"Leaving that place, JESUS withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, 'LORD, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.' But JESUS did not answer her, not even a word. So HIS disciples approached HIM and said, 'Send her away: see how she is shouting after us.'
Then JESUS said to her, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.'
But the woman was already kneeling before JESUS and said, 'Sir, help me!' JESUS answered, 'It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the little dogs.' The woman replied, 'It is true, sir, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table.' Then JESUS said, 'Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.' And her daughter was healed at that moment." - Matthew 15:21-28
(The Jews usually looked down on pagans with marked contempt: they were the sons; the pagans were the dogs. JESUS answered the afflicted woman repeating this well-known scornful saying. HE said this to test the woman's faith: would she insist when it appeared that even GOD would reject her?)
No comments:
Post a Comment