Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 

“Yes, it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. —Matthew 15: 21-28

The Power of a Crumb

She was a woman in a city that subjugated her gender. She was a social outcast, a pagan, and a Canaanite—among the most hated people by the Jews. 

Yet, she was also a mother of a desperately sick child. And this woman had something she had not had in some time. She had hope, and his name was Jesus. 

She knew he was a Jew. He knew she was a gentile. But desperation often makes cultural bias irrelevant. Because if crossing racial or religious boundaries could help her daughter’s plight, she would cross them without hesitation. She cried, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Breaking Through God’s Silence

It appears he ignored her because he remained silent to her request. And as she persisted with her prayer, his disciples told Jesus to send her away. Jesus continued to overlook her petition. Like if he would acknowledge her, he would be forced to answer her prayer. Regardless, she came and worshiped him and cried, “Lord help me.”

Then Jesus gave her the smallest of openings. The slightest evidence that he really cared. “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

She Found His Grace

Instead of her hope dying, she saw her answer was within reach. “Yes it is, Lord. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Boom! What a bold response. Jesus recognized the tenacity of her faith and the depth of her determination. He didn’t say, “be healed,” or “be whole,” or “be blessed.” His response was, in essence, “whatever you want, woman—it is yours.”

Where There’s a Determined Faith

Here, we see the power of a crumb. The woman cried. Jesus remained silent. She followed. The disciples told her to leave. She worshiped. They disregarded her, and Jesus called her a dog. 

The woman should have been insulted and could have become angry. But doubt and disappointment were not part of her plan. She didn’t become bitter. Instead, her faith soared. She heard more than what Jesus had uttered. She read between the lines of God’s word. The message was not spoken but was as loud as a megaphone. 

The mother did not ask for a meal with the children. She did not ask to eat with the servants in another room. She would have been satisfied with one crumb of God’s truth fallen from the master’s table to the floor of her despair. She knew that this tiny morsel of his healing power could quickly alleviate her child’s misery. 

An Allegory of Persistence

She heard the talk of dogs and seized on the unspoken crumb. This was her ticket to the journey to God’s favor. There was enough truth in “dog” and “bread” to get what this mother wanted for her child. 

When was the last time you reminded God that your faith, the size of a mustard seed, will deliver enough bounty to realize your demands? 

Lord, my faith in you is such that if all I get is one crumb, one word, one nod in the right direction, it is sufficient to resolve my dilemma and answer my prayer.

If an outcast woman could seize on the allusion to a dog, get a Pitbull grip on a crumb, and bring a devil-chasing, divine healing experience into the life of her child—cannot we comprehend what’s available to a Spirit-born follower of Jesus Christ?

More Power to Us

If there is enough power in a crumb for a castoff woman to attain a whatever-you-want-is-yours response from Jesus—how much more power comes with the whole loaf of the Bread of Life? 

If he is willing to do for a dog with crumbs under the table, what is he waiting to do for Bible-believing ministries whose mission is to care for displaced widows and orphans in their distress? —James 1:27

There is power in a crumb to bring hope to the orphan and widow. There is power in a crumb to provide an emergency care facility to kids on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There is power in a crumb to drive out the spirit of depression, lift every burden, and heal every affliction. Jesus is willing and able to break the bondage of every oppressive spirit—he is the Bread of Life, and there is power in the crumb!

Learn More About Legacy Acres

Legacy Acres is a Christian 501c3 organization that exists to provide an emergency care facility for orphaned and fatherless children desperately in need of the love of Jesus Christ. 

If you would like more information about our ministry to help orphans on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, contact us today. 

Will Marler is Executive Director of Legacy Acres, a Christian non-profit seeking to provide emergency shelter to abused abandoned, and neglected children in South Mississippi.