Thursday 10 Feb 2022

February 10: Mark 7:24-30

Key Verse: Mark 7:27
‘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 the dogs.’

Devotion:
This sounds like a strange story when you hear it the first time, and I must admit it confused me the first time I heard it. But, if we take the time to learn what Jesus meant in the stories and parables, we get to learn about a new side of Jesus which was not ‘advertised’ too much during this time.

Jesus came to be amongst the children of Israel because God chose them as the favoured people at that time. God continued to watch over the people of Israel for many years and continues today; but He does not turn His back on anyone who is willing to have faith in Him.

This woman had a daughter who was possessed by an impure spirit – it must have been causing her a lot of anguish and torment seeing her daughter caught up by this wicked spirit. She came to Jesus and begged Him to cleanse her daughter but Jesus told her He was here to serve the people of Israel, God’s chosen race. Her response was to remind Jesus that even the dogs under the table scramble for any crumbs of food which should fall from the table.

She was saying her and her daughter may not be from the chosen people, they may even be classed as dogs in comparison, but they were faithfully sticking with the people of Israel because they knew their God was greater than anything or anyone in their own world. The Greeks, after all, had many gods who were supposed to look out for them! That faith struck a chord with Jesus and He released her daughter from the spirit there and then!

Points to Ponder:
Do you ever think you are not worthy of God’s love?

Are you willing to show God your faith?