24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid.
Jesus has just been teaching in the region of Galilee, his home base ministry and he now goes away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. This is Gentile exclusive territory. The lectionary inserts “Jesus left Gennesaret” but if these events are continuing directly from Jesus’ new teaching on the food laws then it makes more sense for him to be leaving Capernaum. Jesus is in new territory and is trying to pass about without being recognised but his fame has already reached these regions. One of those who has recognised Jesus has offered him entry to their home to where he seeks refuge from the crowds.
25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet.
26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
It appears that maybe at the door of the house, another person, a Gentile woman of Greek origin prostrates before him, beseeching him to rid her daughter of an unclean spirit.
27 And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
In response to the woman’s request Jesus responds with something that on the face of it, seems kind of rude but that is only because of our modern western context. We are going to have to see this through ancient eyes to understand what Jesus is saying.
Jesus first says, “Let the children first be fed” this would be Israel, as the descendants of Abraham and the people of the Old Covenant are considered the first born son of God. They entered a divine contract through this Covenant that binds them to God. After the Tower of Babel incident, Yahweh disinherited all the peoples of this original state before God. Something that Adam had and his descendants until God divided the nations at Babel, disinheriting them as sons and then taking Abraham as his new inheritance, promising it to his descendants also. This would be the Jews, the only “whole” tribe left of the original twelve born to Jacob aka Israel. Before the New Eternal Covenant is in place, in a divine legal sense, only the Jews are in a higher state of relation to Yahweh. Though they’re less like sons and more like domestic servants, still in the household though, unlike the Gentiles. The New Covenant which will come (we are in it now) makes us all children of Yahweh.
Jesus then compares his miraculous acts to bread, which is funny because bread does have a lot to do with his miracles, and him giving this bread to a Gentile would be like feeding the “dogs” before the children. First of all, this implies that although the Gentiles are not on the same level of relation to God as the Jews during the Old Covenant, they are in the queue at least. The english word “dogs” is not actually a very good translation of the term used. The Greek word is kynarion which whilst sounding like a Pokemon actually means something much more like “Little house puppy”.
That wouldn’t sound very good in an english translation but that is what the word means. Jesus is not calling Gentiles wild dogs, but more like household pets, which yes can still sound kind of insulting in the 21st century but in the ancient context it isn’t. He is actually stating for a fact that the Gentiles rank in the hierarchy is within the household of Yahweh but it is below that of little children, who were essentially slaves by legal right. That is the relationship at the time Jesus is talking. The New Covenant that he will bring, fullfiling his implication earlier, will raise us along with the Jews to be heirs with him, Sons and daughters of God. His mission is to the Jews first because they must be made heirs, then the Gentiles which is what he will send out his Apostles to do.
28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Instead of arguing or being insulted, she calls him kyrios, Lord, the Greek rendition of the Holy Name of God in the Old Testament. She then acknowledges her lowly state and in fact weighs her claim upon that fact. Even domestic dogs get to eat the scraps dropped from the table.
29 And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.
For this act of humility, Jesus accepts her request, with no need of physical contact or even seeing the woman’s daughter. Simply by his word, the demon leaves her daughter alone.
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