SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/28/2022 9:59 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“Humble”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 15:25-27
Message of the verses: “25 But she came
and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 And
He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children’s bread and
throw it to the dogs." 27 But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs
feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’”
Let us begin by looking at the words “to bow down” (proskuneo) in the Greek, which literally
means to prostrate oneself and is frequently translated “to worship.” So this shows us that the woman is worshiping
the Lord by bowing down before Him. This
also shows humility, as it is possible that there is no worship going on, but
my thoughts is that there is. What she
did was throw herself at the feet of Jesus and then pleaded with even greater
desperation, Lord, help me!
Jesus
is actually saying to her something similar that He had said in verse 24 “24 But
He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel." "It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to
the dogs" (v. 26b).
I want to explain that in the Greek there are two
words for dogs, and one means a mangy dog that lives by itself, and the other
is “a little dog” kind of what many people have as house pets the ones that
come around when the family is eating and begs for food, and this is what Jesus
is talking about when He said “throw it to the dogs.” I don’t have to tell you that many dogs,
especially in our country are treated well and probably spoiled. I can think of a story when my daughter was
in Peru on a missions trip and she was up in the high mountains and what she
was fed was chicken, but all of the chicken, even the eyes and so she was
instructed to just sneak it to the dogs, as she did not want to offend her
hosts. While there she watched a baptism
where the ice had to be broken away before the person could be baptized.
MacArthur
writes “Even so, Jesus’ remarks were far from a compliment. The woman knew that children’s referred to
Jews and dogs referred to Gentiles, because both figures were commonly used by
Jews. Jesus’ words sounded much like the
insults Jews frequently cast at Gentiles and that the woman had probably heard
many times before.” I want to look at
Psalm 22:16 which is the Psalm which tells about the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ: “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They
pierced my hands and my feet.” This
verse is saying that our Lord was surrounded by Gentiles when He was crucified.
As
we continue looking at verse 27 we read But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even
the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’” I have to say that this woman was undaunted,
and in an incredible flash of her insight she picked up on Jesus’ own
illustration in saying what she said in verse 27. I have to believe that this woman knew that
she was sinful and that she was unworthy, like all people born of the seed of
Adam, as none of us have anything to offer for our salvation. Now in this woman’s case she knew that she
was not a Jew. As she did this she
demonstrated a complete absence of pride, self-reliance, and also
self-righteousness which characterized the many Jewish leaders that Jesus had
been talking to before He and His disciples came to this Gentile territory in
order to get away. What this woman was
willing to settle with is the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. This was because that would be enough to meet
her needs. A tiny leftover of Jesus’
great power could heal her daughter, and that was all she was asking for.
We
know that Jesus’ priority mission was to the Jews, the crumbs of the gospel did
indeed fall from their table and feed humble Gentiles who hungered for the
Bread of life, something that is seen in verses 29-29 of chapter 15 of Matthew
as Jesus will once again feed many, many people in a miraculous way, this time
it will be Gentiles.
We
have one more short verse to look at, and Lord willing we will do that tomorrow
as we will look at “The Lord’s Response.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There are times in my spiritual life when the
Lord causes me to kind of “jump through some hoops” in other words be patient
to see what He is trying to teach me. I
suppose that sometimes I fail to get through a hoop and have to go around again
before I get through the hoop.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I want to be a better listener to His Word so
that I can get through those hoops without missing them to the glory of God.
7/28/2022 10:38 AM
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