BIBLE TEXT: MATHEW 15: 26-28
26. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
THE CHILDREN’S BREAD
One of the most fascinating stories in the bible is the healing of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman.
He was discovered here by a Canaanite lady who believed. Despite not being Jewish, she probably thinks He is the Messiah and has the power to expel a demon from her daughter. Jesus has declined because His current mission is limited to serving Israelites. This verse by Jesus is frequently taken out of its context and the phrases that come after it, making it appear hostile or even disparaging. It’s neither: Jesus has a reason for starting this conversation.
The woman would have found it challenging to hear these comments, nevertheless. It appears Christ wants to test the woman’s devotion to her request and faith in Him. Jews have a history of disrespecting Gentiles by calling them “dogs.” In the ancient Middle East, dogs were typically observed running in packs as threatening scavengers. Generally speaking, Jews would not view them as either pets or amiable beings.
Jesus employs a word that sounds harsh when translated into English, although it is not so harsh. He uses the Greek word kynariois, meaning “small dog.” This appears to be a reference to a pet in the context of kids and food; using dogs in this way would have been more typical in a Gentile region
There is no doubt that Jesus uses symbolism to represent Israelites as God’s children and this woman, or her child, as a “little dog”—not even as a human. Jesus, however, is not attempting to damage anyone. He is drawing a comparison between the connection between God and His chosen people, Israel, and the rest of the world’s heathen idolaters. Because of Jesus and the fact that we acknowledge the merits of His atoning death on the cross at Calvary, we are adopted children of God. On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for sins, sickness, and disease. He incorporated them both into His own body and passed away, forever cleansing all who believe in sin and disease.
God’s plan for us includes salvation as well as healing. Every child of God has the fundamental right to healing, just as everyone has the right to bread and food. People frequently wait for God to determine whether or not to heal them someday in the lovely future. That only has one drawback—it won’t lead anyplace. That is because God has already fulfilled His obligation and made it known through His written word, His will, and His purpose. Because we have not read or heard His word, we are unaware that healing is already available.
Anyone who belongs to God is and has always been in a normal condition of healing and divine health. Before sin ruined the bodies of Adam and Eve and their offspring, they could not contract an illness. We again have the right and privilege to walk in divine health because of Jesus. Jesus must be accepted as our Healer the same way we accepted Him as our Savior. The realization that healing is the children’s food is what God is waiting for, not some sovereign act of God to heal us.
It’s intriguing because he declined when the woman initially asked Jesus to heal her daughter. Contrary to popular perception, Jesus never allegedly turned away a believer who requested healing. We must therefore question, “Why did Jesus say no? Why, then, did He eventually consent and heal the young girl?
This tale must elicit inquiries. After the mother requests Jesus to heal her daughter, he speaks to her about Israel’s lost sheep. It nearly seemed as though He was ignoring her. He refers to her daughter as a dog after she asks him again. Consider verse 26:
26 It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs, He retorted.
Imagine you came to me for prayer, and I warned you not to take the food from the children and give it to the dogs. Right, you would probably leave my church. It’s an insulting remark. If Jesus is always good, why then did He say that? What does that tell us about His personality? I want to underline that I think God will always want to heal before we go on. He is that way by nature, which contributes to atonement. “by whom stripes ye were healed”(1 Peter 2:24). There was no connection between Jesus’ response to the mother and His desire for her daughter to be healed. Because of how she approached Him, He informed her that He could not heal dogs with the bread of children.
The Woman’s response
The Syrophoenician woman referred to Jesus as the Son of David as she approached Him. The phrase “son of David” alludes to God’s agreement with King David. This covenant covered both………..,
To be continued….