The phrase, "crumbs under the table," refers to a section in chapter 15 of the book of Matthew, verses 21-28. The Lord Jesus was approached by a Canaanite woman who cried out to Him to heal her daughter. He said to this Canaanite woman that it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. But she replied, "Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." In the Recovery Version, there is a marvelous footnote. It reads:
"The heavenly King's ministry in all His visits created opportunities for Him to reveal Himself further. In the situations created in chapters 9 and 12, He had opportunities to reveal Himself as the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, the Shepherd, the real David, the greater temple, the Lord of the harvest, the One who is more than Jonah, and the One who is more than Solomon. Here another opportunity was created for Him to reveal Himself, this time as the children's bread. The Canaanite woman considered Him the Lord - a divine person - and the Son of David - a royal descendant, great and high in His reign. But He unveiled Himself to her as small pieces of bread, good for food. This implies that as the heavenly King, He rules over His people by feeding them with Himself as bread. We can be the proper people in His kingdom only by being nourished with Him as our food. To eat Christ as our supply is the way to be the kingdom people in the reality of the kingdom."
Matthew 15:26 footnote 1
Throughout the Bible, there is a distinct line revealing God's desire for man to receive Him as life by eating and drinking Him. According to Genesis 2, God put man in front of the tree of life, with the intention that man would eat of that tree. The tree of life signifies Christ as life to man in the form of food (Gen 2:9, ftnte 2). In Exodus 12, the passover lamb is also a picture of Christ. Eating the passover lamb with the head, legs, and inward parts signifies taking Christ in His entirety, partaking of Him in His wisdom, activities, move, and inward parts (Exo 12:9, ftnte 2).
Exodus 16 continues that line, revealing to us that the Lord came to the children of Israel as manna to be their heavenly food. His goal was to change their constitution by replacing their worldly diet with a heavenly one (Exo 16:4, ftnte 1). The author of Psalms 34 encourages us to, "Taste and see that Jehovah is good" (Psa 34:8) while Isaiah reminds us to "draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation" (Isa 12:3).
Even in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus reveals Himself as the bread of life (John 6:51) for us to receive Him as our life and live by eating Him (John 10:10, 6:57, 63). He also opened an invitation to the thirsty ones, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). Ultimately in Revelation 22:1-2, there is a river of water of life and on this side and on that side of the river is the tree of life, signifying even in eternity, God wants us to enjoy Him as the river and the tree.
God's goal is to make Himself available for us to enjoy Him by eating and drinking Him. He has done everything and has spread a table, a feast, before us. All that Christ is, His life, His person, His riches, is for us to experience and enjoy. What an all-inclusive Christ have we. May He continue to feed, supply, sustain and water us.
