Jesus & the pagan woman: Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. Mark 7:28
The Gospel of Mark recounts that Jesus, after the first multiplication of the loaves and the death of John the Baptist, went to foreign lands, more precisely the region of Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia. With this, Jesus was anticipating a spiritual message; although the message of the Kingdom of God was primarily for the children of Israel according to the flesh, Jesus performed miracles with the pagans to demonstrate the universality of God's mercy.
And so the gospel of Mark recounts a miracle that Jesus performed with the daughter of a pagan woman of Syrophoenician origin while near Tyre. And the gospel tells the beginning of the story: "Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret" Mark 7:24. The gospel tells that a pagan woman, upon hearing where Jesus was, went to find him and prostrated herself at his feet to ask him to free her daughter from an unclean spirit. And so began a brief dialogue between Jesus and the pagan woman: "'First let the children eat all they want,' he told her, 'for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs.' 'Lord,' she replied, 'even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.'" Mark 7:27-28. Jesus was amazed by the woman's answer and told her to go and get her daughter because she was healed.
This miracle of Jesus has a resemblance to the healing of the Roman centurion's servant, and also a resemblance to Jesus' dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar. And all these cases have in common that they show with whom the love of Jesus is manifested. Although these people were not Jewish, they knew the law of Moses and were also God-fearing people, and the fear of God is the good soil on which the seed of faith is planted. All those who benefited from the miracles of Jesus recognized him, moved by grace, and Jesus acted. In other words, they allowed themselves to be loved by God, and the Lord loved them. This shows the true nature of the Kingdom of God and of grace, the reciprocity of hearts between men and God.
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