It’s a fairly safe bet that most people’s favorite gospel verse is NOT the one I’ll quote below. It definitely gets beat in popularity rankings by a couple others, like Jesus’s response to the repentant thief on the cross in Luke 23:43 ('In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise) or of course, John 3:16. You know, that one we’ve all seen for years on televised football games, nearly every time some kicker attempts an extra point. I guess it’s pretty tough to compete with ”For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."
OK, so you won’t see Matthew 15:27 held up on a placard in the end zone stands by some dude with oversized sunglasses and a funky afro, but it IS one of my top three favorites, and just happens to be part of today’s gospel! From the mouth of a persistent Canaanite woman after appearing to be not only rejected, but actually insulted, by Jesus, who apparently wasn’t in the best of moods that day. The verse? “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
If you put your beer down and check it out in context, you’ll see why this verse gives me hope., and it just might give you hope too. Here goes:
Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
First of all, I could take lessons on how to handle hecklers from this gal. I’m not sure Bob Karwin could have pulled this line off! And he’s only shutting down drunks, not coming up with a clever comeback to the Savior of the World.
But aside from that, is it just me, or DOES today’s gospel give you hope? Call me crazy, but I come away from this realizing that my prayers AREN’T in vain, that not only is Jesus listening to but actually impacted by my prayer, as he was with this Canaanite woman. I mean, he went from what most of us would consider a pretty harsh comment towards her (that one about throwing the food to “the dogs” ) to being so impressed by her faith and persistence that he actually changes his mind! “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as wish.”
How long had that woman been praying for her sick daughter? And how in the world did she NOT give up, even when it seemed like her prayer was being outright rejected by the Lord himself?
And as for Jesus’ brutal line about “the dogs” (which I can just see his mother scolding him at supper that night) , I wonder if He actually HAS to come back strongly like this, with all of us sometimes, not to make us pull away from Him and quit, but to instead test AND strengthen our faith? After all, you can almost hear the joy in his voice when, realizing that this persistent woman’s faith was indeed real, he answers her with “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Obviously, the vast majority of the best lines in the Gospels were spoken by Jesus himself. But Matthew 15:27, spoken from the heart by a Canaanite woman who refused to stop believing, definitely makes the list!