Do Your Dogs Eat the Scraps Under Your Table?

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely." But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to go away," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging." Then Jesus said to the woman, "I was sent only to help God's lost sheep—the people of Israel." But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, "Lord, help me!" Jesus responded, "It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters' table." "Dear woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed. Matthew 15:21-28

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn't want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn't keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, "First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates." "Good answer!" he said. "Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter." And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone. Mark 7:24-30

 

Meditate on good answers.

 

Sweet Clover
No feeding this puppy under the table!

Jesus was in the Galilee region and decided to go up north to Tyre and Sidon, in the known Gentile area beyond the Israeli borders. Here, a mother pleaded with Jesus to heal her daughter who was possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus’ reputation for the ability to cast out demons had obviously preceded Him. By this time in His ministry, Jesus had dealt with many demon-possessed individuals. Another in the Gentile area was the man in the tombs with the legion of demons who were sent into the pigs that drowned in the Sea of Galilee. Had this Phoenician woman heard about this healing? Were there more demon-possessed people in Gentile areas? Jesus and all of His disciples had been healing inhabitants of the Jewish regions, and now Jesus was in this Gentile region. He declared that He came to help the Jews first…but this lady was persistent and persuasive. She compared the Gentiles to dogs being fed under the table. She had such creative devotion—so much faith. Jesus healed her daughter immediately.

Is this an example of our need to plead with Jesus when we pray? Do we need to be persistent and persuasive?

What do we learn about Jesus from these scripture passages?

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus, I know You heard that Phoenician woman when she asked for her little girl to be healed and that You hear our prayers. Thank you for answered prayers…and for those on which we still wait. Your grace is sufficient.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ But I keep praying to you, LORD, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. Psalm 69:13

 

© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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