This week on the Word of the Lord endures forever, we continue our adventures and acts with

back in Antioch and back in the saddle. Timothy joins Paul and Silas. The gospel comes to

Philippi, Paul and Silas in jail, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Join me, Pastor Will

Whedon, for the Word of the Lord endures forever your daily 15-minute verse by verse,

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Jesus often does the unexpected. He's difficult to predict. His disciples find him

astonishing and surprising at times. And then we as those who are looking over their

shoulders reading their eyewitness accounts in the four gospels are sometimes astonished

as well. We know the story is well, but then Jesus doesn't behave the way or seem to behave the way

we expect him to. One case of that is Matthew chapter 15 Jesus and the Canaanite woman.

Welcome back to Issues etc. I'm Todd Wilkin. Joining us to talk about this account, Dr.

John Bambaro, Director of Theological Education for Eurasia for the Office of International

Mission of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Senate. He's author of a column titled The Gospel for Dogs,

Grace in Matthew 15 21 through 28. Dr. Bambaro, welcome back.

Thanks for welcoming Todd. Appreciate it. What's the apparent problem with Matthew 15 21 through

28 account of Jesus and this Canaanite woman? The apparent problem is isolating this text from

this relationship to the preceding prickly. It's one that we also know well. It's when Jesus

narrates what defiles a person, but also what comes after it in verse 29 through 31 Jesus

heals many. When we pull this text out of those two and don't read it the way that we ought to be

reading it and the way that we actually have it within our election areas where the prickly

succeed one another and we can build on and see the interconnection and how all of Matthew hangs

together. Again, when we isolate this text from its relationship to the prickly is around it

...