Matthew 15:23

Not a word. Christ’s purpose was to teach the disciples a lesson in working for non-Jews, and this He did by acting out the contrast between the usual Jewish attitude and His own (see on v. 21). The typical Jewish rabbi would have done precisely what the disciples proposed, sent her away without even making a direct reply to her request. The favor with which Jesus Himself looked upon Gentiles, as eligible to the privileges of the kingdom of heaven, is clear from what He had said about them (see Luke 4:26, 27), together with what He had done for them upon previous occasions. Jesus in no way shared the narrow exclusiveness the Jews felt toward Gentiles (see on Matt. 15:22, 26).

His disciples came. They did not appreciate the publicity occasioned by the impassioned appeals of this Gentile woman, whom they looked upon as no more worthy than a dog (see on eh. 10:5). Not only was she a stranger; she was a woman. Not only that, she was a foreigner. There was as yet no place in their concept of the gospel commission for strange foreign women.