Matthew 15: 26 It is not right to take the children’s bread, and toss it to their dogs.

Has your faith ever been tested? Have you believed God for something – a change in circumstances perhaps – and it seems as though nothing is happening. Should you ‘throw in the towel’ and quit or should you follow this woman’s example and persist? There is a phrase that is often repeated by those who seek healing of physical ailments.  They say “healing is the children’s bread”. I found myself thinking about that some time ago and I decided to find it in Scripture because I wanted to know when did Jesus say it and under what circumstances. It turns out that it is a paraphrase from the account given of Jesus’ encounter with a woman of Canaan in Matthew 15: 21 – 26.

My first reaction to the discourse was why was Jesus so harsh with this woman? From the conversation we see that she clearly knew who Jesus was and came to him believing he was the only one who could help her. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” She was also well aware of the social dynamics in her community. She was a Canaanite, not an Israelite, not Jewish. She was not asking because she felt she deserved to be heard. She came begging for mercy. He ignored her initially but eventually said: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” She persisted in her plea for help and he replied: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” Her rejoinder was: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

On the face of it Jesus’ tone in this conversation seems so uncharacteristic of the way he usually dealt with people in need. Did Jesus speak to humiliate her? I don’t think so because in so many other cases, he touched and healed or often just spoke and brought deliverance to many just out of compassion. In the vicinity where he was, Tyre and Sidon, I think he was just reminding her (and us) that he was the Messiah, first to the Jews as his chosen people. (See Deuteronomy 7:6).

This woman was not deterred. I believe this is encouragement to those of us who think we are not good enough to ask God for anything. All it took was the recognition by her that he is the “Lord” over everything, the “Son of David”, the Sent One who had both the authority and the power to heal her daughter. So she begged, she worshipped and she humbled herself. According to her faith, she received an answer to her prayer.

“I am the true and living Word. In me is life and health. Healing is a gift given to my children as they have need and believe in me. It is not something that is conjured up. It is fully supported by my Word which bears witness to the life I led in the earth. It is for those who will believe in me as the Living Word. My Word gives life. Those who believe shall indeed see that life springs forth in them, both physical and eternal.”