40 DAYS in the GOSPEL Sample

LOOKING PAST PREJUDICE

"But she answered him, 'Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.'” (Mark 7:28)

Words come back to haunt you. Things I have said in jest, or in a moment of fatigue, sound heartless in another time and place. What is even worse, is to hear your children or grandchildren repeat those statements.

Jesus not only heard what people said but could also hear their thoughts. The Holy Spirit gave Him insight into the hearts of men and women, even beyond the words they spoke.

In our text today, we read a story that at first glance sounds harsh and paints Jesus in an unsympathetic light. This is an example of where context is important.

Earlier in this chapter, Jesus had been interacting with the Pharisees and His followers regarding cleansing rituals. They had criticized Him for not following these traditions. Jesus responds by giving them God’s perspective on who is clean and who isn’t:

"And he said, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles him.'” (Mark 7:20)

Immediately following this, Mark gives us this account of a Gentile woman, a non-Jew, who begs Jesus concerning her daughter who is troubled by “an unclean spirit.” Whatever the condition was, it was serious enough for this mother to go to extreme measures to get to Jesus. Jews and Gentiles didn’t interact. Jews considered Gentiles unclean and called them dogs.

So, when Jesus responds to this woman’s request with, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs,” He is saying out loud what every Jew in the room was thinking, “This person is unclean. And dogs don’t deserve God’s help.” Jesus uses their thoughts as a teaching moment because the woman responds beautifully in faith, and Jesus grants her request. Jesus reveals that God’s ideas regarding who is in and who is out are completely different than ours. Unbelief in Christ and the gospel is what makes a person unclean.

No matter who you are—Jew, non-Jew, rich, poor, upper class, middle class, or as they say, “no class”—the good news is that God welcomes anyone who comes in faith.

PRAY ABOUT IT: Are there others whom you think are beyond the reach of the gospel? Repent of those prejudices. God knows the heart, and He is looking for faith. How is yours? Say, “Jesus, I believe You are good. Here is my faith today. Although it is imperfect, receive me here and now. I offer my heart to you.”