To our ears it may sound surprisingly harsh the way Jesus speaks to the woman in this passage. Although he does not directly call her a “dog,” he does use a metaphor in which he symbolically refers to the people of Israel as the “children” and the Gentile nations as the “dogs.” However, this is only a reflection of God’s plan: from the beginning, he intended to bring salvation to the whole world through the people of Israel. Although Jesus later commissioned his disciples to “go and make disciples of every nation,” during his public ministry he was specifically called to preach to the “lost sheep of Israel.”
As a church and as individual Christians, we are called to take the gospel to every nation. In just the past few weeks, Frazer members have been on mission trips to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Moldova, and Uganda. Others will leave soon for Peru and Ethiopia. But let’s don’t forget the lost sheep here at home. Call up that couple whom you haven’t seen in Sunday School for a while. Have lunch with that businessman or woman who hasn’t made time for worship lately. Pray for that wayward college student who forgot to take his or her faith with them to school. Let’s reach out to the “lost sheep” that we know, and remind them of God’s everlasting love.
– Dr. Tim Thompson