A Crumb of His Greatness

So lately I have been doing a lot of homework, which requires me to really dig in a figure out what a text is really saying. The process is called exegesis and it is simply the process by which one interprets the Bible. So I was reading Matthew 15:22-28 which says:

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out 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." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread 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, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

So as I first read that passage I began to wonder why in the world Jesus would be such a jerk because at first glance it seems as though Jesus is calling this woman a dog. However, there is an important theological principle that struck me right between the eyes as I really began to search. The fact of the matter is that this was a woman and a gentile. In Jesus's time men did not socialize much with women in public and it was even more crazy for a Jew to speak to a Gentile. This woman was a gentile but yet she displayed more faith than many of the Jews that surrounded Jesus. In chapter 14 of Matthew we see Jesus healing people and this woman, having heard of this great man came and asked for a crumb of his greatness. This woman realized that Jesus was so powerful that if she could glean a crumb of his power her daughter would be healed. However, Jesus knew the faith of this woman and once she displayed just how great her faith was, he told this Gentile woman, who he had every right to have sent from his sight, that because of her great faith, her daughter would be healed.

The word pistis in the original Greek is the word that is used for faith in this passage and it simply means conviction of truth. However, as I began to look it became more and more apparent that a lot of the times that this word is referenced is in times when people had to stop looking to other things and focus on God first. Many times we get caught up in the little things that are all around us but it is not about all the stuff that we have going on but rather about having faith that God will see us through it all. This woman stepped out of a cultural norm or cultural comfort zone and trusted that Jesus would honor her trust, and he did.

Scaremare

It's amazing how when you least expect it God does amazing things. Last night I was giving the gospel in the "Preaching Tents" at Scaremare and I saw a ton of people get saved. However, there was one group who came in and one of the guys was extremely vocal and completely joking around about the whole idea of the preaching tents. So, as you can well imagine, I was somewhat discouraged and was even tempted to just rush through the gospel so I could get other people in. However, as I started to talk I just felt God telling me to share and give it my all. I got real serious with the group of about 7 people who were all wearing marines stuff and got really serious with them about the fact that nothing they can do on their own is good enough to get them to heaven and even the really vocal guy got quiet. I was very frank with them about how no one is good enough on their own and only Jesus could save them. Then I asked them to pray with me and when the prayer was over two people looked up saying they had been saved. God did not want me to write them off because He never writes anyone off. God didn't want me to just write the people off but rather to place no limits on Him and He'll place no limits on me and that is why this is important.