When Jesus walked amongst us his mission was to offer the kingdom of God unto the people of Israel. Finally they reached a point when their acceptance was mandated, but they instead doubted and reject Him. Once this accrued Jesus stopped teaching in open teachings. Instead He switched over to teaching parables. These even the disciples sometimes didn’t understand.
Then one day He came into the area of Tyre and Sidon.
Here a Canaanite woman approached Him and asked Christ to cast a demon out of her daughter. He ignored her. He made a statement that He as there for Israel. Then He spoke a parable:
““It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
Now when He spoke other parables Jesus would say. “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
This took place in chapter 13 of Matthew
So here we have a Canaanite woman and Christ says unto her a parable and her response is to that parable that though gentiles are dogs do they not eat the crumbs of the bread that fall to the ground.
There is two things of import here. First that she had enough faith to know the words coming from Christ and understand them as well as know that He is the Messiah when she called Him the “Son of David. The second that she, a gentile and a woman, had exceeded those that Jesus had specifically come for. This is why He states that her faith is great, for it was.
There are two major factors we must understand in the last point. First being a gentile yet knowing Jesus is the Christ. The second being that she was female. This is why the disciples ask Jesus to send her away. Women were not thought of as they are today and being a pagan didn’t help. Yet she exceeded all of Israel in her believe in Jesus.
Matthew 15: 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.