But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
Parallel Translations
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But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
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Then she came and worshipped him sayinge: master helpe me.
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Yet she came, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, helpe me.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Matthew 15:25 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 32:26 The man said, “Let me go, for the day breaks.” Jacob said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.”
- Hosea 12:4 Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,
- Matthew 14:33 Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!”
- Matthew 20:31 The multitude rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”
- Mark 9:22 Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”
- Matthew 8:2 Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
- Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”
- Luke 18:1-8 He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up, saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God, and didn’t respect man. A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’ He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’ ” The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
- Luke 11:8-10 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs. “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord,…
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Ver. 25. Then came she and worshipped him] She will not be said nay, or set down either with silence or sad answers; but, like another Gorgonia, she threatens heaven, and is (as her brother speaks of her) modestly impudent and invincible. She will believe, as a man may say with reverence, whether Christ will or not. And to bring her to this it was that he so long held her off, for, Desideria dilata crescunt; at cito data vilescunt. (Nazianzen.) Manna, that light meat, was but lightly set by, because lightly come by. But they that earn it before they eat it, and that know how they come by that which they have, will set a high price upon it, and know how and why they part with it.
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Lord, help me] Few words, but very forcible. When thou comest before God, "let thy words be few," saith Solomon, Ecc 5:1. This St Peter calls "to be sober in prayer," 1Pe 4:7, without trifling, or vain babbling, which the wise man calls "the sacrifice of fools." The Baalites’ prayer was not more tedious than Elijah’s short, and yet more pithy than short, charging God with the care of his covenant, truth, glory, &c. {a} It was Elijah that prayed loud and long, though in few words, yet very effectual. Fratres Egyptiaci brevissimis et raptim iaculatis orationibus uti voluerunt (saith Augustine), ne par moras evanesceret et hebetaretur intentio. Those ancient Christians of Egypt were very brief in their prayers.
Help me] The word properly signifieth to run at one’s cry that calls for help, {b} as the tender mother doth to her hungry child, when he sets up his note, and cries lustily.
{a} Orationis brevitas pathos habet. Aretius in loc.
{b} Βοηθειν, quasi επι Βοην θειν, ad clamorem alicuius accurrere auxilii ferendi causa. Beza.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain She here acknowledgeth his Divine power, and implores his…
She here acknowledgeth his Divine power, and implores his help; thus showing that she believed him to be the Son of God, and a rewarder of those that sought him; and continues her request after two repulses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Yet hath not this poor woman done: Christ’s former…
Yet hath not this poor woman done: Christ’s former silence, and his present denial, cannot silence her. She comes, she worships, she cries, Lord help me. O what an undaunted grace is the grace of faith! It has a strong heart, and a bold forehead, peremptory denials cannot dismay it. This woman will not despond, though her prayer of faith, from the knees of humility, succeed not.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then came she and worshipped him,.... She followed the…
Then came she and worshipped him,.... She followed the disciples into the house; and perceiving another repulse by Christ's answer to them, she pushes on, through all discouragements; her faith grows stronger, and her importunity greater: she had called Christ Lord, and the son of David before, but now she worships him as God:
Saying, Lord help me; a short petition, but what fully and fitly expressed her case: the object she prays unto is the Lord, by which she owns his sovereignty, dominion, and power: the request she makes is for "help", signifying that her case required it; that it was such, that she could not help herself, nor any creature help her, only he, which she firmly believed; and though it was her daughter, and not she herself, that was so miserably afflicted; yet such was her sympathy, love, and affection to her, that she makes the case her own, and calls helping her daughter, helping herself; for her daughter being relieved, she would be made easy.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Then came she - Into the house where he…
Then came she - Into the house where he now was.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 25. Lord, help me.] Let me also share…
Verse 25. Lord, help me.] Let me also share in the deliverance afforded to Israel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help…
Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me--(Also see on Mar 7:26.)
Next: Matthew Chapter 16
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 25. Then came she — During the conversation with…
25. Then came she — During the conversation with the disciples, our Lord seems to have stopped his walk a moment; and the woman, who was before running behind him, improves the opportunity to place herself before him, and flinging herself at his feet pants forth this desperate ejaculation: “Lord, help me.” “O dismiss these cold thoughts about thy mission; think of my misery; and have mercy, not so much on my daughter, as upon me in saving her.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (25) Then came she and worshipped him.—The word implies…
(25) Then came she and worshipped him.—The word implies the act of prostrate homage. She had apparently stood apart during the conversation between the Prophet and His disciples, and now came again, renewing her passionate entreaty.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Came she and worshipped him. Meantime, as we learn…
Came she and worshipped him. Meantime, as we learn from St. Mark, Jesus had left the street and entered into a house. The woman, nothing daunted by her rebuff and the disregard with which her appeal was received, followed him persistently, and, growing bolder in her importunity, fell as a suppliant at his feet. While he still seemed to repulse her, she was learning fresh faith and hope. Lord, help me. She does not now call him "Son of David." She begins to feel that she has little claim upon him as the Jewish Messiah; she appeals rather to his mercy and his power. Still, she identifies herself, as at first, with her daughter; the only boon she wants for herself is her child"s relief. "For she indeed (my daughter) is insensible of her disease, but it is I that suffer her innumerable woes; my disease is with consciousness, my madness with perception of itself" (St. Chrysostom, "Hom. 52 in S. Matt.").
Importunity and quick wittedness.
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Importunity: "Lord, help me. " Quick wittedness: "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters" table." The strangeness of our Lord"s dealing with this woman has often been pointed out. But the story needs to be read in the light of the fact that our Lord"s supreme work was work in character. In doing anything for the bodies of men our Lord really worked for their souls, and tried to make his healing bear a gracious influence on the minds, hearts, and dispositions of those whom he healed. And he seems to have kept the further aim before him of making the manner in which his miracles were wrought parts of his training of his disciples for their future mission. Those disciples learned so much just by watching how their Master dealt with individuals, such as this woman of Canaan.
I OUR LORD SOUGHT TO BRING OUT IMPORTUNITY. This explains delay and seeming refusal. Remember how much our Lord thought of importunity. He commends it in prayer, by his parables.
1. It is a valuable sign of character. There is something in a man who can persist; who can set an aim before him, and refuse to be discouraged. It is all the nobler when the aim concerns the well being of another.
2. It is one of the best expressions of faith. The woman could not have kept on her plea if she had not fully believed that the Lord both could and would help her. So Jesus, by his mode of dealing with her, brought out to view her faith.
3. It is one of the best indications of the value of the thing desired. If we do not care much about a thing, we soon give up our pursuit of it. If it is to us a "pearl of great price," we keep on until we get it. The woman had all her heart in this healing for her daughter. Then how importunate in seeking salvation we should be! "It is not a vain thing for you; it is your life.
II OUR LORD WAS GRATIFIED WHEN HE BROUGHT OUT QUICK WITTEDNESS. The woman"s answer is an exceedingly sharp and clever one. She skilfully turned our Lord"s reason for refusing into a reason for granting. Her word for "dogs" was cleverly chosen; it meant the "pet dogs of the house." They have a claim on the children"s crumbs. And she pleads just for the crumbs for her "little pet dog." It will not take anything from the "children" to send her a crumb of blessing. Jesus seemed really pleased with the woman; there was a most gracious tone in his final reply. See how his dealing brought her character out; and showed the disciples how to deal with people so as to be the fullest possible blessing to them. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 25. Then came she and worshipped him. Instead of…
25. Then came she and worshipped him. Instead of being discouraged by the words of Christ, she only became the more earnest.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 25. Then came she and worshiped Him, saying,…
v. 25. Then came she and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me.
v. 26. But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
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v. 27. And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
Here is an example of persistent, importunate pleading, not only in her own interest, to take away the anguish of her soul, but also for her daughter, who was suffering with a particularly severe form of demoniacal possession. But she received a decided shock of disappointment. At first the Lord paid absolutely no attention to her, but continued His journey as though He had not heard her. In the mean time she must have continued her clamoring without abating the least in fervor, for the disciples find themselves constrained to make intercession for her. Their tone is not exceptionally gracious. It implies that they would gladly be rid of her, that her persistent crying was annoying them. As usual, they did not come out of the test with flying colors. In a harsh manner, implying that they had better see to their own affairs, Jesus tells them that His special mission concerns the Jewish people only. That was the second rebuff. Of a truth, Luther says, Christ nowhere in all the gospels is painted as being so hard as here.
The disciples are discouraged and hold their peace, but the woman redoubles her efforts. She has set her faith on the word and works of this man, whom she steadfastly believes to be the Messiah; and she refuses to give up. With new courage she flings herself in His way, worshiping Him as the Lord from heaven, and insisting that He must help, that He must grant her prayer. If prayer fails, if intercession fails, she is ready to storm heaven itself. Christ delivers His last blow by saying roughly, with the full force of His assumed unkindness: It isn’t the proper thing, it shouldn’t be done, to take the bread of the children and to throw it to the dogs. The implication was that the Gentile woman and all her family and people were not on a level with the Israelites, that they could be considered in the eyes of God only as dogs, while the Jews were His children. That was a stern judgment which the Lord rendered, in which there surely was not a glimmer of hope for the harassed mother. But the eyes of faith will see light where others find only Egyptian darkness. As Luther writes, there is more yes than no in Christ’s speech; yea, nothing but yes , but very deep and hidden, and it seems nothing but no. There was not an absolute denial of her request, there was still room for an argument. And, besides, Christ had not compared her people and her family to the street-dogs, but to the house-dogs that live with their masters in the home. Instead, therefore, of turning away in hopeless discouragement, she turns to the attack: Yes, Lord, for also the house-dogs share in the meal of the children, though nothing but the crumbs fall to their lot. She had caught the Lord in His own argument, she had won a decided victory over Him. She is willing to be content with, yea, she demands as her right, the crumbs which the Jews were becoming tired of.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.