Why Just Bread Crumbs?

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Matthew 15:22-28

And it was just the crumbs….

I love this story. It initially intrigued me that Jesus would infer that this woman was a dog. (Jesus never concerned Himself with political correctness.) But as I dug deeper, because the Lord kept calling me back to it, there is so much more that spoke to me.

Rarely was Jesus impressed with people’s faith. He was more likely to be amazed at their unbelief. But this gal was told her faith was GREAT. So, let’s look back at what she said and did.

She came to him and cried out. Did you see those exclamation points above? She didn’t secretly approach the Lord in hopes that she wouldn’t be made a spectacle. This Canaanite woman knew she didn’t have the “right” to ask Jesus for a miracle. She wasn’t even Jewish. Furthermore, her daughter was so demon filled that she “suffered terribly”. How hard was this for a mother to confess? She must have surely been embarrassed by this condition.

“My daughter is sick.”

“My daughter needs direction.”

“My daughter is even backslid.”

Those we can admit. But, “My daughter is demon possessed.” That raises eyebrows.

Assuredly, she bore the shame. We don’t know how the demons manifested. But demons are not polite company. Certainly, as a mom, she bore the feelings of guilt and responsibility for her daughter being subject to demons. Where did she go wrong? How many times had she had to leave public places with her daughter after the demons acted out. But none of that hindered her. She cried out! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

But then the unexpected happened.

“Jesus did not answer a word.” Not a word.

I’ve been there. Have you ever cried out to the Lord and heard nothing, felt nothing, saw nothing happen? It was so obvious that the disciples told Jesus to send her away. “She keeps crying..”

Jesus tells them that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. He came for the Jews. Most of us would have walked away offended at this. Just given up. Surely, His miracle working power was real; but it was meant for others. It’s just not God’s will for her.

Again….been there. Have you ever thought, “Maybe God has another plan for me.”?

Not her. She comes right in front of Him (AGAIN), kneels down, and cries, “Lord, help me!”

She reminds me of Mary, at the wedding at Cana. Despite Jesus telling her it was not his time yet, Mary turns and tells the servants to do what He tells them to do. Pushy mother and woman of great faith in her Son.

Back to our story, Jesus flat out tells her that it wouldn’t be right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. I’m telling you that Jesus lost some followers with this. Not only does He not do the needed miracle but He calls her a dog. Some translations use the word, “puppies”. Funny. I guess that’s a little kinder.

Either way, the answer was no.

But not to be deterred, this woman argues with Jesus, the very One whose help she desperately needed. He said it wasn’t right. She said, “Yes it is, Lord.”

And then she offers this counter, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” She didn’t argue her worthiness. She didn’t offer a deal in return. She knew who she was (and wasn’t) and she knew who He was and she had faith that even the crumbs from His table were enough to defeat the enemy.

Here’s the amazing conclusion to this religiously awkward encounter. “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

Jesus

The second attention getter came at the end. Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Whoa. Jesus knew and loved this woman. He loved that she persisted. He loved her. After all, this was a story God deemed important enough for the Bible. Here was proof that faith pleased Him, from Jew or Gentile. Faith that says “I won’t let go unless you bless me”. (Genesis 32:26)

So, this is the name of my blog. Just bread crumbs. My desire is to take small bits of God’s Word and serve them to the dogs (JUST KIDDING!). No, I’m hoping to share my crumbs with you, my friends. I know that just bread crumbs from His table, mixed with faith, will accomplish great things.