Eating the Children’s Crumbs

Mark 7:24-30  **  August 21, 2010

To listen to “Eating the Children’s Crumbs” click here!

Most of us have been taught since childhood that discrimination and prejudice are wrong. What was once an open common practice in America is now anathema.

This week the University of Toronto released a research report that bolstered our feeling that discrimination should be avoided at all cost. The study found that people who felt discriminated against based on gender, age, race or religion responded to that discrimination with more hostility. The study also found that they had increased calorie consumption and a decrease in their ability to focus. This pattern remained the same, regardless of the test group. Women and men, old and young, different races and religions, all experienced significant impact. This was true even when the individual was removed from the situation.

I do not think any of us are too surprised by that finding. We are not surprised because we have felt that way ourselves! Everyone, at one time or another, comes to feel that they have been unfairly treated. Yet, the truly surprising thing is we have all taken measure of ourselves and we know how difficult it is to resist the urge to “pre-judge” others.

Jesus himself told his followers that it was inappropriate to make decisions about others based on what we see on the “outside”. Jesus said, “Listen to me, everyone and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean’.”

In Mark 7:24-30 we read about an encounter that Jesus had with a woman from Lebanon.

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

28 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

To gain a more complete understanding of this encounter with Christ, I think we should be reminded of what the scripture holds just before this section.

The Pharisees came to Jesus complaining that his followers were eating with “unclean” hands. They had noticed that the disciples had not performed the ritual washings that were part of Jewish ceremonial law. The Pharisees themselves called this part of the law “the traditions of the elders.”

Mark put a special emphasis on Jesus response. First, to the Pharisees, Jesus said that their traditions “nullify the word of God.” Then, to the crowd Jesus said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” To drive the point home, Mark related what Jesus said to his disciples in private, reiterating the public statement. He even added his own aside, (in saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)

The revolutionary nature of these declarations may be lost to us! Jesus had just overturned over 1,500 years of Jewish ceremonial law!

Immediately following this radical statement by Jesus, he encountered a Gentile woman. Mark made sure the reader understood that she was Greek. She was born in Syrian Phoenicia. We would say she was Lebanese.

Jesus said that the oral tradition was invalid in the first half of chapter seven. In the second half of the chapter he taught the lesson by intentionally interacting with a woman, whom the Pharisees would have called unclean. It would have been easy to ignore her. After all there was a crowd trying to get Jesus to respond their personal needs. Yet Jesus spoke to this Greek woman.  She begged him drive the demon from her daughter.

Jesus’ answer to her request can be a bit confusing. In verse 27 he said, “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” At first blush this seems rather harsh. This sounds discriminatory! Is he really calling her a dog? The answer is both “yes” and “no”! There is a significant amount of word play going on here!

Jesus was probably speaking to this woman in Greek. We can be certain that Mark was writing in Greek. His choice of words is very interesting. The word he uses for “children” in this context means “descendants.” But there is an implication of affection, as if he said, “children that are loved by their parents.” The word he is using for “dogs” is actually the Greek word for “puppies”!

So, allow me to give you my own “amplified” version of Jesus’ statement. It is not right to take my beloved children’s food and toss it to their puppies! Or, I shouldn’t take food that belongs to the household’s most precious child and give it to the lowest ranking member of the household. The Children of Israel would hear the gospel first and then it would be shared with the world. Jesus is not calling her an “unclean dog,” which was a common slur. What he was saying is, let me meet the needs of the Jews first. There is an order to this!

She answered him, Yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. In her answer, Jesus heard humility; yes Lord, I understand my place. He heard faith; all I need is a tiny fraction of your grace and strength. A “crumb” of your power will set my daughter free! She went home and because of her reply, she found her child lying on the bed and the demon was gone. This is the only place in Mark’s gospel where Jesus healed or cast out a demon at a distance.

This woman’s humble response was so different from the self-righteous statements he heard from others! In John 8, Jesus is confronted by a group of Jews who were claiming spiritual authority because of their “biology.”

 JN 8:39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 

Jesus went on to say…

JN 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.

The natural descendents of Abraham thought that they were ‘clean’ simply because of their birth.  But Jesus told them that those who do not believe in Him (natural descendants or not) are ‘unclean’ because in their hearts they had the desire for evil.

I hope that when you leave here today, you will understand two things from this story.

The first thing is that the real descendants of Abraham are those who believe! We are talking about a spiritual ancestry, not a natural one. Listen to the eloquent way that John said it in John 1:10-13.

JN 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

And these words from Paul to the Galatians:

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

There are no racial boundaries to God’s love! There are no cultural boundaries for God’s grace! There is no sexual limitation in Jesus’ sacrifice! If you believe, then you are heirs of the promise!

Jesus was pleased with the Syrophoenician woman’s response because she understood that Jesus came to save the Children of Israel, but not them alone! He came to save all who would believe! I want you to remember today that because of your faith in Jesus Christ, you are included in the promises of God!

The second thing I hope you will remember is that Jesus honored the woman’s humility! Not a single one of us, no matter who we are, can stand before the Throne of God by ourselves. The New Testament’s writers reminded their readers over and over again that humility is required of the Christian.

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

How many “encounters with Christ” will we study? All of them, I think! Until we realize that Jesus did not care who they were. Jesus did not care if they were unclean. Jesus did not care about religious ritual! But Jesus did care about people who were in pain. He did care about those around him who were suffering. He cared for the oppressed and the lonely.

It is part of our human condition to find differences in the people around us and elevate ourselves above others! But we must find the strength to overcome our weakness! As recipients of God’s grace we must flee from our own prejudices! It is not part of our human nature to think of ourselves with humility! Yet, we must pursue humility and make it part of our daily lives. These are difficult tasks!

Today, we are the hands and feet of Christ in this hurting world! There is simply no room and no time for elevating ourselves above others! Too many are suffering and dying without a savior! Who will tell anyone about the love of Jesus if not us?

The answer is that no one will.