Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs’ » (Mark 7:28).
Jesus loved to talk in double meanings. He also liked to use words that society bantered about. In the above conversation, dogs meant «Gentile» or «non-Jew» and crumbs hinted at «salvation.» The woman was saying to Jesus, «Even Gentiles need salvation.»
Jesus had a thing about non-Jews. He ate with them, visited with them, told stories about them, and eventually died to save them. It miffed His followers who thought that Jews were God’s people and everyone else wasn’t. Arrogant, huh?
The other day I read an article about a guy who hated Jews and blacks so much that he went on a shooting rampage, killed several people, then turned the gun on himself. In his twisted mind, «dogs» weren’t worthy of life. He apparently didn’t think much of himself either.
But we Christians have a whole different slant on the world. We take the «Jesus» view that all people are worthy, that all life is sacred, and that we exist to bless others.
Here’s an old poem I love to recite:
You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By deeds that you do, by words that you say.
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true.