Visit our new blog. It lists all the new things that we are doing and what new material has been added to our site. We even list new missionaries who sign up with us for technical support so you can pray for them. FCM News
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from
Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition
of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for
the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and
mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put
to death.' 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother,
'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift
devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus
you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You
hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"
10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.
11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but
what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that
the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
13He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not
planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind
guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a
pit."
15Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't
you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and
then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth
come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of
the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean';
but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "
Explanation: Pharisees and Canaanites (15:1-39)
The educated religious elite of Jesus' day opposed him (vv. 1-20),
his own disciples trusted but could not understand him (vv. 15-16),
but a Canaanite woman recognized his identity as Son of David (vv.
21-28). Matthew again reminds the reader of what the religious elite
would not guess: Jesus does another sign like Moses and Elisha (vv.
29-39).Moral Versus Ritual Cleanness (15:1-20)
The reader recognizes Jesus as God's Son who acts not only as the
prophets of old (14:13-21) but as the Lord of creation himself (14:22-32).
The disciples acclaim him as God's Son (14:33), and the masses approach
him for healing (14:34-36). In this context the pedantic response
of the Pharisees and scribes, a sort of religious and academic elite,
stands in all the starker contrast to reality. (They were no denser
than some ministers and religious academicians today who likewise
seem able to obscure the forest of God's saving message with far
less relevant trees.)
Jesus points out that though the Pharisees use their traditions
as a standard for righteousness, some of their traditions can be
extended to contradict the written law. Christians today who strongly
advocate particular views as biblical, yet cannot demonstrate them
from Scripture understood in context, follow tradition rather than
Scripture just as did many of Jesus' contemporaries. (I have unfortunately
witnessed this problem in some circles where most members insist
they are biblical, led by the Spirit and devoid of tradition.) A
religious community may have helpful cumulative wisdom (especially
if it has remained faithful to God's earlier revelations), but ultimately
the revelation comes only from God himself, and especially from
his word to his apostles and prophets preserved for us in Scripture.
When we really hear God in Scripture, its message can awaken us
and transform us (for example, 2 Kings 22:11-13).Judging Purely
on the Basis of Tradition (15:1-2)
The religious elite insist that their way is right, even though
it is based only on tradition. Once again they object to a practice
of Jesus' disciples, implying a deficiency in the training Jesus
has supplied to them (see comment on 12:3-8). People commonly recognized
that the Pharisees passed on ancestral laws not written in the law
of Moses (Jos. Ant. 13.297). Hand washing was one such extrabiblical
tradition, perhaps originally adopted from foreign Jews (Sib. Or.
3.591-94; E. Sanders 1990:39-40, 228, 260-71), concerning which
the Pharisees were especially meticulous (compare m. Yadayim 1:1-2:4).
Jesus Challenges Their Tradition as Unbiblical
(15:3-11)
This observation need not denigrate all tradition; some "traditions"
are more biblical than others, and some traditions, like many customs
in many cultures, are morally neutral. Among those who accept the
Bible as God's Word and as canon (a measuring stick), the test of
a statement's authority should be its conformity to biblical principles.
Yet many of us, for all our insistence on the authority of Scripture,
pay surprisingly little attention to it-little time researching
context, background or other factors essential for understanding
the Bible. We may work hard to assimilate various trends of popular
culture yet spend little time assimilating our lives to the Bible's
teachings. I have watched some contemporary churches denigrate the
traditions of older churches, yet recite verses out of context or
follow extrabiblical routines that reflect traditions no less (albeit
newer ones).
Jesus begins by showing how easily a tradition can conflict with
the moral purpose of Scripture (15:3-6). One could dedicate an object
for sacred use; one could also prohibit others from using one's
property (say, eating one's figs) by declaring the property dedicated
to the temple or perhaps "as if they were" so dedicated,
hence "forbidden to you" (m. Nedarim 3:2; Baumgarten 1984-1985;
E. Sanders 1990:54-55). Even far from the Holy Land some Jewish
teachers could use such vows to keep property from other family
members (see E. Sanders 1990:57). By expanding certain common traditional
practices, an unscrupulous person could get around biblical principles
about unselfishly meeting others' needs.
Jesus deliberately picks an issue that will provoke thought and
argues from a principle with which his opponents will have to agree.
A Pharisaic teacher could have offered the same sort of argument
Jesus offers here, for Pharisees could argue by laying one text
against the interpretation of another. Judaism also heavily stressed
honoring and obeying one's parents (for example, Sirach 3:7-8; Jos.
Apion 2.206) and the obligation to support one's parents in their
old age (compare Sirach 3:12-15).
Jewish teachers who debated legal details never contended that such
details were at the heart of the law nor approved of exploiting
loopholes (see, for example, Urbach 1979:1:576). Nevertheless, exploitation
is bound to result in some instances if we spend more time, in religious
institutions or in society, debating laws as laws than in teaching
ethical principles behind the laws. Jesus is not challenging Pharisaic
views about parental support, but the danger of evaluating morality
on the basis of extrabiblical traditions.Jesus then compares this
behavior to Scripture's warning about following human rules rather
than an intimate relationship with God (15:7-9, citing Is 29:13).
Scribes and Pharisees would have taken offense at the appellation
hypocrites (6:2; 22:18; 23:13; 24:51). Like Jesus, Pharisees were
willing to suspend the letter of the law to uphold its spirit (as
in m. Sebi`it 10:3-4; compare Moore 1971:2:31). But the Pharisees
frequently determined morality by extrapolating from tradition.
By demanding that we extrapolate morality instead from biblical
principles, Jesus takes ethics out of the domain of the academy
and courtroom and places it in the daily lives of his followers.
To follow Jesus' guidelines here, church members need to know more
Scripture, not more churchly rules not founded in Scripture.
Jesus finally publicly opposes his challengers by declaring a more
basic principle (15:10-11). Some Pharisees may have agreed with
the principle, but they normally stated it only in private (Pes.
Rab Kah. 4:7), perhaps fearing that some would cease to observe
the literal requirements of the law (compare Philo Migr. Abr. 89-93).
Although Jesus explains his point in private, he first makes it
publicly.
Speaking Truth Can Alienate Influential Opponents
(15:12-14)
Jesus is interested in speaking God's truth, not in winning influential
allies. Although many people respected blunt, radical teachers,
polite Mediterranean society generally emphasized public respect
toward persons of appropriate rank. When one is planning to get
crucified anyway, however, one does not need to accommodate the
opinions of those who lead God's people astray.
>Scholars may debate how much political power the Pharisees held
in this period (the Sadducees certainly held more official power),
but they were highly influential with the people (Jos. Ant. 18.17;
E. Sanders 1992:402-4). Jesus' disciples are thus concerned that
he has publicly shamed his influential interlocutors instead of
reaching out to them (v. 12). Jesus responds by alluding back to
the prophetic image of building or tearing down, planting or uprooting
people according to God's message (v. 13; compare 3:10; Jer 42:10;
45:4); God has concealed his revelation from "the wise and
learned" (11:25-27; 13:11-17; 16:16-17; compare 14:33).
Jesus then graphically compares his self-assured opponents to people
who offer to lead the blind but cannot see themselves (15:14; compare
7:3-5; 13:13; 23:16; Rom 2:19). Even were the interpretation of
such an image difficult, the disciples should have understood him
perfectly well: earlier prophets had also complained that the leaders
of God's people were blind (for example, Is 3:12, 14; 6:10; 9:16).
Jesus Demands a Pure Heart and Ethics, Not
Mere Ritual (15:15-20)
Jesus illustrates his point with a vice list, a standard literary
form in both Jewish (for example, Wisdom 14:25-26; 1QS 4.9-11) and
broader Greco-Roman (for example, Arist. E.E. 2.3.4, 1220b-21; V.V.
1249-51b) circles.
Not food that enters the mouth (Ezek 4:14-15; Acts 10:11-16; Rom
14:1-4; 1 Tim 4:3) but what comes forth (Mt 12:34-37; Eph 4:29;
Jas 1:19) renders a person unclean. Alluding to the Isaiah passage
he has quoted (Is 29:13; compare 59:13), Jesus emphasizes the heart
(compare Mt 5:21-6:18), as did some of his contemporaries (m. 'Abot
2:9). The Pharisees of Jesus' day would have agreed with his emphasis
on inwardness, although not that the outward did not defile.
In a church I know well, a deacon I respect in most other matters
rebuked a person for wearing work clothes to church (even though
she had just gotten off work); another leader in the same church
had gone unrebuked for sleeping with a woman to whom he was not
married. Many of us modern Christians have a lot of nerve to compare
ourselves favorably with the Pharisees!
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out,
"Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering
terribly from demon-possession."
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and
urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!"
she said.
26He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread
and toss it to their dogs."
27"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the
crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request
is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Explanation: A Canaanite Woman's Faith (15:21-28)
Placed immediately after a discussion of purity in both Matthew
and Mark, Jesus' encounter with this Gentile woman brings out the
implications the Evangelists find in his view of purity: Gentiles
will no longer be separated from Israel (compare Acts 10:15, 28;
11:9-18). Like an earlier Gentile in Matthew's Gospel (8:10), this
woman becomes an illustration of faith. Also like the centurion,
this outsider's faith compares favorably with that of some religious
insiders among Jesus' contemporaries (15:1-20).
Matthew reinforces this point by specifying exactly what Mark's
Hellenistic Syro-Phoenician woman (Mk 7:26) means. She is a descendant
of the ancient Canaanites, the bitter biblical enemies of Israel
whose paganism had often led Israel into idolatry (compare Jub.
22:20-22). "Yes," Matthew seems to reply; "God's
compassion extends to all Gentiles." If Tyre and Sidon (15:21)
lead some readers to recall Jezebel, others must recall instead
the widow who supported Elijah (1 Kings 17:8-24; Lk 4:26). The narrative
thus constitutes another of Matthew's invitations to the Gentile
mission (like 2:1-11; 8:5-13), reinforcing the message of 11:21-24
(where Tyre and Sidon were more open to repentance than Galilean
towns were).
The Woman Will Not Take No for an Answer
(15:21-25)
In our culture we might consider this woman rude, but ancient Mediterranean
judges were sometimes so corrupt that among the poor only a persistent,
desperate, otherwise powerless woman could obtain justice from them
(Lk 18:2-5; Bailey 1980:134-35). Both men and women in the Old Testament
(Gen 18:22-32; 32:26-30; Ex 33:12-34:9; 1 Kings 18:36-37; 2 Kings
2:2, 4, 6, 9; 4:14-28) and in the Gospel tradition (Mk 5:28-29;
Jn 2:3-5) show courage by refusing to take no for an answer to a
desperate need. When we recognize that we have nowhere else to turn,
clinging to the only One who can answer us is an act of faith.
Jesus' Mission Is Specifically for Israel
(15:26)
Jesus had left Jewish territory because the masses crowded him and
he needed a short vacation to rest with and teach his disciples
(v. 21; compare 16:13); but this stage of his mission was for Israel
alone (compare 28:19). Thus when his disciples ask him to send the
woman away (15:23), he notes the limitation of his mission (v. 24;
compare 10:6; Rom 15:8). Yet he did not send her away as his disciples
requested, which may have encouraged her to persevere (compare 19:13;
20:31). To her own insistent entreaty (15:25) Jesus responds with
almost equal firmness (v. 26). Some Jewish teachers would have reached
out to the woman, hoping to make her a proselyte (see, for example,
Jos. Ant. 20.34-36; Apion 2.210; m. 'Abot 1:12; Goppelt 1964:54);
Jesus simply snubs her.
The language in Mark is somewhat milder: that the children must
be fed "first" (Mk 7:27) allows for the possibility of
a later healing and a window for the coming Gentile mission (Hurtado
1983:103), but even in Mark the woman's need is too urgent for that.
Jesus probably refers to children's pet dogs; well-to-do Greeks,
unlike Jews, could raise dogs as pets and not view them merely as
troublesome pests (compare Lk 16:21; Ex 22:31). The image is thus
simply one of children's needs (compare 7:9) taking temporal precedence
over those of pets (Lane 1974:262; Anderson 1976:191). Such an admission,
however, hardly transforms the image into a compliment (compare
7:6).
Jesus is not cursing the woman, but he is putting her off (compare
8:7). It is possible that he is testing her, as teachers sometimes
tested their disciples (Jn 6:6; Lev. Rab. 22:6), but he is certainly
reluctant to grant her request and is providing an obstacle for
her faith (compare Jn 2:4). Perhaps he is requiring her to understand
his true mission and identity, lest she treat him as one of the
many wandering magicians to whom Gentiles sometimes appealed for
exorcisms. Yet he is surely also summoning her to recognize Israel's
priority in the divine plan, a recognition that for her will include
an admission of her dependent status. (One may compare Elisha's
requirement that Naaman dip in the Jordan despite Naaman's preference
for the Aramean rivers Abana and Pharpar in 2 Kings 5:10-12, ultimately
leading to Naaman's acknowledgment of Israel's God and land in 2
Kings 5:17-18.) For one of her social status (an elite "Greek"
citizen of Syro-Phoenician race, in Mark's account) this was a dramatic
reversal indeed (see Theissen 1991:66-80); but by calling her a
Canaanite, Matthew's account mutes the class issue, properly focusing
instead on the racial issue, which is more relevant to his own audience.The
Woman Shows Her Faith (15:27-28)
The woman recognizes that Jesus is no mere magician who performs
feats for fame or money. By hailing Jesus as Son of David (v. 22;
compare Ps. Sol. 17:21), she has already acknowledged him as the
rightful king over a nation that had conquered her ancestors (Josh
12:7-24; 2 Sam 8:1-15)-more than many of his own people had done
(Mt 15:2; 21:15-16; 23:39). Like John's woman at the well (Jn 4:25-29;
6:69), this Canaanite woman publicly acknowledged Jesus' identity
before the disciples who wished her to leave had done so (Mt 16:16).
Now she refuses to dispute that Jesus' mission is to Israel first
and that her status is secondary to that of Israelites (Jeremias
1958:30; Rhoads and Michie 1982:131); nevertheless, she believes
Jesus will have more than enough power left over from what Israel
does not need or want. Jesus responds to such striking faith. Jesus
has enough bread for Israel, but the following narrative reinforces
that plenty of scraps remain over for others (15:37). Matthew reminds
his community that all, both Jew and Gentile, can approach God only
through faith in his Messiah (8:10; compare Acts 15:8-11).
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
29Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went
up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing
the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and
laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31The people were amazed
when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame
walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion
for these people; they have already been with me three days and
have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or
they may collapse on the way."
33His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread
in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"
34"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.
"Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
35He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the
seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke
them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
37They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked
up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38The
number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children.
39After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and
went to the vicinity of Magadan.
Explanation: Feeding the Four Thousand (15:29-39)
This narrative, like the feeding of the five thousand (14:15-21),
teaches us about Jesus' power and care for us. He heals the multitudes
(15:29-31), acts out of compassion for their need (v. 32; compare
9:36; 14:14; 20:34) and provides for them (15:33-39).
Jesus Meets People's Needs (15:29-31)
After some time alone with his disciples (v. 21), Jesus returns
to meeting the people's needs. Jesus here meets people's physical
needs (v. 30). Those ultraconservative Christians who have considered
ministry to people's physical needs "liberal" need to
read the Bible more carefully themselves (compare vv. 3, 7-9; Is
1:10-17; 58:3-9; Jer 22:16; Amos 5:21-24). Some theologians have
critiqued some forms of Christianity for focusing on "meeting
our needs" instead of on glorifying God. The critique is partly
right and partly wrong. Jesus met the broken where they were, meeting
their needs. Nevertheless, only those who pressed on to become his
servant-disciples would really come to know who he was. Even his
initial acts of compassion led to God's glory; though the crowds
had exercised some faith in bringing the ailing to Jesus, they still
were amazed by the miracles and praised the God of Israel (Mt 15:30-31).
Recognizing Our Need, Showing Compassion
(15:32)
The text does not suggest that people were complaining about the
food situation. Although one should not argue from silence (especially
on the historical level), it is possible that the passage implies
that Jesus, like his Father, recognizes our need before we ask (6:8,
32). Indeed, sometimes he protects us from dangers of which we are
not even aware.
Disciples Should Grow in Faith (15:33-34)
Jesus acts even though his disciples "don't get it." In
contrast to the multitudes who flock to Jesus for miracles, the
disciples seem blind to his true character (compare Weeden 1971:28);
despite Jesus' earlier feeding miracle, they assume again that they
must procure bread by purely natural means (v. 33). They are still
learning, and Jesus does not yet reprove their unbelief-although
he will if it continues (16:8-11). He demands more of maturer Christians
who have seen his works than he does from young Christians who have
seen fewer (compare Ex 17:5-6; 32:10; Num 14:22-23). Some contemporary
writers say that God acts only in response to faith; in the Bible,
however, he sometimes acts in advance of faith to teach us how to
trust him.
Jesus Organizes His Ministry for Efficiency
(15:35-36)
What was not humanly possible, Jesus performed as a miracle; the
distribution of the food was humanly possible, however, and Jesus
organized it efficiently. The fact that the Lord empowers us is
all the more reason for us to be good stewards of what he gives
and to observe principles like delegated responsibility (Ex 18:14-26).
Tremendous revivals followed the ministries of George Whitefield
and John Wesley. But because Wesley organized his converts (Noll
1992:92), his results have made a greater direct impact on subsequent
generations.
Jesus Again Supplies More Than Enough (15:37-39)
See comment on 14:20-21. Matthew provides both a literal lesson
taken from the story and a figurative lesson based on the context.
Figuratively, the leftovers symbolize that plenty of the "children's
bread" remains for other seekers (15:26-28). But on the literal
level Matthew teaches about God's limitless power and design in
providing his children's needs. One might think that more food would
remain after this feeding miracle than the previous one; after all,
this time Jesus started with more food and fewer people (although
the baskets used this time may have been larger). But such was not
the case, reminding us that God's design rather than natural considerations
determines the magnitude of any miracle.
Everett and Esther Cook pioneered many churches during and after
the Great Depression, trusting God to supply their needs. In one
town, having drawn a small number of women to their opening meetings,
they prayed that God would send them some men as well. Everett decided
to "put some legs to my prayers," as he put it, and went
out to the streets to invite some men; he found only one, but promised
him, "I can definitely guarantee you a seat."The man did
not come that night, but Everett concluded this was fortunate, because
he would have broken his promise: no seats were available! Some
men had driven into town from a nearby army camp, spotted the tent
and entered the meeting. Many were converted and began bringing
their friends, and from that day forward the Cooks' meetings never
lacked for men. God does not always answer prayers so quickly, but
we can be confident that no request offered for his honor is too
hard for him.
