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"But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" (Matthew 15:24-26). What did our Lord Jesus Christ mean by this verse?

Our Lord came first to the Jews, God’s people, as He said "Let the children be filled first" (Mark 7:27).  He wanted to make the point that it was not fitting to deprive the Jews of help and then give it to Gentiles outside of Israel. However, by saying, let the children first be filled, He showed that there was mercy, not far off in reserve for the Gentiles. Our Lord wanted to Let the Jews have all the miracles wrought for them first, and not be thrown to outsiders who were not of God’s family (Samaritans for example) who did not have that knowledge nor interest in Him. He went further to call such outsiders dogs in comparison to His chosen people. Thus, the word ‘dogs’ meant outsiders or non Jews. However, our Lord all loving, had compassion on the Samaritan woman, the outsider; for instead of using the word for the scavenger dogs of the street, He had chosen the diminutive word for “little dog” (kunarion) meaning the little household pets that were very different from the other breeds.