puff she was.”

The disciples, during two years of training, hadn’t done what she did in a few moments of conversing. She impressed God with her faith. The disciples’ hearts may have been good. Their desire may have been sincere. But their faith didn’t turn God’s head.

Hers did. We don’t know much about her, but, we do know one remarkable truth: she impressed God with her faith. After that, anything else she ever did was insignificant.

Matthew calls her a “Canaanite woman,” and, in doing so, gives us some extra information.

A Canaanite - Which means she is an outsider. She is a foreigner. She is an apple in a family tree of oranges.

A woman - She lived in a culture that had little respect for women outside the bedroom and kitchen.

But she met the Teacher, who had plenty of respect for her.

Did Jesus really have respect for her? Looking at the incident, It doesn’t appear that way, though. In fact, the dialogue between the two seems harsh. It’s not an easy passage to understand. I have always had difficulty in understanding it.

Matthew notes that Jesus says nothing in the beginning. Nothing. He doesn’t open His mouth. Why? Is it to test her? Most commentators suggest this. Maybe, they say, He is waiting to see how serious she is about her plea. My dad used to make me wait a week from the day I asked him for something to the day he gave me his answer. Most of the time, I forgot that I ever made the request. Time has a way of separating whims from needs. Is Jesus doing that over here?

I have another opinion. I think that He was admiring her. I think that it did His heart good to see some courageous, determined and great faith for a change. I think that it refreshed Him to see someone asking Him to do the very thing He came to do: give great gifts to unworthy children.

Today we want the gifts just like the Canaanite woman, but, with a difference. We want it on our terms. For some odd reason, we feel better if we earn it. Max Lucado says, “This is the reason we create religious hoops and hop through them - making God a trainer, us His pets, and religion a circus.”

The Canaanite woman knew better. She had no resume. She claimed no heritage. She had no earned degrees. She knew only two things: her daughter was weak, and Jesus was strong.

Dear Friends This Lenten Season let us pray to the Lord to give us faith like the Canaanite woman.

May the Lord strengthen us. God Bless You.