Big Buts of the Bible

An excerpt from Chapter 15.

A Mother’s Faith

The next scene is one of the most surprising—and, at first glance, one of the most uncomfortable—in all of Jesus’ ministry.

A woman approaches Jesus crying, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Her daughter is suffering terribly under the oppression of a demon.

Picture the scene. This isn’t a theological debate. It’s a desperate mother pleading for her child. Matthew even suggests she keeps crying out. She refuses to give up.

At first… Jesus says nothing.

The silence itself is difficult. Eventually the disciples grow tired of hearing her pleas. They urge Jesus to send her away.

Jesus responds, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

That statement echoes the instructions He had given the disciples earlier in Matthew’s Gospel. God’s covenant promises had come through Israel, and the Messiah’s earthly ministry would begin there.

Yet something is different about this encounter.

Earlier, Gentiles had come to Jesus while He ministered in Jewish territory. This time Jesus is in the region of Tyre and Sidon—Gentile country.

He’s on her turf.

And unlike many within Israel who continually demanded signs before believing, this Gentile woman already believes.

Notice how she addresses Him. “Lord, Son of David.”

Those are unmistakably Messianic titles. She believes before seeing. She kneels before asking. She trusts before receiving.

Then comes the sentence that has puzzled readers for centuries.

Jesus says, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

On the printed page, those words sound harsh. And honestly, they should make us pause.

Many commentators point out that Jesus uses a word referring to household dogs rather than wild scavengers, softening the picture somewhat. Others suggest He is exposing the prejudices His disciples—and much of Jewish culture—already held toward Gentiles. We can’t fully hear His tone of voice. We can’t see His facial expression. We don’t know whether there was a smile or a twinkle in His eye. I ask, Is there any way in which a man can refer to a woman as a dog and not have it be offensive?

What we do know is how the woman responds. It’s one of my favorite buts in all of Matthew.

She says, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

What remarkable faith. She doesn’t argue with Jesus. She doesn’t become offended. She simply refuses to let go of His mercy. “If all I receive is a crumb … then a crumb from You is enough.”

What confidence she has in Jesus. She believes that even the smallest expression of His grace possesses more than enough power to heal her daughter.

Jesus is moved. “Woman,” He says, “you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And immediately her daughter is healed.

What an extraordinary contrast.

The religious experts had questioned Jesus at nearly every turn. This Gentile mother simply trusted Him. The insiders kept demanding more evidence. The outsider recognized the Messiah standing in front of her.

Long before the gospel would spread throughout the Gentile world, this woman became a beautiful preview of what was coming.

Grace was already reaching beyond Israel.