A.T. Robertson Commentary Matthew 15:24

"But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." — Matthew 15:24 (ASV)

I was not sent (ουκ απεσταλην). Second aorist passive indicative of αποστελλω. Jesus takes a new turn with this woman in Phoenicia. He makes a test case of her request. In a way she represented the problem of the Gentile world. He calls the Jews "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" in spite of the conduct of the Pharisees.