In his heavenly mission as the Messiah, Jesus sometimes declared that he was sent only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”.[1] Since the Jews were God’s chosen people, they would hear the gospel first, and then the disciples would go out to all the other nations and preach the gospel to them as well. [2]
But even though Jesus did not proselytize directly among the Gentiles but primarily to the Jews, he sometimes met people from other lands and peoples. One of them is the Syrophoenician woman:
“24And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”
(Mk 7:24–30)
Tyre was an important port city in what was then Phoenicia, now Lebanon, just north of Israel. For peace and quiet, Jesus sometimes withdrew to teach the disciples a little more undisturbed. Having failed to withdraw in the past, Jesus now ventures away from Jewish areas and stays among Gentiles in the hope that no one will recognize him. However, he is quickly recognized, which leads to a very interesting encounter with a Gentile woman.
By referring to her as “a Gentile, a Syrophoenician”, the author Mark makes it overly clear that she was a Gentile,[3] i.e., a “non-Jew”.
Although there is no prohibition in the Law of Moses against associating with Gentiles, as we saw in the last chapter, it was unusual for Jews in Jesus’ time to associate with Gentiles because, according to the oral Jewish tradition called “the Tradition of the Elders”, they were considered “unclean”.
So when Jesus visits this Gentile area and talks to the Syrophoenician woman, he makes it abundantly clear that he is not submitting to the Pharisaic tradition of not associating with Gentiles. However, at first glance, one might get the impression that Jesus is dismissive of the Syrophoenician woman when she falls at his feet and asks for help. But it is just the opposite!
In his answer to the woman, the “children” symbolize the Jews, and the “dogs” the Gentiles. Among both Jews and Gentiles, “dog” was a very negative slur associated with stray wild dogs. Jesus, however, does not use the common word for dog but literally calls her “little puppy”, in a much more positive sense. Of course, if a household has both children and puppies, they both get the food they need, even if they don’t necessarily eat the same food or sit together at the dinner table. Jesus challenges the woman to see that although the Jews hear about Jesus first, the Gentiles also have access to Jesus. If she believes this, she will also receive what she asks for.
When the woman understands that the disciples are the “children” and that she is the “puppy”, she understands that although the disciples have a right to the food, she has a right to the “crumbs”. At that answer, Jesus gives her the miracle she asked for.
So Jesus is not hostile to Gentiles, but on the contrary inclusive. Given the Jews’ special relationship with God as God’s own people, they have the right to meet their Messiah first, but then all other peoples have the same opportunity. Once Jesus has fulfilled his mission by dying on the cross and rising again, he will send out his disciples to “all nations”.[4] But already here and now, Jesus is showing his Jewish disciples that the Gentiles also have the right to meet the Messiah.
You have read a free chapter of my book Friend of Strangers. If you like this book, please consider purchasing the ebook through Amazon. Since English is not my native language, there may be some linguistic inaccuracies. Please contact me if you find any.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[1] Mt 15:24
[2] Ac 13:46, Ro 1:16
[3] See chapter 27 for more on the concept of “Gentile”
[4] Mt 28:18–20