Whaaaaaaa?

So Jesus is tired after a hard day of healing and teaching and he needs rest. He went to a quiet place and just wanted to be alone to rest and relax.

A woman barges in on him and pleads for him to free her daughter from demon possession.

At first he says nothing and the disciples note to him their irritation with this woman who keeps bugging them to see Jesus. They urge Jesus to send her away.

Jesus finally responds to the woman but what he says to her puzzles me.

What he didn't say puzzles me too. He didn't say with gentleness "your faith has healed your daughter", or "your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more", or "bring the child to me".

He said

"It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." (Matthew 15:21-28)

First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."(Mark 7:24-30)

Whaaaaaa?

I just don't understand that.

I think I'm missing something.

Then, I am very puzzled by the woman's response which was NOT "whaaaaaaa?". No, she replied,

"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." (Matthew 15:27)

"Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." (Mark 7:28)

I don't understand why Jesus responded like he did to this desperate woman. It seems so out of character, but then again, maybe not. As usual he used the encounter to say "I was only sent to the lost sheep of Isreal." (Matthew 15:24) to "affirm" what the disciples were thinking...then he did just the opposite for this Gentile...he freed the woman's daughter from demon possession. He showed the disciples listening to this dialogue that he was NOT only sent to the lost sheep of Isreal.

What I can't understand is the whole "bread, children, dog" thing? And how did the woman know to respond with the "crumb" thing? I really think I'm missing something.

I asked about it in SaLT with WaLT and attempts were made to help me understand, and while I understand the point of the story, I'm having trouble grasping how the whole conversation between Jesus and the woman took place, the whole "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs" remark is so out of the blue to me. Katie says I'm trying to make something more of it than there is.