There is a seemingly strange exchange of words Jesus once had with a Greek woman that expose a PROFOUND TRUTH behind the real Biblical meaning of the word “faith”. At first glance, it’s like, “What? Is Jesus confused? Where’s the “faith” in that? But upon closer inspection of God’s Word (understanding how its many terms & phrases fit together) a wonderful truth about “Faith” is confirmed in Jesus’ words with this woman.Here’s what happened: A Syrophenician woman approached Jesus wanting him to heal (caste a demon out of) her troubled daughter, but Jesus said, “Let the children (Israelites) first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to caste it unto the dogs (Greeks)” (Mark 7:27). The woman amazingly replied, “Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs (Mark 7:28). Too this, Jesus excitedly replied, “Oh, woman, GREAT is thy FAITH: be it unto thee even as thou wilt (Matthew 15:28). The Bible then records her daughter was made whole that very hour!
So where's the faith? It’s the case of the missing faith, right? Doesn’t the church teach us today … our “faith” is to “believe in what Jesus did on the cross”? It doesn’t add up does it? So I ask again, how did this woman’s words reveal her faith? How could Jesus possibly recognize this woman had GREAT FAITH (in God) from her few simple words? Are you ready for the Biblical answer? It’s in this fact: HUMILITY equals FAITH !!! Listen, humble people love (keep God’s 10 Love Commandments) proving they “believe in Jesus”; whereas prideful people do NOT love (disobey God’s 10 Love Commandments) proving they “do NOT believe in Jesus”.
Imagine if Jesus had referred to some of the Pharisees & Sadducees as “dogs” right to their face! Oh my! What would have been THEIR reaction? Like the woman's? Are you kidding me? Not a chance; they would have been EXTREMELY offended! Why? Because deep down in their heart they thought highly of themselves! They were FULL of PRIDE!!! They would NEVER have replied with this woman’s humble words, basically saying, “I know Lord, I’m the lowest of the low, but please help me.” Wowzer, she wasn’t offended in the least bit! It’s almost as if the woman had no pride at all! Amazing! Show me a person like that, and I’ll show you a person having GREAT potential to LOVE! Yes, show me a person like that, and I’ll show you a person with GREAT FAITH.
Sincerely,
Gabriel
Approximately 800 Weeks (Sabbaths) Remaining Till Christ's Return!
Great message Gabriel! That is a very good point. Most people would react very aggressively to those great words of the Lord who used them to test her faith and she did pass with flying colours!!! I just wanted to bring something up and share a thought with you all. I tell you one thing, being referred to as a "dog" in Near East cultures (ancient or modern, excluding the Pharaonic race who worshipped a dog-god) is a TOTAL INSULT! That is a totally "unclean" animal to them and has been looked down at throughout most of history. In Islam it is "Haram" or unclean, the opposite of "Halal" clean. In Judaism it is also unclean, totally not Kosher! Only recently (last 70 years or so) did the new generations start owning dogs by being influenced from Western culture. I know because I am originally Middle Eastern and I know it is the same for the Arabs as it is with the Israelis, Turks, Iranians etc. My grandfather? Forget it! He totally hates them and the same goes for most seniors from many cultures. The simple fact remains that people in the Middle East (old and young) all are extremely offended when someone calls them a dog. Dogs were always regarded as feral/wild, disgusting, scavengers, eating garbage, and even mentioned many times in the Bible as licking sores, bones, blood of the dead and even eating them completely! Just like the gruesome fate of Jezebel in 2 Kings 9. Trust me, being called that word is actually far worse than any swear word or insult that I can think of in the Arabic language and I am sure it is the same in Hebrew, Persian etc. because we share a lot of words, saying and expressions.
ReplyDeleteSo there is great wisdom in this teaching and message. Praise the Lord!
Listen everyone, I know these teachings are foreign in today's church world, because I sat in them for many years. I was never made to understand that pride (selfishness) was the heart soil that produced ALL SIN/EVIL (10 love commandments disobedience). Never did they ever show me how every lie is told for a person's selfish gain or benefit, how covetousness is just a person wanting stuff for themselves, how unforgiveness is just a person's pride saying "You did ME wrong! How dare you! I'm somebody, and you won't get away with treating ME like that!", how disobedience to parents is just a child saying, "I want to do it MY WAY!" And on and on and on with each of the 10 love commandment ... every single one is disobeyed because of a person's PRIDE. Pride (selfishness) manifested through a love for money (the material universe) is the root of ALL evil (sin).
ReplyDeleteOnce you FULLY grasp this, then you can begin to understand what James was talking about when he said, "Faith without Works (of love) is dead (non-existent)", meaning without "10 Love Commandment obedience" a person has NO FAITH. So then you should be able to put two and two together and understand ... it takes a HUMBLE heart to have FAITH.
I strongly encourage ya'll to visit 10LoveCommandments.com and read through each of the short 2 or 3 page commentaries on EACH of the 10 Love Commandments, until you FULLY grasp each sin and why it is disobeyed. Only THEN will you begin to grasp the truth behind the above blog.
May God bless your understanding of His Holy Scriptures.