Crumbs

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly (Matthew 15:27-28).

 

 

YOU ARE NOT A DOG

First, Jesus’ answer towards the woman from above may appear to be harsh. However, he is simply establishing an order of priority. For example, if you or I found ourselves with a limited amount of food, we would be sure to give it first to our children. Likewise, Jesus is stating that he has come to Israel first. This explains why later on he wept bitterly over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-42) because they had rejected him. But the Scripture also says that God so loved the world, the whole world, by sending Jesus. And this helps explain why Jesus did not reject the woman, but seeing her faith in him instead had compassion on her. So, while Jesus came first to the lost sheep of Israel, he also knew and said,  ^“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).

Second, it often seems as if we have not received even a crumb from the hand of Jesus. We pray for a greater awareness of God’s presence and holiness; for healing and deliverance; for freedom and power; for grace and mercy; for truth and justice; for light and salvation; for hope and faith; for any evidence from Jesus that he is in our midst, changing our lives, and building our churches. Yet we feel and see nothing, and then think to ourselves, “Are we not even the dogs under our master’s table?”

 

YOU ARE A SON

But the truth is that Jesus is the Bread of Life and “from his fulness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). He is the whole loaf and does not withhold from us any part of himself, not even a crumb. He gave himself entirely for us on the cross and gives himself entirely to us in the Holy Spirit. We are no longer condemned sinners before God. Neither are we strangers nor slaves, but rather sons and daughters, adopted of God in Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5). Therefore, we think wrongly when we believe we need to come to God and beg for his help. But we think rightly when we know we are free to come to him and feast on his grace.

 

So feast! Do not beg. Rejoice! Do not fear. Ask! Do not doubt. We are not dogs under the master’s table, but sons seated in the heights with Christ (Matthew 15:21-28; Ephesians 2:6).