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| Volume 26 Number 2 February 2024 |
Page 7 |
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| Volume 26 Number 2 February 2024 |
Page 7 |
David R. Pharr
To the casual reader, the story of our Lord’s encounter with a Canaanite woman near Tyre and Sidon may seem strangely uncharacteristic of what we know about Him (Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30). “A woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter” (Mark 7:25-26 NKJV).” At first, Jesus did not respond, and His disciples urged Him to “send her away, for she cries out after us” (Matthew 15:23). Jesus explained that His ministry was to His own people. “…I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Still, the woman persisted. “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’” (Matthew 15:25). She would not abandon her purpose.
It was at this point that our Lord spoke to her in a way that seems harsh and abusive to us. “…It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (Matthew 15:26). In any language, to imply that a person is a “dog” sounds insulting. It was common in that age to despise people of other nations. The bluntness of our Lord’s words, no doubt, pleased the disciples, because they wanted to be rid of her. However, it seems very unlike Jesus – Who was so full of compassion and pity, Whose character was the essence of love – that He would so denigrate one of God’s pitiable creatures, especially one whose only purpose was to save her daughter.
The explanation is in His divine anticipation of how she would respond. He foresaw that she would answer in a way that, on the one hand, ought to have shamed the twelve for their racial bigotry and lack of compassion, and which, on the other hand, would give her the opportunity to express the unwavering and humble faith that had brought her to Jesus. “And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (Matthew 15:27-28).
Though Jesus had been sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” He had “…Other sheep… which are not of this [Jewish] fold…” (John 10:16). By inviting her response and by then granting her petition, Jesus was preparing the disciples to learn the truth that “…God is no respecter of persons” (KJV) or “…God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34 NKJV). Her case served then as well as now as a rebuke for all forms of racial and national bigotry. More especially, however, her faith and importunity in the face of what seemed a hopeless rebuff teaches us the humility that must accompany our faith.
Though we know that “pride goes before destruction…” (Proverbs 16:18), we tend to be very protective of our pride. A proud heart would not bear the implication in what seemed so unkind a rejection of her petition. This woman, though, had a need that was greater than her pride.
It might have seemed embarrassing to go to a stranger for help, but her desperation was greater than any sense of social propriety! It could be humiliating to ask for help from a foreigner, especially one from a nation that despised her people, but her daughter was suffering! How uncomfortable, even embarrassed, she might have felt knowing that the Lord’s disciples did not want her to be there, but she had a little girl at home whom she loved more than she loved her own self-respect! In any circumstances, but especially in these, it might seem too degrading, too demeaning, too disgraceful to get down on one’s knees and beg, but her daughter was “…grievously vexed with a devil!” (KJV) or “…severely demon-possessed” (Matthew 15:22 NKJV). This mother was even ready to be a little dog if it meant she could have a few crumbs from the Master’s table!
Suppose, however, that her pride had been stronger than her faith. What if she had said, “I don’t need this! I am not going to submit to such!”? She would have gone home to find her little girl with the same affliction. Pride may be the greatest barrier between us and our Lord’s blessings. “…God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
