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THE CRUMBS OF LIFE Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 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 (Matt. 15:21-28).
The theocentric principle here is that God is the source of all healing. In Jesus' day, this healing extended outward from His ministry to Israel. The world of the gentiles was generally untouched by His ministry at this point. But this gentile woman recognized the source of healing: Jesus, the son of David. She viewed Him as the heir of the most famous king in Israel's history. She may even have understood some of the prophetic implications of His heirship.
In a Gentile Nation Jesus was outside of the land of Israel. He was in a far country: Phoenicia. We are not told why. A woman who had heard of His ministry in Israel came to Him, requesting that her daughter be healed. "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
She might have answered Him defiantly. "Then what are you doing in my country? Get back to where you belong!" It was a response that the religious authorities in Tyre and Sidon might have given. She might have rejected her one hope of healing for her daughter. As a representative of someone she loved, she restrained herself. In fact, she subordinated herself. "Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me." He then escalated His rhetoric: "But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." This was harsh language. He compared her to a dog. He was comparing all gentiles to dogs. The bread of healing was for God's children, the Jews, He said.
She was not deterred. "And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." She was the dog; He was the master. Was she not therefore entitled to some crumbs? He said that she was. He healed her daughter at a distance.
Her subordination was to the point of humiliation. This was the proof of her great faith. "Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith." To prefer to be among the dogs rather than away from the Master's table was the mark of true faith for a gentile.
The woman judicially represented her daughter. But she did more than this. She represented the gentile world. Her confession of faith was in sharp contrast to that of the leaders of Israel, who did their best to trap Jesus in some judicial contradiction, either Mosaic or Roman. She did not seek to contradict Jesus; she sought His greater consistency. "Yes, we are dogs, my daughter and I. But we are domesticated dogs. We are under the table, not out in the streets. Surely, domesticated dogs are entitled to some consideration." This confession of faith gained for her what she had sought.
It was a matter of confession. She confessed Jesus as master, as the son of David: a messianic office. Outside the land of Israel, this was a powerful confession. It was a greater confession than the Pharisees offered when they heard that He had cast out demons. "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils" (Matt. 12:24b). Her daughter had a devil. She wanted to have it cast out. There was demonic possession in Israel and in the gentile world, but this gentile welcomed Jesus as an exorcist; the Pharisees had not. She acknowledged the need for healing in her daughter. The Pharisees did not any such need. That was what condemned them. Jesus had warned them: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9:12b-13).
What was Jesus doing in the gentile coasts? He was announcing His authority. His authority was not confined to Israel. The proof of this was His ability to cast out spirits in their land. "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you" (Matt. 12:28). A major sign that the kingdom of God extended beyond the borders of Israel was the healing of her daughter. But it took her repeated confession of faith and personal subordination for this kingdom extension to take place.
What was true of this woman would soon be true of the nations. Her confession was an earnest -- a down payment -- on what would soon come under the auspices of the church, especially with Paul's ministry. The gentiles would be blessed through their confession.
Dog Food The dogs under the table are entitled to crumbs. This confession led to her daughter's healing. It was a confession by a gentile. It was accounted as true faith.
Was her faith the equivalent of the faithful Israelite's? No, for she was outside the boundaries of the land. This put her in an inferior position. Until the scattering of the Jerusalem church after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1), this geographical separation served as a visible mark of the confessing gentiles' second-class status. As for nonconfessing gentiles, they were like dogs in the street. They had the status of covenant-breaker.
Yet in a broader sense, covenant-breakers do have status as sons of God through Adam -- disinherited sons. They are dogs under the table. They are entitled to crumbs. They participate in the community of man. They are under the dominion covenant (Gen. 1:26-28). They are under God's law. The work of the law is written in their hearts (Rom. 2:15).
There is a division of labor in society. Each individual is productive in some way.(1) Each brings any excess output of his labor for others to use. In this sense, each increases the wealth of others. For the sake of the adopted sons of God, the disinherited sons are allowed their time in history.
When God showers His blessings on a society, everyone is a recipient. ". . . he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45b).(2) This means that everyone becomes responsible for thanking God. With blessings come responsibilities. With common grace, all men come under the judgment of God. There is no escape. Paul wrote: "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head" (Rom. 12:18-20). With every undeserved benefit, God places coals of fire onto the heads of covenant-breakers.
Common grace is like dog food. It is not what God intends for His people. It is suitable for His enemies. It keeps them alive. It is nutritious. But it is not the best. It is not special grace. "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe" (I Tim. 4:10). All men are saved, i.e., are temporarily healed from the death-producing curse of Adam. But all men are not given eternal life.
Conclusion The Phoenician woman's top priority was the healing of her demon-possessed daughter. To achieve this, she was willing to suffer repeated rejection by the only person who could heal her daughter. She kept coming back. She always had a correct answer. She claimed what was hers by right: dog food. She was not arrogant, but she was persistent. She was like the widow of the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:2-5). She kept banging on the door. She eventually got her request.
Her confession was more than an admission of Jesus' power. It was an admission of His office as master, the Davidic office. She was not deterred by His initial rejection of her request. The prize was worth pursuing. The testimony was worth confessing. By subordinating herself to God, she gained her top priority.
This is a lesson for all mankind. Subordination to God is basic to the dominion covenant. Confession of one's subordination to God is the first step to dominion. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:10).
Footnotes:
1. This assumes that he is not helpless. Babies, imbeciles, and Alzheimer's victims are excluded from the ranks of the productive. But they provide a service to society: tests of how men treat them. "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me" (Matt. 25:45).
2. See Chapter 10, above.
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