Continuing a study of the Gospels:
(Matthew 15:1) Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, who were of Jerusalem, saying, (2) "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
At the end of the last chapter, Jesus and His disciples had gone to Gennesaret in Galilee. According to the same account in Mark, scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem had seen Jesus's disciples eating with unwashed hands, and that is when they came to Him. They asked Jesus why it was that His disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders, handed down by their ancestors, by not washing their hands before they ate bread.
(3) But He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"
Jesus turned the question back to the scribes and Pharisees and asked why they transgressed the commandments of God with their traditions of man.
(4) "For God commanded, saying, 'Honor thy father and mother,' and 'He who curses father or mother, let him die the death.'"
Jesus then went on to quote one of the Ten Commandments of the Lord, to honor one's father and mother; and the punishment for breaking that commandment as stated in Exodus 21:17, that whoever cursed his father or mother should be put to death.
(5) "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to his father or mother, "It is a gift by whatever you might have been profited by me."'"
Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees rather said to their parents that it was a gift to the temple what the parents might have otherwise gotten from them.
(6) "'And honor not his father or his mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition."
Jesus went on to explain that they used that as an excuse not to honor their fathers and mothers, and had thereby nullified the commandment of God by their tradition. Of course giving to the Lord was good and laudable, but was not intended to be done at the expense of duty to their parents.
(7) "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, (8) 'This people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.'"
Jesus called them hypocrites because they pretended to be so religious and holy, but had no qualms about setting aside commandments of God when it suited them. He then quoted Isaiah in Isaiah 29:13. What God had said through Isaiah at the time about their forefathers was perfectly applicable at His present time, and a prophetic statement, at that. The people outwardly worshipped the Lord with their mouths and their words, but their hearts were actually far from Him. They had no true love for Him, no real faith in Him, and certainly no reverential fear of Him, or else they would not have made a mockery of His commandments.
(9) "'But in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
Jesus finished quoting Isaiah, saying that the people vainly worshipped the Lord, teaching the people to observe the traditions of the elders as if they were doctrines delivered by God.
(10) And He called the multitude and said to them, "Hear and understand."
Jesus then turned His attention back to the multitude of people with Him, and exhorted them to hear Him and try to fully understand what He was about to tell them.
(11) "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."
Obviously referring to what the scribes and Pharisees had questioned with regard to the disciples eating with unwashed hands, Jesus told the people that it was not what went into the mouth that defiled a man. Eating with unwashed hands did not defile a man. Rather it was what came out of the mouth that defiled him. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "...out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." What was in a man's heart and came forth in words or deeds was what actually defiled a man, that is, polluted or corrupted him.
(12) Then came His disciples and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?"
The account in Mark states that Jesus's disciples came to Him after He had dismissed the multitude and had gone into a house. It was then that the disciples asked Him about this saying, and told Him the Pharisees had been offended by it. I had to chuckle at this, that Jesus would care about the Pharisees being offended at what He said, but the disciples obviously wanted to understand what He had said and meant that was offensive to the religious leaders.
(13) But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up."
Jesus answered them saying that every plant, or doctrine, that was not planted in the heart by God, would be uprooted, turned on its head, by God's truth in His time.
(14) "Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch."
Jesus told His disciples not to concern themselves with the Pharisees. Jesus called them blind leaders leading the blind. If they refused to see the truth, they were spiritually blind, and those who followed them who refused to see and understand the truth were also blind. And if the blind led the blind, both would fall into every ditch that was in the way. Blind teachers not only destroy their own souls, but those souls that follow them.
(15) Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain to us this parable."
Peter asked Jesus to better explain the analogies He had just given them.
(16) And Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?"
Jesus was grieved by the fact that His own disciples seemed slow to grasp the spiritual meanings in His parables, because, unlike the scribes and Pharisees, they had been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:11), and yet they still didn't understand. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible put forth food for thought: "Is it not strange to hear the disciples asking for the explanation of such a parable as this! The true knowledge of the spirit of the Gospel is a thing more uncommon than we imagine, among the generality of Christians, and even of the learned." How truly blessed we are when we are given to understand these mysteries of heaven!
(17) "Do you not yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out in the draught?"
Jesus rather rhetorically asked if the disciples did not understand that whatever went into the mouth went down to the belly and out into the privy, or some such sort of outhouse or place where such waste was dumped. It was at this point that John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, observed "How fair and candid are the sacred historians? Never concealing or excusing their own blemishes." It's one of the ways that scripture is validated as true. Someone making up a story probably wouldn't include so many embarrassing details, but the apostles told it like it truly was!
(18) "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile a man."
Jesus meant the words that came out of a mouth, obviously not spittle or vomit or any such thing that might physically spew out of the mouth. The words a man spoke came from what he believed in his heart, and that is what truly corrupted a man, not what he ate.
(19) "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
Jesus went on to name the types of things that proceeded out of the heart. Evil thoughts precede evil actions, thoughts of hatred and murder, thoughts of sexual immorality, thoughts of covetousness and theft, and thoughts of lies and blasphemies.
(20) "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."
Those things Jesus listed as thoughts that came from the heart, He said were the things that defiled a man. Eating with unwashed hands did not defile or corrupt a man.
(21) Then Jesus went from there and departed to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Jesus then went from the land of Gennesaret to the coasts at Tyre and Sidon.
(22) And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil."
As Jesus came to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, a woman came from that region to Him. The point was made that she was a Canaanite woman. That region including Tyre and Sidon was part of Canaan in ancient times, and she was so called because she was a descendant of the Canaanites. I believe the point is that she was a Gentile, not a Jew. Even so, she had heard the fame of Jesus, and that He was the Son of David, the much anticipated Messiah of the Jews. She obviously had faith in Him as such, as she cried humbly to Him to have mercy on her. She told Him her daughter had been sorely possessed by a demon, obviously hoping to have Him heal her.
(23) But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries after us."
Jesus did not answer the woman. It's not that He didn't hear her, or chose to ignore her, but as always, it was to teach his disciples further, and possibly to test the woman's faith. Whatever His motive, you can be sure it was for the benefit of His disciples and for those witnesses, including all future readers of this text. Jesus's disciples came to Him and asked that He send the woman away because she cried after them and was obviously bothersome to them. Why they would say that, after witnessing Jesus's mercy in healing so many, can only be assumed to be because she was a Gentile.
(24) But He answered and said, "I am not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
This statement appears to be made to the woman after the disciples asked Him to send her away. He told her that He had been sent to the Jews, those lost sheep of the house of Israel. He was their expected Messiah, and He had come to preach the gospel to them. We know that the gospel would ultimately be shared with all, but that would be basically after He was rejected by His own.
(25) Then she came and worshipped Him, saying, "Lord, help me."
The woman pressed on. She came and worshipped Jesus as Lord God, and begged Him to help her.
(26) But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs."
The Lord's salvation was provided for the children of Israel, God's special people. His answer meant that it was not proper for Him to take Israel's salvation from her, Israel, and give it to the Gentiles, who were viewed as little more than dogs to the Jewish people. If His words seem harsh and heartless, I believe the purpose was to show Israel what a wonderful gift He had brought to them, His chosen people, and when it was rejected, it was then offered to the "dogs".
(27) And she said, "Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table."
The woman persevered. She answered that indeed what the Lord said was true. He had come for the Jews, but even the dogs were able to eat the crumbs from their master's table; obviously what was meant was might there be some crumbs of grace and mercy for her?
(28) Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith; let it be to you as you will." And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Jesus then answered the woman that she obviously had great faith. She had persisted through all the obstacles Jesus had set before her. She sought Him with all her heart and soul and she found Him (Deuteronomy 4:29) receptive to her request. Besides being a lesson for the Jews, Jesus was perhaps testing the faith of the woman to see how real it was. Even during the Old Testament times, God welcomed the stranger into Israel if he assimilated and conformed to the beliefs and customs of the Jews. The woman showed her great faith in Jesus and He granted the desire of her heart, and made her daughter well and whole.
(29) And Jesus departed from there and came near to the Sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain and sat down there.
Jesus departed from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and went near the Sea of Galilee where He went up into a mountain and sat down.
(30) And great multitudes came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus's feet, and He healed them.
Great multitudes of people came to Jesus, bringing all their people who were lame, blind, mute, or maimed in any manner, and laid them at Jesus's feet. Jesus healed them all. How good, merciful, and patient was Jesus in that multitudes of people would come to Him and just cast their debilitated members before Him, and He healed them all.
(31) Insomuch as the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb speak, the maimed whole, the lame walk, and the blind see; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Even though it looked as if people just cast their outcasts before Jesus, as if He were a genie who would grant their wishes, God's purpose was fulfilled in that the people marveled over those healings and glorified the God of Israel.
(32) Then Jesus called His disciples 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, unless they faint on the way."
Apparently this multitude of people had stayed with Jesus for three days, at which time Jesus called His disciples to Him. He expressed His compassion for the multitude who had remained with Him all this time, watching His miracles and most likely hearing Him teach. He said the people had been there all that time with nothing to eat. They may have had food that they had had on their persons, but Jesus and His disciples had not furnished them with any additional food; and Jesus would not send them away hungry, as they might would faint along their way.
(33) And His disciples said to Him, "Where could we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?"
Having witnessed so recently how Jesus fed the 5000, how is it the disciples would have no idea how to feed the present multitude? But that is what they asked Him; how could they find the bread to fill the multitude?
(34) And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."
They answered Jesus that they had just seven loaves of bread and a few little fish.
(35) And He commanded the multitude to sit on the ground.
Just as Jesus had done before when He fed the 5000, He instructed this current group to sit down on the ground.
(36) And He took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks and broke them, and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitude.
Jesus took the seven loaves and the fish from the disciples and gave thanks to God for the provision. He then broke bread, which was the custom of the master of a family to do, and then gave the food to the disciples, who in turn, gave to the multitude of people.
(37) And they all ate and were filled, and they took up of the broken meal that was left seven baskets full.
As before, the entire multitude ate and were filled, and seven full baskets of scraps were taken up afterward, more than they started with, as surely one loaf and a small fish would not have filled a basket. It is interesting to note that there were seven baskets, seven, that number that represented completeness and perfection. How completely and perfectly had Jesus fed the multitude! It could also be said that the disciples had the perfect number of loaves to feed the multitude in the beginning. Jesus alone is sufficient for all needs and He will provide for us perfectly!
(38) And they who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
This time Jesus had miraculously fed 4000 men, besides women and children. It is very interesting that Jesus performed almost the exact same miracle twice before His disciples. Remembering that a thing is established at the mouth of two or three witnesses, I believe this was a lesson for the disciples to have faith in God's provision for all their needs, preparing them to go out into the world, teaching and spreading the gospel. In Christ, there would be bread enough, and even to spare.
(39) And He sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came to the coasts of Magdala.
Jesus then sent the multitude away fully fed, and He took a ship from where He was near the coast of the Sea of Galilee, and went to the coast of Magdala. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, explained that Magdala was a few miles north of Tiberias, "in the land of Gennesaret, on the western side of the Sea of Tiberias, and directly east of Cana of Galilee."
The lessons in this chapter are many. Much can be learned about the traditions of men which are usually contradictive to the commands of God. Man's vain worship rituals are not pleasing to God, but He searches the heart. That is one of the reasons why Jesus healed a Gentile in what may be the first instance of Him healing anyone outside of the Jewish faith. In her heart, the woman knew her daughter's healing would only come from Jesus and she persistently sought Jesus's help until she found it; "seek and you will find." Finally, we have recorded the second miraculous feeding of thousands demonstrating His care of His poor and needy followers, and that Christ is all we ever need.
No comments:
Post a Comment