A GENTILE MOM

When Peter sank into Galilee’s waves, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

(Matthew 14:31).

To a Gentile Mom, Jesus said, “Woman, your faith is great!” (Matthew 15:28).

Jesus encountered the Gentile Mom when the Master led His disciples on a trip outside of Israel to the foreign soil of Tyre and Sidon, northwest of Galilee along the beautiful Mediterranean coast. Jesus was taking a break, and though He “did not want anyone to know it … he could not escape notice” (Mark 7:24).

The heart-sick momma “came and fell at his feet” (Mark 7:25) and cried out, “have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon” (Matthew 15:22).

She was a “Canaanite” (Matthew 15:22), “a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth” (Mark 7:26), but she knew of the Jewish God, Jehovah, and His Son, Jesus, the “Lord” and “Son of David!” (Matthew 15:22). Nothing else mattered to the Gentile Mom. Her daughter was “severely tormented” and only Jesus could help!

This episode is most memorable due to their intriguing conversation. Jesus responded

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel … It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (Matthew 15:24-26). The Gentile Mom understood that Jews commonly referred to Gentiles as “dogs” so she responded “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28)

She acknowledged the priority of Jesus’ mission to the Chosen Nation, the “house of Israel,” but pled that He would mercifully and graciously heal her daughter. She understood her unworthiness but begged for a tiny crumb of grace.

“Jesus replied to her, ‘Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.’ And from that moment her daughter was healed” (Matthew 15:28).

What would Jesus say today? “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Or, would He say, “your faith is great”?

Someday we’ll know the rest of the story!

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).