Week 5: The New Testament and Children
Day 3: Faith. Courage. Dedication. Matthew 15:26; Mark 7:26-28
In Matthew 15 and Mark 7, a Gentile woman came to Jesus asking that He deliver her daughter from an evil spirit. Jesus did not respond, but she continued to plead with Him. Finally the disciples had, had enough. They came to the Lord and begged Him to send her away. Jesus’ initial answer might not have been what you would expect, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In other words, You are not a Jew, I am not here to help you.
The woman would not give up so easily. The Bible tells us that she came near and worshiped Him and asked for His help. This time His response was even more shocking, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to the dogs.” Most of us would have been insulted and flown into a fit of rage at a remark like that, or walked away in complete and utter embarrassment. Not this woman. Her faith was greater than that. She continued her appeal, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus acknowledged the greatness of her faith and healed her daughter that very hour. (See Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30.)
No wise father takes food from his children’s plates and gives it to the dogs. Here Jesus was referring to the relationship between God and the children of Israel. It was His own death and resurrection that would usher Gentiles into that same type of relationship. God desires to give His children the best; how foolishly we often refuse it by seeking our own way.
This woman possesses an incredibly admirable quality, several in fact, but specifically her willingness to fight on behalf of her child, to bring the child’s needs before the Lord. This sort of courage and dedication is sorely missing in our world today. We need parents who are willing to stand and fight for their kids. We need parents who are willing to go on their face before God, seeking His intervention in their lives. How would our world change if parents were this dedicated to their children? What if Christians were this dedicated to defending the cause of the fatherless?
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Also Check out Rachel Miller’s Book: The King’s Daughter: A Story of Redemption
