Did Jesus Call That Woman a Dog?

"Did Jesus call that woman a dog?" This has been a question asked by countless readers of Matthew 15: 21-28.

The biblical record of the event as recorded by Matthew states:

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, " Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him," Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

He answered," I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" She said.

He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Mt. 15:21-28 NIV

At first glance, this is certainly a fascinating occurrence of demon possession even apart from the obvious question of "Did Jesus call that woman a dog?" By examining the characters, setting and dialog, one can develop a more complete perspective of this incident.

The woman's heritage and location makes her knowledge of Jesus remarkable. According to Mark's account, she was a Greek born in Syrophonecia, an area well outside of Jesus' ministry (Mk 7:24-30). Syria borders Judea on the north and Phoenicia is a costal strip of land within Syria along the Great Sea (Mediterranean Sea). Tyre, a city in Phoenicia, would have been approximately 60 miles northwest of Galilee, a region in which Jesus ministered. The other area where Jesus often ministered, Judea, is much more distant, lying approximately 100 miles south of Galilee. She is further described as a Canaanite; the Canaanites being enemies of the Jews since God ordered their removal and destruction in the time of Moses and Joshua (See Dt. 20:16 and Num. 33:50-53).

The disciples' role in this incident is motivated by the culture of their day. Being men, women were of little value. From a religious standpoint, Greeks had no status in the Jewish religion or God's kingdom. A Canaanite, the enemy of God's people, would have been despised. One might conclude that through the eyes of Jewish men, a Greek- Canaanite woman would have been considered sub-human, perhaps to the extent of being unworthy of life itself.

A less obvious character is the demon itself, which according to the mother had possessed her daughter. After casting out a demon in Matthew 12:22-23, Jesus later teaches,

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first." Mt. 12: 43-45

One may conclude that if removed by Jesus, a demon may return with seven more worse than itself under one condition; that condition being "if the house is unoccupied" or as one might say, if the person is without God's protecting presence.

The final character is Jesus himself, whose method of responding to people varies from straight explanations- like those given to his disciples, to responses cloaked in imagery and stories, which have an underlying spiritual meaning. His disciples questioned him about this earlier in his ministry.

"The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:

'Though seeing, they do not see; though un curso de milagros  , they do not hear or understand.'
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;You will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'"

Mt. 13:10-15

The setting for this incident takes place in the region of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus specifically mentions this region during his teaching:
"Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles
had been performed, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Korizin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Mt. 11:20-21

From the preceding statement made by Jesus, one may conclude that the people of the region of Tyre and Sidon would have been more open to Jesus' message than those of the regions where he did minister.

The woman begins the incident by calling out to Jesus. The title she uses is significant. She doesn't address him with general titles of respect like teacher, rabbi or master, but rather she addresses him as "Son of David." The title "Son of David" is a very exclusive title, which is only used to refer to the Jewish Messiah. (See Mt 12:23 and Mt 22:41-42.) Additionally, the revelation of Jesus as Messiah only comes directly from God, as evidenced by Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah to which Jesus replied," Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven." Mt.16: 16-17.

According to Matthew's account, the woman continues calling out even though Jesus is silent. The disciples finally intervene. Rather than being stunned by her recognition of Jesus as Messiah, their response is cultural, asking Jesus to send her away.

Jesus doesn't send her away, but states, "I was sent only to the lost children of Israel," and "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." There are only two ways the woman can respond. She can assume she's being called a dog and take offense, or she can discern the spiritual message hidden beneath that statement. By her response, she appears to understand that Jesus' primary calling is to the Jews, but incredibly, she also recognizes that just crumbs, the size that would thoughtlessly fall under the table, are enough for what she's asking.

If Jesus decided to cast out the demon, would "the house be unoccupied" for the demon and seven more evil than itself to return and enter the girl? Or, was there evidence that the daughter would be protected by the presence of God?

The woman's recognition of Jesus as the Son of David, her comprehension of the spiritual message underlying Jesus' response to her, and her belief that this miracle required nothing more than crumbs of Jesus' power provided overwhelming evidence for Jesus to declare, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted."

Did Jesus call that woman a dog? On a superficial level, the answer is yes. But, on a spiritual level, Jesus was offering this woman the opportunity to prove that she did indeed have a relationship with the Father; a relationship that would assure her daughter of a future protected from a fate worse than possession by one demon.