“The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said. He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’ ‘Yes it is, Lord,’ she said. ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table’ ” (Matthew 15:25-27).
This miracle began with a surprising twist. This mother approached Jesus on behalf of her troubled daughter and “Jesus did not answer a word.” It is an unexpected detail because it doesn’t seem like a typical reaction of Jesus. He always seemed willing to minister to the ones who approached Him. Helmut Thielicke pointed out what we know to be true. “The silence of God is the greatest test of faith.”
When Jesus seemed to ignore her request the woman took a posture of worship and “knelt before Him.” Then she appealed to His compassion. “Lord, help me!” She could easily have gotten hurt feelings and walked away but she knew two things. She knew that her daughter desperately needed help and she knew that Jesus was compassionate. Even when he seemed to ignore her she didn’t give up on Him.
She had the humility to respond to His distinguishing children from their pet dogs. She humbly said, “Even though I’m not a child and I’m in the category of a pet, I’ll take the crumbs that fall from the table.” Her worship and her humility were the companions of her great faith. That combination, worship, humility and faith, are still a combination that works for all of us.
She reached through His silence, moved beyond the obstacles. Why? She laid hold of His nature and compassion. She humbly placed herself at His mercy. Only two times in the Gospels did Jesus credit someone with having great faith. This was one of those times. “Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
Never give up on Jesus. Even if you don’t understand what He says or doesn’t say, you can depend on who He is! At the end of the miracle we understand what Jesus was doing. He was revealing the great faith of this woman and was doing what He always did. He was meeting a needy woman at the point of her need. He still does that for any of us!
