Mark 7:24-30 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
"First let the children eat all they want," contrasts greatly with the scene we see on the day Jesus was crucified, When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:24-25) The religious leaders and the people surrounding them had eaten all they desired. They wanted this inspired teacher, this healer, this lover of people to be crucified; and they willingly took the responsibility for his death upon themselves and their children. These actions become all the more shocking knowing Jesus was sent to them because God was honoring his promise to Abraham, the patriarch of faith. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:3-8)
Jesus was sent to Abraham's descendants to witness to them that the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham had become a reality. Jesus, Abraham's SEED, would not only bless the descendants of Abraham but all of the people of the world. Sadly, the children of Abraham had become stiff-necked, self-righteous, and law-bound, not understanding how Abraham found favor with God, not understanding that Abraham found favor because of his total faith in God's words. He found favor because He believed God would carry out his promises to him without him having to work to find God's favor. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Romans 4:3) Jesus' mission in the land of Israel was to reveal God's nature of grace and mercy by performing many signs and wonders amongst them and also to reveal their recalcitrant reaction to God's will through his many parables. He desired, as John the Baptist did, for the people to repent of their religious self-willed ways and to return to God with contrite hearts. But they would not receive his divine mission; they would not repent; they would not accept the marvelous works Jesus performed before their very eyes. Instead they had their fill of Jesus. He was in the way of their self-willed, hedonistic living. Therefore, they wanted to dispense with him, to get rid of his teachings and his miraculous ways. The crucifixion was their answer.
In the above passage we see Jesus referring to Gentiles in the Greek language as little household dogs. His reference to the Gentiles as dogs does not mean he is demeaning the Gentiles. He is merely saying that his ministry while He is on Earth is to the people of the Promise. The food is for them: the Gentiles will come later as we see in Paul's ministry. The table at this time was set for the Jews, not for the Gentiles. Of course, we see a few Gentiles such as the woman in today's passage receive miracles at Jesus' hands, but primarily his healing power and ministry was for the Jewish people. Jesus was implementing God's promise to Abraham, to bless his descendants and the world through his SEED. However, instead of receiving Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the promise to bless all people in the world, they responded with anger, hatefulness, and rejection of God's gift. They were so hostile to God's plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and his works that they told Pilate on the day of Jesus' crucifixion that they and their children would take full responsibility for the death of Jesus. Jesus' exclusive ministry to the Jewish people ended on the day of his crucifixion. We find after his resurrection, Jesus instructed his disciples to go out to the world and proclaim God's grace and mercy to all who would put their faith in his atoning work at the cross. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:17-20)
We know all of these things depicted in the New Testament had to happen so that Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, would be slain by those who had received the most light from God. Their starkly evil actions reveal the basic nature of rebellion against God's authority in the human heart. We see this in the Garden of Eden: "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:1-5) The serpent plants the seed of rebellion: You can do as you wish. You don't have to obey God! To break this rebellion of the old nature, a new creature had to be created. Such a transformation could come only through the death and resurrection of the Son of God, the creator of ALL THINGS. Each new believer dies with him and is NOW RESURRECTED AS A NEW CREATURE, A HOLY TEMPLE, WHERE GOD CAN ABIDE. We are no longer sinners, alienated from God. We are known in Heaven as God's beloved children, HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS BECAUSE OF THE DEEDS OF JESUS CHRIST. Even the dogs, those lacking the light of the God of creation, who did not know him or love him, have been brought into the family of God. We Gentiles who were afar off have been brought near. We now sup with the Lord, we hear his voice and do his will. God's plan of salvation came out of a broken heart of love for those He called very good at the dawn of creation. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) Jesus came to Israel as a baby to redeem the whole world. Those who should have loved him, who should have accepted him, rejected him; but we who are now in the household of God, chosen by his Spirit, cleansed by his blood, have received Abraham's promise of eternal blessing and life with him. We will never cease to exist; we will be in the household of God FOREVER. AMEN! Rejoice dear ones!
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