Did Jesus come only for Israel?

[Saint_Michael]

Matthew 15: 22- 28

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
23 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
24 10 He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” **
25 But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” **
27 She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! 12 Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Did Jesus say he only came for the lost children of Israel? If so where does that leave us? Did Jesus think anyone not of Israel were dogs? I have a hard time with this passage.

 

[Fidelis]

You can look at it two ways.

1. A view I often hear is that Jesus, during his earthly ministry, restricted himself primarily to the Jews a) because he came as a Jew, in the land of the Jews, and b) the OT background of the Jews prepared them to be the ones through whom his message (during his earthly ministry he also made periodic contact with Gentiles, like this lady and the centurion but, under this scenario, it was merely token or anticipatory)
2. The other view (the one I hold, FWIW) is that whenever we see the name “Israel” in the NT, it is symbolically referring to the entire people of God, Jew and Gentile, that make up the whole, completed Church. You recall that Israel was one nation until it divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Israel was conquered by the Assyrians and it’s population (ten of the twelve tribes of the original Israel) were dispersed to the nations (i.e. among the Gentiles), to blend in with them and seemingly be lost forever. This left the kingdom of Judah, which contained the last two tribes, the descendents of whom we call the Jews.

The idea is that when Jesus calls the “nations” to join the Church, they in some way contain those lost, dispersed ten tribes, joining them again with the Jews, and again restoring the Israel of God into one Kingdom under Christ the King in his Church. When you run into references to “Israel” in the NT, try reading them with this understanding in mind and see if, for the most part, it doesn’t make sense.

As far as the passage in question, it may be a clever device to bring out an important truth: Here Jesus seems to refuse the woman help because she, by all appearances, does not belong to the house of Israel, but because of her demonstrated faith in him, he grants her favors and graces — thus proving that, through faith in Jesus, Gentiles can be of the house of Israel just like the Jews!

Anyway, that’s my :twocents:

 

[LilyM]

I think we need to read this story in light of the following words of John the Baptist:

‘Do not say to yourselves “We have Abraham as our father”. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.’ (Luke 3:8)

John shows, and Jesus seconded the sentiment, that being a ‘child of Abraham’ or of the ‘house of Israel’ has nothing to do with physical descent, rather it is a spiritual inheritance. A belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel).

That’s why so often at Mass we call Abraham ‘our father in faith’.

Jesus shows this in a multitude of ways - his healing of the Roman centurion’s servant, his parable of the Good Samaritan, his sending of the Apostles to preach to the whole world, and, yes, even the end of his conversation with this woman.

 

[Charlie_Zeaiter]

Did Jesus say he only came for the lost children of Israel? …

Galatians 3:26-29 - It is through faith that all of you are God’s sons in union with Christ Jesus. You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.

 

[HailMary]

Matthew 15: 22- 28

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
23 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
24 10 He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” **
25 But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” **
27 She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! 12 Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Did Jesus say he only came for the lost children of Israel? If so where does that leave us? Did Jesus think anyone not of Israel were dogs? I have a hard time with this passage.

read Jonah