By: Obed Pineda
Everyday, on a park bench in front of a pond, there sat an old man with a bag of bread crumbs. For some time now, it had been his routine to rise early in the morning, have his breakfast, and take the remaining pieces of uneaten toast with him to this pond in the park to feed the animals. Originally he would go there and feed the ducks, swans, and other species of birds that filled the pond with these bread crumbs, but he then made an unexpected friend at the pond. One day, as he was casting his pieces of toast to the birds, a dog appeared hungry and desirous of the toast he held in his hand. Although the wild appearance of the canine was intimidating, the old man was moved to compassion by the hunger plaguing the poor animal and fed him crumbs as well. The following day when he arrived the park, there was the dog waiting for him and again the old man fed him, and did so the next day and the next until this became their routine and cemented their bond. Little did the old man realize how his unintended adoption of this pet would soon pay its dividends. One morning, as the man sat on his bench to feed the birds and the dog as was customary, he was blindsided by a thief with a large blade, demanding he turn over all that he had of value. The old man, utterly afraid for his life, began to go for his wallet to give it to the thief when out of nowhere, the dog he had been feeding for several weeks now, attacked the thief, zealously defending him from his attacker. The dog’s ferocious bite was so vicious, that the robber dropped his knife and ran away from the dog, successfully freeing the man who had been kind to him by feeding him daily of the scraps from his table. It dawned upon the old man on that day that the daily encounters between himself and the dog had flourished into a master and pet relationship. The gratitude that canine had exhibited with such outstanding loyalty to the man, branded in his mind’s eye the impact a few crumbs of compassion and mercy can have in others. The validity of this is confirmed by the Master as He taught, “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same” (Matthew 5:44-46, emphasis added)? An enemy is easily understood to be someone who is in direct opposition to another with deep hostility. The vitality of this instruction is illuminated when two things are considered in conjunction to it. First, that this lesson forms part of the core fundamentals of Christianity that Jesus established in His Sermon on the Mount and secondly, that Jews held Gentiles in great disregard, being very antagonistic toward them. In other words, Gentiles were held as enemies by the Jews and had been raised to despise them. The disdain of a Jew toward a Gentile was so much that Peter revealed to Cornelius, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28, emphasis added). The Lord Christ understood that it was essential to uproot this bitter upbringing from His disciples minds, so that the Gospel be preached to the Gentile world also. Therefore, never being one who does not practice what He teaches, the Great Redeemer provided His twelve with a visual aid of this very lesson with a Greek, Syro-Phoenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30). His lesson began from the moment He chose to go to Tyre and Sidon. Geographical historians state that during the Lord’s tenure on earth, this region was heavily populated by the Gentiles. Having previously heard Peter’s explanation that for a Jew it was very unlawful to enter into a Gentiles domain, Mark’s description of what led the Master to this region peaks the curiosity. The inspired amanuensis writes, “From there [Gennesaret, Mark 6:53] He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden” (Mark 7:24, emphasis and addition mine). The events leading to this extraordinary moment had left the Lord physically, mentally, and emotionally spent. When He had arrived Gennesaret, He was received by a large crowd of people seeking to have their sick healed by Him (Mark 6:53-56) and had reproached, yet again, the Pharisees and scribes who had confronted Him with a petty accusation, in spite of all the marvelous works He was doing among the people (Mark 7:1-23). Ergo, knowing that the Pharisees, scribes, or the people would not dare enter a region that was heavily populated by Greeks, Mark’s explanation is logical as to why the Lord made this decision. However, He was also showing His disciples that “there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:11, emphasis added) and that “He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace” (Ephesians 2:14-15, emphasis added). Christ was gently leading His chosen apostles out of the discriminatory mentality that had been ingrained in them from childhood through these examples. Our Lord was revealing to them what He revealed to the Samaritan woman at the well: “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22b). Observe that when the Syro-Phoenician beseeched the Lord to heal her daughter, He responded (according to Mark’s account), “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (Mark 7:24-27, emphasis added). It is clear that Jesus was testing the faith of this Gentile woman as He also did so afterward with the father of demon-possessed boy (Mark 9:14-24), but He was also showing His disciples the fruition Isaiah’s prophecy proclaiming, “Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Isaiah 49:6, emphasis added). Let us not forget that the Savior was driven into Tyre and Sidon by the hardness of the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes who constantly antagonized and criticized His ministry. Thus, Christ went to the Gentiles because He was rejected by His own. Hence, the crumbs that the Canaanite woman assured were eaten by the little dogs, is an illustration of the Jews rejection of the Gospel, accepted by the Gentiles joyfully (cf. Acts 13:42-52). The great faith of this woman in Jesus’ mercy, granted her the blessing to enjoy precious crumbs of the Bread of life, ahead of its time (John 6:22-71).