Matthew 15:1-9
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were
of
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the
elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and
mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his
mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be
free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your
tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you,
saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth,
and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.
Then, some scribes and
Pharisees came from
Things have not changed. Today, many people judge a person’s position
in society by outward appearances.
Outward appearances may be important to society, but God looks on the heart.
1 Sam 16:7
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of
his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth;
for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
The scribes and Pharisees asked,
“Why do your disciples break the rules of our tradition handed down by the
elders by not washing their hands when they eat?”
In a ‘sight oriented” society
that is a logical question.
But, Jesus turned in
around. He asked, “Why do you also
disobey the commandment of God with your tradition?”
Christ continued, “God
commanded us to honor our parents, and told us that if we curse them (our
parents) we will die (the death of sinners).
But, you teach that what you have helped me gain has been given to God
(and you (patents) may not use it).”
Christ rebuked them saying,
“By that you dishonor your parents and nullify God’s commandment!”
The commandment says, “Honour
thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee” (Exod 20:12).
Jesus said, “You are
hypocrites! Isaiah spoke of you when he
prophesied, ‘These people give only lip service, but their hearts are distant,
and they worship Me in vain teaching man-made commandments in place of My doctrines.’”
Matthew 15:10-20
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them,
Hear, and understand:
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man;
but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest
thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my
heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.
And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto
us this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without
understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in
at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth
come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat
with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Jesus then called the crowd
around Him and told them to listen and understand what he said.
Jesus told them, “A man is
not corrupted by what he eats, but by what he says!”
That saying is not a
parable. The meaning is plain and was
obvious to all.
Jesus’ disciples came to Him
and asked, “Do you realize that your teaching offended the Pharisees?”
Jesus responded, “Every plant
that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone!
They are blind leaders of the blind. And, if the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch.”
When Peter said, “Declare
unto us this parable,” we must understand that Peter was not stupid, but unless
God opens our eyes to understand the truth, the truth cannot be
understood.
There are many people who
understand words. That is not the
problem. Those same people cannot
understand the Spirit!
Jesus responded with, “Don’t you understand?
That response is repeated
(vs. 16-17) to give emphasis. Christ
wanted to get the point across.
It is not what we eat that
pollutes us. Our words pollute! Negative words can ruin a life. Positive words can lift up a life.
What we think in our hearts
eventually comes out of our mouths. The
results can be delightful or devastating.
Evil words defile men.
Matthew 15:21-28
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the
coasts of
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same
coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of
David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples
came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto
the lost sheep of the house of
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord,
help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take
the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the
crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman,
great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was
made whole from that very hour.
After that confrontation with
the Jews, Jesus left Gennesaret and went to
Gentiles and Jews recognized
Jesus as God’s Messiah!
Jesus did not immediately
respond to her. His disciples asked Him
to tell her to go away. She was making a
nuisance, a public spectacle of herself.
Then Jesus said something
that many misunderstand. Jesus told
them, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Jesus ministered to Gentiles,
but the focus of His ministry was Jews.
Paul ministered among Jews, but he was sent to take the gospel to
Gentiles. Jesus ministered under the Old
Testament Law. Paul ministered under
Many now understand that the
first four books of what we call the New Testament are actually the last
writings of the Old Testament. Acts is
the first book of the Church age.
The New Testament is made up
of letters belonging to the Jewish and Gentile periods. As the Galatians found, mixing law with grace
can lead to some erroneous teaching.
The woman was insistent. She followed Jesus worshipping Him and
shouting, “Lord, help me.”
His response may seem
cruel. Jesus told her, “It is not right
to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.”
In those days Jews called
Gentiles “dogs.”
Her response was
classic. She wanted a miracle and she
was not about to give in to personal insult.
What are you willing to put up with to get your miracle?
The woman said, “That may be true
Lord, and yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.”
Wow!
Jesus responded in the only
way He could when confronted by unreasonable faith. He said, “O woman, great is you faith: be it
unto you even as you will.”
That very hour her daughter
was made whole!
Matthew 15:29-31
29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto
the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with
them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them
down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw
the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to
see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
When Jesus left the Gentile
area of
While there, a Large crowd of
people came to see Him. The brought
their lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others. They took them to Jesus and He healed them.
The crowd was amazed when
they saw with their own eyes that the dumb to spoke, the maimed to made whole,
the lame now walked, and the blind to see.
In their joy and amazement, they praised the God.
However, faith does not come
by way of miracles. If it did, All Jews
would be people of faith. Instead, they
are largely a people of tradition.
Rom 10:17 So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Now, may I make one small change
in that verse? (rhetorical)
Rom 10:17 So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Paul wrote that “man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that
we might be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified” (Gal 2:16)
In this instance, the KJV is
probably the most accurate of all major translations. “of” is accurate!
Matthew 15:32-39
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said,
I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three
days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they
faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we
have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye?
And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the
ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and
gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to
the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they
took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men,
beside women and children.
39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and
came into the coasts of Magdala.
Jesus repeated the miracle of
chapter 14 for emphasis. In those days
repetition was done for emphasis. This
is not a repetition of words, instead it is a repetition of action by Christ
Jesus.
At that point, Jesus called
his disciples to come to Him. He told
them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now
three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting,
lest they faint in the way.”
His disciples had seen the
miracles but were still skeptical. They responded in a typical doubter style.
Where in the world are we
going to find enough bread to feed them?
Look around Jesus, we are in the wilderness.
Jesus answered, “How much
food do you have?”
They had seven loaves of thin
pita bread a few small fish. Under
ordinary circumstances that would not be nearly enough. But, God made the universe out of
nothing.
Jesus told the crowd to sit
down on the ground. Then He took the
seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and broke them, and gave to his
disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Jesus body would soon be broken
so that we too may eat the bread of life and live in this wilderness of sin
called society.
They were filled, and so are
we! When we eat, partake of the bread of
life, there is always enough left to feed others. That day, over four thousand people eat with
Christ.
Christ never sends us away
empty. After feeding them, he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and to
Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene.