I Was Sent Only to the Lost Sheep

He answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.' But she [a Canaanite woman] came and knelt before him. 'Lord, help me!' He replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs.' She said, 'Yes it is, Lord. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.'

Jesus's initial response is an ethnic boundary. He was sent to Israel. The woman is not Israeli. But she persists. She doesn't accept the boundary. And her cleverness—her refusal to accept that she doesn't belong—moves Jesus. He heals her. Sometimes the outsiders teach the insiders something about faith.