There was no better practical example than to find this lone foreign woman despised by the Jews including the disciples. Jesus came not looking for the genetics of a person but looking for that faith which is totally surrendered to Him. When Jesus deliberately decided to visit Tyre & Sidon, His plan was to break that barrier through a practical demonstration that there are people outside the Jewish race who were more faithful to God and believed wholeheartedly than even the disciples. That is why in my view Judaism remained and exclusive religion. It would appear that Jews in their fascination with exclusivity referred to their gentile neighbors as “dogs” not quite an endearing term to people that God required them to evangelize or “proselytize”. ![]() It was attitude that was being addressed. The meaning of this parable was clear to the listeners. In the parable of poor Lazarus and the rich man who died, we see another reference to “dogs”. We are all generally agreed that “dogs” in the verse refers to non-Jews or Gentiles whilst “children” refers to Jews exclusively. We therefore need to look deeper at this story and find answers that will help us get the right meaning of this verse for which Jesus took such a wide detour for. To me it begs the question: what was Jesus’ mission really on this trip? Especially considering that He returns back home soon after the encounter. At the end of the encounter with this foreign woman she is blessed and her prayer answered instantly. To whom was this jibe directed to? The woman? She certainly doesn’t react like someone offended. Jesus takes a deliberate trip to foreigners and gets there only to offend them by calling them dogs? Why go there in the first place? Considering that Jesus is God and did nothing by coincidence it strikes me that there was more to it than meets the eye. I notice that this incident happened outside Israel. Meluleki Maphosa Amateur Bible Student What did Jesus really mean when He said “I can’t take the food that belongs to My children and give it to dogs”? It sounds quite offensive.
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