Jesus had been ministering to the people in Galilee. The crowds came great distances to seek Him out. Jesus had been warned that Herod was after Him. Jesus departed to a deserted place, not to hide but to control the timing of His ministry and the time when He would be arrested. The crowds caught up with Jesus again and He ministered to them along the shore; feeding them and healing them. Then they went across to Gennesaret which is on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, just a couple miles from Capernaum. At the end of chapter 14 we see that Jesus was once again recognized and word traveled across the area and all the sick were brought to Him.
15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
This group of scribes and Pharisees were probably an official delegation sent by the Sanhedrin to investigate Jesus. They traveled a significant distance, probably in excess of a hundred miles. This was serious travel in those days and it shows how serious these men were and how serious they took their traditions.
These 'traditions of the elders' were the teachings and oral traditions that had been passed down from their teachers over time. These traditions had become an oral law. The traditions were held in high honor, even to the point of being more weighty than scripture. Even this delegation accuses the disciples of transgressing the traditions, not the law. In the eyes of this delegation, this was just as big, if not a bigger, sin.
The sin they were accuses of was not washing their hands when they eat bread. This washing had nothing to do with hygiene, the Pharisees weren't worried that they were eating with dirty hands. This is strictly about ceremonial washing. The tradition had been defined that a good Jew would wash their hand to make sure they were clean so that nothing unclean would enter their body. They defined the minimum amount of water that could be used to accomplish this cleanness; the measure was a quarter of a log, which was enough to fill one and a half eggshells. The water had to run across the hands a certain way and then drip off. The water was then unclean. The washing was repeated in the other direction. Then the hands were rubbed dry in a specific manner. For the most devout, this was done every time they ate and sometimes between courses of the same meal.
The disciples were breaking tradition and Jesus, as their teacher, was responsible for their actions.
3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5 But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"-6 then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
Jesus doesn't answer them directly. It doesn't matter what answer He gave; they weren't there to reason with Him. So, He answers the question with a question of His own. Jesus said these men sinned against God's commandment. This should be weighed against their accusation that He sinned against the tradition of the elders. In fact, they used their tradition to justify breaking the law of God. The commandment was to honor your father and mother. This meant many things, one of which was taking care of them with your finances. The Rabbi's taught that you could declare your finances as a gift to God. Then the son could look to his parents and say, "Sorry, I can't help you, all I have is dedicated to God." They apparently still had finances and controlled them, as well as gifted some of it to the synagogue. By tradition, the man was relieved of honoring his father and mother and thereby excused the breaking of the commandment.
Jesus declared them to be hypocrites. This word is used about twenty times in the New Testament and nearly every time it was pointed towards these religious leaders. The accusation is that they were phony. They were playing a part, acting like they were trying to honor God when they weren't. Jesus then quotes Isaiah 29:13. This passage is about the blindness of disobedience and Jesus says that Isaiah was talking about them.
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."
What came out the mouths of these men was agreement with tradition that willingly led them to breaking the law. Their traditions put them in opposition to God's law. This is the answer to the question they had originally asked Jesus. These men would say that anyone eating without ceremonial washing defiled his food, making it unclean. The food then entered the body and defiled the man.
God's law didn't call for this ceremonial washing. They had added their own traditions to the law to the point that the law didn't even mean anything to them. The contrast Jesus drew to this is the idea that what comes out of the mouth makes a man unclean because it reveals the sinful heart of man. Imagine this man saying to his parents, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God". This man's greed and selfishness is exposed in dishonoring his parents.
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"
This seems like a comical scene to me. The disciples came to Jesus, maybe whispering, "Jesus, I think you might have made them mad. Especially the part when you called them hypocrites." Of course they were offended. Of course Jesus knew.
13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
This brings to mind the parable of the wheat and the tares.
14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."
Jesus said to leave them alone. There didn't need to be a debate or a defense. (Let God be true and every man a liar!) They were blind and not equipped to understand these spiritual truths. Imagine trying to describe colors to someone who had been born blind.
This picture of the blind leading the blind seems like another reference to the passage of Isaiah; the blind leading the blind and both destined for the ditch.
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."
The closest thing to a parable was the blind leading the blind. Peter wanted to make sure of what he heard. What Jesus was saying was a shock to an orthodox Jew. What Jesus said seemed to have eliminated the Levitical laws regarding clean and unclean food. Peter gets this lesson in full in Acts 10.
16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."
Jesus patiently explains to Peter that food just fuels the body and is then eliminated. But the heart is a deep well that will reveal the true man. Out of our mouth comes the most wicked of things. These are the things that do us in.
We can almost imagine Jesus holding a piece of bread in His unwashed hand and taking a bite; then, contrasting that to evil thoughts, murders, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and blasphemy as if to ask, "Which is worse?"
21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."
This is about a fifty mile journey to Tyre. Then it was another 20 miles to Sidon. These two cites were on the coast of the Mediterranean sea in the Phoenicia. This is outside of Israel and is gentile territory. It is also beyond the reach of Herod Antipas. This is the only time we know of that Jesus went into gentile territory.
This is significant in that we see Jesus going beyond Israel to the gentiles. This is a foreshadowing of the gospel going out to the gentile world.
We don't need to think Jesus was running from Herod or trying to escape the Jews. He may well have been resting and letting the excitement quiet down for a time. All along Jesus is controlling the time when He will be arrested and led to the cross. We should also consider that Jesus went this great distance because He loved this woman. This gentile woman cried out to Jesus. In calling Him 'Son of David' she was using a messianic title. She was acknowledging and embracing the truth that the Jews were rejecting.
23 But He answered her not a word.
What a strange moment this must have been; a moment of silence. This woman could have taken offense, turned on her heels and stormed off mad. She could have run to the all her friends and neighbors and said, "I went to Jesus and He just looked at me, doing nothing. I tried Jesus but it didn't work for me!!"
In the silence of Christ, this woman's faith was growing. She set aside her pride and the temptation to be offended. Her own will mattered not, her demon possessed daughter drove her to the Lord. She was broken and her daughter was broken and she knew that her only hope was found in Jesus.
This is no stroke of luck that she stumbled upon Jesus that day. This isn't some coincidence. This is a divine appointment at just the right time. This moment of silence, while her faith grew, must have been difficult for Jesus in His love and compassion.
And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."
This may have been an encouragement cast out the demon and send these ladies on their way or it may have been a call to send away the unworthy gentile. We can't be sure. Either way, the woman was making a scene in crying out to Jesus; a scene they thought unnecessary.
24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
This may sound mean to us. But she had essentially called Jesus the messiah. Jesus is saying the messiah came to the Jews, to Israel. It was as if Jesus were saying, 'What claim do you, a gentile, have on the Jewish messiah."
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
She called Him Lord and worshiped Him. She claimed Jesus as her Lord. She didn't care about rules and lineage; boundaries or bloodlines. She stood before her Lord; it was just her and Jesus.
26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
Jesus had told His disciples in Matthew 10:6 that they were to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The good news was to go first to Israel. The question at hand was, 'Is this good news just for the Jews?'
The Jews considered the gentiles dogs. They saw them as the dirty, mangy mutts that roamed around the streets. Jesus is using a different term. He uses a term used for a small tame dog, a pet. The table was set for the Jews first and their bread was being served. It wouldn't be right to throw it from the table to the pet dog.
27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
What a great statement of faith. She didn't need all the bread, she just wanted a crumb, anything. This woman was filled with love for her daughter, she sought Jesus, her faith grew, she set aside pride and all that she might be offended about and she persistently sought Jesus.
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Only two times in scripture did Jesus declare great faith. The first was the centurion in Matthew 8. Jesus said he had not seen great faith like this in all of Israel. The centurion said he recognized he wasn't worthy that Jesus would go to his home and come under his roof. This woman is the 2nd time Jesus declares great faith. She, too, recognized she was unworthy of Jesus. We should note that both of these folks were gentiles.
29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus is putting on some miles. He was in the area of Tyre and Sidon and now makes his way to the area of Decapolis (Mark 7). Decapolis is an area with 10 cities on the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee. It was primarily gentiles in this area. The multitudes show up where ever Jesus goes. On the mountain, the multitudes come to him; lame, blind, mute, maimed and were all laid at the feet of Jesus; and He healed them all. These gentiles saw the work of Jesus and glorified the God of Israel.
These folks saw the source of their hope. It was found in Jesus. It won't be long before the redemption work is complete and the gospel goes out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the outermost part of the world. How many of these people will remember this day when they later hear of His death, burial and resurrection?
32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."
33 Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"
Had the disciples so soon forgot? Or maybe they thought Jesus wouldn't provide bread to gentiles. Did they assume the provision of the messiah was only for Israel? In fact, it was for Israel first, and then to the world.
34 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."
35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
When Jesus fed the five thousand, this was a picture of the messianic feast. Now this feast is repeated with the gentiles. As a Jew, eating with gentiles wasn't done. Feeding gentiles was unheard of. But, as the messiah, sitting down and feasting with them was downright shocking!!!
36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.
We see the provision go from Jesus to the disciples who then gave to the multitudes. The provision of Jesus comes through the hands of His people.
37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.
The numbers fascinate me as we contrast this feeding of the multitude with that of Matthew 14. There were 12 baskets left over at the feeding of the 5000 Jews. We see endless abundance of God provision. What do we make of 12 baskets? Why not 11 or 13 baskets? It may be that the 12 baskets were symbolic of the sufficient provision made for God's children seen in the 12 tribes of Israel? In this feeding of the gentiles there were 7 baskets left. Do we see in this that 7 baskets are symbolic of the sufficient provision to the 7 churches that represent all the churches across the ages.
38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.
The real number is merely speculation, but if there were 4000 men, then there was likely 10,000 or more people. Jesus didn't preach a message about the bread of life. In this provision, these gentiles didn't liken this to manna. None of this would mean anything to a gentile.
In this passage of scripture we can learn some valuable lessons:
- The enemy can use our religion to lead us astray. Religion and religious leaders tend to offer comfort and love and ease in our fellowships. None of these things save you. You can be comfortable in church, in sin, for all your life and die and go to hell.
- We need to be cautious of becoming so comfortable with the 'way we've always done it' that we get spiritually lazy. When was the last time you stepped out in fatih? Are you always waiting to be fed, or are you also feeding others?
- True holiness comes from within. If the bucket of the mouth reveals the deep well of the heart, what is revealed in you? Are you yielded to Jesus? Are you being transformed into the image of Christ?
- Traditions capture us. We find it hard to break free. There's something about us that resists change and makes us want to hold onto the past.
- Don't place boundaries on Jesus Christ; not by color, race, creed, religion, background, education, history, future, looks, piercings, tattoos, health, wealth, neighborhood, friends, nation or anything else.
In Jesus the gentiles saw a Jew that broke from tradition; a man full of love and compassion. He healed them and fed them. Any of us could stop to think about the rules and traditions that we live under. Do we trust in a religion, a denomination, a man? Are bound up in boundaries and borders that we think can't be crossed? Do we understand the love of Jesus knows no bounds? Do we see our self as more deserving that some other person because of where they live, education, money or anything else?
These gentiles did not yet know the good news of Jesus Christ. There was no gospel of death, burial and resurrection. When that gospel made it to the gentiles a short time later, these folks would remember this day. We, however, stand on the other side of the cross. The good news of Jesus is available to each of us today; He is our Hope, our forgiveness, our redemption, our inheritance, our provision, our bread, our healing and our life.
©2015 Doug Ford
[1] Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 139). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
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