Jesus Lost an Argument - Day 26

Jesus was tired. He had been doing a lot of ministry and mission. He was trying to get-under-the-radar. He needed some rest. But a woman finds him, a mother who had a daughter with “an unclean spirit.” Now you need to know that this woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She went to Jesus and asked him to heal her daughter. Does Jesus do so? Does he act with compassion? Does he even act like a Christian?
His response can still take our breath away: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Mark 6: 24f)
The children he is talking about are, of course, the Jews. He is saying that he has come for them. He is saying that he has nothing left for the Gentiles, for this woman, for her daughter.
You would have thought that she might just have turned away in despair. But she doesn’t. This is a mother with a sick child, so she ignores Jesus’ insulting words and plows on: “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Jesus was had. And he knew it. In an instant he changed his mind. He knew he had to reach out. She had found the best part of him. He said, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”
Jesus lost the argument. The mother did best him. No way around it. He lost the argument, but he gained the mission. From this point forward Jesus never again limited his outreach, his love, his mercy. From this point forward his mission was for all. From this point forward all children were favored.
By losing the argument his mission now included us. Aren’t we glad she won?