Posted by Rashell on 12 Sep 2006 at 05:17 pm | Tagged as: Uncategorized
The problem with waiting several days in between blogs is that when I finally do blog, I have so much to write about that I’m afraid no one is reading anything. Ah well. It’s still good for me.
Sunday, Christopher and I attended my parents’ church in Louisiana. The pastor spoke from Matthew 15. A Gentile woman is seeking Jesus’ help- her daughter is sick and dying. Jesus tells the woman that He did not come for the people like her, but He came for the lost children of Israel. Jesus was really mean in that passage, but he did end up healing the woman’s daughter. When Jesus told the woman, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (26), the woman responded with, “But even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (27). Jesus praised the woman for her faith, and healed her daughter. But before He did that, Jesus insulted the woman by calling her a dog! That was a highly offensive insult to the Gentiles. But the woman graciously took that insult, and at the same time pointed out that God’s promises in His covenant with His children are so great that they effect the surrounding nations. I was very amazed at this passage, and I realized that it is true that Jesus did not come to the Gentiles. He came only to the Jews. Yes, He did minister to a few Gentiles, but they were the exception. His ministry was to the Jews. It was not until Jesus’ ascention that He commanded the disciples to go out into all the nations and preach the Gospel (Matt. 28:19). This is so interesting to me, and it makes me feel so blessed. I am not a part of the bloodline of Israel, but God has reached out and grafted me into that tree. He has adopted me as His daughter, and I am so very honored. It feels good to be a child of the King.
We had that same passage Sunday!! Our pastor talked about how when his kids were little and ate while sitting in a high chair, the pet dog would sit under the high chair, knowing that the toddler would drop some food. Even though the meal was not prepared for the dog, the dog benefitted from the meal. And, of course, although Jesus was sent to the Jews first, we Gentiles have certainly benefitted form His coming. I felt much better about myself as a Gentile after hearing the pet dog analogy.
My pastor used a pet dog analogy, too, but I thought it drew away from the point of the passage. Jesus did not use the word “dog” in a loving “pet dog” manner. The term was highly offensive to the Gentiles and was commonly used by Jews in reference to Gentlies. Dogs were not loved pets back then. They were despised creatures. Jesus was insulting the woman, not giving her a loving pat on the head. Jewish men would commonly pray thanking God that they were not a dog (Gentile) or a woman. Now, of course, Jesus probably was not using this racial insult just to use it. I’m sure He had a lesson up his sleve.