Mark 7:25-30 "For a certain woman, whose
young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his
feet: (26) The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and
she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. (27)
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet
to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. (28)
And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat
of the children's crumbs. (29) And he said unto her, For this
saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. (30) And
when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter
laid upon the bed."
I addressed the attitude of the disciples yesterday in that they did not feel this woman to be worthy of Jesus' time and effort. Aren't you glad that others are not the judge concerning whether God hears and answers your prayers? She came to Him and fell at His feet. She worshipped the Lord even before she made request to Him. Whether He answered her in the affirmative or not, she gave her worship and praise to the Lord. I'm afraid sometimes, I spend more time worshipping AFTER my prayers have been answered than before. But whether the Lord ever answered another prayer of mine or not, He is worthy of worship and praise. His worthiness is not based upon my situations and circumstances.
She stated her need to the Lord. He heard her and gave an answer to her. "It isn't right to take the children's food and give it to the dogs." What? Did Jesus really say that? Yes, He did. But He knew how she would respond. He knew her faith would look right beyond those words to remain steadfast in her need. "Yes Lord, I know that is true; yet, even the dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from the Master's table." Why would Jesus include this conversation even though He already knew He was going to heal the daughter of this woman? I believe it was for the disciples' sake. They thought Jesus should not take the time to even speak to this woman. After all, she was a Syrophonecian. She was not one of THEM. Though we might wonder as to why Jesus spoke to her in the manner which He did, we are made to realize that Jesus Christ is no respecter of persons. When we go to Him with a very specific need, He listens and He responds to our request.
There were only a few times in the ministry of Jesus that He spoke of the great faith exercised by an individual. The two times I'm thinking about just now were both exhibited by Gentiles: a Roman Centurion and this Syrophonecian woman. Sometimes, we are guilty of allowing our feelings to override our faith. We are disapointed because things do not happen as we feel they should. We are hurt because the outcome is not up to our expectations. For many, they seem to want to take it out on God. Why did you let this happen? Why did you not answer my prayers? The truth of the matter is that God does things in His way in His time. He is not subject to us in any way. But at the same time, His will for us and His purpose for our lives is perfect. May we be as this woman, Yes Lord, but even your crumbs will satisfy my need. But that which comes from the Master's table is so much more than crumbs. He completely satisfies the hungering soul.
I addressed the attitude of the disciples yesterday in that they did not feel this woman to be worthy of Jesus' time and effort. Aren't you glad that others are not the judge concerning whether God hears and answers your prayers? She came to Him and fell at His feet. She worshipped the Lord even before she made request to Him. Whether He answered her in the affirmative or not, she gave her worship and praise to the Lord. I'm afraid sometimes, I spend more time worshipping AFTER my prayers have been answered than before. But whether the Lord ever answered another prayer of mine or not, He is worthy of worship and praise. His worthiness is not based upon my situations and circumstances.
She stated her need to the Lord. He heard her and gave an answer to her. "It isn't right to take the children's food and give it to the dogs." What? Did Jesus really say that? Yes, He did. But He knew how she would respond. He knew her faith would look right beyond those words to remain steadfast in her need. "Yes Lord, I know that is true; yet, even the dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from the Master's table." Why would Jesus include this conversation even though He already knew He was going to heal the daughter of this woman? I believe it was for the disciples' sake. They thought Jesus should not take the time to even speak to this woman. After all, she was a Syrophonecian. She was not one of THEM. Though we might wonder as to why Jesus spoke to her in the manner which He did, we are made to realize that Jesus Christ is no respecter of persons. When we go to Him with a very specific need, He listens and He responds to our request.
There were only a few times in the ministry of Jesus that He spoke of the great faith exercised by an individual. The two times I'm thinking about just now were both exhibited by Gentiles: a Roman Centurion and this Syrophonecian woman. Sometimes, we are guilty of allowing our feelings to override our faith. We are disapointed because things do not happen as we feel they should. We are hurt because the outcome is not up to our expectations. For many, they seem to want to take it out on God. Why did you let this happen? Why did you not answer my prayers? The truth of the matter is that God does things in His way in His time. He is not subject to us in any way. But at the same time, His will for us and His purpose for our lives is perfect. May we be as this woman, Yes Lord, but even your crumbs will satisfy my need. But that which comes from the Master's table is so much more than crumbs. He completely satisfies the hungering soul.