Mark 7:24-29

Perhaps more than any other gospel story, Jesus' encounter in Mark with the Syrophoenician woman paints Jesus in a poor light. In a surface-level reading, Jesus appears to compare the woman and Gentiles to dogs. Her sassy retort that "even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs" (7:28) appears to change Jesus' opinion of her so that he heals her daughter. Scholars have debated this text, and Jonathan and Seth discuss some of the proposed interpretation options.  One option sees the woman as a theologian who understands who Jesus is and what Jesus can do, which leads to a conversation about who does theology and who is excluded as if they were a Gentile of Syrophoenician origin.