Children's Bread
Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 09/28/2025
Foundation Scriptures:
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Matthew 15:21-28 KJV
1. Have Mercy on Me.
a. The woman who came crying out to Jesus was a Gentile—a Canaanite; a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by nationality (Mark 7:26).
b. She called out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!”
c. Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One, was the Son of Abraham and David by direct descent and by promise (Matt. 1:1).
d. This woman came to Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Messiah (even if the Jews did not), looking for and expecting mercy.
e. Her daughter was grievously vexed (miserably possessed) by a demon.
f. Vexed (Greek: daimonizomai) means: to be controlled by a demon, demonized.
g. She was desperate—there was no human cure or answer for her daughter’s condition—only Jesus could help her.
h. Jesus seemed to be ignoring her, but He was testing her faith, and she was not deterred but persisted.
2. Persistent Faith.
a. Her cry was urgent, loud, and troublesome, which annoyed the disciples, who wanted to get rid of her, and they asked Jesus to send her away.
b. This is still the attitude of some believers, who have no mercy or compassion of God—and they cannot or will not help anyone.
c. They are ignorant of the true purpose and will of God in the atonement and that He is willing and able to save, heal and deliver all.
d. The woman made a last-ditch effort to get mercy by throwing herself at His feet.
e. When Jesus finally responded to her, He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
f. Jews were the first children of the Kingdom and the first in line to receive all God’s benefits through the Messiah.
3. Children’s Bread.
a. She did not leave but worshipped Jesus, saying, “Lord help me.”
b. Jesus responded that it was not good, right, proper, becoming, or fair, to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs (puppies).
c. The bread represents salvation for the body, soul, and spirit—salvation from sin, sickness, demons, and satanic powers.
d. These rights are the family rights of all children of God.
e. These are legal rights, promised rights, Divine rights, human rights, and redemptive rights.
f. God’s plan was to offer salvation, deliverance, and healing first to the Jews.
g. But all along He planned the same blessing for the Gentiles—those who were afar off (Acts 2:39).
4. Power in the Crumbs.
a. The Jews referred to the Gentiles as “dogs” and Jesus used this common term which they all understood.
b. The term, dogs, was not offensive, but expressed the fact that Gentiles were outside the covenant rights of Israel.
c. People back then (and in many poorer nations today) did not feed the dogs that wandered in the streets, but they might have thrown food scraps to the puppies.
d. The woman answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little pups (little whelps) eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table” (Vs. 27 AMPC).
e. The woman acknowledged that she was undeserving, and without legal covenant rights to the children’s bread.
f. Yet she used Jesus’ own words concerning dogs as her grounds to claim healing.
g. Since the children have enough bread to spare, and the dogs have rights to the crumbs the master throws away, she claimed the scraps for her daughter.
h. She won her case.
i. Jesus acknowledged her great faith and her legal right to claim this benefit from God and did not turn her down.
j. Her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
k. If she got healing on these grounds, then certainly the children can still get their portion of the bread.
l. If the dogs can have the crumbs, then the children of God can have the whole loaf.
5. Prayer That Works.
a. Her prayer was:
b. Short—she got straight to the point and asked specifically for what she needed.
c. Fervent—she was bold and passionate and insistent.
d. Desperate—she had no natural solution and had to have an answer from Jesus.
e. Humble—she did not get offended when her faith was challenged.
f. Rational—she found a good and right reason why her daughter deserved mercy.
g. Respectful—she answered Jesus with faith, not anger or abuse.
h. Worshipful—she reverenced His divine position, power and ability.
i. Determined—she came expecting an answer and would not leave His presence without it.
j. Persevering—she would not quit asking till her petition was granted.
k. Full of faith in Christ—Jesus acknowledged and appreciated her great faith.