What does Mark 7:28 mean?
The Canaanites have feuded and warred with Israel since the time of Joshua, but now a Canaanite woman kneels before Jesus, begging Him to free her daughter from a demon. He tells her, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs" (Mark 7:27), and she sees her chance.Unlike the disciples who continually show fear and anxiety (Mark 4:38; 6:37; 8:4), the woman has faith that all she needs is crumbs. She doesn't even ask Jesus to come to her house. She believes that whatever attention and power He has to spare is enough.
"Lord" is from the Greek root word kurios and is used to identify someone with authority. Scripture also uses the title of Jesus to mean Messiah (John 20:28), but here she probably means "sir." She places herself under His authority and discretion. She has one request and trusts that He can and will meet it. This is the faith the Nazarenes couldn't understand (Mark 6:1–6).
Most of the Jews don't understand Jesus' riddles or parables and have to ask Him to explain. The Canaanite woman understands immediately and plays along. The Gospels show that she is not the only woman to show insight into Jesus' character. The woman at the well might have been trying to dodge Jesus' choice of topic, or taking the unexpected chance to have a theological discussion with a Jewish prophet (John 4:19–20). Mary of Bethany may have been the only person who fully realized Jesus was going to die (Mark 14:3–9).
The image of the children and the dogs is a metaphor for Christianity. God fed the Jews with truth until they could take no more and hanged Jesus on a cross. Then He sent the gospel to the Gentiles (Romans 3:29). Those who are happy to receive the crumbs under the table will find themselves at the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6–9).
Mark 7:24–30 follows a lengthy dissertation on what makes a person clean or unclean. Jesus takes His disciples to Gentile territory. There, He acts in strict contrast to the elders' traditions by interacting closely with Gentiles. First, He heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman. Mark's account of the faith of the Canaanite woman is relatively short. Matthew 15:21–28, written specifically to Jews, is fleshed out to better drive home the point. Through the end of chapter 7 and into chapter 8, He heals a deaf man and several of his neighbors (Matthew 15:24–30). Finally, He decisively dismisses any concern about clean or unclean food by providing a meal for four thousand, many of whom are undoubtedly Gentiles.
Jesus counters another traditional error from the scribes and Pharisees, explaining that food in and of itself does not make a person unclean. Rather, it is the intent of the heart that matters to God. He specifically condemns traditions which effectively undo the original intent of God's commands. Jesus heals the daughter of a persistent Gentile woman, and a man suffering from deafness and a speech impediment.
