A Crumb From The Master’s Table

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 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. - Matt. 15:21-28

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The obstacles that this woman overcame were daunting in my book.

1. She humbled herself socially and culturally so that she cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” What a desperate and passionate mother!

2. Receiving silence from Jesus has got to be the worst. She did not get a–"yes", "no" or "wait on it" - nothing but the sound of the wind.

3. The disciples are not on her side. “So his disciples came to him and urged him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’”

4. Jesus answers that He was sent for a certain group of people. (The mother’s persistence - “Lord, help me!” - makes me believe she is trying to appeal even more now to Christ’s compassionate side.)

5. Jesus seems cruel when He associates her and her people with dogs next to the blessings coming to the Israelites. “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
But the woman, taking Christ’s analogy and labeling, with desperation in her voice says, “Yes it is, Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” The mother in her, trying to find the healing for her daughter, is persistent. She would go after even a morsel of healing for her daughter.

This is an example of “great faith”. “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” She battled through social and cultural stigmas, silence from Jesus, resistance from the disciples, and two rebukes from Jesus. Why did she not quit half-way through and go looking for another healer? Evidently she knew His track record and believed in His power and will (desire) to heal the sick, diseased and demon-possessed. This reminds me of Peter in John 6:68 when he said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” I encourage you to persist in your prayers. Persist in your faith. The Canaanite woman was not leaving until she received A Crumb From The Master’s Table.