The Canaanite woman

“A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.’ Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came to Him and urged Him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’” Matthew 15:22-23
This passage used to bother me, until I heard it explained. Why did Jesus not respond to this woman who was pleading for help? There are two clues in v22. Firstly, she was a Canaanite. This is why, when Jesus does respond, He says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). And secondly, she was crying out to Him as ‘Lord, Son of David’. She was not a Jew; she had no claim on Him as ‘Son of David’.
It was only when she simply called Him ‘Lord’ that He answered her. And He does so in gentleness, saying, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs” (Matt. 15:26). This is not a rebuke, and He is not calling her a ‘dog’ in the sense of the rabid mongrels referred to in other passages (viz. Phil. 3:2, Rev. 22:15). Rather, the word used here is a pet dog or puppy.
The woman clearly understands what He is saying, because she answers in the parabolic symbolism He is using: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Matt. 15:27). She knows that she does not have first priority when it comes to receiving something from the Messiah. But she hopes for a crumb, that her daughter might be delivered. Jesus sees her faith and grants her request.