And 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.”
Jesus has withdrawn to the region of Tyre. A Gentile mother begs Him to free her daughter from a demon. His first reply sounds like a door closing. Why does He answer her with a rule about children, bread and dogs? And what does the small word "first" leave open?
The order He would not break
His answer is not coldness. It is consistency. For centuries God had set Israel first, and the Lord kept to what God had set.
The Bible TreasuryEven in this desperate case, her need did not give the woman the right to set aside the rule and ways God had kept for centuries. God sent the Messiah to Israel, and salvation came from the Jews. She must learn that her only hope lay in the sovereign mercy of God.
The words He chose
The Greek behind "children" and "dogs" is not as blunt as it looks in English. One writer shows how the Lord takes up the mother's own tender way of speaking. He hands her a word she can use.
G. C. WillisHe used the word tekna: the ones who have the dignity and position by birth. Then He said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." The poor mother had been pleading for her "little girl", and the Lord takes up her word. He speaks of the "little dogs" — the small, affectionate form of the word. The fierce, horrible dogs of that land were not allowed in the houses. But the little dogs, the cute puppies, could come in. So the Lord gently leads her faith on, giving her this special, unusual word to encourage her.
"First" — not "only"
The word first implies a turn that comes after. Her faith reaches for it.
William KellyEven here our Lord holds to the principle of "the Jew first," while her simple faith presses on to "and also the Gentile." But there is more. Grace speaks out the whole truth. And grace strengthens the one who receives it, so that she can bear it, confess it, and delight in it.
The test, and the way faith passes it
Everything now depends on what she does with a sentence that shuts her out. She could have treated it as a closed door. Instead she agreed with it and appealed past it.
Hamilton SmithThe Lord draws out her faith by this saying. It was a great test for faith. She might have argued, "Then I am only a dog and have no claim on the Lord; the blessing belongs only to the children." But her faith wins over this difficulty. She admits the truth about herself and falls back on the grace that is in His heart. She can say, as it were, "Yes, as far as I am concerned, it is true I cannot claim the place of a child. I am only a dog. But my whole trust is in what You are, not in what I am." This is always the way of faith: to own the wretchedness, the vileness, and the unworthiness of our hearts, and to rest in the perfect grace of His heart.
Why He could not say no
Her plea leans on one thing only — what God is like. To refuse her, He would have had to be less good than she believed Him to be.
J. N. DarbyShe was but a Gentile dog, yet such was the goodness of God that He had bread even for dogs. Christ is the perfect expression of God, God Himself made known in the flesh. He could not deny His goodness and His grace. He could not say that faith had a higher view of God than was true, for He was Himself that love. Her faith, with an understanding given by God, took hold of the grace that reached beyond the promises made to Israel.
Where that leaves outsiders now
She asked for a crumb. Where do the nations stand now?
J. N. DarbyThe Gentiles are no longer regarded as "dogs" in contrast with "the children." It is the time of salvation for the Jew first and also for the Greek. God grants salvation to the Gentiles. The fall of the Jews has been the reconciling of the world.
Summary
- Order. God Himself set Israel nearer to Him. Deep need gave the woman no right to overturn the ways He had kept for centuries.
- Word. He chose the word for the little dogs let into the house, not the fierce ones shut outside. That soft word gave her something to answer with.
- Test. The saying forced a choice: treat it as a closed door, or admit it is true of herself and still appeal to His heart.
- Faith. She rested her whole case not on what she was but on what He is — the settled pattern of faith in every age.
- Reach. "First" is not "only". Her crumb pointed to today, when the nations are no longer dogs at the table but people who receive full salvation.