Crumbs from the Master

My dog spends every mealtime under the table. She has learned which family member is most likely to “share” their vegetables. Sometimes from the other side of the table, you can see just her tongue wrapping around the edge of the table. Other times she waits patiently, hoping and watching. To her, every crumb matters.

But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of Him and came and fell down at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

But she answered Him, “Yes Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. Mark 7:25-28

Jesus said this in the region of Tyre and Sidon. These are the same people written about in Deuteronomy 20:17 They were descendants of Canaan and were “devoted to destruction”

Joshua 13:6 says that God himself drove them out before the people of Isreal. Jezebel was a Phoenician princess. The foreign women that led Solomon’s heart astray were Sidoneon. Worshipers of Ashtoreth and Baal were notorious for their sick and twisted, pagan practices.

This region had spent generations chasing counterfeit gods that promised power, fertility, healing, and protection.

The Bible is clear that the girl was possessed by a spirit. I have observed situations in which, because of medical complications, a person was not in control of themselves. Not every loss of control is demonic, but observing moments when a person’s actions and responses are unpredictable help us understand the terror this woman likely lived with every day.

Ironically, Eschmun was the god of healing in this region, especially having to deal with children’s health, but he must have been unable to do anything for her. Her mother likely tried everything. From pagan rituals to local healers, and from sacrifices to money.

This woman grew desperate watching her daughter suffer while every “god” stayed silent. You can imagine how she must have despaired. Then Jesus entered her world.

She had lived with counterfeit for so long that she knew when she found the real thing.

Reading the account it almost sounds like her salty comeback caught Jesus off guard. But maybe Jesus was not dismissing her as his disciples seemed to. Maybe Jesus was drawing out her faith.

• Isreal often rejected the “bread,” while this woman believed the crumbs would be enough.
• The religious leaders demanded signs, this woman sought honesty.
• The disciples often misunderstood, but she could see clearly what Jesus could do.

This outsider, a woman, a Gentile, raised among pagans, accepted her position “under the table,” and she still believed mercy was available there.

That is extraordinary faith.

Jesus rewarded her, healing her daughter because of the word she had spoken. She balanced humility and persistence, trust and surrender, confidence and mercy.

She found the God who would answer