In Matthew 15:21-28, a woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter and He says, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”(1)
This sounds a bit harsh until we remember:
1. God’s is 100% loving.
Nothing He does is unjust or unkind (1 John 4:8).
2. God is omniscient.
Jesus knew everything about this woman (Hebrews 4:13). He chose His words to test her faith, and she proved her perseverance (James 1:3).
3. Timing is part of God's purposes.
Christ's priority was preparing the Jews so they could take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Matthew 15:24; Galatians 3:8). Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension would come first. But God's love for the Gentiles was a focus on the mission.(2)
4. Jesus rewards faith wherever it's found.
Despite His first priority to the Jews, on more than one occasion He rewarded the faith of Gentiles, and He healed this woman’s daughter!
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Beware of a blasphemous explanation of this passage: A Serious "Christian Feminist" Error.
(1) The word Christ used can be translated "little dog" or "house pet," so it wasn't a cruel term, but that alone doesn't explain this passage. Jesus still compared her to a dog and the Jews to children. Testing sometimes requires this confusing and mysterious element. See "I Didn't Know I Had it in Me."
(2) In His Great Commission Christ launched God's mission to the whole world - Matthew 28:18-20.
(1) The word Christ used can be translated "little dog" or "house pet," so it wasn't a cruel term, but that alone doesn't explain this passage. Jesus still compared her to a dog and the Jews to children. Testing sometimes requires this confusing and mysterious element. See "I Didn't Know I Had it in Me."
(2) In His Great Commission Christ launched God's mission to the whole world - Matthew 28:18-20.
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