To the casual reader, the story of our Lord’s encounter with a Canaanite woman near Tyre and Sidon may seem strangely uncharacteristic of what we know about Him (Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30). “A woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter” (Mark 7:25-26 NKJV).” At first, Jesus did not respond, and His disciples urged Him to “send her away, for she cries out after us” (Matthew 15:23). Jesus explained that His ministry was to His own people. “…I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Still, the woman persisted. “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’” (Matthew 15:25). She would not abandon her purpose. It was at this point that our Lord spoke to her in a way that seems harsh and abusive to us. “…It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (Matthew 15:26). In any language, to imply that a person is a “dog” sounds insulting. It was common in that age to despise people of other nations. The bluntness of our Lord’s words, no doubt, pleased the disciples, because they wanted to be rid of her. However, it seems very unlike Jesus – Who was so full of compassion and pity, Whose character was the

When Peter wrote to Christians who lived in the provinces of Asia Minor, his purpose was to encourage their steadfast faithfulness even when being subjected to a “fiery trial” by their enemies (1 Peter 1:7; 4:12). Such should be expected because of their love for and faith in the Savior. He explained: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). They had not themselves ever seen Jesus, yet they loved and believed in Him. In their faith, He was unseen, but not unknown! Some today might imagine that it was easier for those who lived in New Testament times to be believers because they were closer to the time Christ was on the earth. The fact is that most Christians in the early church never saw Jesus in person. His ministry was in a very small part of the world, and though He was seen by many of His own countrymen, that was a very small segment of humanity. What is yet more significant is that it is His resurrection that is the basis of our faith, and only a few—very few—saw Him after He was raised. In 1 Corinthians 15:4-8, Paul gave a partial list of those who saw Him, to which can be added Mary Magdalene, certain other women, and Cleopas and his friend who walked with Him to Emmaus. The emphasis is on the apostles, to whom Jesus “showed