Was Jesus Racist? Unpacking Matthew 15

Understanding Scripture and its teachings can often be confusing, and even unsettling. Even when we try to interpret certain stories or letters charitably, we can frequently find ourselves bewildered. How do we deal with these difficult passages? This week, Vince and Jo consider a question about Jesus' interaction with the Canaanite or "Syrophoenician," woman (recorded in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30), where Christ refers to a suffering woman and the Canaanite people she is part of as "dogs." How can we make sense of such seemingly harsh words and treatment? How do we square this with a Christ we say is full of love for the downtrodden? What is going on in this story? Is Jesus racist?

Question Asked in This Episode: "For quite some time now, I've been developing a workshop that focuses on improving race relations within the church. As the workshop primarily focuses on Scripture in the Bible that deals with how God wants us to think about and to respond to racism, classism, and sexism, among other things, there is one passage that continues to perplex me as I study these topics: In Matthew chapter 15 verses 21-28—the story of the Syrophoenician woman—even though Jesus compliments her amazing faith, at face value it can appear as if he is also insulting and making racial slurs against her when referring to his own people, Israel, as children, and the woman's people as dogs."

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Vince Vitale - @VinceRVitaleJo Vitale - @Joanna_VitaleMichael Davis - @mdav1979