A Very Strong Mama and Jesus Mark 7:24 - 37

This week’s Bible scripture is kind of a tough one. Jesus says some words that seem very, very mean. It’s hard to think that Jesus might have said mean words. Do we really believe that Jesus ever had a bad thought?In the first part of the scripture, a woman came to Jesus to ask him to help her sick daughter. Here’s the tough part – the woman was a Syrophoenician. (How’s that for a big word?) That means she was not Jewish, like Jesus. In fact, she was a Gentile, like us. And Jewish and Gentile people did not really like each other very much.Do you know what Jesus said to the woman? It would

be nice if he said, “Oh, how nice that you came to ask me for help. I’m so happy to help your little girl.”But, no. He didn’t say that. Instead, he said, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”Boy, that’s a strange thing to say. People have wondered for years what he was talking about, because it sounds like he was telling the woman that his gifts of healing were meant for the Jewish people and not for those dogs – the gentiles. (And remember, in those days, dogs weren’t beloved pets, like they are now. They were kind of mangy, icky animals that scrounged around for whatever food they could get.)So, do you know what that woman did? She was a very strong mama and she wanted to save her sick daughter. So, she looked right at Jesus and she said, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”Whoa! She talked back to Jesus! Would you do that?Do you think Jesus got mad? No, he did not. In fact, he was so impressed that he changed his mind. In fact, he must have changed his mind about Syrophoenician people, because he said, “Go home, because your daughter is better.”Wow. God’s love works in really amazing ways. Even for Jesus.Click here for a full sized coloring page.

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