Matthew 15 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Matthew 15

Traditions and Commandments

15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”¹ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word² of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8   “‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
9   in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.³ And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁴ 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Footnotes

[1] 15:5 Or is an offering
[2] 15:6 Some manuscripts law
[3] 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind
[4] 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine
[5] 15:28 Greek from that hour

Commentary

v1: The Pharisees are clearly concerned, sending a delegation from Jerusalem to see Jesus.

v2-3: The accusation and the answer; the Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples, not Jesus directly, of breaking their tradition.

v4-7: Jesus' response is to point out that those traditions cause people to disobey God. They make proper-sounding statements, but they hold little real love for God. Dr Alfred Edershim describes; 'a system of pure externalism, which often contravened the spirit of those very ordinances.' (Sketches of Jewish Social Life)

the letter of which was slavishly worshipped,

v8: Right words do not always reflect a real change of heart; Balaam, Nebuchadnezzar, the slave girl at Philippi, and others, all made truthful statements, but their hearts were far from God. ‘Singing Halleluia everywhere does not prove piety,’ Ethiopian Proverb.

Jesus quotes from Is 29.13, using the Septuagint translation, which emphasizes that the doctrine was the teaching of men (rather than their fear of God having its origin in men. He is speaking against legalism rather than ritualism.

v9: Difference between the rules of men and the commands of God. We are wrong to teach human rules as if they are the same as God's commands.

v10: Jesus addresses the multitude on the subject of false doctrine. One essential part of teaching truth is to expose error.

v11: The clear statement; that what goes into a person's mouth does not defile, for that is simply a physical thing. In contrast those things that come out for the mouth, which come from the heart, can defile. See v17-19.

v12: The Pharisees spoke of Jesus' disciples; Jesus spoke to the crowd about the Pharisees; yes! The Pharisees would be offended.

v13-14: The Pharisees are "not planted" by God; they are the blind leading the blind.

Jesus' instruction is clear, "leave them." Although we may give some time to trying to explain the truths to such people, as in 2 Tim 2.25; there comes a time when we must reject the divisive man, Titus 3.10.

v15-16: The disciples seem to be slow at understanding.

v17-20: The matter of defilement; this is not to do with food and drink, but rather attitudes and actions.

v21-28: Jesus left the land of Judea, to go to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Fewer people would know of Him, yet even here is true faith. His silence and apparent unwillingness is perhaps a test of her faith (compare 14.16, 25, and see also 7.21). Since Matthew's emphasis is to write to the Jews, he records Jesus' speaking of the lost sheep of Israel. Yet, even in the OT, Gentiles came to live under the wings of the God of Israel.

The woman's faith is clear; she cries out to the Lord, worshipping Him, and showing persistence. Her faith is "great," and she is rewarded with her daughter's healing.

v29-31: All manner of diseases and afflictions healed, including 'permanent' disabilities; 4.23; 8.16; 9.35; 14.35-36. Jesus' ministry clearly has a great impact around Galilee, where these healings are performed.

v32: "I do not want to send them away," says the Lord, full of compassion. Contrast 14.15, and v23; it seems that this time, the Lord pre-empts the disciples' statement. People do not always arrive at convenient times; the Lord makes Himself available for all.

v33-39: The fact that Matthew records two such feedings suggests that Jesus performed such miracles several times. The gospel writers gather selected data, giving a flavour of Christ's ministry.