{"id":12,"date":"2008-02-09T17:37:36","date_gmt":"2008-02-09T23:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/2008\/02\/09\/was-jesus-a-rude-racist\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T21:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T21:41:13","slug":"was-jesus-a-rude-racist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/2008\/02\/09\/was-jesus-a-rude-racist\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Jesus A Rude Racist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We all know that there was a Jesus who was compassionate, and loving, and merciful; the Bible is full of hundreds of scriptures that speak of his patience and kindness. But was He also a rude racist?<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly not!,\u201d most people exclaim. But how can we square that answer with this scripture:<\/p>\n

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Matthew 15:21-22<\/span> (NKJV)<\/strong> Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, \u201cHave mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now if Jesus IS a merciful, loving, compassionate man, surely His heart would have ached for this woman\u2019s suffering! And yet He callously replied\u2026 by ignoring her!<\/p>\n

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Verses 23-24<\/span><\/strong> But He answered her not a word<\/strong>. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, \u201cSend her away, for she cries out after us.\u201d But He answered and said, \u201cI was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And despite His disciples\u2019 urging, He flatly refused to help her! Just because she wasn\u2019t of some \u201cspecial race,\u201d she wasn\u2019t worth his time! What a bigot!<\/p>\n

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Verses 25-26<\/span><\/strong> Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, \u201cLord, help me!\u201d But He answered and said, \u201cIt is not good to take the children\u2019s bread and throw it to the little dogs.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Even after she begged him, pleading in every way she knew, He flatly refused to lift a finger to help her\u00a0\u2013 and to top it off, He ridiculed and insulted her by calling her a dog<\/strong><\/em>!<\/p>\n

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Verses 27-28<\/span><\/strong> And she said, \u201cYes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters\u2019 table.\u201d Then Jesus answered and said to her, \u201cO woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.\u201d And her daughter was healed from that very hour.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And finally, to stop her nagging, he at last condescended to help her. Is this truly a Jesus of \u201cfull of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.\u201d<\/em> (<\/span>Psalms 86:15<\/span>)<\/span>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arguments such as this are FAIR! This is what the Bible says, and it deserves an honest, SIMPLE answer! So I ask again\u2026 WAS Jesus a rude RACIST?<\/p>\n

The most important rule of Bible study\u00a0\u2013 the absolute first rule\u00a0\u2013 is that the Bible MUST interpret itself. And it usually does this in the context of the verse that inspired the question in the first place, although occasionally verses from all over the Bible have to be referenced to draw a complete picture.<\/p>\n

And in doing that, it must first be pointed out that Jesus was an equal-opportunity insulter\u00a0\u2013 He frequently was, according to this definition, rude to the Pharisees and Jews. See Matthew 23<\/span>,<\/span> John 8<\/span>,<\/span> Mark 8:33<\/span>,<\/span> Matthew 8:22<\/span><\/strong>, among others. He was also an equal-opportunity ignorer, for He ignored requests by Israelites as well\u2026<\/p>\n

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Luke 18:2-7<\/span><\/strong> \u2026There was in a city a judge\u2026 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while:<\/strong> but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect<\/strong>, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And there are many individual examples of God ignoring a prayer either until more prayers were made, or until some sin was removed. Each of these has a good reason behind it, but for now the point is merely that God did not single out certain races to ignore. Nor did He single out gentiles alone to be called dogs!<\/p>\n

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Philippians 3:2<\/span> (BBE)<\/strong> Be on the watch against dogs, against the workers of evil, against those of the circumcision:<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For here, He (through Paul) groups dogs, workers of evil, and the circumcision (that is, the Jews) together, as if one and the same. The reason being simply that dogs are used in the New Testament as symbols of the wicked. We find them among the incorrigible wicked who \u201clove and make a lie\u201d in Revelation 22:15<\/span><\/strong>, representing the once-saved church members who returned into the lusts and sins of the world in 2\u00a0Peter 2:22<\/span><\/strong>, and as rebellious, \u201ccomfortable Christians\u201d in Matthew 7:6<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And so it was natural to call the rebellious Jews dogs, just as it was natural to call the entire unsaved world\u00a0\u2013 which was almost all gentiles\u00a0\u2013 dogs. For as it says \u201c\u2026the whole world lieth in wickedness\u201d<\/em> (<\/span>1\u00a0John 5:19<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>. So to call her a dog was not so much an insult, as a statement of fact. A fact which she did not dispute!<\/p>\n

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Mark 7:28<\/span><\/strong> And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord:<\/strong> yet the dogs under the table eat of the children\u2019s crumbs.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note that she agreed<\/strong><\/em> with Him! She accepted His statement without argument, BECAUSE His description fit! Because she DID live in wickedness! In Matthew 15:21<\/span><\/strong> we see that He was in the region of Tyre and Sidon. These were cities of the Gentiles, and were known to be idolatrous. And idolatry is, of course, a major sin.<\/p>\n

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John 9:31<\/span><\/strong> Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Proverbs 15:29<\/span><\/strong> The LORD is far from the wicked<\/strong>: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If someone is sinning, God does not hear them when they ask Him for help<\/strong>. Right here, this gives us an excellent justification for Jesus not helping the idolatrous Canaanite woman, because the wicked (which includes the idolatrous) He doesn\u2019t hear. This is why He at first ignored her.<\/p>\n

However, although as a rule He is \u201cfar from the wicked\u201d there are times where God can and does overlook a certain amount of wickedness\u00a0\u2013 temporarily\u00a0\u2013 if a person is sincere in what they believe.<\/p>\n

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Acts 17:30<\/span><\/strong> And the times of this ignorance God winked at;<\/strong> but now commandeth all men every where to repent:<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This sincerity of belief is called faith. Paul classified himself in this class in his earlier life.<\/p>\n

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1\u00a0Timothy 1:13<\/span> (Weymouth)<\/strong> though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and had been insolent in outrage. Yet mercy was shown me, BECAUSE I HAD ACTED IGNORANTLY, not having as yet believed;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is possible, while firmly in the grasp of sin, to sincerely believe what you are doing to be the right thing\u00a0\u2013 and honestly ignorant of the truth. God respects that, temporarily at least, and is able to look past your sins and, through your faith, show you mercy.<\/p>\n

Along with faith, another thing God respects is humility, \u201cWherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (<\/span>James 4:6<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>. This woman expressed her humility when she accepted Christ calling her a dog, and was able to see the truth of it. And she responded, not with pride and an attitude of \u201cHow DARE you judge me!<\/a>\u201d as so many would today, but by acknowledging that yes, she was<\/em> a dog; she was<\/em> an idolater, she did not know God or obey him, and deserved<\/em> this label; BUT! Despite all that, when she saw the truth, what little of it she saw, she BELIEVED on Jesus! And so in the end, Jesus ended up complementing her!<\/p>\n

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Matthew 15:28<\/span><\/strong> \u201cO woman,\u201d replied Jesus, \u201cgreat is your faith<\/strong>: be it done to you as you desire.\u201d And from that moment her daughter was restored to health.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Jesus did not begrudgingly<\/em> heal her to make her go away! He was HAPPY to heal her, ONCE she had given him a reason to do so! Her righteousness certainly wasn\u2019t a reason. But because of her sincerity and her ignorance, God extended her grace and granted her request, because of the strength of her faith. And that faith allowed God to treat her AS IF she were righteous!<\/p>\n

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Galatians 3:6-7<\/span><\/strong> Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And by believing God, she came under the blessings God had promised those who obeyed. You see, God never made promises with mankind to heal them. He never made promises with them to bless them. He never made contracts or agreements with them at all. They have no reason to expect anything from God!<\/p>\n

But God DID make an agreement with Abraham. He did promise to bless him<\/em>, and multiply his children and his wealth, and He promised him<\/em> redemption through Christ. And so what good things the world has access to today, they have because of the faith of Abraham, who alone of all men ever to live was singled out for the title \u201cthe friend of God.\u201d Those descendants of Abraham who inherited these promises\u00a0\u2013 primarily Israel of which the Jews were but one tribe, the rest being scattered abroad\u00a0\u2013 had the rights to these promises; because they were heirs to the inheritance of Abraham.<\/p>\n

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Galatians 3:16<\/span><\/strong> Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Just as you don\u2019t have the right to the inheritance of my grandfather, so also the gentiles had no right to the inheritance God promised for Abraham\u2019s children. But God is, in fact, a loving God, who is \u201cnot willing that any should perish, BUT that all should come to repentance\u201d<\/em> (<\/span>2\u00a0Peter 3:9<\/span>).<\/span><\/strong> And so He sent His Son to make that possible.<\/p>\n

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Galatians 3:14<\/span><\/strong> That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles<\/strong> through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note that it is Abraham\u2019s blessing the gentiles were to receive! Not one of their own! God had made a contract with Abraham that He HAD to fulfill\u00a0\u2013 but the gentiles had no such contract with God. But here Paul explains how God intended to allow the gentiles access to that inheritance through faith!<\/p>\n

There are two types of \u201cfathers.\u201d Those we are born with and those we adopt. Some are our parents because they literally sired us\u00a0\u2013 but may be totally unlike us in character. Others are like us in character, despite being unrelated. There are many examples in the world of people who hit it off so well with someone totally unrelated that they end up in their will. So also it is with God.<\/p>\n

Abraham\u2019s children, the Israelites, were seldom very obedient. Isaac and Jacob were good men, but after that righteous men became scarce. And so\u00a0\u2013 in spite of His promises to Abraham\u00a0\u2013 God was forced to correct them, again and again. Finally they flatly refused to obey him so He drove them out of their homeland altogether for a time, though not without first promising to bring them back one day.<\/p>\n

And so with the coming of Jesus, God was preparing to offer the gospel to the gentiles. Not because they were the children of Abraham, but BECAUSE THEY HAD FAITH LIKE ABRAHAM!<\/p>\n

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Galatians 3:6-9<\/span><\/strong> Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham<\/strong>. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed<\/strong>. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And as the figurative children of Abraham, they became heirs to the family estate.<\/p>\n

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Galatians 3:28-29<\/span><\/strong> There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ\u2019s, then are ye Abraham\u2019s seed, and heirs according to the promise<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But they had not yet been offered that promise, for Israel had not yet rejected God. God could not cut Israel out of the will, so to speak, until they had absolutely decided that they wanted nothing to do with Him.<\/p>\n

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Mark 7:27<\/span><\/strong> But Jesus said unto her, Let the children FIRST be filled<\/strong>: for it is not meet to take the children\u2019s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And so He told the woman that he couldn\u2019t go to the Gentiles YET\u00a0\u2013 for the children (Israel) had to be filled FIRST. This woman agreed, but metaphorically pointed out that a crumb\u00a0\u2013 I.E., Him granting her request since He was already here\u00a0\u2013 wouldn\u2019t hurt the children any. This reasoning, and the woman\u2019s persistence so moved Christ that He gladly answered her request\u00a0\u2013 in spite of everything else.<\/p>\n

And so here is the irony of the question that started all this\u00a0\u2013 was Christ a rude racist. Did He come to flaunt His superiority and the superiority of the children of Israel in the faces of the world?<\/p>\n

Actually, exactly the opposite. The Jews of His day DID flaunt themselves as God\u2019s gift to mankind\u00a0\u2013 when in fact, they were often less obedient than the world around them. They WERE bigots, who had invented laws\u00a0\u2013 similar to those we are familiar with as \u201csegregation\u201d\u00a0\u2013 laws which God never spoke\u00a0\u2013 that prevented them from eating with gentiles, or speaking with them as much as possible. They WERE racists, in every sense of the word!<\/p>\n

But Christ came to BREAK their monopoly! He came to remove their \u201cspecial status\u201d that they thought they had, and prepare the way so that He could, through Paul, open up the gospel to all the world through faith, once Israel was finally \u201cfed up\u201d with God to the point that they killed His son!<\/p>\n

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Romans 15:8<\/span><\/strong> Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:<\/strong><\/em> [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And along the way, He frequently ate with harlots and sinners\u00a0\u2013 to the horror of the Jews. He spoke with Samaritans\u00a0\u2013 to the consternation of the Jews. But for all of that, His mission was to show the house of Israel their sins, and to offer them one last chance to repent before cutting them out of Abraham\u2019s will. They killed him for His trouble.<\/p>\n

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Romans 15:9-12<\/span><\/strong> And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy<\/strong>; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles,<\/strong> and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, WITH HIS PEOPLE<\/strong>. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles;<\/strong> and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So was He a bigot? I will allow you to draw your own conclusion by asking you to answer this question; you\u2019ve known many racists in your time, no doubt. Would someone who was prejudiced against a certain race cut his own children out of his will, and replace them with the children of the race against which he is prejudiced? Freely admitting that they were more righteous than his own sons?<\/p>\n

Christ did that. And that is your answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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