Even The Dogs Eat the Crumbs That Fall from Their Master’s Table
Matthew 15:21-28, 10:5-6 Romans 11:11, 15:8 Ephesians 2: 8-9,12-13 John 1:11:25-26
In St. Matthew’s Gospel we read that Jesus entered the region of Tyre and Sidon, (both gentile cities that lie outside the border of Israel, port cities located in modern day Lebanon on the Mediterranean coast.
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 (15:21-28)
This story may sound familiar to many folks, especially to those Anglicans familiar with the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. We refer to it as “The Prayer of Humble Access’, which is spoken during the “Holy Communion” Service. It is stated in part: We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Thy table.
Jesus is demonstrating to everyone that His earthly ministry during His lifetime was to be to the Jewish people. When He sent out the twelve disciples in Matthew Chapter 10, He told them: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6).
The Apostle Paul also testified that Jesus Christ was a minister of the Jews: “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed”. (Romans 15: 8).
So, the Bible tells us that God sent His Son to be born of a virgin and to be born into human flesh, to live a perfect life and to have Him give His own life so that we might be saved and not fall under condemnation but rather, be saved by the free gift of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
You see, Jesus was born as the Jewish Messiah, as their promised Holy One. He came to them to fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies concerning Him. It was only after He was rejected by them, that the message was offered to all people. The children mentioned in Matthew 15:26 are the Jewish people; the dogs are the Gentiles, that is, everyone who is not a Jew.
Jesus first came to minister to His own people, as we read in St. John’s Gospel: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him”. (John 1:11) This may sound harsh, but just as it would not be right to allow our children to go hungry while we feed our pet dogs, Jesus would not spend His ministry reaching the Gentiles when God called Him to go to the Jews.
The good news is that Jesus was willing to give crumbs to the woman of Canaan because of her faith, even though His ministry was to the Jews. And now, after the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish people, “salvation is come unto the Gentiles” I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. (Romans 11:11)
According to the apostle Paul, we Gentiles were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). But in the next verse we read: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
According to God’s Word, Jesus came into the world to fulfill the Jewish Law, and to be the propitiation for the sin of the world. With the shedding of His blood on the cross, Jesus, provided the perfect sacrifice for our sin and brought forth a much better covenant with God’s people. (Hebrews 9:22) Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die”. (John 11:25-26)
St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “God sent His Son to be born of a virgin and to be born into human flesh, to live a perfect life and to have Him give His own life so that we might be saved and not fall under condemnation but rather, be saved by the free gift of grace”. (Ephesians 2:8-9). We have been given the full blessings of being the children of God.
And, though Jesus will again one day reach out to the Jewish people, we know that He will never turn from us because we are His people, and he is our Saviour.
Indeed, Jesus praised the Canaanite woman for her faith and for her love because she placed the misery of her child above all else. She was willing to suffer rejection in order to obtain healing for her daughter. Her faith grew as she stood in the presence of Jesus. She began with just a request, and she ended up on her knees in worshipful prayer to the living God.
No one who ever sought Jesus with faith, whether Jew or Gentile was refused his help. Do you seek Jesus with this same kind of expectant faith?
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen..
The Most Rev. Dr. Rick Aaron Reid, Presiding Bishop Traditional Anglican Church of America Rector, St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Newton, North Carolina 28658