Truth About The Crucifixion — Page 41
mandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:17-19). . That is why he told the one who had asked what good thing he should do that he may have eternal life, to keep the commandments; by which he clearly meant the commandments of the. Mosaic law. . His ministry as a prophet was confined to the children of. Israel. He was the heir to the throne of David and was to reign over the house of Jacob. (Luke 1:32-33). His own conception of the character of his ministry was manifested clearly in the following incident:. 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. But he answered her not a word, and his disciples came and besought him, saying, send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: Yet the dogs eat out of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. 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. (Matt. 15:22-28). . This account sets forth clearly and positively that Jesus was a messenger of God sent unto the lost sheep of the house of. Israel and that the scope of his ministry did not extend beyond the children of Israel. The woman of Canaan is said to have worshipped him at one stage, but her worship amounted to no more than an entreaty for help, so that the expression worshipped has been used instead of beseeched. The verse could well have run: Then came she and prayed him to help her. Be that as it may, the manifestation on her part of extreme reverence for. Jesus did not invest Jesus with divinity, and his response to her entreaty was even more emphatic than his first response, exhibiting an extreme degree of contempt for the Gentiles. He did not consider it fitting to take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs. The contempt apart, it leaves no room for speculating that 43