第八週 • 週六
晨興餧養
太十五26~27 祂〔耶穌〕回答說，不好拿兒女的餅丟給小狗。婦人說，主阿，是的，就是小狗也喫主人桌子上掉下來的碎渣。
主耶穌說迦南婦人是小狗時，她說，『主阿，是的，就是小狗也喫主人桌子上掉下來的碎渣。』（太十五27）迦南婦人沒有被主的話激怒，反倒承認自己是外邦的狗。她認為基督既被兒女猶太人棄絕，就成了桌子下的碎渣，作了外邦人的分。以色列人的聖地是桌子，其上有基督這屬天的餅，作以色列子民的分；但他們把祂扔到桌子下，落在地上，就是外邦人之地，因此主成了碎渣，作了外邦人的分。當時這外邦婦人有這樣的領悟，真是了不起！難怪屬天的王稱讚她的信心（28）（馬太福音生命讀經，六一一頁）。
信息選讀
按着道理，〔迦南〕婦人〔太十五21~28〕的確需要被洗淨，但主耶穌為甚麼不要求她在喫祂之前，先洗淨自己？主若這樣作，就否定了祂在前面經文輕看外面洗淨的事時所說的話。在這裏主強調喫的事。但這不是說，我們不需要被洗淨。血是豫備好的。我們可以灑血，喫羊羔。但為了不把事情混淆，主在關於喫的這一段，沒有說到洗淨的事。我相信主耶穌這樣作，是特意要給門徒看見，他們只需要一件事，就是喫。即使我們像外邦的狗那樣髒，我們仍有權利和地位喫耶穌。哦，我們需要成為沒有節制的喫者！不要等到你洗淨了，乃要照着你的本相到主這裏來喫祂。如詩歌〔七百二十四首〕所說，『照我本
相，…我來！』我們需要說，『主，我照着我的本相來。我不需要改變或被潔淨。主，我需要你，我到你這裏來喫。即使我是髒狗，我也照我本相來就你。』喫是主要的，喫也是一切。
迦南婦人來到主面前不是因為她餓了，乃是因為她女兒病了。但主把這局面轉到喫的事上。主沒有說，『我是醫生，來到以色列人這裏，我不能醫治外邦人，我不能醫治狗。』主似乎說，『我來是作兒女的餅。把兒女的餅丟給狗是不對的。』雖然那婦人的懇求與喫無關，主卻特意把她的情形聯於喫的事，好給我們看見，我們所需要的不是外面的洗淨，乃是為着裏面的滋養而喫。在道理的安排上，馬太把這些事擺在一起，使我們領會，為着諸天的國，我們不需要外面的潔淨，我們所需要的乃是讓基督進入我們裏面。你軟弱有病麼？你有某些難處麼？不要想在外面對付這些事，乃要在裏面藉着喫耶穌對付這些事。事實上，你該把那些事都忘掉。你所需要的不是外面的洗淨，乃是基督進入你裏面。主似乎對迦南婦人說，『你不需要醫治，你需要我！你外面不需要我；你裏面需要我。你需要喫我。我是餅來給人喫、消化、吸收。我要進入你這人裏面，進入你全人、血輪和組織裏。我要進入你的構成成分裏面，並且成為你。因此，你需要喫我。不要在外面對付事情，乃要藉着把我接受到你裏面，在裏面對付每件事。只要我能進入你裏面滋養你，每個問題都要得着解決。』（馬太福音生命讀經，六一二至六一四頁）
參讀：馬太福音生命讀經，第四十六篇。
WEEK 8 — DAY 6
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 15:26-27 But He answered and said, It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs. And she said, Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
When the Lord Jesus referred to the Canaanite woman as a dog, she said, “Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matt. 15:27). The Canaanite woman, not offended by the Lord’s word but admitting that she was a heathen dog, considered that at that time Christ, after being rejected by the children, the Jews, became crumbs under the table as a portion to the Gentiles. The Holy Land of Israel was the table on which Christ, the heavenly bread, had come as a portion to the children of Israel. But they threw Him off the table to the ground, the Gentile land, so that He became broken crumbs as a portion to the Gentiles. What a realization this Gentile woman had at that time! No wonder the heavenly King admired her faith (v. 28). (Life-study of Matthew, p. 522)
Todays Reading
According to doctrine, [the Canaanite] woman [Matt. 15:21-28] definitely needed to be washed. But why did the Lord Jesus not ask her to wash herself before eating of Him? If the Lord had done this, He would have been acting contrary to what He had said in the foregoing verses when He belittled the matter of outward washing. Here the Lord was emphasizing the matter of eating. But this does not mean that we do not need to be washed. The blood is available. We may strike the blood and eat the Lamb. But in order to not confuse matters, in this section on eating, the Lord Jesus said nothing about washing. I believe that the Lord Jesus did this purposely to show His disciples that they needed only one thing—the eating. Even if we are as dirty as pagan dogs, we still have the right and the position to eat Jesus. Oh, we need to be uninhibited eaters! Do not wait until you have washed. Come to the Lord just as you are and eat of Him. As the words of a hymn say, “Just as I am, I come.” We need to say, “Lord, I come just as I am. I don’t need to change or to be cleansed. Lord, I need You, and I come to You to eat. Even if I am a dirty dog, I come to You just as I am.” Eating is primary, and eating is everything.
The Canaanite woman did not come to the Lord because she was hungry; she came because her daughter was sick. But the Lord turned the situation to the matter of eating. The Lord did not say, “I came as a Physician to the children of Israel, and I cannot heal any heathen. I cannot cure dogs.” Rather, the Lord seemed to be saying, “I came as bread to the children. It is not right to throw the children’s bread to the dogs.” Although the woman’s request had nothing to do with eating, the Lord purposely related her case to the matter of eating to show us that what we need is not outward washing but eating for the inward nourishing. In his doctrinal arrangement Matthew put these matters together that we might understand that for the kingdom of the heavens we do not need outward cleansing, but what we need is for Christ to get into us. Are you sick or weak? Do you have certain problems? Do not try to deal with these things in an outward way. Instead, deal with them in an inward way by eating Jesus. In fact, you should forget about all those things. What you need is not outward washing but Christ coming into you. The Lord seemed to be saying to the Canaanite woman, “You don’t need healing. You need Me! And you do not need Me outwardly; you need Me inwardly. You need to eat Me. I came as bread for people to eat, to digest, and to assimilate. I would like to get into your being, into your system, vessels, and fibers. I would like to get into your very constituent and become you. Thus, you need to eat Me. Don’t deal with things in an outward way. Rather, deal with everything in an inward way by taking Me into you. As long as I can get into you to nourish you, every problem will be solved.” (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 523-524)
Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 46
