Woof – Part 5

March 21, 2025

Broadcast

                             Woof - Part 5
                           Matthew 15:26-28
                              03/21/2025


        26   And he answered, ``It is not right to take the
             children's bread and throw it to the dogs.''
        27   She said, ``Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the
             crumbs that fall from their masters' table.''
        28   Then Jesus answered her, ``O woman, great is your
             faith! Be it done for you as you desire.'' And her
             daughter was healed instantly.  (ESV)

        While teaching in the area around Tyre and Sidon, a
   Canaanite woman asked Jesus to cast a demon from her daughter.
   Although Jesus seemed to ignore her, to rebuke her for daring to
   ask Him for this blessing, the woman persisted in her prayer.

        And he answered, ``It is not right to take the
        children's bread and throw it to the dogs.''  She said,
        ``Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall
        from their masters' table.''  Then Jesus answered her,
        ``O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as
        you desire.'' And her daughter was healed instantly.


        Like the Canaanite woman, we are unworthy to approach Jesus
   in prayer.  After all, we have sinned in thought, word, and deed.
   Yet we cling to God's grace, knowing that His promises are
   certain, that He has called us and marked us as His own children.
   The Canaanite woman admitted that she was not of the house of
   Israel, that she was like a little dog.  But like the dog who
   eagerly sits under the table, she looks for the smallest morsel
   that falls to the ground.  The merest crumb of God's love
   exceeded all powers of earth and heaven.  What she received from
   Jesus was not crumbs, but the fullness of His love.

        This incident in the life of Jesus is written for our
   learning.  Pray without ceasing, knowing that God desires all
   people to be saved, to come to the knowledge of the truth.  This
   is the message you will hear each Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. at
   Trinity Lutheran Church as you join us in receiving God's gift of
   forgiveness and life everlasting.

        May our Lord grant that we have faith to await His
   blessings, knowing that He has declared us worthy for the sake of
   His Son.  Amen.