Jesus is extraordinarily merciful to those at the bottom of the barrel. This woman has come needy and vulnerable, and she is admitting her shame. She really has nothing to lose. It’s desperation that makes her so bold, and Jesus knows it. Their back and forth certainly looks cold. In calling her a dog, Jesus is basically affirming the ages-old relationship between Israelites and Canaanites begun way back in Genesis 9. But the woman’s circumstances are deeper than that divide. Her sense of brokenness goes all the way down to Genesis 3. And she owns her shame. She admits her poverty. She knows
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