Pastor Tim Patoka
God’s Zoo: Dogs
July 18, 2021
Better than a Pet Dog Matthew 15:21-28 1) God’s Grace Values Us Higher than a Family’s Pet Dog 2) God’s Love Blesses Us with Far More than Mere Crumbs Have you ever looked at a pet dog and wished you could have their life? A life where you’re not responsible for anything, other people take loving care of you, and there’s nothing on your to-do list other than to eat, sleep, and play with others? That wouldn’t be too bad at all! And the only thing you need to do to keep this going is to love the family that takes care of you and follow their rules? That’s not too much to ask for either! But how long do you think you could live such a life? For most of us, that unlimited R&R would become boring and we’d eventually want some responsibility, something to be in charge of. A dog’s life is not all that it’s cracked up to be. And could you imagine what you’d do if someone compared you to a dog in some way? You also probably wouldn’t like that either! Yet this comparison to a dog and drawing upon some of its life’s aspects is exactly what Jesus does in our verses this morning from Matthew chapter 15. In it, he compares a Canaanite woman to a family’s pet dog in a way that’s more so good than bad. It’s from this comparison that Jesus goes on to teach us how we who have God’s gift of faith have it much better than any pet dog in any loving family. For it through faith that we see how God’s grace values us much higher than any pet dog. And it is also through faith we see God’s love where he blesses u with far more than mere crumbs. 1) God’s Grace Values Us Higher than a Family’s Pet Dog Before we dig into what Jesus’ comparison between a Canaanite woman and a family’s pet dog, let’s first make it clear what Jesus is not saying. Jesus is not saying that some of his believing children are automatically second-class citizens because of who they are or where they come from. When Jesus initially ignores the Canaanite woman by saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24 EHV) he is referring to his target audience during his 3 visible years on earth. The primary audience of Jesus’ limited time and energy was the house of Israel, those who were descended from Abraham and living in the land there, not the Canaanites who were long-time enemies and lived in the far reaches of the Holy Land. Using the picture of a family sitting around the dinner table with their pet dog nearby, the father makes sure he gives bread to his children before he does to the dog. 1
Pastor Tim Patoka
God’s Zoo: Dogs
July 18, 2021
Having covered that, let’s now discuss what Jesus means when comparing a Canaanite woman to a family’s pet dog. One thing is how God’s grace welcomes all people into his family of faith without any discrimination. Canaanites and Israelites did not often get along with each other nor did too many Canaanites have saving faith at this time. Yet despite the unlikely odds, this Canaanite woman had saving faith in Jesus as seen in how she referred to Jesus as “Lord” with a capital “L” and the Messianic title “Son of David.” Another surprising thing about this woman is that she accepts Jesus comparison to a pet dog due to her humility. She was happy to be included in God’s family of faith! Even if it was in the lowly status of a pet dog. All things considered, she had it as good, if not better, as a pet dog in a loving family. Because that family was God’s and she was in it through God’s gift of faith. Would we be humble enough to hear Jesus compare us to a pet dog and consider it true? Do we consider it a blessing to simply be in God’s family of faith, even if it is as a lowly pet dog? So often we forget that it’s only and entirely because of God that we are in his family of faith in the first place. Instead, we want to give some of the credit to ourselves or at least prop ourselves up in God’s sight to be something better than a pet dog. One of the main differences between Canaanites and Israelites was their daily connection to the Old Testament. The Israelites knew they were the historical people of God and took pride in their genealogical ties to Abraham. The Canaanites? They had fed the stereotype as being enemies of God since the days of Joshua. If anyone deserved to received God’s gift of faith, surely it was the Israelites whose own history was found in inspired Scripture! In the same way, we can think how much we deserve to receive God’s gift of faith who grew up with the Bible and learned its accounts from Sunday School on. Or perhaps we inflate our sense of self because of what we have done. The Israelites certainly did that in comparison to the Canaanites with their weekly Sabbaths, annual festivals, and peculiar way of living. Might we make ourselves anything but humble when we consider what we do for God compared our friends, neighbors, and acquaintances who don’t? What we’ve had to sacrifice just to be here today or to make Sunday morning worship a regular habit? How much our sinful nature loves to pat ourselves on the back for who we are and what we have done. How much our sinful nature would cringe if Jesus 2
Pastor Tim Patoka
God’s Zoo: Dogs
July 18, 2021
were to compare us to a pet dog in God’s family of faith. Because the fact is, we can’t even make it to that lowly level. It’s only and entirely because of God’s grace that we get to be in his family in the first place, even if it no more than a humble, lowly, pet dog. Yet God doesn’t call his dogs or grudgingly put up with us as we may with our own pets. No, in fact God’s grace values us much higher than pet dogs in his sight. God’s grace has him value us as his beloved children. This can only happen because of Jesus’ forgiveness. Through faith in Christ, we receive Christ’s forgiveness that washes away all our sins, wrongs, and blames. Because sin is no longer credited against us, we are called his children who get to sit with him at the family dinner table. But more than just children, we are also heirs to his promised inheritance. All that is our Lord’s is and will be ours for all eternity. And it’s because of God’s grace which values us much higher than a family’s pet dog. 2) God’s Love Blesses Us with Far More than Mere Crumbs As we look at the faith of this Canaanite woman, not only do we see God’s grace which makes that faith possible in the first place, but also his love which blessed her with more than just mere crumbs. We hear Jesus say how her faith was great in our closing verse. And she showed that great faith in a number of ways. She addresses Jesus as her Promised Messiah, not simply a miracle worker. Even though she desperately wants Jesus to help her demon-tormented daughter, she maintains honor and respect for him by bowing down before him after getting the cold shoulder. We also see her great faith in her request of Jesus. She simply says, “Lord, help me.” (Matthew 15:24 EHV) and leaves it up to him to decide how to do that. If you had a loved one suffering from causes that only Jesus could heal, would you be so humble and patient? When we ask things from God, are we content with however the Lord answers our prayers? We so often look to Jesus as our helper in time of need or our fixer when things go wrong instead of our Savior from sin, death, and hell. We approach Jesus as a close buddy or negotiate with him as a business partner instead of addressing him as the Lord Almighty who’s only to known to us because of his grace and love. We strongly suggest what Jesus should or shouldn’t do in our prayers and then hold it against him when he doesn’t do as we wish. We demand more from Jesus than what we deserve, more than the crumbs that a pet dog would be more than happy to receive.
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Pastor Tim Patoka
God’s Zoo: Dogs
July 18, 2021
Despite our failure to even deserve the crumbs of his blessings, God’s love shows itself in how he blesses us with far more than mere crumbs. He blessed the Canaanite in this abundant way. She would have been content to receive only a crumb of help for her demon-tormented daughter. Yet Jesus blessed her in full by ridding that demon from her daughter in that very hour. In the same way, God blesses us with far more than the mere crumbs. He gives us the full measure of his spiritual blessings. Sins are completely forgiven without a single one remaining. Faith is strengthened through his Word as we pass through the seasons of life. Hearts are renewed in God’s image as we put off the old, sinful self and put on the new, holy self in our daily Christian living. God also blesses us with an abundance of physical blessings. Besides providing for our every need, he also grants so many of our wants so that we can be generous to him and our neighbor and plenty leftover for ourselves. And the reason why God blesses us with more than mere crumbs? Because of the love he has for his children and nothing else. God doesn’t give us gifts with strings attached or blackmail us with them. No, he makes our lives much better than a pet dog because of his love alone. Conclusion Sometimes we can think that a dog has it all. A simple, spoiled life without responsibilities, commitments, or expectations? That would be quite nice! Yet a dog’s life isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Nor would we like it if someone were to compare us to a dog. But that is exactly what Jesus does when he compares a Canaanite woman to a loving family’s pet dog. It is through this comparison that he teaches how those who have faith in Jesus have it much better than a family’s pet dog. It is only and entirely because of God’s grace that we have faith in the first place and get to be part of his family. Yet we are more than mere pet dogs in this family. Rather, God’s grace again comes through to make us his beloved, forgiven children who are heirs to his entire promised inheritance. Through our faith in him, we also see God’s love in action as he blesses us with far more than mere crumbs. While it is true that we don’t even deserve this, our God blesses us with the full measure of his spiritual blessings and a great abundance of physical blessings. Because of God’s grace and love as seen to those who have received his gift of faith, we can praise and thank him for this truth – he has given us a life that is far better than any family’s pet dog. And that will not change. Amen.
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