already was not a problem. What would have been a
problem was accepting that Christ's place was exclu-
sive and supreme, that other gods must be renounced
to follow Him. And finally, she was a Gentile, sneer-
ingly referred to by Jews of the day as dogs, and be-
lieved by some to have been created only to provide
fuel for the fires of Hell. The prejudice of culture was
a challenge then as it is today.
of her tormented daughter, trailing behind Jesus de-
spite the censure of the disciples. She was met only
by His silence. The Bible records, "But He did not an-
swer her a word" (vs. 23). When Jesus finally spoke
to her, He said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of
Israel" (vs. 24). Why did Jesus act toward her in this
harsh way?
quests to see if they are legitimate and to look at our
hearts to see if the cause for God's silence might be
our sin that blocks the way. If that is the case, we
must deal with that sin before Him. But there are
that no muscle is strengthened without straining
against an opposing force. But persist we must. Rev-
erend Luthardt once said, "We must not let Jesus go.
If He goes away, follow Him; if He seems stern,
become more urgent; if He hides His face, cry louder;
if He will not listen, assail His heart."
other religions, there is a constant danger of syn-
cretism, the grafting in of the Christian faith with the
old faith. For example, it can be Jesus plus Buddha or
Allah or Brahma. For this woman to follow Christ, she
needed to follow Him exclusively. No plus/and, but full
commitment to Him. Jesus' delay in answering was
about the sifting between old religious beliefs and a
new reliance on Christ alone.
someone crying out while drowning. This was life
and death and yet Jesus still pushed her away. This
time it was more gently. Perhaps quoting a proverb
of the day, He said, "It is not fair to take the chil-
dren's bread and throw it to the dogs" (vs. 26). As
mentioned above, Gentiles were referred to as dogs,
but the word used normally meant the vicious street
scavengers that ran in packs, attacking the weak and
at best posing a nuisance. But Jesus used a different
word that meant a household pet, a puppy that was a
part of the family. Imagine Jesus' tone softening while
the disciples witnessed Him turning toward this one
that they had been taught to despise.
table" (vs. 27). She knew that if the Gentiles were
house dogs, they too, belonged to the Master. She
also knew that it wasn't all of grace she needed, that
even the crumbs were more than enough to meet her
need. The smallest blessing from Christ was a large
and overabundant blessing. This she would ask for
and no more. But in requesting what might appear
victory was at hand.
been an annoyance was now an
example for others. Jesus pro-
claimed, "`O woman, great is
your faith! Be it done for you as
you desire.' And her daughter
was healed instantly" (vs. 28).