But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. (Matthew 15:24-26) This is one of the more startling exchanges in the Gospels. A desperate mother worshipped Jesus and pleaded for her daughter, and His response, at least on the surface, sounded like a refusal. Most people, hearing words

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. (Matthew 15:21-23) A Canaanite woman came, crying out to Jesus for her daughter. Imagine the volume and em

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15:28) This woman was a Canaanite, a Gentile with no covenant standing before God under the Old Testament arrangement. By every natural measure, she had no claim on Jesus. And yet she came anyway, pressing past every obstacle until Jesus Himself declared that her faith was great. Her daughter wasn't healed because