Arguing With Jesus

Are you afraid to argue with Jesus? There are days when He wants us to be so moved with compassion or faith or love that we press Him, like Abraham did with his intercession for his nephew in Sodom, or like the Gentile woman did for her daughter, who was possessed by a demon, or the persistent widow, who simply wanted vengeance against her adversary. Jesus told the story about the widow so that His listeners would always pray and never give up on their requests (Luke 18:1-8).

When Jesus left there, He withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly tormented by a demon.”

Yet He did not say a word to her. So His disciples approached Him and urged Him, “Send her away because she cries out after us.”

He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

But she came, knelt before Him, and said, “Lord, help me!”

He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to their dogs.”

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table!”

Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment her daughter was cured.
(Matthew 15:21-28 Holman Christian Standard Bible ®©)