Give It to the Dogs
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The story about the Gentile woman whose daughter needed Jesus’ healing touch always disturbed me. The woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter and He tells her the children must be fed before the dogs. Now, that does not sound like the loving Savior to whom I look for comfort. (Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30)
So I asked Him to enlighten me. I know, that may seem rather bold of me, but our Lord knows I am an inquiring person. He made me that way, thus He knows how I would respond.
Ah-ha! And so He also knew how the woman would respond, didn’t He? He knew she would not slither away hurt and defeated, heartbroken and insulted. That would have been my first reaction, which is why I was having such difficulty with this passage.
No, Jesus knew this lady had tenacious faith and would parry back that even the children’s pet puppies (which is what the Greek translation means) are happy to lap up the crumbs under the table. Why? Because they are confident their Master will make sure they are fed and cared for in good time and they want to hang out near Him and the kids.
It was His intention all along to heal the faithful woman’s daughter. So who was the lesson for, since Jesus’ healings always come with a message? First, it was for the disciples. If we start at the beginning, we see Jesus has just talked about inward cleanliness being more important than the outward Hebrew tradition of not associating with people who were “unclean”, i.e. Gentiles. And yet, here they respond to this woman asking Jesus if He wants them to hush her away. I even see a twinkle in Jesus’ eye, just for the woman, telling her, “Stay with me on this as we teach these guys a thing or two about My power and love.”
The second person who needs the lesson? The one who is writing this and is asking for an explanation. Answer – That same dog that must be lowly enough to receive crumbs can hop up confidently in his Master’s lap, enjoy a good loving scratch behind the ears and feel the warmth of His presence. Lord, help me to be that dog.
Question: What Is Our Lord’s lesson for you today? Have you asked Him?
About the Author Julie Cosgrove
5 Responses to “Give It to the Dogs”
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I use to have a problem with this passage as well, I didn’t like that He was calling her a dog, but the women didn’t let it phase her. that is what made me feel better about the passage. because it didn’t matter what kind of insult or determent she knew this man could heal her daughter, and that is the only thing that was going to make her stop asking is Jesus saying that it was done. Thank God for Jesus, His Word and the Holy Spirit!
I love to watch the visual Bible; “Matthew” with Bruce Marchiano (a wonderful Christian..not “just an actor”) who has a wonderful ministry today. I just happened to watch that segment Friday night and didn’t realize it would be a part of this devotional. The woman came running to him, Jesus said those troubling words, but his eyes were closed and he had this look of anticipation “come on, say the right words….get it right, I know you can.” And then the smile that came on His face when the woman said “that even the dogs eat the crumbs from the table…”. He turned to her and praised her for her faith. It was wonderful, I encourage readers to get a copy of The Visual Bible, “Matthew” with Richard Kiley and Bruce Marchino…He is “The Joyful Jesus”….and Bruce’s biography shows that the Holy Spirit was present throughout the making of this movie.
Every healing comes with a lesson. And the lesson wasn’t necessarily for the woman but for the disciples who stood by. Wow! That’s great to contemplate especially when we’re going through something we don’t understand.
Pet puppies, huh? Makes me think of my little dog. She is always willing and ready for a dropped or given crumb. I liked what you wrote about the twinkle in Jesus’ eye.
I want to be that puppy, anxious and ready to gobble up a crumb from the Master.. . . and to see the twinkle in His eye.
Thank you, Julie.
(I had often wondered about Jesus response the this woman, too.)
Everyday I get these it really enlightens me, I would have never thought about it like that, I always wondered why He would say something like that to one of His children. I always liked her response though. I know that I am very determined myself it is just sometimes my focus is in the wrong place. I thank you for your positive words and uplift everyday. It has made my life fuller and gives me something to think about other than all this worldly stuff that comes at me everyday.