Was Jesus A Racist?

Pictured: Rev. Brandon Robertson who made this claim.

So I must admit, I’m a little late to the party on this topic. Several weeks ago, a heretical pastor made waves on Tik Tok by uploading a video in which he proclaimed that Jesus was at one point racist. He uses the story of Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman as his case in point. I won’t type out a transcript of his video, but the basic point he makes is that Jesus used the word “dog” in a racially degrading way, or as a racial slur if you will. In this article, we will point out the theological errors of this interpretation (if you can even call it an interpretation), as well as provide context and shed light on the passage in question.

The first problem immediately recognized by any biblical Christian is that racism is a sin, and Jesus is sinless. Jesus’ sinlessness is clearly taught in 1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 John 3:5, just to name a few places in scripture. A basic principle in hermeneutics is to use clear passages of scripture to help interpret unclear or difficult passages of scripture. If one interpretation of a vague passage contradicts the teaching of the clear, it is safe to say that you should search for a different interpretation of the vague. However, this only works if your view of scripture is that it is 1) divinely inspired, 2) inerrant (at least in all that it means to teach and affirm), and 3) non-contradictory. If you take a tenuous view of scripture, all manner of hermeneutic difficulties arise and make biblical interpretation near impossible in my opinion. For if there are some parts of scripture that are false, how would we go about differentiating them from the true parts? This weak view of scriptural inspiration has given rise to many reckless theological frameworks seen most commonly in progressive Christian circles today, and in many cases like this one, has led to apostasy, heresy, and blasphemy.

So what did Jesus mean by what he said to the woman? Was His calling her and her people “dogs” a racial slur? Well, we don’t actually know what color her skin was. We know that she was a Greek, and it is likely that her skin tone would be very close to Jesus’ skin. The point Jesus was making seems to be the distinction between Jews and Gentiles. The Jews worshipped the one true God, while the gentiles of the various nations worshipped multiple false gods and practiced horrible idolatry. Mike Winger makes the point that Jesus may have been trying to make it clear to this woman that He was not simply another God among a pantheon of gods, but the only true God. For it would not have been a big deal for this woman to give Jesus a shot when the Greek idols had failed her. The Greeks had empty idols, and the Jews had the God of all creation. Jesus tells the woman at the well in John 4:22 that, “salvation is from the Jews.” There is a priority of the work of God among the Jews before the message of reconciliation goes out to the rest of the world. Jesus makes this point elsewhere and this parallels nicely with the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman. This distinction is not rooted in racism. God was blessing all of the nations through His chosen people, and ultimately, His only begotten Son, just as He told Abraham He would in Genesis 22:18.

You could say that Jesus calling the Greeks “dogs” was His way in this situation of calling a Greek woman to repentance from the idolatrous practices of her people to the living God who would soon die for her.

Recommended Resources:

(4) When You Throw Jesus Under the Bus For Your Social Agenda - YouTube by Mike Winger.
(4) Pastor Teaches Jesus was a Racist! - YouTube by Jon McCrae