Two Parables About the Kingdom of Heaven and Final Judgment

Continuing a Bible study of the gospel accounts:

(Matthew 25:1) "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom."

At the end of the last chapter Jesus had been telling His disciples to be ready for His second coming, but that no one would know the exact day or hour He would return.  He now began a parable about ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom who would be coming.  This parable He likened to the kingdom of heaven.  The ten virgins were bridesmaids who went to meet the groom to take him to his bride.  The bridegroom represents the coming Messiah, and the virgins or bridesmaids represent the Christian church.  The coming of Christ to receive His people to Himself is often represented as a marriage, the church being represented as His bride.

(2) "And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (3) They who were foolish took their lamps but took no oil with them. (4) But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps."

Jesus called five of the virgins wise and five of them foolish.  The ones He called foolish took their lamps, but they took no extra oil with them.  The wise virgins took extra oil in containers along with their lamps.  The five foolish virgins probably expected that the bridegroom would come immediately; they therefore made no provision for any delay. The wise virgins knew that the time of His coming was uncertain, and they therefore prepared themselves with extra oil.  Of course, this represents how Christians should be vigilant and look for their coming Messiah, but knowing not when He will come, should also be ready at all times.

(5) "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept."

The bridegroom took longer to arrive than they had expected, and while waiting, all the virgins slept.  Just as the bridegroom tarried, so does Christ.  Life goes on and all sleep, but some are ready for His coming at any unexpected time, and some are not.

(6) "And at midnight there was a cry made, 'Behold, the bridegroom comes; go out to meet him!'"

At midnight, when least expected, when all were asleep, the bridegroom came "as a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:10).  All were called to go meet him.

(7) "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps."

Then all the virgins got up and prepared their lamps to go out and meet the bridegroom.

(8) "And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.'"

The foolish virgins who had not been prepared with extra oil found their lamps had completely gone out, and asked for oil from the wise virgins who had prepared.

(9) "But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there not be enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves.'"

The wise virgins refused, saying that there would not be enough oil for them all.  They suggest that they go quickly to buy their own oil.  These virgins represent Christians who would have been companions, and there would have been a time when they would have helped one another.  But now the time was past.  The bridegroom, Christ, was there, and He was the most important!  The wise virgins or Christians are spiritually ready to meet Christ, but the foolish are not.  Spiritual faith and readiness are not something that can be shared; one must have his own, so the wise virgins gave the only advice they could, to hurry and get their own, although in reality, it was too late.

(10) "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they who were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut."

While the foolish virgins went out to buy more oil, to try to fully ready themselves, the bridegroom came and all the ready virgins went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.  When all the truly faithful Christians are received into heaven, the door will be closed to all others.  It will be too late to prepare once Christ has come and taken His bride.

(11) Afterward the other virgins came, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' (12) But he answered and said, 'Verily, I say to you, I do not know you.'"

The foolish virgins returned then ready, crying desperately to get into the wedding feast.  However, the bridegroom answered that he did not know them, as Christ will not acknowledge mere externally professing Christians who actually have no true faith in and love for their Lord.

(13) "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man is coming."

The moral of Jesus's story was, of course, to always watch for and be ready for the day when He would return.  

(14) "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered to them his goods."

Jesus began another parable to describe what the kingdom of heaven was like.  He told of a man who was going to travel to a faraway land, and called his servants to him to put all his goods into their hands while he was away.  This represents God who has left His children in charge of His church while He is away.

(15) "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his abilities; and immediately he took his journey."

Apparently, the man also left his money in the hands of his servants.  A talent was the largest unit of measurement of weight, equal to about 75 pounds.  A talent measured precious metals, usually gold or silver, so it was a large amount of money he left in the hands of his servants.  He left different amounts to each of his three servants, depending upon their abilities.  This represents God's people He brought into this world with different talents or spiritual gifts, some born in better places with better opportunities than others.  God left us here with His word and the gifts He gave us, as the man left his servants and took his journey to a faraway land.

(16) "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made five other talents."

The servant who had received the five talents went and traded or invested it and made five more talents, doubling his master's money.  This represents the Christian who takes the many gifts he has been given by his Father in heaven and invests them in good works according to the will of God.

(17) "And likewise he who had received two also gained another two."

Likewise, the servant who had received two talents, representing another child of God who may not have had as many gifts or opportunities to do good, but still doubled his master's money.

(18) "But he who had received one went and dug in the earth, and hid his lord's money."

The servant who had received just one talent did nothing with the talent, but just buried it.  This represents the person who may have little abilities and little opportunity to do good works, and uses that as an excuse to do nothing.  However, any situation in which God has placed us is a place where we may do good according to His will.  I love this statement by Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, "A humble Christian, by his life, example, and conversation, may often do much more good than 'is' done by those in more elevated stations and with far greater gifts."

(19) "After a long time, the lord of those servants came and settled with them."

This, of course, represents the return of our Lord or our returning to Him upon death when we give an account for what we have done with the gifts and opportunities He gave us.

(20) "And so he who had received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; behold, I have gained besides them, five talents more.'"

The servant who had been given five talents came before his lord with those and another five talents he had gained for him.  It appears this servant came cheerfully and confidently to his master to give his account, just as we may come before our Lord unashamed and with boldness when we are covered with the pure white cloak of Jesus covering our sins (1 John 4:17, 2 John 2:28).

(21) "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your lord.'"

The master of the household commended this servant on a job well done, and proclaimed that since he had been so faithful in a few things, he would make him a ruler over many more things, and invited him to share in the pleasures and enjoyments of his palace with him.  This represents the Christian servant who took the gifts and opportunities given to him by the Lord and used them to grow the kingdom of God on earth.  That good and faithful servant will be promoted to great honors in heaven, and be a partaker of the joy of his Lord in heaven.  However, this is not to be understood as a works based system, that the one with the most good works gets the best prize.  More is expected of the person who has received more gifts and opportunities and even understanding and knowledge of the Lord.  We are to build on and share our faith where we are planted in the world in whatever capacity we may have been given.

(22) "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents besides them.'"

The servant who had received two talents also came before his lord to tell him he had taken the two talents his lord had given him and gained two additional talents.

(23) "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; 'You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your lord.'"

Note that the second servant who had been given less received the same commendation and rewards, for he had taken what he had been given, though less than what was given to the first servant, and multiplied it.

(24) "Then he who had received one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not strewn. (25) And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the earth; lo, you have what is yours.'"

The third servant in his account for himself blamed his lord for his lack of service.  He said he knew him to be a hard man, reaping benefits where he had not sown.  This is a perfect example of the person who sees God as angry and vengeful, expecting more from His people than He has given them.  He said he was afraid of his lord and went and hid his talent in the ground, and now brought it back to his lord.  This represents the sinner who never took the time to really know his Lord, and just gave up his life as it had been given him with nothing of spiritual faith and growth to show for it.

(26) "His lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not strewn, (27) You ought to have therefore put my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received my own with interest.'"

His lord called this last servant wicked and lazy.  So he thought his master to be one who reaped where he had not sown and gathered where he had not scattered?  Well then, that servant should have, at the very least, put his talent in the bank and at least gained a little interest if he "knew" that his lord expected to gain extra.  This is the person who took no pains to know Jesus and neglected the gifts that were in him; he buried his spiritual gifts deep within himself.  It is wickedness to throw away God's gifts, and when not filled with the Holy Spirit, evil spirits move in.  

(28) "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. (29) For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has shall be taken away."

The lord of the household told his servants to take the talent from the lazy servant and give it to the one who had ten talents.  This is just as God will do if one will not do according to His will; He will give the means to someone else to do it, and that person will have more than what he had; he will have abundance said Jesus.

(30) "And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The unprofitable servant was to be cast out and he would be full of anguish.  Just for being unprofitable?  He didn't actively do anything wicked.  However, he was an unproductive servant, and of no use to his master.  Christ's Christian servants on earth are to be productive.  As was said before, that doesn't mean that every Christian must be active in missions on the other side of the world, but we can have a ministry right where we are planted.  We can share Christ's love and do good whenever it is in our power to do so.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, we will act in love, for God is love.

(31) "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His glory."

Jesus now began to describe the time He would come again to judge the world.  He would come in glory with His holy angels all about Him, and He would sit on His throne.

(32) "And before Him will be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats."

Imagine all people of all nations of the world gathered before Jesus on His throne!  We don't know exactly how this will be done, but you can be sure it will be accomplished!  Christ, the judge, will then separate the wheat from the tares, or the sheep from the goats.

(33) "And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left."

Christ's sheep, His true followers, He will place on His right, the place of honor; and the goats, the wicked, will be placed on His left, denoting dishonor and condemnation.

(34) "Then shall the King say to them on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'"

The Lord Jesus, the King of all the universe, will call His followers blessed by His Father and invite them to be received as children of God and receive their inheritance in the kingdom of God, as He had planned for His people since the beginning of the world.

(35) "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in. (36) Naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."

Jesus will commend His people for all the loving deeds they did in the world, feeding the hungry, taking people in, providing for the poor, and visiting the sick and incarcerated.  Every loving act done for another person Jesus considers done for Himself.

(37) "Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and fed You, or thirsty, and gave You drink?' (38) 'When did we see You a stranger and took You in, or naked and clothed You?' (39) 'Or when did we see You sick or in prison, and came to You?'"

Those righteous people (righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ) whom Christ brings into His kingdom, will wonder when they did those good deeds to Him, indicating humility and a feeling that their poor acts of kindness come so far short of what they should have been that they have no claim to praise or reward.  However, God is love, and He very much views acts of love as worthy of praise.

(40) "And the King shall answer and say to them, 'Verily, I say to you, inasmuch as you have done to one of the least of these My brethren, you have done to Me.'"

Christ will indeed explain to them that whenever they did any act of kindness to even the very least among them, He considered that act done to Him.

(41) "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"

Jesus will also speak to those on His left hand, calling them cursed for having sinned against God and never showing repentance and making Jesus the Lord of their lives, therefore covering their sins.  He will tell them to depart from Him, and condemn them into the everlasting fire that had been long before prepared for Satan and his demons.  We can deduce from this that hell was never meant for human souls.  However, those who choose to serve Satan rather than God, will be counted as Satan's demons.

(42) "For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink. (43) I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me."

The reason Jesus will give for telling those on His left to depart from Him into the everlasting fire is because they never did any loving acts for Him; in doing those loving acts for the least of folks, they would have been doing them for His poor brethren.  This is not to suggest that just by doing good works may a person get into heaven.  Back in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said He would tell some who claimed they had done good works in His name to depart from Him as He never knew them.  He did not intimately know them as their Lord and Savior.  Jesus knows the heart, and He knows who performs acts of true love and who doesn't.

(44) "Then they also shall answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?'"

Just as the righteous did not recognize their good deeds, it seems the wicked won't recognize their deeds either.  Surely, even some of the wicked would have ministered to Jesus if they had known it was Him!

(45) "Then He shall answer them, saying, 'Verily, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do to one of the least of these, you did not do to Me.'"

Jesus will answer those on His left who ask when they failed to minister to Him, that because they never did a loving act for the least of His brethren on earth, they failed to do it for Him.

(46) "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Jesus stated that those souls on His left would go into everlasting punishment, represented by eternal hellfire.  Those righteous souls would have eternal life with Him.  We must remember that we are righteous only because Jesus has covered and removed our sins with the atonement that is only found in His precious blood.  It is then that we are able to do selfless acts of love for those less fortunate than we are, because He first loved us, and we do those things because of the love of God within us (1 John 4:19-21).  For those universalists and others who think that a loving God would never so severely punish His people, I personally don't see it as an action of punishing.  We have all sinned and none of us are righteous (Romans 3:10) and able to stand in the presence of God.  However, because of the love and mercy He had for us, God took on human form in the body of Jesus and came to earth to provide the ultimate blood sacrifice and atonement for our sins.  He lovingly offers this gift of salvation to anyone who will take it.  However, He does not force us to accept it.  If we refuse, then He simply turns away from us as we have suggested by our actions we want.  When God turns away from us and does not take us with Him into everlasting life in heaven, then there is no place else to go but into the pits of hell, and that is a self-inflicted severe punishment.

Signs of the End and Exhortation to Watchfulness

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

In the last post, Jesus had been answering the disciples' question about the signs of the coming end of Jerusalem.  They had asked in the same question, as if they assumed it would happen at the same time, what would be the signs of His coming.  This is where it gets very difficult to interpret.  Even Biblical scholars are mixed on the meaning of verses 29 through 31.  I will take them all in context:

(Matthew 24:29) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

It starts "immediately."  "Immediately" would seem to have to mean regarding the destruction of Jerusalem.  Jesus said in verse 21 that there would be great tribulation "such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."  The historian Josephus confirmed that never had a city suffered so much as when Jerusalem fell.  Therefore, verse 29 would seem to be saying that immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun would be darkened, etc.  So what would happen immediately after?  The sun would be darkened.  That is a very reasonable thing to happen after the fall of Jerusalem.  The sun would be darkened by the smoke and dust of destruction; likewise, the moon.  But what about stars falling from heaven and the powers of the heavens being shaken?  Those seem like the kind of things that would happen during or at the beginning of the tribulation.  That makes sense if you take the meaning of verse 27 in the last post to be as some suggest that the immediate coming of Jesus would be in the act of destroying Jerusalem in the form of the Roman army sweeping in from the east like lightning and sweeping across it westward.

To continue with the assumption that it is Jesus leading His destruction forces with all the fire and fury of the powers of the heavens, verse 29 said it would happen after the tribulation of those days.  So what would be the tribulation that happened prior to the final destruction of Jerusalem?  It would seem to be wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, persecution, and death.  Then would the sign of the Messiah appear.  Whether it would be an actual visual sign, or just the knowledge that it was Jesus in the fury of the heavens the people observed, there would be the sign of His coming to destroy Jerusalem.  Then all the tribes of the earth would mourn.  This would seem to mean the tribes of Israel, as other countries were not usually said to be divided into tribes.  All the tribes of Israel would certainly mourn as they saw the actual destruction sweep across Jerusalem with the power and fury of heaven. 

Then there is verse 31:  "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."  For the first time in my life, I can actually see this in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem.  If the Son of man coming in the clouds with the force and fury of the heavens is symbolic of the Roman army sweeping in, then the same could be said of the angels and trumpets coming with great noise, also symbolic of the judgment coming swiftly upon Jerusalem.  However, the angels will gather His elect.  The trumpet might also represent the call to bring the Christians together to their Lord.

I have to admit, this is the first time in my life I have seen this scripture only in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem.  How many people take these verses literally and interpret them to mean that Jesus will come in the clouds and gather His people up into the sky in a rapture?  Even if this were a true interpretation, it sounds as if it comes after the tribulation.  Therefore, I can see no reasonable interpretation of a pre-tribulation rapture.

There are many early scholars who believe that part of this description of the end does indeed mean the end of the world and Jesus's second coming.  I think a case could be made for that, as well.  Personally, I believe that Jesus had to mean the destruction of Jerusalem through verse 26.  That might be the point where the time changed.  The disciples had also asked what the signs of His coming and the end of the world would be.  They mistakenly thought that all was one and the same with the destruction of Israel.  Jesus had been telling them of the events during the tribulation leading up to the siege that would destroy Jerusalem.  He told them in verse 26 that when false prophets arose claiming that He was to be found on earth at that time, not to believe them.  This might be where He began to discuss His second coming.  "Don't be deceived by a false prophet," I paraphrase Him, "because there will be no doubt when I, the Messiah, return."  In verse 27, He said, "For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Then there is verse 28:  "For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."  A carcass is a dead thing, as Jerusalem was, so this really seems to be a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem.  Perhaps Jesus's reference to coming as lightning was a parenthetical reason as to why the disciples should not believe that He could be found on earth during the destruction of Jerusalem; and then He returned to the subject at hand, the destruction.  I have read some Biblical scholars who believed this meant just as sure and swiftly as eagles (or vultures) descended on a carcass, just as quickly would the second coming be upon a dead world.  Indeed, in Revelation 19:17-18, written by John some 20 years or more after the destruction of Jerusalem, there is a call to the birds of prey to come feast on the flesh of kings, generals, and all people, in the destruction of the New Testament Babylon.

Following the interpretation that Jesus had switched the topic to His second coming and the end of the world, one has to grapple with verse 29 that begins, "Immediately after the tribulation..."  What tribulation?  The tribulation He had just been talking about was the tribulation in the times leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem.  However, Jesus did say, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days..."  The emphasis on "those" is mine.  Perhaps He was referring to the tribulation that would occur before He came as lightning in His second coming.  Then, of course, verses 30 and 31 do seem to relate to His second coming.

One other possibility about that word "immediately," as a thousand years is as a day with our Lord, "immediately" can take on a different meaning, for sure.  I don't really think Jesus would have used "immediately" knowing it would be thousands of years.  However, the same account in Luke adds in Luke 21:24, "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodded down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  In the Expositor's Bible Commentary, it is written:  "It is...sufficiently obvious that the tribulation of those days began with the destruction, or rather with the besieging, of Jerusalem. But when did it end? As soon as the city was destroyed? Nay. If we wish to get some idea of the duration of those days of tribulation, let us turn to the same place in the same prophecy as given by St. Luke...where it clearly appears that it embraces the whole period of the Jewish dispersion and of the standing of the Gentile Church. 'The tribulation of those days' is going on still, and therefore the events of these verses are still future."   

I have to admit that now I tend to believe that this prophecy referred to Jerusalem, but maybe He is talking about both.  So often scripture has a double meaning.  It was written by inspiration of God for our learning (2 Timothy 3:16), so we should learn from the signs the Jews were shown before and after they rejected their Messiah.  Are we not at a point in our time where the world seems to have rejected Him once again, and the true Christians should be watching the signs for His second coming and the end?  Albert Barnes wrote in his Notes on the Bible:  "In his answer he has reference to both events, and his language may be regarded as descriptive of both. At the destruction of Jerusalem, the sign or evidence of his coming was found in the fulfillment of these predictions. At the end of the world, the sign of his coming will be his personal approach with the glory of his Father and the holy angels."

One thing I can see clearly now is that we can't point with assurance to one particular event and say with certainty that it definitely means the end.  However, we have been given warning to watch the times, and there are certainly signs in this stage of our time that the end could be getting close unless enough people turn to God and He intervenes for a time.  Back to Matthew 24, verse 32:

(32) "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when its branch is yet tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near."

Indeed, our Lord told the disciples that they knew how to discern times; they knew that summer was coming by watching the signs on a fig tree.

(33) "So likewise, you, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors."

In the same manner that they could discern the coming of summer, when they saw the signs that Jesus warned about the coming destruction of Jerusalem, they would know that the end was near.

(34) "Verily, I say to you this generation will not pass till all these things are fulfilled."

Jesus told them that the present generation would not completely pass away until they saw those things fulfilled.  This certainly does sound like all Jesus's prophecies referred to the destruction of Jerusalem only.  However, I have heard it suggested that "this generation" meant the particular generation that witnessed the tribulation suggesting it could be the last generation at the end of the world.  It seems to me that one has to stretch the imagination more to make these prophecies about the end of the world than just accepting them as about the destruction of Jerusalem.  However, like suggested before, there is probably a parallel to end times, as well.

(35) "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away."

All things of mass and substance would eventually pass away, but Jesus's words were sure and certain.

(36) "But of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only."

Although they were given many signs of the coming end, no one knew exactly when these prophecies would be fulfilled except Father God in heaven.

(37) "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

I believe the implication is that the world would be found as self-centered and wicked as it was in the days of Noah, and also as surprising and unexpected as the flood was, so would His coming be.  However, those who watched the signs and followed the guidance of their Lord, as Noah did, would be ready.

(38) "For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, (39) And knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

There is nothing wrong with eating and drinking and weddings in and of themselves, but I believe the idea is that the people were going along their merry ways, eating, drinking, and having lavish feasts with no notice of the signs of their impending doom.  In Noah's day, there was a huge sign for a very long time; imagine how long it must have taken to build an ark so large as to take on two of every animal on earth, as well as supplies and provisions necessary for keeping them.  People probably bored of seeing Noah working on it every day and apparently took no notice of him finishing it and filling it with animals.  It seems incredulous, but they didn't know a thing until the flood swept them away.  I'm just imagining it raining and people going on with their feasts, thinking nothing of it until it was too late.  So will the coming of Christ be.  Again I am imagining, this time of partying at same-sex weddings, "taking care of" unwanted pregnancies, participating in sex trafficking, pride parades, etc., etc., etc., with no regard to God and His moral law, ignoring the signs and ridiculing those who see them.

I am struck by something else in thinking about Noah's time.  Deducing from the age of Noah and his sons at different points in scripture, it is believed it may have taken as many as 75 years to complete the ark.  Therefore that sign lasted an entire generation according to our time.  That means just because we see the signs, it doesn't mean the end is going to be immediate.  I think in our instant gratification type world, even if we see signs, many people will tire of waiting and want to go on with their worldly plans.  In the third chapter of 2 Peter, the apostle discussed how people would scoff in the end days ridiculing the promise of the Messiah's coming as it had been predicted since the time of their forefathers, and yet everything was as it had been from the beginning.  So how is a Christian to live when a sign can take 75 years or more to come to fulfillment?  I don't believe that we can't feast or marry, but we are to be always ready for the end.  We live holy lives following Christ's example and go on with our Godly missions in life, looking forward to the day when we shall see God.  As the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:13, having done all to arm ourselves with the armor of God, "having done all, to stand."  One thing we can actively do is to warn others and share the gospel of Christ.  Referring again to Paul in the sixth chapter of Ephesians, it has been noted that when armed with the armor of God with a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, boots with preparation of the gospel of peace, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, that the only active weapon is the sword of truth, the word of God.  As I write this, I have to also note that what I called boots, "your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace," may also be seen as active, walking and sharing the gospel and doing God's work.

(40) "Then shall two be in the field; one shall be taken and the other left."

In context with the previous verses, one can plainly see that this is not proof of a pre-tribulation rapture, as many have suggested.  The meaning is rather that so suddenly and unexpectedly would the coming of the Son of man be, that although two people could be working side by side in the field, one could be whisked away without any warning.  This appears to be in reference to the second coming of Christ at the end, but it applies in different ways.  When destruction came upon Jerusalem, Christians were saved from the calamity by the grace of God.  As was discussed in verse 13 in the last post, he who endured to the end would be saved, and Adam Clarke, in his commentary, wrote that Christians did not perish in the destruction of Jerusalem.  When applied to the second coming of Christ, verse 31 above said that the angels would gather together Christ's elect, so it appears the ones taken were the ones saved.  Whether taken away and saved from the judgment, or taken away by death, one thing is certain; there will be a separating of Christians following Christ from those who rejected Him.

(41) "Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one shall be taken and the other left."

This is just another example of the same thing as discussed in verse 40.

(42) "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord does come."

Jesus exhorted His disciples and others to be watchful of the signs.  Whether taken away by destruction or taken away to safety into the arms of a merciful God, we are warned to be always ready, for we do not know when our end will come, nor how.

(43) "But know this, if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be broken up. (44) Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of man comes at an hour you do not expect."

Obviously, if one knew exactly in what three hour period (watch) a thief would break into his house, he would have been prepared to prevent it.  However, seeing that we will not know the exact time Christ will come, we should always be prepared as if it were our last hours.  Christ could be coming at the end of the world as we know it, or He could be coming for our souls as we die.  We have no idea which will happen first or when, so we are warned to always be ready for Jesus.

(45) "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?"

Jesus posed the question to His disciples about who was a wise and faithful servant whom his lord had made ruler over his household to supply provisions when appropriate.  This was, of course, symbolic of the servants Jesus would make rulers over His Christian house who would spiritually feed His flock.

(46) "Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he comes, shall find him so doing."

Jesus declared such a servant blessed when his lord returned and found him faithfully doing what his lord had asked him to do.  Blessed is the man whom the Lord finds faithfully ruling the household of God well.

(47) "Verily, I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods."

I believe the point Jesus is making is that the faithful servant will be rewarded with a higher office, not merely over his household, but over all his property.  A good and faithful servant of God will be rewarded.  As Jesus would tell in a parable in the next chapter, because a good and faithful servant had been faithful over a few things, his lord would make him ruler over many things (Matthew 25:21).

(48) "But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My lord delays his coming,' (49) And begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, (50) The lord of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour he is not aware of, (51) And shall cut him in two, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

However, Jesus said, if that servant turned out to be evil instead, and because his lord was gone such a long time, he began to mistreat his fellow servants and began to fellowship with drunkards and such, the lord of his house would return at a time he least expected it.  The evil servant would be cut down and severely punished and counted among the worst of sinners.  Likewise, the servant of God who began to mistreat his fellow Christians and to live a life of sin, would experience much pain and anguish.

Perhaps it is in keeping with Jesus's declaration that no man would know the day or hour of His coming, that we cannot precisely know which event Jesus spoke of in His foretelling of signs, the coming destruction of Jerusalem or His second coming at the end.  We are to always be ready.  However, if we are to always be ready, then why be watchful and observe the signs of the end?  The original word translated as "watch" as in verse 42, is "gregoreuo" and means "to keep awake, be vigilant," even "give strict attention to, be cautious, active."  Watching doesn't mean merely spectating at a distance.  It implies action, ever vigilant, on guard, a fully awake Christian, intently focused on the things of God.  In Revelation, in messages to the churches, God said He hated the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans; actually His exact words were that He wanted to spew them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16).  He actually said that He would prefer them to be cold or hot.  Imagine that!  God actually preferring one to be cold regarding the things of God rather than lukewarm!  He then told them to be zealous and repent.  God desires zealous watchmen on the wall sounding warnings to an unsaved world, conveying truth despite opposition from the world.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem and Gives Signs for the End

Continuing a Bible study of the gospels:

(Matthew 24:1) And Jesus went out and departed from the temple; and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple.

At the end of the last chapter and post, Jesus had been lamenting over Jerusalem because He had come to save her, but she had rejected Him, and now she must suffer the consequences.  As He departed from the temple where He had been speaking, His disciples came to show Him all the buildings of the temple, which meant the temple walls themselves and the courts and porches, etc.  The historian Josephus described the walls of the temple and made them sound as if they were quite a site to see.  Some of the stones were 70 feet long and eight feet high!  The enormous stones were said to be white, either of marble, or beautifully painted with variegated colors.

(2) And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Verily, I say to you, there shall not be one stone left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Jesus asked His disciples if they could not consider what was going to happen to the temple.  At the time He spoke these things, no event could seem more improbable than the falling of the temple.  It was vast, rich, splendid, and oh so strong!  However, Jesus told them there was to come a time within their generation, He had said in the last chapter, that their temple would fall and there would not be even one stone left on top of another that had not been thrown down.

(3) As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world?"

Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives across from the temple where He could sit and have a full view of it.  His disciples came to Him privately, whether that means all the disciples came privately apart from the multitude, or only a few disciples broke away from the other disciples to talk to Him, scripture doesn't really say.  The account in Mark says that there were at least four disciples who came to Him, Peter, Andrew, James, and John.  They seem a bit confused as they asked when the destruction of the temple would be, and what the sign of Jesus's coming and the end of the world would be, as if they would all occur at the same time.

(4) And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no man deceives you. (5) For many shall come in My name, saying, 'I am Christ,' and shall deceive many."

Although this has always seemed an end-time prophecy, with the likes of the anti-Christ deceiving many, this is probably an answer relative only to the destruction of Jerusalem.  Jesus warned the disciples not to be deceived, that there would be many who would come claiming to be the Christ.  Indeed, there were historically recorded at least three so-called anti-Christs during the disciples' time.  Josephus wrote that the land was overrun with them, but there are three of whom we can be certain--Dositheus the Samaritan, Simon Magus, and Theudas.

(6) "And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."

Once again, this sounds like a sign of the end times of the world, but taken in context of the question put to Him, I believe this regards the destruction and end of Jerusalem.  Also to repeat, the disciples probably did think that the end of Jerusalem was the end of the world and would bring the second coming of Christ.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote about many wars and rumors of war at that time:  "Under Cureanus the Roman governor, a sedition was raised on the day of the passover, in which twenty thousand perished; after that, in another tumult, ten thousand were destroyed by cut-throats: in Ascalon two thousand more, in Ptolemais two thousand, at Alexandria fifty thousand, at Damascus ten thousand, and elsewhere in great numbers. The Jews were also put into great consternation, upon hearing the design of the Roman emperor, to put up his image in their temple."  Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled, so as to leave the land or stop preaching, for all the things Jesus described would have to come to pass, but it would not yet be the end.  Jesus probably meant that the destruction of Jerusalem would not yet be at its end; however, He might have been telling them that the end of the world would not be at that time.

(7) "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places."

Once again, Dr. Gill wrote:  "And so it was, the Jewish nation rose up against others, the Samaritans, Syrians, and Romans: there were great commotions in the Roman empire, between Otho and Vitellius, and Vitellius and Vespasian; and at length the Romans rose up against the Jews, under the latter, and entirely destroyed them."  Regarding famines preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, Albert Barnes wrote in His Notes on the Bible, "There was a famine foretold by Agabus, which is mentioned by Tacitus, Suetonius, and Eusebius, and which was so severe in Jerusalem, Josephus says, that many people perished for want of food. Four times in the reign of Claudius (41-54 a.d.) famine prevailed in Rome, Palestine, and Greece."  The early Bible commentators I study agree there were also pestilences, "Raging epidemic diseases; the plague, sweeping off multitudes of people at once," wrote Barnes.  "It is commonly the attendant of famine, and often produced by it."  A pestilence is recorded as raging in Babylonia, A.D. 40 by the Jewish historian Josephus.  There is also one recorded in Italy, A.D. 66 by the Roman historian Tacitus.  Both of these took place before the destruction of Jerusalem.  Tacitus and others also wrote of earthquakes that took place in various places at that time.

(8) "All these are the beginnings of sorrows."

Jesus told His disciples these things He foretold were only the beginning of sorrows, suggesting far greater calamities were yet to come before the end.

(9) "Then they will deliver you up to be afflicted, and will kill you; and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake."

Jesus warned His very own disciples that they would be persecuted and killed, and hated by all nations for His name's sake.  Indeed, the disciples were beaten and imprisoned and even killed.  They would be hated by all nations just because they were followers of Christ!  Jesus had warned them of this back in the tenth chapter of Matthew when He sent them out in their Christian ministry.  However, He had also said in His beatitudes in chapter 5 that they rejoice and be exceedingly glad when they were persecuted for their reward in heaven would be great.

(10) "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another."

There would be many people including apostates who would fall away when things got difficult, and they would betray one another to save themselves.  They would hate one another; not that true Christians would hate their brethren, but apostates and those who never came to follow Christianity would hate each other and the true followers of Christ.

(11) "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."

There would be many men pretending to be prophets or foretellers of future events.  The apostle Paul spoke of some of them in his letters, namely Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Timothy 2:17).  Josephus wrote, "The tyrannical zealots who ruled the city suborned 'many false prophets' to declare that aid would be given to the people from heaven. This was done to prevent them from attempting to desert, and to inspire confidence in God."

(12) "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."

Because such false teaching and persecuting iniquity would abound, good people, even Christians, would become shy and suspicious of one another, and alienations would be created.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, stated it perfectly, "The devil is the accuser of the brethren, not only to their enemies, which makes persecuting iniquity abound, but one to another, which makes the love of many to wax cold."

(13) "But he who shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved."

Those who endured in the profession of faith in Christ through the tribulation and violent persecution by wicked men, and followed His pure and incorrupt doctrines to the end, would be saved.  Biblical commentators have differing opinions on what this form of saving would take.  Some have suggested they would be saved from the destruction of Jerusalem, while others say this means they will be ultimately saved in the end with their souls in eternal glory.  I always assumed it meant the latter, as in most all cases when this is written in the Bible.  However, Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote, "It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and, had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but, when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape."  That is a fact I never knew!  It reminds me of the six day war in 1967 when Israel was completely outnumbered and the odds totally against her, but she miraculously prevailed with very little loss as compared to her attackers.  There is no denying that throughout history little Israel has remained God's special people and He continues to protect and fight for her.

(14) "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, and then the end will come."

It is really remarkable to me that this has always been seen as an end-time prophecy for us living now.  Perhaps it is, as God's word always seems to have multiple meanings; after all, the entire Bible is written for our learning.  I can hear even now Bible commentators declaring that now with the internet the gospel has indeed been preached throughout the world.  However, again taken in context, it appears that Jesus was just talking about the end of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.  Indeed, we can see from Paul's writings that the gospel had indeed been preached to all the world as it existed at their time (Romans 1:8, Colossians 1:6, Colossians 1:23).

(15) "When you therefore see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), (16) Then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains."

Once again, I am struck by the fact that many have interpreted this abomination of desolation to still be coming, even though there is a parenthetical exhortation to really understand what is written.  The term "abomination of desolation" doesn't refer to just one thing; it means an "abominable desolation" of the holy city.  Jesus referenced Daniel's prophecy mentioned in several Old Testament verses, but perhaps most understandable is Daniel 9:27, "...he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."  Daniel's prophecy appears to be foretelling a desolate temple that no longer serviced the Lord and an overspreading of many abominations that made the holy city desolate.  Jesus tells His disciples that when they see this happening, those who are in Judaea should flee to the mountains.  Indeed, according to what was written by Adam Clarke in his commentary on verse 13 above, the Christians indeed escaped.

(17) "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything from his house; (18) Neither let him who is in the field go back to take his clothes."

Jewish houses had flat roofs that were favorable places for resting.  Jesus warned that not only should the people flee, but they should do it without delay, not taking any time to go back for their things.

(19) "And woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing in those days."

Jesus proclaimed woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers because they would not be able to make their escape as quickly as others.

(20) "But pray that your flight be not in the winter nor on the sabbath day."

The destruction was definitely coming.  Jesus did not urge prayer against that.  But He advised that they pray that their flight from Jerusalem not be in the winter when travel would be more difficult, or on the Sabbath when travel was prohibited and they might be seen by non-Christian Jews who would seek to punish them.

(21) "For then shall be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."

Jesus warned that there would be great tribulation the likes of which had never been seen since the beginning of the world.  Imagine, the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah and even more, their terrible bondage in Egypt, nothing compared to what was about to happen.  Jesus said there would never be tribulation as terrible as this again.  That is hard to imagine when one considers the Holocaust during Hitler's reign.  The historian Josephus indeed wrote that never had a city suffered so much during the destruction of Jerusalem.  Jesus had wept over the city knowing what was soon to happen to it.

(22) "And except those days be shortened, there would be no flesh saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."

Jesus said that the days of the end siege would be shortened or else not one man could survive.  For His elect's sake, the Christians, the days would be shortened to leave a remnant, as God always does.  He never allows His people to be completely destroyed.  Josephus wrote that those who perished in the siege numbered 1,100,000, and that did not include those who were slain in other places.

(23) "Then if any man says to you, 'Lo, here is Christ!' or 'There,' do not believe it."

As the Jews expected the Messiah to deliver them from Roman oppression, they would be anxiously looking for Him during these calamities.  Some would proclaim to be Christ and would lure followers, but Jesus said not to believe them. 

(24) "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders so much so, that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect."

Jesus said there would indeed arise men claiming to be Christ and false prophets claiming to deliver the people from the Romans.  They would show great signs and wonders that resembled miracles wrought by prophets.  Josephus wrote that they were sorcerers and magicians who led people out into the deserts and promised to work miracles to save them.  The great signs and wonders they would perform would be so great that they might have even deceived the elect, "if it were possible."  That is how wondrous those signs would be, but Christ's elect had seen Him, heard Him, and known Him, and would not be fooled.

(25) "Behold, I have told you before. (26) Therefore if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the desert,' do not go there; 'Behold, He is in the secret chambers,' do not believe it."

Whether Jesus meant that He had warned them before about false Christs, or whether He meant that He was telling them these things before they happened so that they would be aware and on guard, the desired result is the same.  They were not to believe any assertions that Christ was present during the destruction of Jerusalem.

(27) "For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."

To me it seems Jesus was saying that when He comes, just as lightning lights up the whole sky, so will His coming be; there will be no mistaking when He comes.  I think He was saying it so that they not be deceived by any other reports of Him, and also in answer to the second part of their question in verse 3 as to the sign of His coming and of the end of the world.  They thought it would all happen at the same time as the destruction of Jerusalem, but Jesus now answers how His coming would be.  It would not be in the various places people would claim Him to be, but there would be no doubt when He came.  However, many of the Biblical scholars I study suggest that what is meant is that He would be in the act of destroying Jerusalem, as the Roman army came in from the east and swept westward over the city.  I prefer my interpretation, but in whatever is meant, it can be said that Jesus would not be found in the city ready to deliver His people from the destruction; Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.

(28) "For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."

I believe Jesus was concluding His declaration that He would not be delivering Jerusalem from her fate.  She was already dead and the Roman eagles were coming for her.  It is written that the Roman armies indeed had eagles on their ensigns.

As this is a long chapter with much commentary, I will stop here in this post, and continue my study of the 24th chapter of Matthew in the next post.  In this first half of the chapter, Jesus has clearly answered the disciples' question about the signs of the coming end of Jerusalem.  

Let the Children Come

Continuing a Bible study of the gospels:

(Matthew 19:1) And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee and came to the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had just finished telling the parable of the unforgiving servant in answer to Peter's question about how many times one should forgive a brother his trespasses.  After this, He left Galilee and went to the border of Judea to the country that was called "beyond Jordan" that bordered Judea.  Most all the old commentaries I study made it a point to say that even though it was so lightly touched in scripture, this was considered Christ's farewell to Galilee.  Galilee was where He had chiefly preached and performed His miracles, but He now left Galilee, never to return until after His resurrection.  Albert Barnes pointed out in his Notes on the Bible that considerable time had lapsed from when Jesus taught the parable of the unforgiving servant to the time He left Galilee, for Luke and John recorded several important events that happened in the meantime.  

(2) And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

Great multitudes of people followed Jesus, and He healed them there in that region of the edge of Judea and beyond the Jordan River.

(3) The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

The Pharisees also came to Jesus, but they only wanted to test Him, to see if He would contradict Moses.  They asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason.

(4) And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, (5) And said, 'For this reason shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh'?"

Jesus answered the Pharisees by asking them a question about whether they had read the scriptures about when God first made man and woman at the beginning.  He quoted Genesis 2:24 where Adam said what must be attributed to God according to Jesus here.  Adam was surely at the time speaking the words of God by divine revelation.  He had said that man was meant to leave his father and mother and be attached to his wife, and they were to become as one.

(6) "Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man put asunder."

Therefore, Jesus said to them, what God had joined together as one flesh, no man ought to break that bond or separate them.

(7) They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a writing of divorcement and put her away?"

The Pharisees answered Him by asking the question of why Moses "commanded" a certificate of divorce and the sending away of the wife.  Referring to Deuteronomy 24:1, they apparently saw this as in opposition to what Jesus taught, and sought to ensnare Him.

(8) He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."

Jesus answered the Pharisees by saying that Moses "permitted" divorce; it was certainly not commanded.  As a civil lawgiver, Moses allowed for a relaxation of the marriage bond because of the "hardness of their hearts," a recognition of their lowly moral state and inability to endure the strictness of the original law, and to prevent still greater evils, like adultery and physical abuse.  Jesus reiterated the fact that this was not so in the beginning.  Just because the law permitted something didn't mean that God approved of it.

(9) "And I say to you, whoever puts away his wife, except it be for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who was put away, commits adultery." 

Jesus declared that whoever divorced his wife for anything other than her fornication or adultery, that is, her defiling the marriage bed and destroying what had been one flesh, and then married another woman would be guilty of adultery.  Additionally, whoever married the woman who had been frivolously divorced, also committed adultery.

(10) His disciples said to Him, "If the case of the man is such with his wife, it is not good to marry."

I find this statement by the disciples rather sad.  They felt like the possibility of being bound to a disagreeable woman with no way out unless she was unfaithful, was a thing to be totally avoided by not marrying at all.

(11) But He said to them, "All cannot receive this saying, except those to whom it is given."

Jesus replied that not all men could accept and adhere to a single life, to a celibate life, as the disciples suggested.  It was natural for man to want to be joined with a wife; even God stated that in the beginning, in Genesis 2:18, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper just right for him."  The gift of celibacy was just that, a gift that not all men could receive and adhere to, unless given that spirit by the Holy Spirit of God.

(12) "For there are some eunuchs who were so born from their mother's womb, and there are some eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it."

In addressing this scripture, first it is necessary to know the meaning of the word "eunuch."  The original Greek word "eunouchos" was formed by the words "eune" meaning "bed" and "echos" meaning "to have, to hold, to possess."  Therefore, "eunouchos" meant to have the care of the bed or bedchamber because that was the typical employment of eunuchs.  The dictionary definition of a eunuch is "a castrated man, especially one formerly employed by rulers in the Middle East and Asia as a harem guard;" thus being the caretaker of the women's bedchambers.  These eunuchs were most often made so by mutilation so that they would be "safe" in the women's bedchambers.  The primary definition of "eunouchos" in Strong's Greek Dictionary after distinguishing the root words is "a castrated person."  Thayer's Greek Definitions defines it as first a "bed keeper or bed guard" with the primary subtitle of "an emasculated man."  

Jesus discussed the different types of eunuchs.  The most common were probably those who had been made eunuchs by man, but He said that there were some eunuchs who were so born from their mother's womb.  The medical definition of "eunuch" is "a man or boy whose testes have been removed or have never developed."  Jesus acknowledged that some men were born that way.  The secondary definition of the word in Strong's is "an impotent man," and Thayer's, "one naturally incapacitated for marriage or for begetting children."  The eunuchs who were employed in the bedchambers of harems, queens, or princesses, surely had to be visually physically impaired in the sexual organ department.  However, Jesus was talking about eunuchs in the context of marriage, so he meant those men who might have been born with a sexual deformity, but also those with impotence or some other natural, but maybe not visible, incapacitation for marriage.

The third type of eunuch that Jesus discussed was one who made himself a eunuch.  I cannot believe that this meant he mutilated his body to become a eunuch, but that he chose to live as a eunuch, that is celibate.  I've seen this verse used as the Bible's approval of transsexuality, asexuality, pansexuality, and all those other letters added to the LGB community.  A person who may not experience sexual attraction and be considered asexual may be one who is considered born that way and incapacitated for marriage.  However, in no way was Jesus discussing homosexuals, bisexuals, or pansexuals, and the like.  There was a definite prohibition against such activity in the Bible.  A transsexual is one who changes his sex, so that cannot be what is meant, either.  A eunuch was more of an asexual, without sex.  Also note that the reason for making oneself a eunuch was for "the kingdom of heaven's sake," so obviously it was not for exploring different kinds of sexual activity, but for celibacy, to devote oneself entirely to the service of God, and not for family.  

When Jesus said that he who was able to receive it, let him receive it, I believe He meant that those people who were able to live celibate lives, let them do it and live happy fulfilled lives as they were given.  I believe He was saying that there was no shame in not being married or not having children, and that it was a gift to be celebrated, as the apostle Paul obviously did.  If a person was born that way, then accept that as a gift as well.  But if a man was unable to live a celibate life, then of course, there was no shame in marrying and having children, as that is a very necessary part for the kingdom of heaven, as well.

(13) Then there were brought to Him little children that He should put hands on them and pray, and the disciples rebuked them.

Then little children were brought to Jesus in hopes He would lay His hands on them and pray and bless them.  The disciples evidently thought their Master should not be bothered by such things.  He did more lofty and important things like healing and saving lives, and shouldn't be bothered with blessing babies.

(14) But Jesus said, "Allow little children, and do not forbid them to come to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

However, Jesus showed His humility that He was not above taking notice of anyone who came to Him, and reminded His disciples they should regard the weakest believers as they were like little children in the kingdom of heaven.  Be they natural babies or baby Christians, all were to be regarded worthy of Jesus and of entering the kingdom of heaven.

(15) And He laid His hands on them, and departed from there.

Jesus indeed laid His hands on them as He had been asked to do, and then departed from that area beyond Jordan.

(16) And behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"

Matthew called him "one" of many, but Luke called him a "certain ruler," so we may assume he was a man of some means.  Mark said he came running to Jesus which implies some earnestness.  He wanted to know from Jesus what good thing he must do to have eternal life.

(17) And He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? There is none good but One, God; but if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Of course, Jesus was good, all good; but He knew this man only thought of Him as a man.  His point was that people threw around such titles that only applied to God.  His intention was to make this man realize no one was good, and no one good act was going to give him eternal life.  However, He did answer him that if he wanted eternal life, he should keep the commandments.  At first, I wondered why Jesus would answer this way when just the act of keeping the commandments was not enough to be saved.  However, isn't that the reason that Jesus came, because no one could keep the whole law?  Once again, Jesus was making the point that no one can really be good enough to achieve eternal life.  

(18) He said to Him, "Which?" Jesus said, "You shall do no murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, (19) Honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I find it interesting that the man asked which ones.  It reminds me of people who are always looking for the magic formula, if you will, to salvation.  There are those who are wise in their own eyes, thinking they have learned the real secret.  This man wants to know the secret.  Jesus went on to list all the commandments having to do with love of one's fellow man; and if one loves his neighbor as himself, he will not covet any of his neighbor's things; therefore, He has listed all six having to do with one's fellow man.

(20) The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth; what do I yet lack?"

The young man told Jesus he had kept all the commandments since he was a child, which is so typical of one who thinks he has always done good and is good enough to go to heaven.  As John would say later in 1 John 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  Paul in Romans 3:23 said, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;" and therefore it follows what John continued to say in 1 John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."  The man asked Jesus what it was that he still lacked.

(21) Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me." 

Jesus knew exactly what the man lacked.  He told him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him.  This act would encompass the first four commandments, including having nothing in life above God.  

(22) But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The man could not give up his wealth and possessions for God.  He had made an idol of wealth and things, and could not bring himself to give them up even for eternal life.  I find it hard to believe that someone would give up eternal life for temporary things on earth, but that would be because he doesn't really believe or have faith enough to let go of everything and give all to God, relying solely on Him.

(23) Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Verily, I say to you, that a rich man can hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus went on to make this a teaching moment for His disciples.  He told them it was almost impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

(24) "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

Jesus went on to give an expression illustrating the sheer impossibility of it, saying it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.  I can remember a pastor explaining that the eye of a needle was not meant as we think of it, but that there was a narrow passage through a particular small gate called the "eye of the needle," and that is what Jesus was referring to.  I don't believe that is true, as will become clearer as Jesus said more.  Besides, a rich man indicates one who still has all his wealth.  If he has given all to the poor and retains nothing, but to follow Jesus, is he still rich in the worldly sense?

(25) When His disciples heard that, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, "Who then can be saved?"

The disciples' question seems to indicate that most people in their time were considered rich in some measure.  I don't think that is what they meant.  I think they were imagining a rich man with all his advantages who could absolutely not ride his camel through the eye of a needle, so just how was it that anyone could do it?

(26) But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Jesus admitted to them that with man alone trying to save himself, it was impossible.  However, with God, all things were possible.  Only God can draw man to Himself and give him the desire of only God in his life, so that he desires to give up all worldly treasures.  Just as God could make that camel go through the eye of a needle with just a word if He so willed it, He could work miracles with a rich man's heart in order to save him.  When you think about it, isn't it a blessing not to be rich?  If worldly riches are so hard to give up, an impossibility on our own, then we can consider it a blessing not to have that impediment.  However, money can be an idol just as easily to a poor person, because that is what he thinks about and strives for constantly, believing that is what he needs most.  But once again, with God it is possible to forget about money and trust Him for all needs.

(27) Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Behold, we have forsaken all and followed You; what shall we have therefore?"

Having listened to the conversation between Jesus and the rich young ruler, and hearing Jesus tell the man that if he sold all and gave it to the poor, he would have treasure in heaven, Peter then asked Jesus that question.  Peter and the other disciples had not sold all they had and given it to the poor.  Many had wives and families to support.  At most, we were told that they left a few boats and fishing nets.  Peter's inquiry sounds selfish and a bit grandiose on his part, "We have forsaken all."  Perhaps his intention was to find out if what they had given to devote their lives to Jesus and follow Him daily, was enough.

(28) And Jesus said to them, "Verily, I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

Jesus's answer to Peter is a bit difficult for us to understand.  Even Biblical scholars understand it in different ways.  What seems the most plausible to me is that those who have followed Him, once they are in the time of regeneration when the elect will begin to live a new life in their new heavenly bodies enjoying their heavenly inheritance, when Jesus sits on His throne of glory in heaven, they will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  Whether or not the thrones are literal, they denote power and honor; the disciples will be distinguished above others.  As far as judging the twelve tribes of Israel, Jesus is the One and only judge on Judgment Day.  I believe the way "judging" is used here, the way that it is often used in the Bible, means that by their example and comparison, they brought judgment to the twelve tribes before them, to the Jews who rejected and crucified Christ.  Some scholars believe that what is meant by the regeneration, is immediately after Jesus rose from the dead and was seated at His throne, when the disciples were actively growing the early church, a time of reformation; teaching true Christianity was judging the old ways of the twelve tribes.  I tend to think that the honor in heaven is what is meant.  That is what Peter was asking.

(29) "And everyone who has forsaken houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or wife or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

Jesus went on to say that everyone, not just the twelve disciples, but surely including them, who forsook family and/or property for Jesus's sake would receive a hundred times in value what they had given up, and would inherit everlasting life.

(30) "But many who are first shall be last, and the last shall be first."

Jesus said that many who were first would be last, and the last would be first.  This might mean that those who were first in the world would be last in the kingdom of heaven, and the last, poor and lowly, might be first.  However, many who would be first in the world will not even be in the kingdom of heaven, so I don't believe that is what is meant.  The heavenly inheritance is not given as earthly inheritances often are, by priority of birth; nor will God give preference to those who were first saved in time, but according to God's pleasure and grace.  

In summarizing this chapter, the most important part that impresses upon me is Jesus and the little children.  I watched a beautiful movie last night, Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace.  Lucy Shimmers was a perfect illustration of how one should come to Christ as an innocent child, filled with wonder and having full faith in all the Bible says, seeing people as Jesus sees them, loving them as Jesus loves them, simply because He said we should.  Oh, if only we could see God and the world the way a child can, before all the hurts, guilt, and selfishness start building that wall of separation.  A child is not so easily turned away, not so easily feeling rejected.  A child can be very persistent, and when that innocence and persistence is combined with the knowledge of Christ, a child can do wonders melting jaded hearts.  No wonder Jesus said we must come to Him as children, and why He said to let the children come to Him.  Christ and a sweet child--what a beautiful combination!  Children see things in black and white, not in all shades of gray as we have complicated the simplest things to be.  Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden was light.  It's really true if we only accept His simple truths at face value, and seek to do His commandments, if only because He said so.  If one thought as simply as this, he would always love and never divorce his wife.  One could easily trust God with all and give up all riches if he had the trusting nature of a child.  

Jesus Condemns Vain Traditions of Man and Heals a Gentile

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.