Matthew 15:24

‘And he answered and said, “I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” '

Jesus then turned in response to His disciples' requests and gave the reason for His lack of response. He declared, “I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Compare for these words the commentary on Matthew 10:6). But what did He mean by this, and why did He say it at this moment? It in fact points to His dilemma.

· If He does what this woman asks He will be opening the way to many Gentiles who will then feel that they too can bring their sick ones to be healed by the Jewish prophet. Thus He will begin to be seen as a healer, and not as a Jewish Prophet. And credit for the healings will then be given to their own gods, a complete contradiction to His mission.

· The consequences could then be that the ministry to those who are aware of their ‘lostness' in Israel, the healing of whom is the purpose for which He was sent, will be hindered. In their eyes His ministry will be tarnished.

Thus He feels that what this woman is asking is outside His mission, and it was something that required deep thought. It had been one thing to heal Gentiles who were in deep sympathy with Judaism while He was among the Jews in Galilee, where the full credit would go to the God of Israel, it would be quite another to do it in a Gentile environment when the credit could go anywhere, and false ideas and beliefs could be fostered. And to Him truth is central. At present His ministry is to those of the house of Israel who are like sheep without a shepherd, and He knows that that ministry is not yet complete, and must not be hindered. He had to walk step by step with His Father. He was not here as a Wisdom teacher. He was here as a Prophet, yes, and more than a Prophet. This is a salutary reminder to us that Jesus did not in His earthly life have precognition of everything and instantly know what to do (compare the temptations). As He lived out His life He was rather dependent on what His Father revealed to Him and on the Scriptures. Furthermore He was conscious that He had come to this place for peace and quiet, not in order to arouse the neighbourhood. He did not want the floodgates to open. It was not yet time.

There may also be the thought here that He cannot grant her request when by doing so He may be allowing her to go back to give thanks to her pagan gods. What part has she in the son of David and in the God of Israel?

‘I was -- sent.' Notice the indication of His consciousness of His mission. He is One Who has been sent on a particular mission. It was a phrase intended to raise questions in the mind of those who heard it.