Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Episode: Jesus Feeds the Dogs
Host: Greg Koukl
Date: January 22, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Greg Koukl dives into a challenging passage from the New Testament—the encounter between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7)—often accused of portraying Jesus as dismissive or even racist toward Gentiles. Koukl unpacks the context, the theological implications, and dispels common misinterpretations, encouraging Christians to think deeply about both the text itself and the grand narrative of God's plan for redemption. The episode then transitions to listener questions, moving from practical family evangelism to debates over the Rapture and views on the Second Coming.

Main Theme: “Jesus Feeds the Dogs”—Understanding Jesus’ Dialogue with the Syrophoenician Woman

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Textual Problem: Did Jesus Insult the Gentile Woman?

• Context: Jesus travels to Tyre (Gentile region), and a Syrophoenician woman asks him to cast a demon out of her daughter (Mark 7).
• Jesus responds:
  “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
  (00:52)
• Gentiles were colloquially referred to as “dogs” by Jews—raising concerns for modern readers and criticism from some who call Jesus’ statement “racist.”
• Problem 1: Why would Jesus use such language or seemingly refuse at first?
• Problem 2: If it's not good to give what’s for the Jews to Gentiles, why does Jesus help her anyway?

2. The Grand Plan—God’s Mission for All Nations

• Koukl unpacks the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3):
  “For in you, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
  (08:15)
• Israel was chosen to be a “light to the Gentiles,” not an exclusive club.
• Jews’ failure over centuries—swinging between syncretism and hostile separatism—culminated in a national attitude of bigotry towards Gentiles by Jesus’ day (14:45).
• “After the Assyrian dispersion and the Babylonian deportation, they had learned their lesson, and now they’ve gone the other direction.”
  (12:53)

3. Jesus Parroting the Jewish View, Not His Own

• Koukl credits Don Richardson for the interpretive insight:
  — Jesus wasn’t expressing his personal opinion but “parroting the false, bad, distorted, corrupted theology of the Jewish leadership at the time.”
  (18:40)
• The Syrophoenician woman's reply:
  “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
  (07:44)
• Jesus then grants her request—demonstrating his actual position and correcting the prevailing Jewish exclusivism:
  “Because of this answer, go, the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
  (08:05)
• Koukl’s key point: Jesus’s action (helping the Gentile woman) undermines the notion he was personally holding a bigoted attitude. Instead, he exposes and then rejects the exclusive teaching of the time.
  (18:40)

4. Gentiles in the Broader Narrative of the Gospels

• Jesus repeatedly helps Gentiles (e.g., the centurion in Matthew 8)—often praising their faith over that of the Jews.
  (19:52)
• The crowd’s anger in Luke 4 occurred not when Jesus claimed to fulfill prophecy, but when he spotlighted God’s mercy to Gentiles.
  “That’s when the text says, when they heard these things, then they went berserk.”
  (14:22)
• The “crumbs under the table” motif reaffirms that even when the Jewish people fail to fulfill their mission, God still extends mercy broadly.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On interpreting Jesus’ words:
  “He was parroting the false, bad, distorted, corrupted theology of the Jewish leadership at the time, and then acted in a way that was contrary to it.”
  (18:40)
• Rejecting the ‘racism’ charge:
  “No, he wasn’t racist. And no, she was not speaking truth to power. That’s just silly. That’s not what was going on there.”
  (19:19)
• On God’s plan for all nations:
  “God’s goal has always been the whole world, not just the Jews. A blessing to the goyim.”
  (14:05)

[00:00–20:15]

Deep Dive in Mark 7:24–30

• 00:52 – 08:05: Lays out the encounter, the two “problems” in interpreting Jesus’ words, and the Syrophoenician woman's persistent faith.
• 08:15 – 14:45: Traces the “big story” of Israel’s mission, the Abrahamic Covenant, and how Israel’s relationship with Gentiles evolved.
• 14:45 – 18:40: Discusses how both Gentile responsiveness and Jewish exclusivity coexist in Gospel accounts; references Don Richardson and the US Center for World Mission; proposes his interpretive solution that Jesus echoes and then overturns the prevailing Jewish exclusivist attitude.

[20:16+] Q&A Segment

Listener Call 1:

“Is it ever appropriate to ‘shake the dust off your feet’ in family relationships?”
[25:50–34:58]

• Greg’s response: Yes, with critical qualifications:

  • The biblical “shaking off the dust” means moving on when your message is continually rejected—not in derision or anger, especially with family.
  • “You could lead a horse to water, you can’t make him drink. But that doesn’t necessarily entail an attitude of derision.” (28:43)
  • It’s okay to pause or step back if conversations go nowhere—keep loving, praying, and be ready as new opportunities arise.
  • Personal testimony: Greg shares about his father's eventual conversion after years of resistance, emphasizing God’s timing.

• Notable principle:
  “It is our task in the moment, but it is God’s problem in the long term.”
  (31:54)

• Counsel: Don’t “bruise the fruit” by over-persistence; operate with patience and hope.

Listener Call 2:

“Can you clarify your view on the Rapture and the Second Coming?”
[34:59–End (approx. 1:00:00)]

• Greg’s summary position:
  • He does not believe in the “pre-tribulation Rapture” (a disappearance of the Church before a 7-year tribulation).
  • He argues for a straightforward reading: there is a first coming of Christ and then a second coming, and at that second coming, the resurrection of both dead and living believers happens together.
  • “We just have one coming and we have a second coming. At the second coming, there’s a resurrection.”
    (39:18)
• Not a new doctrine: The Rapture as popularly taught wasn’t articulated until the 1800s.
  • Key passages (1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15) speak not of a secret removal but of a public resurrection/transformation at Christ's return.
  • Christians historically have undergone tribulation; American ease is the exception.
  • “Why didn’t Christians understand this particular detail of eschatology for 1800 years? ... If you already have the Rapture concept in your mind, then you can go back to texts and see hints of it or what you think are hints of it.”
    (48:49)
• Practical point: Be prepared for hard times; don’t expect to be rescued from tribulation, but trust in God’s sustaining power.
• Recommends the resources:
  • The Blessed Hope by George Eldon Ladd
  • The Church and the Tribulation by Robert Gundry

Memorable Closing

• “I’m a pre-tribber until the tribulation starts. Then I’m a mid-tribber until we’re halfway through the tribulation. Then I’m a post-tribber. Okay, fine. Be ready. Be watchful.”
  (1:03:55)

Episode Takeaways

• Difficult Texts: Sometimes Jesus’ “hard sayings” are best understood as deliberate challenges to prevailing biases, exposing them by echoing them and then acting counter to them.
• Big Story: God’s heart and plan always included the whole world, not just Israel.
• Apologetics in Practice: Share Christ boldly but lovingly; know when to pause with resistant family; praying continuously.
• Eschatology: A call to sober readiness, faithfulness in tribulation, and confidence that Christ’s return is both sure and sufficient—not something to be debated out of fear, but out of hope.

For more resources or to listen to the original episode, visit STR.org.