Jesus comes to the DOGS!

Mark 7:24-30 24

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter. 30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. (NKJV)
We read here that Jesus is departing into the city of Tyre a popular port city of the day. Tyre became a Jewish city during the conquest of Joshua as the nation of Israel came into the Promised Land, you can read about this in Joshua 19:29. Now as Jesus is now entering this city it is no longer a Jewish city, we see it first taken into Gentile hands is in Isaiah 23 where Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to the city for a total of thirteen years before it is completely overtaken, and then later in 333B.C. Alexander the Great lays siege to the city for seven months after building a causeway using debris from a city earlier seized to gain access into the city. Because of Israel’s disobedience the city is given over to the Gentiles and continues to be under Gentile control. So we see here the Jewish Messiah going to this Gentile city in order to seek some alone time, no doubt He was tired and eager to escape the pressure of the Jewish crowds thronging Him. However the text here says that even though He seeks to be hidden He is not able to find it for the Son of Man cannot be hidden, even in a Gentile city. His fame has traveled far and wide even among the Gentile cities.
Is Jesus just seeking refuge and rest from His ministry? Or is there a deeper lesson here? Let’s take a minute and go back to the beginning of chapter seven. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their putting the traditions of men above the Word of God. I effect He tells them that it is not the exterior that is defiled and unclean but rather the inside the defiles us. Jesus teaches an important message here and then we are going to see Him take it a step farther by putting into practice that which He teaches. We see Him here in the city to Tyre that I have already showed to be a Gentile city. Now to understand the meaning of this we must know that the Gentiles are considered unclean by the Jewish community. Jesus is here seeking apply His own teaching by going to this “unclean” and ultimately healing a Gentile woman’s daughter. Jesus is here teaching us a very important lesson about the grace of God.
An unnamed Gentile, specifically Syro-Phoenician, woman comes to Jesus. She has a daughter who is also unnamed, but her condition is one of great concern and trouble. This woman has a daughter that is demon possessed which can be a very difficult and even dangerous affliction. This woman has found no remedy for her daughter and she is now seeking Jesus the one who the Jews have been following and receiving many miracles by Him, no doubt word has gotten to her about Jesus’ miracles and she is seeking Jesus for this same miracle. Demon possession is nothing new to the New Testament, nor is it anything new to Jesus’ ministry. In Matthew’s gospel chapter 15 verse 22 we see a couple of interesting things about this account. First we see that her daughter’s state of possession is severe showing the woman’s urgency in seeking Jesus’ healing power. Second we see that she calls Him by His Messianic title “Son of David” showing her knowledge of the Old Testament prophecies and gives us some insight on where her faith is coming from as she seeks Jesus for this healing.
This woman knows who Jesus is and appropriately falls at His feet in reverence for who He is and how desperate she is. She knows that she has no business being in the presence of the Jewish Messiah nor does she deserve the healing that she is seeking for her daughter. As she is crying out to Him according to Matthew’s gospel He didn’t answer her pleading, and we see the heart of His disciples who are telling Jesus cast her away. Jesus’ disciples are showing us how the Gentiles are viewed by the Jews at this point, “just get rid of her, we don’t need these Gentiles following us too.” Oh how this may have discouraged her as she is hoping for deliverance for her daughter and is looking to Jesus in desperation. She knows that she is not worthy of what she is asking for, but how often when in a state of despair we will cast out all barriers and differences in hopes that those you are seeking help from will do the same. This Gentile woman is at that point where she is willing to step over the line of “proper” in order to see her daughter saved.
Now Jesus gives her an answer in which she may have expected. “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Ok let’s break down what Jesus is saying. The children mentioned here are clearly the Jews for they are often referred to as the children of God and the Messiah came for the Jews to reach the Jews, so we can clearly understand that He is referring to the Jews here. “Be filled” is interesting to note, it is not just “fill” but to fatten or to gorge, the children are to be fully filled as seen in the Greek. Now Jesus adds in this very important word that can often be overlooked, it is the word “first”. It is as if Jesus is saying first things first, He is not eliminating all hope but rather stating His priority. Jesus was to go first to the Jews and then later to the Gentiles. We do know that Jesus came for the Jews and it was after their rejection of Him that He is then brought to the Gentiles or in this case the Greeks.
Jesus calls her a dog, or literally a little dog. Now it was common for the Jews of that day to call the Gentiles dogs, they were the children of God and everyone else is nothing more than a dog. It was a very derogatory term of the day and here Jesus uses this term in reference to this Syro- Phoenician woman. Now there are two Greek words for dog, the first is kuōn which means dog, the other is kunarion meaning little dog or puppy. Jesus uses this word meaning puppy. So here is the picture, Jesus has just taken this Greek woman who is normal outside as a kuōn dog and He has brought her into the house as a kunarion puppy that is part of the family. It is not good for the puppy to “take” the break of the Jews says Jesus. Jesus is seeking to remind this woman of who she is and in which to keep her humble, she has come to the Promised Messiah and she need not forget her place. It is important to be humble before Jesus, and we will see that this woman is just that, humble.
Her response to this statement is fascinating. This Syro –Phoenician woman knows exactly what Jesus is saying to her. He is speaking allegorically and she picks up on it. She also responds allegorically. “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” She understands her place, she knows she is nothing more than a little dog that is under the table that the Jews are eating off from, and she is not seeking to “take” the bread that they are eating, but rather, she is hoping to receive a crumb that might fall from the table. Here is Jesus who came to the Jews and has spent most of His ministry in the Jewish cities, He is now in a Gentile city and this woman seeking by faith to receive what has just fallen from the table of the Jews and what she seeks she views as only a crumb. She knows that it is nothing for Jesus to heal her daughter, it is but a crumb, and as a puppy under the table she is satisfied with only the crumb.
Jesus hearing her response and seeing her faith, even though she is a Gentile He heals her daughter. It is interesting to note that no word of healing is said by Jesus, but just that her daughter is already healed. This healing happened at some distance showing that Jesus does not need words nor does He need to be close by to heal and have power over the Spiritual realm. The demons know who Jesus is and they know His power and authority and with just a thought they flee.
We see in this story the day in which Jesus came to the Gentiles, the dogs. Here Jesus is expanding His ministry to not just the “children of God” but also to the dogs as well. Jesus will no longer seclude Himself to the Jews only; He is now available to the Gentiles as well. This is very important us because we are Gentiles and this shows us that we too have the ability to call upon Jesus and seek His power and authority in our lives. We have been graphed into the family of God and can now receive the same bread that the Jews are eating. The day Jesus came to the Syro-Phoenician woman is the day Jesus came to you and me. Galatians 3: 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.