Mark 7:24-30 “Crumbs from the Master's Table”

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

It was a blessing to gather at the Boyd’s House on Friday night for Soup and Fellowship! Thank you again to all of you who had a part in blessing and encouraging my family for Pastor’s Appreciation Month.

That was certainly unexpected and much appreciated!

Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 7. Mark 7: 24-30 today…

As a recap… Last time, upon returning to Capernaum (according to Jn 6:24)…

Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem over the transgression of why His disciples did not ceremonially wash their hands…

Jesus responded, in kind, charging the Pharisees with transgressing the commandment of God… a true offense.

And, Jesus cited several examples of how the Pharisees elevated man’s traditions above the word of God…

Which still lingers in many High Churches today…

And, be on guard for any teaching that takes what fallible men teach and places it next to the infallible word of God.

Bill MacDonald wrote, “One of the great lessons in this passage is that we must constantly test all teaching and all tradition by the Word of God, obeying what is of God and rejecting what is of men. … it is the Word that accredits men, not men who accredit the Word. The great touchstone must always be, “What does the Word say?”

And anytime you see the word being corrupted by man… also be on the lookout for another error of the Pharisees… legalism.

Adding to salvation- rules, and works… which is wrong…

Eph 2:8-9 declares “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

A key memory verse we all should know.

Jesus also charged the Pharisees for hypocrisy as Isaiah 29:13 prophesied… “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

And Pharisaic hypocrisy is something any of us can get caught up in…

Looking like we are worshipping, but our mind is thinking about anything but God…

That’s simple… and subtle… and still… it’s hypocrisy… for it certainly is NOT sincerity.

Jesus then took his disciples aside privately to teach them the heart of the matter… which was a matter of the heart…

Food and the like… that enters our bodies does not defile, but from within, out of the heart of men… all kinds of evil things come from within and defile or pollute.

The close of Mark 7:23… was also the close of Jesus’ Great Galilean Ministry

An extensive ministry concentrated on the Galilee region that began way back in Mark 1:14… where Jesus “came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God...”

Today, beginning in Mark 7:24… Jesus departs… the entire Galilee region…heading west into Gentile territory…

Which was a big move… taking His Jewish disciples out of the promised land…

Over to the region of Tyre and Sidon to …

Where Jesus encounters a Gentile woman…

Whom Jews thought of as unclean, but whom Jesus extends mercy.

And, just as there was a lesson for Jesus’ disciples then… there remains a lesson for us today…

The title of today’s sermon is “Crumbs from the Master's Table.”

Let’s Pray!

We’re going to go back to doing something we did when we first planted this church…

In a moment, I’m going to read the entire passage and in reverence for God’s word, I’m going to ask you to stand… in a moment…

But first, let me explain why the shift…

I had a few good reminders this week about revering God’s word…

And, this is a biblically modeled practice…

In Neh 8:5, we read “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.”

The following verse says, “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God.” And, so we will stand in praise of God and His word.

And, the people responded by saying, “Amen, Amen!” And, they lifted their hands and bowed their heads in worship of the Lord.

What a beautiful scene… and a beautiful practice.

Also, Neh 9:3, reads “And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day…”

They stood for 3 hours as the law was read…

The good news for you today is you only have to stand for 2 minutes… and what a privilege to stand and revere God’s word.

So, in reverence for God’s word… please stand now.

Mark 7:24-30 “From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

Our passage today begins where Jesus and the disciples have travelled to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

Let’s pull up a map to see where this is.

Jesus will travel from Capernaum Northwest… to somewhere in the region of Tyre and Sidon… about 35 miles away…

And, then at the end of the chapter over to Decapolis… the Ten Cities… Southeast of the sea of Galilee… about another 100 miles…

So quite the journey…

These first cities... Tyre and Sidon… are ancient cites… Tyre is 1st mentioned in Josh 19:29… and Sidon is 1st mentioned Gen 10:19, named after a son of Canaan

Today, Tyre and Sidon are in the country of Lebanon, and in Jesus’ day these cities and region were also outside of Israel.

But, that was not God’s intent…

In Josh 19… Tyre and Sidon were cities that were supposed to be part of the territory of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel… the Tribe of Asher.

But they never conquered this land… and it became Pagan.

So pagan in fact that we read in 1 King 16… that wicked king Ahab… of whom it was written, “… did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him...”

And, he took for himself a queen… and do you remember her name? Jezebel.

Jezebel of Sidon… who was as wicke as he was… and they served and worshiped Baal… the false god.

These cities were even referenced in comparison to the Israelite cities Chorazin and Bethsaida whom Jesus pronounced woes upon in Matt 11.

He said Tyre and Sidon, gentile cities, would have repented long ago if they had seen the mighty works He did.

Which brought great shame to the Israelite cities… they should have known better.

And now fast forward to Mark 7… these cities are still outside of Israel rule… and still paganized.

We will see that the woman in this account is described in V26 as a Greek… not from Greece, but meaning she was a Gentile… a non-Jew…

In the parallel account in Mark 15, more specifically she is described as a Canaanite… the ancient name for Syro-Phoenicians.

The Canaanites were that wicked people group who the Jews of old drove out of the promised land… as ordained by God for the Canaanites worshipped false gods and were steeped in sinful practices.

And, God was patient… when God spoke to Abram way back in Gen 15…about Abram inheriting the land of the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, the Jebusites… and all the other ite… termites and mosquito bites, and so forth…

God told Abram his descendants would inherit all their land… four generations later, but not yet… Gen 15:16 states, “… for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Iniquity is defined as “perversity, evil, mischief, or sin.”

Fast forward to Lev 18, and that time had come… Lev 18 vividly describes the practices of the Canaanites as sexually immoral…

Incestuous and Adulterous relationships were common practice… and were described as wickedness and defiling.

The worship of Molech and letting descendants “pass through the fire to Molech”… which was child sacrifice… today we call it “abortion” and this is on the list of practice’s God despised.

Lev 18:22 reads, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” Clearly speaking against homosexuality.

Abomination is defined as “detestable or loathsome.”

The following verse states, “Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. It is a perversion.”

Perversion means “unnatural or confusion.”

The social structure of the Canaanites was such… that these practices were normalized.

They were steeped in practices that God called “wicked, defiling, abomination, profaning, and perversion.” All in Lev 18.

Can you imagine living in a society where homosexuality and the killing of babies was normalized?

Oh wait… that’s the world in which we live.

The other two practices on that list that were normalized were incest and bestiality…

Are they the next low our culture will sink to and normalize?

Do you know what happened when the land of Canaan when they were riddled with these practices?

Lev 18:25 states, “For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.”

The iniquity was complete and God brought the Israelites to rid the people from the land.

But, do you know what else God did? He warned the Israelites that He was a just and impartial God… that if they sunk to the same level of depravity, they could expect the same results.

Lev 18:26-28 reads, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.”

And, many of you know their story… The Twelve tribes of Israel under Saul, then David, then Solomon…

Then divided… Ten tribes in the Northern Kingdom of Israel… Two Tribe in the Southern Kingdom of Judah…

In 720 B.C. Israel was conquered by Assyria… and in 586 B.C. Judah was conquered by Babylon…

And, God lived up to His word that He would remove them from the land if they sunk into these sins… which they did.

There’s a lot of people buying into the lie that these practices are acceptable… and normal.

Many of them don’t know any better and they need to know the truth that God disapproves… and they also need to encounter the love of Jesus.

Truth and love… not one or the other, but both.

That was a lot to say about Canaanites, but I just scratched the surface to give you some context.

We read she was a Greek and a Syro-Phoenician and the significance is a bit lost on us without explanation…

This wouldn’t be lost on Mark’s readers in the first century though. They would understand the context, without explanation…

All they had to do was read the woman in V25 was a Gentile Syro-Phoenician…

And, they would know the kind of culture she was raised in… a pagan culture… with pagan religious practices…

And, so here Jesus and His disciples find themselves… in an unknown house… somewhere in this region…

V24 tells us Jesus desired to remain hidden.

Was this a time He slated to invest in His disciples?

In Matthew’s account, Jesus said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Indicating Jesus was submissive to the Father’s will to go the the Jews first, and then the Greeks.

There was an order… to the Jews first for they were entrusted with the covenants and from them came the prophets… and to them the Messiah came first.

So, perhaps this is why Jesus wanted know one to know of His presence.

But, even outside of Israel… Jesus’ fame still was far reaching… He could not keep His location a secret…

Which was not surprising… especially since Luke 6:17 recorded that during the Sermon on the Mount people from Tyre and Sidon were present and came to be healed of their diseases…

Mark 3:8 recorded another time where a great multitude came to Jesus, including those from Tyre and Sidon.

Did people from Tyre and Sidon in one of these encounters… take word back and plant seeds about Jesus the Messiah?

There’s power in your testimony… be sure to be intentional with those you encounter to share Jesus when He opens the door.

And, it’s evident that this Syro-Phoenician woman heard the testimony of someone who encountered Jesus, because… look again at V25… it says, “For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him...”

She heard about Jesus… someone was sharing their experience of observing Him heal… or their personal healing they or a loved one received… there was a testimony that went forth from a person’s heart… out of their mouth… and entered the ears of this Syro-Phoenician… and in her heart sprung hope.

Hope of a Savior who could heal her daughter… and she placed faith in this hope and in Jesus.

She had never seen or encountered Jesus, but through the testimony of another… she believed.

Rom 10:17 declares, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Someone shared a testimony… and a good testimony also ties in Scripture testifying of the Messiah…

Some faithful person likely heeded the words of God in the OT, “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul...” (Deut 11:18)

And, through their study of the word which put the word in their heart and mind…

Later, when it was time to share their testimony… the Holy Spirit could draw from that which they studied. Their investment in the word of God… just like we are doing here and now… made for their witness of Jesus to be that much more powerful for it could be backed by the word of God.

In John 14:26 Jesus promised, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

Many of the things that Jesus said to His disciples, we have recorded in the the Scriptures we read today. Your part is to study… to EAT THE WORD… as John did in Rev 10:9… to ingest it… to take it in…

And, one day… when you encounter the woman or that man… that “Syro-Phoenician” so to say… who has lost hope… who does not know where to turn… for an affliction has struck their family so deep… that money, and Dr’s, and any resource or false god that they would turn to FALLS SHORT and DOES NOT SAVE…

When you encounter that person… you come with Hope… delivered through the sharing of your testimony… and the word of God.

The woman in Mark 7 had a daughter who was demon possessed… and very interesting, but how is the demon… Satan himself stated as being defeated in Rev 12?

Rev 12:11 states, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

A life that is submitted to Jesus Christ and shares the word of their testimony overcomes the accuser of the brethren…

Rom 10:15 declares quoting Is 52:7, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

That’s what this Gentile Canaanite woman heard. And, that’s the message that you have to offer to a world of people who are very similar to her.

Like the Canaanites… many people today are raised in homes that don’t know Christ… non-Christian homes… They don’t know the promises of God. They have never heard the Gospel of Peace.

They are raised looking to foreign gods… and worldly ways… and in the end they are unsatisfied.

Like the Canaanites… they may even fear God’s people.

But, word about Jesus came to this Syro-Phoenician woman… and now Jesus was in her country…

The affliction that so struck this woman… was her daughter by def. “a daughterling or little daughter”… a young girl… v25 states “… had an unclean spirit...”

Some translations read, the “… little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit...”

A demon had entered her body… Matthew states the daughter was “severely demon possessed.” Which is a terrible affliction… we get a glimpse of how terrible demon possession in a few other accounts…

When Jesus and His disciples traveled to Gadara in the region of the Decapolis in Mark 5… they encountered the man with the unclean spirit who said his name was “Legion; for we are many.”

And what was the state of that man? He was a danger to self and others. Matthew states he was “exceedingly fierce”, Mark states he was “untamable.”

Therefore society had ostracized him… and bound him with shackles and chains that he pulled apart.

Mark 5:5 reads, “…always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.”

Luke 8:27 details, “… he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.”

In Mark 9… a father brings his son to Jesus… the son had “a mute spirit” and the father said, “And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.” Jesus asked, ““How long has this been happening to him?” And [the father] said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.”

So, given these other accounts of demon possession… and knowing this Syro-Phoenician’s daughter was “severely demon possessed”… we can only imagine how the demon harmed her…

And, isn’t it bewildering the a demon would enter one so young? A little girl. How did this happen?

An adult who is unsaved and dabbling with the occult… even welcoming demons to inhabit them… sure?

But a little girl? How can this be?

Well, we don’t know… but the Holy Spirit through Mark thought it important to include in V25… the detail that this woman was “a Syro-Phoenician by birth”… all her life she lived as a descendant of the Canaanites… a society who worshipped Baal… who were caught up in pagan worship practices…

It’s not unfathomable to think that this woman was raised under and engaged in such practices. In her culture… these practices were acceptable and encouraged… everyone was doing it, but look at what it got her.

Did she bring these pagan practices into her home, instead of protecting her home from these pagan rituals?

Was her daughter exposed to these rituals? Was the daughter invited to join in the rituals? And, not she has an unclean spirit.

One can only imagine the burden this mom would feel… seeing the gross change in her daughter… going from being a normal girl to digressing now under the influence of a demon.

There are many things we need to guard our homes from.

Society today puts it’s stamp of approval on many things that go against God and holiness.

Holiness… being set apart. We are the temple of the living God for the Holy Spirit dwells in those who are saved…

And, therefore it’s important that we guard our temple… our bodies and our minds… and our homes from the influence of what society deems acceptable, but God deems as abominable.

Many youth and families… while if not directly demon possessed are certainly demon influenced… for Satan has great influence over this world. Many of the agendas that infiltrate homes and schools today are empowered by Satan himself.

Praise God many of us came out of such influences and such practices…

Eph 2:1-3 reads, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

The accepted worship practices in the world of this Syro-Phoenician woman failed her… just like they fail many today. There’s nothing new under the sun.

But, she was on the verge of a turning point. About to be made alive…

Somehow news of Jesus’ presence leaks out… and this one desperate Greek Syro-Phoenician… this Gentile Canaanite comes to Him in V25 “fell at His feet”… and in V26 “…she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.”

This picture of this mom falling at the feet of Jesus is a beautiful one. The word “fell” in V25 in Gk is prŏspiptō… it’s only used 6x in the NT… and it means “to prostrate oneself (in supplication or homage).”

This appears to be an act of worship on behalf of the mother and certainly an act of supplication- asking or begging for something earnestly.

She “kept asking” Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Some would say you lack faith if you pray to Jesus and then ask again. NOT SO!

Jesus says in Matt 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Ask, seek, and knock are all written in the present, active, imperative. Jesus commands to ask and keep asking… seek and keep seeking… and knock and keep knocking…

Just like the widow did in the parable of the unjust judge.

When Paul had an infirmity… a thorn in the flesh… he “pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart.” And, God answered… He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” And, Paul didn’t throw a hissy fit at this response… Paul praised God… and he DID NOT lack faith.

Jesus also prayed three times in the Garden… “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Certainly, Jesus did not lack faith.

Persistence in prayer is not a lack of faith… it’s just the opposite… it’s a demonstration of one’s great faith.

It takes a lot of faith to pray to God… for Him to be silent… to wait on Him… to pray again… and to realize we are on HIS schedule… HE is NOT on ours.

Persistent pray to a God who has us wait on Him is a humbling act… and there is a lesson in waiting… if nothing else… it’s to realize that He is God, and we are not.

Can you love and serve a God who’s ‘ways are not our ways’ (Isa 55:8)… and wait on God AND HIS PERFECT TIMING… and ask and keep asking even if He is silent?

This Syro-Phoenician woman is a good model for us today, because as she persistently pleaded on behalf of her daughter, Matthew 15:23 records, “But He answered her not a word.”

Matthew also records, she came to him calling Jesus by His Messianic title… she said, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

She called Him “Lord”… master… and “Son of David”… His Messianic title.

“But He answered her not a word.”

And this can be frustrating… when we pray to God… and use all the right titles for God… we may even through in a memory verse… and He’s silent.

What’s even worse is Matthew also records, “And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

Sometimes God is silent… and then His people speak with all the wrong words.

In the Book of Job, Job’s three friends initially were great when as Job 2:11 states, “For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him.” … V13 “… they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.”

But, once Eliphaz began to talk in Job 4… it was all downhill from there.

In Job 42:7 the LORD spoke to Eliphaz and said, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

And, they had to repent and sacrifice and have Job pray for them.

I’m not suggesting that we don’t comfort with words… or speak to those who are asking for prayer, but if you’re going to say something offensive to them and contrary to God… perhaps your presence and not your words would be better.

Despite the harsh words from Jesus’ disciples, Jesus does not send her away, but instead responds finally saying in Matt 15:24, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

When Jesus sent the Twelve on their first short-term mission trip, He gave them similar instructions in Matt 10:5 “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

In Rom 1:16, Paul wrote “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

The Gospel is for everyone, but in this first coming of Christ… there was an order in which it was presented… “to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.” (as Rom 2:11 declares).

The Jews were God’s Chosen people… who had received the promises and the prophecies… and looked forward to the coming Messiah. They were the custodians of His word for thousands of years… and so in His first coming… Jesus extended to them a chronological priority.

A time was coming when the wall between Jew and Gentile would be broken down… a time after His death, resurrection, ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit when the Church would be born… when He would bring all who believed into one body, but that time was still future.

And, as Jesus was in Tyre and Sidon… Gentile territory… with a Gentile mother pleading before Him… this was a relevant truth. HOWEVER, this DID NOT stop this Mom…

Her beautiful response to Jesus’ silence and then statement, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Matt 15:25 records, “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

If God is silent, and even tells you NO… or NOT YET… like this Gentile mother… can you still worship Him?… and maintain a posture of pleading in faith?

If we only worship Him when He says, “Yes”, then we reduce God to a Genie in a bottle.

Our worship becomes conditional upon Him giving us want we want.

Our worship becomes transactional. And, this is not true worship.

Worship is a posture of prostrating one’s body… one’s heart… one’s position… UNDER that of HE WHO IS SUPERIOR.

You very well might not like God’s answer… or His timing… or His ways… but that does not mean you should withhold worship.

I think back to when the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and asked many questions of Job in Job 38…

V4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know!"

V12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place...”

VSS 16-19 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place...”

VSS 22-23 “Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, 23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?”

Do you get the picture? I read those verses and I feel really small… because I know God is omnipotent… all powerful… and omniscient… all knowing.

To withhold worship from Him because His timing or His answer is not ours…

It’s a mistake. He created us… and made a way for us to be with Him eternally through faith in His Son Jesus Christ… what more do we need to praise Him?

Now… back in Mark 7:27… after this back and forth interaction that only Matthew records, and this woman worshipping Jesus and pleading for help…

V27 records, “But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

Now that sounds horrible to us, but we’ll see in a moment that the woman is not offended.

It would seem Jesus again speaks about the priority of the Jews (the children) to first be filled by His Messianic ministry, and then the Gentiles.

One scholar wrote how he sees the children more specifically as Jesus’ disciples, and this time in Tyre and Sidon was a time Jesus was investing in them… they were His priority as this time… and just like it would not be appropriate for a house pet to interrupt family dinner, her request had poor timing.

At my house… we have 4 German Shepherds… and when we sit down to eat as a family… we don’t take food from our kids to feed our dogs.

When we finish eating, our dogs may glean some leftovers.

Whatever Jesus’ exact intent, she is not discouraged, but her faith seems all the more enlivened.

She may have been offended if Jesus had called her a street dog. In that culture, there were common street dogs that were despised in the culture.

We don’t see mangy street dogs… who are scavengers… and a nuisance roaming our streets.

When my family served in the Philippines, they were all over… they called those street dogs “Askals” in the local dialect. We were encouraged by a Filipino man once to hit them with our SUV because they ran out in front of motorcycles and caused accidents. Which we never did.

My wife once witnessed a man intentionally hit one of those dogs with his motorcycle.

Jews felt the same way about street dogs. Chuck Smith taught that there were no curse words in biblical Hebrew, and the worse thing you could call a person was a “street dog.”

Apparently in modern Hebrew, this has changed and they’ve adopted many English and Arabic curse words into their language…

But in Biblical Hebrew… a dog was about as bad as it got.

But, how Jesus refers to her is not as a street dog that is neglected… mistreated… and hated…

But, just the opposite… as “little dog”… a beloved house pet, that has a place in the home, and it’s needs are met.

His statement seems to bring additional life and enthusiasm to the Gentile woman… to have any place in the home of the Lord is favorable… and she runs with this idea…

In V28, “… she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

She is encouraged. A crumb from the Master’s table was good enough for her. What humility!

And, if she can glean as a Gentile from the crumbs of the Jews… then there would be no interruption is God’s plan ‘to the Jews first, and then the the Greeks.’

She came from the world and all it’s pagan practices and ideas… and it landed her little daughter demon possessed. She had tasted all the world had to offer and it was not truly good. It was not life giving.

Her daughter was “severely demon possessed” and she was desperate, broken, and humble… and so she presses for the time of her salvation to be now.

Anything… even a crumb from His table… was acceptable, because this meant she was receiving from Him… and was in His house.

It reminds me of the humble heart of the Psalmist who wrote in Ps 84:10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. A thousand days in the world don’t hold a candle to one day in the house of the Lord.

Having any position, even that of a doorkeeper… standing at the threshold and holding the door for all who come and go… that is a better position than having a dwelling and a place of honor with the wicked.

This woman was well pleased to conceptually be a house pet in the house of the Lord and to partake from the crumbs of the Master’s table.

We can learn from her humble heart. Whatever her position or her place… she was happy to just be in the house.

Dr. Henry Ironside, who Pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929-1948 and then retired right here in Winona Lake, IN, wrote, “If the woman had responded, “Who are you calling a dog?” she would not have received from Jesus what her daughter needed. Her humble, faith-filled submission to Jesus brought the victory. “Nothing appealed to our blessed Lord more than faith coupled with humility.”

And this truth is captured in Matthew’s recording of Jesus’ response to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.”

In V29 of Mark, Jesus is also recorded saying, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

The woman’s continued posture of worship… and posture of reverence… and faith and persistent intercession… moved the heart of God.

And, V30 records the miracle, “And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

From that very hour her daughter was healed… as Jesus simply spoke the word…

Worship Team… you can come…

At that time… to that Gentile… all Jesus had to offer was crumbs from His table… His ministry and movement was still solidly focused on the Jews… but, in humility this was sufficient for her.

We live in a different time… And, what He offers to us now… as His church is exceedingly greater…

Salvation… and being in dwelt/ sealed and empowered by His Holy Spirit…

The Fruits of the Spirit… Eternity… the list is long…

… and God forgive us… when we feel it is not enough.

Let us walk away from this lesson today learning a lesson of humility… and reverence for our God who moves in ways far above our ways… and in timing that He alone controls.

He is good… and He is God.

Amen? Let’s pray.

Ps 34:8 reads, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

If you have never trusted in the Lord… specifically for faith in Jesus Christ… humble yourself… let us know, and let’s pray to God a pray for your salvation today.

For all you believers out there… trust in the LORD, and be blessed as you do so.

God bless your week ahead.