Because of the woman’s persistent faith, Jesus praised her and healed her daughter. But what are we to make of his treatment of her? She came in utter sincerity and with great respect, yet Jesus rebuffed her with hard words. Why would He do that? Perhaps the key is to consider that Jesus’ words were intended less for the woman’s ears than for his disciples’. Maybe it was to them not the woman, that he said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”…..Jesus may have turned this incident into a living parable to show his disciples how hardened they were in their attitudes against Gentiles. So upon encountering the woman, it could be that Jesus treated her the way His disciples would have treated here. Perhaps he wanted to illustrate in a way they would never forget that despite rejection, Gentiles like the woman deeply hungered for God’s grace and power. In the end, Jesus’ high praise for the woman’s faith and the healing of her daughter repudiated the notion that God was concerned only with Israel.