24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.[g] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Question 1
Have you ever had to beg someone to help you?
Question 2
Why do you think Jesus seems to be so hard on the woman?
This is a difficult history to understand, and so it is very important that we are aware of the context. The people Jesus had come to, were the Jews. These were the people God had decided he would be in a special relationship with. That said, the Old Testament also clearly says that the whole world will be blessed through the Jews. When Jesus came into the world, he became like the King of the Jews. Part of God’s order was that his own people would reject him, and it was through the sacrifice he offered on the cross that anyone would be free to enter into a relationship with God.
During the time when Jesus was doing his work among the Jews, a lady from another country came to him to ask him to help her daughter. Jesus’ response to her was that the time had not yet come, but rather that the good news must be offered to the Jews first. To do this he uses the picture of taking food off the family children’s plate in order to feed the dogs.
The woman’s faith is impressive. Rather than get depressed or angry, she accepts the fact that she deserves nothing, and uses the same picture to her advantage. The dogs are still fed, either by the children themselves or with the remains of the food. She clearly believes that helping her daughter would be as small a thing for Jesus as crumbs falling off a table.
Again we see that it is someone’s faith that matters, not what country they came from. The good news for us today is that everyone of all nations is now invited to come to Jesus, to be adopted as children of God, and to be saved.
Question 3
Do you think God sometimes tests your faith?
Question 4
What lessons can we learn from the lady’s attitude?
Pray
for the ability to live in a way that shows that you are a child of God, and you thank him that he accepts anyone who comes to him in faith.
