Crumbs of Mercy

There is a story in the New Testament of a woman who was unfit for God. If that sounds shocking or surprising to you in any way, then you should read further, because her story is your story and my story. In the gospel of Matthew, she is referred to as a Canaanite woman who came to Jesus in search of mercy for her little girl, who she described as cruelly demon possessed. In the story, it appears Jesus abruptly told her she didn’t qualify for mercy since she didn’t come from the right people. Then He said something that seems cold and cruel from our perspective. He said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.” In just a few moments of conversation, Jesus spoke to a desperate woman, telling her she was unfit for God. If it troubles you that Jesus would say that about a woman in her position, then you need to hear the rest of the story because it has a wonderful ending.

This woman was a person who was distant from God. I’m convinced that Jesus’ approach was very tender, in spite of how it seemed to her in the beginning, or how it might seem to us as we read the story. Jesus is moving her to consider her standing before God. The Jews considered all Gentiles as dogs. It was a cruel term and a failure to understand the heart of the God they worshipped. There is no distinction among peoples or races. We are all equal before God. No person or people group is less important than another. 

However, in the presence of God, against His holiness, His greatness, and His glory, I am no more than a dog. That is to say, I am unfit for God. I don’t qualify for God’s help. I am undeserving and unworthy. That is why this story is not only the story of a troubled woman, it is your story and mine. She was unfit for God. She was distant from Him spiritually. She didn’t know the true God. She was a worshipper of false gods.

One of the great truths the Bible teaches us is that all of us, in spite of race, economic status, or religious standing are unfit for God. You were distant from him from the day you were born. That distance is evidenced by the thoughts and intents of your heart that are only evil continually. According to Jesus, it is what comes out of a person’s heart that pollutes them and renders them unfit for God.

This woman was unfit for God. She was unfit for God’s fellowship. She was unfit for heaven. As she sought help from Jesus, she was asking Jesus for something she didn’t deserve. Likewise, God owes us nothing. All of us are unfit for God.

She was at a point of desperation in her life. As Mark tells the story, he writes, But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Mark 7:25

Here was a woman who was unfit for God, and now, her little daughter had an unclean spirit that defiled her. She was distant from God, and now that distance from God was showing up in the life of her little girl. 

Emotionally and spiritually exhausted, she fell down desperate at the feet of Jesus. I’ve carried a limp and lifeless daughter in my arms into the Emergency Room. I know what it is to stand in the hospital with a child so sick I didn’t know whether she would live or die. So I feel her pain, even as I read this story. Some of you do as well. You know what it is for your child to have a demon; for the devil to get a hold of your precious boy or girl, and you would do anything to see them set free.

That is this mother. Are you desperate? Have you run out of options? Is there some need in your life that has reached critical mass? You want to talk to the Lord about it. You want to bring it to Jesus. But then you look at your own life, and you say, “But I’m like that woman. I am guilty of sin. I am distant from God. I am unclean. I am unfit for God.”  You see, this is your story, and it is mine!

She made a decision to make a move toward God. This woman had trouble in her home. When you have trouble in your home, I know by experience, you also have trouble in your heart. 

God created us all with a conscience. Your conscience tells you if you are right with God or guilty of sin. You may never listen to the voice of your conscience. You might shut it out and not even care until your child is sick or in trouble. The first thing your conscience does is to condemn you as guilty. It blames you for the problem or you blame yourself. As you stand in the middle of difficulty in your home and in your heart, you begin to feel an overwhelming need for God. You may have lived distant from Him all your life, denying His existence and running from His influence. 

This is your story. This is you. This is a picture of your life. This is a picture of your need. This is a picture of what you must do. You need to come to Jesus in your need and as you are. Your only help and only hope is at His feet.

What was that woman thinking that day in the moments before she ran to Jesus? Was she thinking, “I haven’t been living for the Lord. I can’t pray. I can’t ask God to help me. I’m not worthy. I’ve been living distant from God. I’m unclean. I’m unworthy. I’m unfit for God!”

If those were her thoughts, then certainly the Lord’s initial response reinforced them.  In the gospel of Matthew, we are told that initially, Jesus didn’t respond. The disciples were urging Him to send her away, considering her unworthy for His attention. When Jesus finally answered, He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Have you ever applied for some kind of special assistance and been told you didn’t qualify or that your child didn’t qualify or that you were the wrong kind of people or worse that you were a dog? Were you made to feel unclean, unworthy and unfit?

She might have just stomped her feet and walked away in anger. But she didn’t. She fell at His. She risked making this move toward God by coming to Jesus. She heard about Him. She thought: “He can help my little girl.”

In Mark, we see Jesus’ response to her request: “And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  Mark 7:27

Two things here. First, Jesus is taking this woman through the process of evaluating her own relationship with God. Was she deserving of God’s help? No. Are you deserving of God’s help? No. You prove it over and over. Your thoughts that rise up out of your heart betray you as being just as unclean and unworthy and unfit as this woman here.

But second, Jesus did this a little more tenderly than it appears. The word He used was not for some mangy street dog, but for the puppy that might sit at your feet as you eat at your table. 

He was painting the same picture that I have painted for you, but He did it in a tender way. Here was a woman who came to Him for help. She made a decision to make a move toward God—even though she was unclean, unworthy, unfit for God. She did so because she was desperate.

Are you ready to make such a step toward God today? Is there some need in your life that presses you to fall at the feet of Jesus and plead with Him for help that only He can give?

What was it that she wanted? What was it that she needed? Matthew tells us that when she initially approached Jesus, she came crying out,“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” Matthew 15:2

When Jesus told her that dogs didn’t eat bread from the children’s table, she replied: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” Mark 7:28

There is the deep desire of her heart! She wanted crumbs—crumbs of mercy. Whatever He could spare! Whatever He could give.! Whatever drop of mercy He could provide, she believed it would help her little girl. Like that other woman who had the issue of blood who said, “If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I could be healed,” this woman wanted just a few crumbs—a few drops of His mercy.

She was saying, “Lord, I know I’m unworthy. I know I am unclean. I know I don’t deserve anything from you. I know I am unfit. I know who I am. But I also know who You are. All I am asking for you is for a few crumbs of mercy!”

Would that do for you today? Would you settle for a crumb of mercy that fell from the table of Heaven? I believe most of us would. I believe most of us would say, “Lord, I don’t deserve anything from You, but I beg you for mercy.” Maybe it’s not for you. Maybe you too have a son or a daughter or a spouse who you believe could be delivered with just a few crumbs of His mercy.

So how do you get that process started? Do what she did. Make a decision to move toward God. Place yourself by faith at the feet of Jesus. Tell Him that He’s right about you. Tell Him you know who you are, but you also know Who He is. Believe that He is willing and able to help you!

Did Jesus give her the deep desire of her heart? He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”  Mark 7:29

What was so special about her answer. First, it revealed that she understood her own spiritual condition before God. She was distant. She was unworthy. She was unfit. It revealed that she understood her own need for God. She proved that by coming to Jesus. Second, it revealed what she believed about Jesus. She believed He could meet the need in her life as no one else could. Third, in placing herself at His feet, she was coming in surrender, not based on her own worth, but simply on her need for mercy. And fourth, in coming to Jesus for help and hope she was placing her faith in His person and in His power.

So Jesus said, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”  Mark 7:29 It’s done. It’s over. I’ve done it. I answered your prayer. I met your need. Instantly. Miraculously. Just what you asked for because of your answer. The demon is gone.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could exercise the faith of this woman. She knew who she was and what she was. She didn’t come to Jesus based on her worth. She came as she was, and in her need, looking for just a crumb of mercy. And when she went home, look what she found.

And going back to her home,  she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.   Mark 7:30

Imagine the joy in that mother’s heart when she went home and found her little girl no longer tormented by that demon. Her little girl delivered. Her little girl whole.

What need exists that troubles your home and troubles your heart. Do you need to put yourself and that need at the feet of Jesus? Do you have a need like that? Are you in need of a few morsels, a few crumbs of mercy from God’s table to deal with some need in your life? Are any of us worthy? No. But all of us are needy!

How desperate are you for the Lord’s blessing? Are you desperate enough to come to Jesus? This woman was so desperate that she came publicly. Her need was so great that she clamored for just a crumb of His blessing. How about you? Are you willing to identify yourself as the person whose need and faith moves you to come to Jesus? All of us are unworthy. Jesus wants all of us to know that. He also wants us to realize that all of us are needy! Ultimately, He wants us to know that He is the One who can meet the deepest need of every heart!

Photo by Monika Grabkowska