Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
--Parallel verses:
II Corinthians 3:1-6
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
One time when I was a senior in high school playing football, some college scouts were in the stands and my coach wanted to show them the confidence he had in me. He did something very peculiar — he ran our simplest play three times in a row. It was a Right Dive off the Right Tackle. I was the right tackle.
Now the first time I thought it was a normal play call. The second time was odd, as we didn’t normally call the same play twice. And the third time I knew something was up. Now the defense would anticipate the call. My job would be harder. So I played harder still. The running back got 4-6 yards each time, because I dominated the player on defense lined up against me. I never did play college ball, so I don’t think I was an amazing athlete, but it was fun to think my coach had that much confidence in my abilities to show them off in such a way.
Jesus here seems to rebuke this lady with the child who had an impure spirit. He calls her a “dog”, a second class citizen compared to the Jews. But this was nothing new to her. She had heard this insult her whole life. I don’t believe Jesus meant to insult her, but to show the confidence he had in her faith. He was making her beg for healing and be incredibly humble. He wanted her to show her faith in him even when things didn’t seem to go her way.
My conclusion is Jesus was showing off her incredible faith to those around him who would not think twice about ignoring her and calling her a “dog” or Gentile. It is true that Jesus came primarily to share the truth about a relationship with God with the Jews. But this rebuke is harsh.
Paul talks about confidence in his faith, as well. Like this mother who knew Jesus had compassion on all people and asked him to cast this spirit out of his daughter, Paul’s confidence was in Jesus Christ. His letter of reference (as might have been requested) was his work through the power of Jesus Christ in the lives of the people he touched.
What is my confidence in? Titles, relationships with people of power, stroking the right egos to get what I want? Or is it solely based on the person of Jesus Christ! His love is of an unearthly power. He is dependable. He is all I need for a resume!
Lord, I BELIEVE! Teach me to place all of my confidence in you and work hard for your glory. The results are in your hands, and I have confidence in you!
It is one of the hard sayings of Jesus to hear him be dismissive and insulting to this woman. Not his typical response other than to the Pharisees. We can trust that Jesus knows all hearts - for some reason He wanted to humble this woman. So His response is still coming from a heart of love for her and desire for her salvation.