Can you imagine how it would have been to hear Jesus refer to you as a dog? However she didn't walk away in shame, or react with anger. She simply replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” So what are we to make of this statement from Christ? How could our redeeming loving Savior show this lack of compassion for this woman who was in such need? If we go back to the previous story, we can see this wasn't the case.
First off we must understand that dogs weren't the loving house pets they are today. They were scavengers, filthy, and dangerous. It was a dramatic insult to her. The Pharisees had just asked Jesus how could His disciples break the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands when they ate. Jesus responds to them by calling them hypocrites then saying, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." The Pharisees left and Jesus tells them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
But even then the disciples didn't understand and asked Him to explain it to them. “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
On the heels of this conversation about purity, they withdraw to Tyre and Sidon. These were two non-Jewish cities, which were symbols of Old Testament paganism and godlessness. Gentiles were synonymous with pagan and heathen, compared to God’s holy nation of Israel. This woman represented the contempt the Jews felt about other people. The disciples clearly knew their national history. Now, Jesus is able to flesh this teaching out with the disciples, to show them about purity in a real-life sort of way.
What better place to teach about purity than in the most unclean place imaginable?
So when the lady said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Jesus replied, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. See Jesus was trying to teach His disciples about His parable of purity in the context of a real world situation. It doesn't matter what you eat, where you come from, what nationality or race you are; none of that matters. Only the evil that proceeds out of the mouth was able to defile you. Yes, in the context of the times, because of the traditions of the Jews, these people
would have been considered the perfect example of being unclean; or in other words, like a dog.
Today will you begin to look at all people through the eyes of Christ? If someone doesn't look like you, or act like you, or as well kept as you, it doesn't make them any less than you. Christ saw no difference in each and everyone of us, so why should we?
Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you let us see each other through your eyes, and not through our own foggy blindness. Help us to not judge based on the outer appearance. We know that purity has nothing to do with appearance, race, or where we are from. Only what comes out of the mouth can defile us Lord. Renew in us a love for each other, that shows the love You have for all. In Jesus name, Amen.
