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Why did the Lord use the illustration of a dog, when the Canaanite woman asked for help?

     Matthew 15 cp 21 -31 verses deal with a passage concerning a woman that is requesting Jesus to heal her daughter. I'm not clear on the reasoning behind Jesus calling the lady a dog.  Nor am I clear about why he hesitated, when she asked for his help.  Please shed light on this passage.

  Matthew 15:21-28 says, "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. 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 cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 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."

God has always cared about all people, and has wanted them to be saved. Isaiah 45:22 says, "Look unto me, and BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: for I am God, and there is none else." Missions (in the sense of reaching all people with the gospel) has always been upon God's heart, and the heart of His people who are right with Him. This is true even in the Old Testament, with God, as the above passage shows; and with His people, as the passages below show. I Kings 8:41-43 says, "Moreover concerning A STRANGER, THAT IS NOT OF THY PEOPLE ISRAEL, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name." Psalm 51:12,13 says, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and SINNERS SHALL BE CONVERTED unto thee."

The New Testament continues that thought. II Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.

The Bible NEVER contradicts itself, so that means that there is a good reason that Jesus treated this woman this way. It was obviously to get her to see her true need.

Remember the woman at the well, in John 4:1-29? "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

The woman said, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." But Jesus did not do so. Instead, He replied, "Go, call thy husband, and come hither." The woman then said, "I have no husband." Now, Jesus replies, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly." What was Jesus trying to do, just make her mad by bringing up all of her sin? No. JESUS WAS SEEING IF SHE WAS TRULY REPENTANT AND WILLING TO HUMBLE HERSELF AND ADMIT HER NEED.

The woman's first reaction was to fall back on her old religion. "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." It was raising up the old prideful argument, "the Jews say one thing, but we say another!" Jesus gives her a clear answer that will see if she is willing to repent and humble herself, "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. YE WORSHIP YE KNOW NOT WHAT: WE KNOW WHAT WE WORSHIP: FOR SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS." What would the woman do? Go away in her pride, holding fast to the beliefs of her nationality? Or would she humble herself and believe the truth? Jesus now makes it clear to her that "going to a certain place" is not what saves a person. "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." She now admits that she is searching, but somewhat confused by all of this. "I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things." Jesus now says to her, "I that speak unto thee am he." At this, the woman goes away and calls the men of her city, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

With the woman of Canaan, the same situation is true. The Canaanites looked to their false gods to save them (which, of course, they could not do). So, once again, Jesus is testing this woman to see if she was really repentant; or whether she was just looking for physical help, but unwilling to deal with her true spiritual need. "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. 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 cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 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." You see, the woman was willing to humble herself, and say, "Yes, I am an unworthy dog." That did not offend her to admit that she was not worthy of God's help. She willing took the lowly position of a dog, and humbly pled, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

That situation is no different than the rich young man that came to Jesus. Matthew 19:16-24 says, "And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

Was Jesus trying to teach that a person is saved by good works, when He replied, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."? No, Jesus was not teaching that a person is saved by good works. The Bible is clear that that is not the case. Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Jesus was, once again, seeing if this young man was willing to humble himself and admit that he was an unworthy sinner in need of the Savior. The young man could not see any fault in himself, and replied, "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" Instead of calling the young man a liar (which He could have rightly done), Jesus tried to get the young man to face one of those commandments in a practical sense, that he might realize his need. "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." The young man now showed his true heart condition. "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." What did this show? That the young man had not really kept the Law. For if he truly did love his neighbour as himself, then he would have been willing to do what Jesus said. It really came out, that he did not love his neighbour as himself, but that he loved himself more. He had indeed broken the Law. But notice, sadly, that the young man does not humble himself at this point, but walks away from the Lord.

Today, there are too many people who have made professions of faith in the Lord, but have never truly repented of their sin. They have, as it were, taken out an "extra insurance policy" by praying a prayer to receive Jesus. But they have never really seen themselves as utterly hopeless sinners. How can you tell? Because nothing ever changed in their lives after their "profession." They went on with their same old worldly lives. But the Bible says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Corinthians 5:17). Jesus did not push for "quick" decisions, but for "real" decisions. The difference is quite important, for it is the difference between going to heaven, or going to hell.

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