Jesus addresses bad traditions that the Jews were very careful about following and then proceeds to give a case study in how to show mercy at the expense of tradition by travelling between 30 and 50 miles to the region of Tyre and Sidon where he is met by a woman with a request to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Jesus leads her along to demonstrate to the disciples their thinking. The woman sees through the game and persists to plead her case and finally Jesus heals her daughter and sends her on her way. Again Matthew includes the statement (one of ten such statements) where Jesus heals all who came to him. Then he includes the feeding of 4000 who were no doubt gentiles. Again breaking from tradition to give mercy to people in need.
SHOW NOTES
Matthew 15 NLT—Traditions and Authenticity
15 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
Traditions are not necessarily bad. Traditions are maintained because they make life predictable and provide order and security. At times traditions benefit the leaders, who then support the tradition. Traditions can work with law or they can violate law. Jesus will now challenge the religious leaders on a tradition that does violate their law as given to Moses.
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’
Jesus quotes from the ten commandments and also from the book of the law which was placed next to the ark of the covenant. Jesus shows that their tradition violates both levels of law. It is a strong argument.
5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.
This is an example of a tradition which benefits the temple and the Priests and Pharisees and disadvantages parents. It violates the law for selfish gain.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
The temptation of religious leaders is to claim that their ideas are also God’s ideas. This is classic hypocrisy. Sometimes it is hard to discern when this is happening. Much Scripture can be repurposed to suit traditionalists’ desires. “Be still and know that I am God” is used to encourage reverence in the sanctuary when it is an admonition to stop arguing and start discerning the mind of God.
Jesus indicts their selfish hearts (hearts far from me) and their pretense that traditions are divine commands. This is most obvious in the motivation for giving money to the church. Give and God will bless you. The motivation for commitment to Christ is painted as happiness ever after and the avoidance of pain ever after. There is no recognition that we come to Christ because his self-sacrificing love has captured our hearts. We hear his voice and follow him out of admiration and adoration.
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
Giving money to the temple at the expense of needy parents revealed the defiled hearts of those following this man-made tradition. Man-made traditions of following ceremonial handwashing and not mixing dairy with red meat did not defile their hearts. They did distract the unthinking from serious commitment to loving others.
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
The disciples must tell Jesus what he already knows before they realized the situation. Jesus understands the politics of what the consequences will be of his teaching. Jesus’ answer follows the logic of the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. The enemy plants the weeds.
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
“Ignore them,” “They are blind guides.” It is this way even more so in our time. We have digital media and advertising by the spiritually blind and we need to ignore these prophets of selfishness.
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
It makes good sense to eat a healthy diet but know that pork chops and whisky do not defile your heart. The way we think about those who displease us might very well defile your heart. Seeking revenge for righteous purpose will defile you. These same leaders will in a few months want Jesus body taken off the cross before the sun sets and the Sabbath commences. They are majoring in minors. They are sacrificing mercy on the altar of revenge and tradition when Jesus is clear, “I do not want sacrifice, I want mercy!”
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
Jesus will now give a case study in how to show mercy at the expense of tradition. He will role play the traditions of the Jews towards Gentiles while at the time using body language to encourage the desperate woman to keep to her mission.
21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” 23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word.
The woman is asking for mercy. Jesus ignores her as every Jew would have. This is confirmed by the disciple’s response
23 cont. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
To the disciples this was not a suffering human being but a Gentile annoyance on a Jewish journey.
24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
Jesus is echoing the disciples thinking. They would have been pleased with this response of Jesus.
25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
This woman is annoying. She uses all the political tricks she knows of: begging, worshiping and pleading for help. The disciples are afraid Jesus is going to capitulate but relax with pleasure at his next response.
26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
This is the knock-out punch from Jesus. This is the response a Gentile deserves. The disciples are pleased with Jesus’ response.
27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
She is persistent. She will not take “No” for an answer. “Be a man Jesus, don’t let her wear you down,” is what Peter was thinking.
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
The relief of the woman was palpable. The chagrin of the disciples was visible. Mercy has triumphed over bad tradition. Did you catch the “Dear woman?” Do you get the compassion and affection Jesus expresses for her? It was more than a shock for the disciples. They would have caught the implication of the title Jesus gave her.
This incident was part of the process of encouraging the disciples to deal with their prejudice against non- Jews. It would take a long time and the Spirit would have to continue the education Jesus started.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
This is a repeat of the situation at the end of chapter 4 and chapter 9 where Jesus heals all who come to him to be healed. In these mass healings Jesus is bringing joy to Israel. Heaven has come down to earth for the recipients of his mercy, compassion and affection. I too praise the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
33 The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
Jesus had fed 5000 Jews (14:13-21) (outside Bethsaida; cf. Luke 9:10), but these 4000 are Gentiles (borders of Decapolis; cf. Mark 7:31). The encounter with the Gentile woman in (27) has not sunk in and it will take more time before the disciples realize Gentiles are also God’s favoured people (NLT Study Bible on 15:32-39). Feeding the 5000 is mentioned in all four gospels because it is of such significance and is the current manifestation of the gift of manna in the desert. It was impossible that the disciples could have forgotten this miracle. It was their prejudice not their memories which caused the question.
34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.
7 loaves and 7 baskets. This is a reminder that God made the world in 7 days and our lives are complete in him. The sequences of seven are emphasized in John’s book, Revelation and in his gospel. In addition to the seven signs which demonstrate the divinity of Jesus.
John outlines seven major discourses given by Jesus: 1. The New Birth (3:1-36), 2. The Water of Life (4:1-42), 3. The Divine Son (5:19-47), 4. The Bread of Life (6:22-66), 5. The Life-Giving Spirit (7:1- 52), 6. The Light of the World (8:12-59), 7. The Good Shepherd (10:1-42).
John records seven absolute “I AM” Statements of Jesus. (Gr. ego eimi). 1. I am—do not be afraid (6:20), 2. I am—believe and live (8:24), 3. I am—taught by the Father (8:28), 4. I am—before Abraham (8:58), 5. I am—Jesus of Nazareth (18:5), 6. I am—they fell to the ground (18:6), 7. I am—let these go (18:8).
John also has seven Metaphorical “I AM” statements: 1. I am the bread of life (6:35, 48, 51), 2. I am the light of the world (8:12. 9:5), 3. I am the door of the sheep (10:7, 9), 4. I am the good shepherd (10:11, 14), 5. I am the resurrection and the life (11:25), 6. I am the way [to God], the truth [about God], and the life [of God] (14:6), 7. I am the true vine (15:1, 5).
38 There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
Ian Hartley, November 2024
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