Sanitizing the Words of Jesus (Matthew 15 & Mark 7)

It seems that it’s become of great importance to the modern body of believers (Church) to ensure that Yeshua (Jesus) is portrayed as being politically correct in all His ways. Therefore, we sanitize the harsh words of Jesus. Why? Because we worship a false Jesus of our own making,

When a modern Christian reads the words of Jesus spoken to the Canaanite woman, as recorded in Matt. 15:26 [Mrk. 7:27]: “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs,” the initial response is to conclude that the metaphor Jesus employees must not mean what it appears to mean.
 
Imagine how the legacy media might report such an incident today: “ALT-RIGHT RABBI CALLS PALESTINIAN WOMAN A ‘DOG’.”
 
Riots and bombings would ensue, Jews would be attacked globally, Synagogues desecrated and missiles launched at the nation of Israel. It would also be reported that the alt-right rabbi Yeshua is an ardent Zionist, a Nationalist like Hitler, who has allegedly said that He only cares about “the lost sheep of Israel.” The U.N. would issue a statement condemning such a man and his followers. The New Zealand and Australian governments would refuse him an entry visa, while the I.C.C convene to issue an arrest warrant for rabbi Yeshua Ben Yosef. What is it about this that sounds so chillingly familiar?
 
I’ve heard many a sermon from well-meaning pastors and theologians who seek to defend these words of Jesus as a misunderstood attempt at endearment. They jump through linguistic hoops, avoid context and try to reframe this seemingly harsh statement as a loving retort. They take it on themselves to reassure the modern Christian that Jesus is not at all an angry person, nor is he a Zionist, but is merely referring to Gentiles as pets (as if being called a pet dog is any less demeaning than simply being called a dog.) The context of these words of Jesus far from supporting this positive spin to the contrary proves the opposite and exposes the vice of nice on the tongues of our apostate theologians and pastors.
 
It seems that it’s become of great importance to the modern body of believers (Church) to ensure that Yeshua (Jesus) is portrayed as being politically correct in all His ways. Therefore, we sanitize the harsh words of Jesus. Why? Because we worship a false Jesus of our own making, a Messiah who is nice, inoffensive, always polite, a pacifist, and an archetype for the purist expression of humanity. We deny the importance of His ethnicity and religious expression, and the wealth of Biblical evidence to the contrary, and in doing so disregard the cultural and religious concerns of the first century Jewish context.
 
There is a well-known truism “The Devil puts a little bit of truth in every lie.” Many Christian teachers of the Scriptures have developed a habit of being truth adjacent, they often include a truth, or part of a truth in their pursuit of tolerant inaccuracies.
 
With Matt. 15:21-28 & Mrk. 7:24-30 in mind, let’s take a contextual look at the meaning of the Messiah’s harsh words to the Canaanite woman:
 
Prior to this account Jesus had challenged some of the Judean religious leaders regarding their hypocrisy and now journeys to Tyre and Sidon, which were ancient Phoenician cities located in the region of Canaan, along the coast of modern-day Lebanon. This is why the Gentile woman is referred to in each account respectively as “a woman from Canaan” and a “Syro-Phoenician” (Syrian of Phoenicia). The woman is also called a “Greek,” meaning that she was a citizen of the Hellenised Greek world, a Gentile (not Jewish). The apostle Paul uses the noun “Greek” in the same way throughout his letters to the churches.
 
The woman pesters Jesus, asking him repeatedly to set her daughter free from a demon. In Mark’s account Jesus responds to her request by saying “Let the children be filled first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” The Biblical Greek text uses the noun κυναρίοις (kynariois) “Little dog”, not “pet” but “puppy.”
 
“Children” is without doubt a reference to the people of Israel. There are few that dispute this. There is however a great deal of debate over what “Little dogs” means. This is because rather than looking to Scripture in order to glean the meaning of the Biblical use of this metaphor, modern pastors and theologians look to their emotions and pseudo moral, post enlightenment humanism to form the foundation for their understanding. They then impose their false paradigm onto the text, often distorting context and misappropriating obscure extrabiblical texts in support of their flawed presuppositions.
 
The metaphor “Dog” is used in Scripture to represent the enemies of God and of the chosen people Israel (Jews, ethnic descendants of Jacob). This is an irrefutable fact. Please take the time to read the following scriptures: Deut. 14:21; 23:18; 1 Kings 14:11; Psa. 22:16 & 20; 59:5-6, 14-15; Matt. 15:26-27; Mrk. 7:27-28; Phil. 3:2; 2Pe. 2:22
Rev. 22:15.
 
The Biblical Greek root κύων (kuón) is the basis for the various forms of the word “dog” as used in both the Septuagint (Greek version of parts of the TaNaKh [OT]) and the New Testament. In the present case the more specific noun κυναρίοις (kynariois) “Little dog,” “puppy” does not reflect a different core metaphorical meaning but rather denotes a vulnerable enemy. Therefore, according to Biblical Hebrew thought, a puppy is a not yet fully grown, or weakened enemy. From a first century Jewish perspective, the Romans, who occupied the land of Judea at that time, would have been considered κύνας dogs (full grown - strong enemies), whereas the Canaanites, who like the Israelites, were under Roman rule, would be considered κυναρίοις (puppies – powerless little dogs). Jesus is adamant, that it’s not right to give the food (Jesus Person, Gospel, Miracles) of Israel to their enemies, be they strong or weak.
 
Both prior to and during the first century, and even throughout the following millennia, observant Jews rarely kept unclean animals as pets. In fact, in the first century, as testified to by Jewish tradition, dogs were allowed to be kept only as working animals. According to the Talmud Baba Kama it’s permissible to keep certain breeds of dog for protection against vermin. It adds that these dogs must be kept chained and that those who raise them are to be considered cursed. Note that Jesus says of the bread, that it’s not right to “throw it to the little dogs,” meaning that he considers dogs (in a first century Jewish context) to be outside animals that receive food scraps and not indoor pets. The Jewish mystics see dogs as symbols of demons* and the Zohar (Jewish mystic text) likens evil in this world to a vicious dog on a leash. Therefore, the wider context of this account does not allow for a reading that translates “Little dog” as “pet.” [Ref.  https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/judaism-dogs/]
 
When the Canaanite woman responds in humility and repentance saying “Yes, Adonai, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” She is not claiming to be a pet but a vulnerable puppy born to a working dog. She admits that she is of a people who are enemies to Israel and that she is not therefore worthy of receiving the children’s (Israel’s) food, but asks as one who acknowledges her need to submit to the Master of Israel, Jesus (עמנו Imanu – with us, אל El – God), and humbles herself under the table of the children of Israel as a servant of God, His Messiah Jesus, and of the Jewish people (Israel). By doing this she shows true repentance. Her godly response to Jesus now lives as an example to the stubborn lack of faith of those particular Jewish religious leaders whom Jesus had recently rebuked. Jesus willingly receives this repentant enemy and ministers freedom to her possessed daughter.* Therefore, the modern application of this account of Jesus sees Him refusing to heal the enemies of Israel, vulnerable or not, until such a time as they humbly repent of their hatred for Israel and her God. Jesus still says today, “It is not right to take the children’s (Israel’s) bread and throw it to the little dogs!”
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua