MATTHEW 15 To the Jewish believers in the assemblies in the early days of this day of grace, reading the Gospel that Matthew wrote, would have been very important. They would have learned from this chapter that the Lord Jesus Christ interpreted the law correctly in contrast to the scribes and Pharisees. They had led people astray by their teaching and adapting the practices of the books of Moses known as the Torah, to suit their own opinions. The purity regulations they insisted on, were not for the purposes of hygiene, but for ceremonial reasons. The word of God is where we learn what must be taught and practiced, rather than the traditions of men. Evil thoughts and actions are what defile people.
It would have been important to early Christians to know the Lord Jesus went beyond the boundaries of Israel to Phoenicia and there connected with a Gentile woman who had faith in Him. The fact that He healed the daughter of the woman, and then in another place fed Gentiles as well as Jews with miracle bread and fish when He went back to the east side of the Sea of Galilee; would have opened their minds and hearts to reach out to others. The mixed population of Decapolis was those who listened to His teaching for three days. Gentiles were willing to put their trust in the Jewish Jesus; the Messiah of the Jews. When we bring all of our needs and burdens to the Lord, He will not despise nor disappoint those who put their faith in Him.
The conflict between truth and traditions, v.1-20 Traditions had become the interpretive guides to the scriptures that teaching rabbis passed on to their students and those who became “elders” of the people. A delegation of scribes and Pharisees went from Jerusalem to Galilee to check out the Lord Jesus and to join with the local Pharisees and scribes to harass the Lord. The scribes and Pharisees put their own views above the revelation of God through His word, and yet they claimed to be following God. Religious hypocrisy puts human ideas above divine truth. Those traditions had been allowed to override the law as written in the scriptures. It was for that reason they harassed the disciples of Jesus for not washing their hands before eating.
What they were referring to was not washing for the purpose of hygiene and to have physically clean hands for eating a meal, but some of the old rabbis had made a ceremony of some sort about hand washing. The Lord Jesus Christ responded to the conflict they had made, by contrasting the traditions of men with the commandment of God. Some traditions violated the law, and the Lord Jesus called them on it.
One of those they practiced allowed them to simply make a declaration that the “Corban vow” released them from their legal obligations to their parents. At first glance that vow seemed to be a worthy action that made those who looked on, think that you were giving money to the temple. That would give them a certain degree of respect and prestige among people who didn’t see beyond the giving. Actually, the money they gave, which could after be used as they wanted; should have gone to caring for their parents who were old and needy. They pretended to be performing a duty to God in place of fulfilling their duty to their parents. By doing that, they violated the law. God does not want what belongs to parents.
“This people,” was Israel throughout their history. Those hypocritical actions were criticized by Isaiah because the Jews were practicing the same things in his day as they were when the Lord Jesus Christ was here. To act religiously without sincerity is an act of hypocrisy. To claim to honor God when our heart is not in it, nor is our worship from the heart; means absolutely nothing. Those people, like many today, knew a lot about the Bible but not what honors God. The inner qualities of a person are the measure of who they really are.
The Lord called the multitude to come to hear Him when He wanted them to understand something that affected them all. Moral defilement is spiritual, not physical. Food is not moral or spiritual. What defiles a person is a rebellious heart that is against God. To be unduly concerned about the food we eat is to strain at an act that isn’t essential. The food we eat isn’t what makes us morally unclean. It is what we allow in our minds, and what our spirits feed on that is important to our cleanness or uncleanness. The principles of the word of God are how we know what is right, what is questionable, and what is wrong. The outward appearance of a person is not nearly as important as what a person is like in their heart. Our spiritual appetite needs to be fed with good scriptural food.
The disciples seemed like they were worried about offending those influential Pharisees from headquarters in Jerusalem. The disciples needed to know that the doctrines of human traditions, needed to be rooted up and they will ultimately be destroyed. Those who taught false doctrine were to be abandoned. They were blind people leading blind people, and both the blind leaders and blind followers would fall into the pit.
Parables can sometimes be difficult sayings that the hearers don’t understand. That is what Peter was asking about when he questioned the Lord about the things that go in that do not defile, in contrast with that which comes from within. Normally, spiritually enlightened people would have understood that food isn’t what defiles the soul. Sinful words and deeds find their beginning in sinful thoughts. After sinful thoughts, come the violations of the commandments and those blasphemies that pollute the soul of the one who has them within and the ones who hear the words that are expressed. What we think, is who we are. What we take in will soon settle in our hearts and minds. That is why it is so important that we constantly take in God’s word.
Connection between Jews and Gentiles, v.21-28 It would seem like when the Lord went all the way up to Phoenicia to where the “Canaanite” woman came to Him; He was going there to relieve the tension the Pharisees and scribes were creating. Most likely it was because there was a needy woman there, and He wanted his disciples to learn that God’s blessings go beyond those of Israel. The woman whose daughter was “grievously vexed with a devil,” knew who Jesus was – “Son of David.” She persistently called out to Him for help, but He remained silent for quite some time. This really bothered the disciples, but the Lord waited until they spoke to Him about her and expressed their prejudice. He told them His work at this time was with the people of Israel, but in the same way, there are exceptions to the law in certain cases, so there were in this case.
In her urgency and faith, she came to Jesus and worshipped Him, and then made her request directly to Him. Her insistence brought about the focus of Christ’s ministry. Though he was in Phoenicia, He was not abandoning Israel. The woman was willing to accept the divine order of things, but by faith, she grasped the truth that applied to her because she was a Gentile. The Lord praised her for her faith in the same way He had previously praised the centurion for his faith. In both cases, the desired healing took place right away even though the Lord Jesus was at a distance from where the sick persons were. Her daughter was healed at that “very hour.”
Compassion for both Jews and Gentiles, v.29-39 On His return to Israel on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, where both Jews and Gentiles lived; people in that area brought their sick to Jesus and He healed them without any sign of prejudice. That resulted in those same people glorifying the God of Israel. Prejudice can be a problem today if we allow ourselves to look at people with only natural eyes. Seeing every person as God sees them; changes our perspective on the value of a human being. God’s Gospel is for everyone on earth. Every person is worth more than the whole material world. The lessons for first-century Christians are the same for us today.
Jesus did not reject the Canaanite woman but used that event as a teaching moment for His disciples. The same was true when they gathered up the leftovers after the fish and bread meal when four thousand were fed. They actually gathered up the food left over in much larger baskets than when He fed the five thousand. Every person needs to admit who he or she is before God. Every person has the personal choice to make to put their faith in Christ. Faith is available to all people. Jesus did not degrade the woman of Tyre and Sidon, nor did He ignore the needs of people who had been listening to Him for three days without food. He did come to “His own,” and that was plain all through the years of His ministry; making it a time of unique, national blessing. But blessing refused has lasting consequences.
Galilee was a place of special privilege. We can bring people to the Lord today through our prayers of intercession and our interest in them personally in private conversations. We can be confident that the blessings of the Lord to the Gentiles who believe in Him, are as great as the blessings to the Jews. We can trust God to do again in our day what He has done in the past if it is His will. He repeated the same kind of miracle of providing needed food for four thousand as He did for the five thousand. The differences are quite insightful, because this miracle was after three days, and their food had run out. The amount of food distributed was certainly more than enough so the big baskets of leftover food, and the whole experience; were teaching the disciples of the need for repetition, but not to expect an exact repeat in similar situations. We don’t have a template to follow. We follow the Lord and do what He says, knowing that what happens is according to His sovereign plans.