“The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said. He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. ‘Yes it is, Lord,’ she said. ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table. Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.”
- Matthew 14:25-28 -

In this text, the question is, "Was Jesus really refusing to help someone because she was from a different race? Did Gentile Lives Matter?" Having confirmed his mission to ‘the lost sheep of Israel’ (v 24), Jesus encounters a Gentile woman whose hope seems grounded in the salvation offered by Jesus extending from Israel into the whole world. This understanding of what God promised in the Old Testament is recognized by Jesus, alongside her persistence. It is evident that despite the reference to dogs the woman shows no sign of offense, but rather responds to the challenges of Jesus with a claim on the falling crumbs.

The pronouncement of the kingdom of heaven to the Gentiles is yet a whisper in the context of Matthew 15, but as with so much of what happens in Jesus’ public ministry, the future keeps breaking in to the present. We see a parallel in the healing of the Gentile centurion’s servant. May we likewise have the faith and persistence to approach the Messiah in the knowledge of the heavenly banquet to come, while not missing the glorious meal on offer today.

Prayer: Lord, create in me a renewed hunger for you, and a re-energized involvement in global outreach, for your holy name’s sake.

(from Encounter with God)