Sometimes we miss big and important messages because we are,

Failing to see the overall message

The Pharisees made fatal mistakes here on several levels. A big one was their rejection of the gentiles as inferior, unclean, to be despised and rejected.

It is true that the Jews were to have nothing
to do with the Canaanites.

In fact, the ancient Canaanites were so wicked that they were to be wiped out.

“2 and when Yahweh your God shall deliver them up before you, and you shall strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them: you shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them; 3 neither shall you make marriages with them; …”
Deut 7:2-3

But such commands did not extent
to all peoples in war.

“10 When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it. 11 It shall be, if it make you answer of peace, and open to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve you.”
Deut 20:10-11

There is more to the instructions here, but the core is that the sanctions on the Canaanites did NOT apply to all nations.

And it is true that the Jews were to be first, IF they
were faithful to God and His Christ.

“Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, …”
Deut 28:13 WEB

But this did NOT mean that the Gentiles were all to be considered unclean, and not to be associated with.

Also, the Jews were to treat ALL MEN fairly

“The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God. ”
Lev 19:34

“Therefore love the foreigner; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.”
Deut 10:19

The Pharisees missed the big message of
love and compassion in the Lord.

So when their Christ came, who clearly preached love and compassion to ALL … including the gentiles … they rejected their own Christ!

They failed to see the big picture of love and mercy to all … and thus sealed their own doom, because He was the one whom,

“… whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Deut 18:19 WEB

And so it stands, even to this day, for as Jesus said,

“I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
Jn 8:24 WEB

Those are the words of the one and only Christ of God.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901