Re: Jews and Gentiles, I agree that the Lord’s comments in Matt. 15:26 were not meant to be demeaning to the Gentiles but His comments don’t sound like what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write about us. Something changed. What, when, and why was it?
When Jesus came to Earth His first objective was to present the Kingdom to Israel. This is why He said, “I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24) Although God knew they would refuse it He had to present them with a bona fide offer because He had promised it to them. It’s my personal opinion that even after they demonstrated their rejection by crucifying Him, the Lord “waited around” for 40 days after the resurrection to give them one last chance. When they still failed to come around the door was opened to the Gentiles, something God had always known would happen, and the Church was born.
In confirmation of this Paul wrote,
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephes. 3:4-6)