Matthew 15

1-20 After Jesus heals the sick, scribes and Pharisees came to Him and asked Him about his disciples and said "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread." Here we see they even called it "tradition" Jesus has been combating this with truth and the Pharisees and scribes were still habitual in their traditions. They found fault with the unwashen of hands before you eat Mark 7:2 and one time a Pharisee asked Jesus to dine with him and when Jesus sat down to eat, the Pharisee was shocked that Jesus did not wash his hands before eating Luke 11:37-38. 

 

Their focus was so much on the traditions that they put it above the commandments of God. There were a lot of traditions, they were called "oral law" which they say has been handed down from generation to generation and one of the strictest ones was ceremonial purification and it was numberless on how many of these they were. There is nothing wrong with washing your hands before you eat, but the Pharisees was missing the point. Jesus said "Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?" Luke 11:39-40. In other words, they were so focused on righteousness by works, they didn’t even realize their need to have righteousness by faith to have a cleansing of the heart. Jesus gives them an example, by saying the bible says Honour thy father and mother and he that curseth father and mother let him do the death which is found in Exodus 21:17; Proverbs 20:20. Then Jesus shares what their tradition is and what they say. Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, this is a gift for the temple, instead of giving it to help the parents and not to honour father or mother shall be free. By doing this they have made of no effect the commandment of God to keep their tradition.

 

If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother." They set aside the fifth commandment as of no consequence, but were very exact in carrying out the traditions of the elders. They taught the people that the devotion of their property to the temple was a duty more sacred than even the support of their parents; and that, however great the necessity, it was sacrilege to impart to father or mother any part of what had been thus consecrated. An undutiful child had only to pronounce the word "Corban" over his property, thus devoting it to God, and he could retain it for his own use during his lifetime, and after his death it was to be appropriated to the temple service. Thus he was at liberty, both in life and in death, to dishonor and defraud his parents, under cover of a pretended devotion to God. DA 396.4

 

Under the disguise to be faithful to God, children do not have to support their parents because they were giving their property and means to the temple. The rulers and scribes has taught the people to do this for selfish gain. God wants to further the work and the cause of the gospel and He loves a cheerful giver, but to deceive the people so the priests and rabbi can use it for themselves is wrong because they make the commandment of God of none effect by their traditions. Then Jesus told them that Esaias has prophesied concerning them in Isaiah 29:13. They draw nigh unto him with their mouth and talk a lot nice things with their lips but their heart is far from him. In other words, they have  a lot of talk, but no action. As a result, they worship God in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men instead of the commandments of God. 

 

So Jesus calls the multitudes and says, listen and understand, that which comes out of the mouth defiles a man. What you say defiles a man, because it is coming from the heart of man. The disciples must have saw how the Pharisees were offended by what Jesus said, because the disciples came to Jesus and said that the Pharisees were offended by what you said and Jesus answered "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." In other words, anything that is put above the commandments of God will be of no value. To substitute the commandments of God for the commandments of men will be worshiping God in vain. People cling to their traditions because it has been passed down from generation to generation and when truth is heard it is difficult for them to accept it because it has been kept for so long and people get offended and end up hating those who tell them the truth. Which ultimately they are making themselves God.

 

Jesus explained that defilement comes not from without, but from within. Purity and impurity pertain to the soul. It is the evil deed, the evil word, the evil thought, the transgression of the law of God, not the neglect of external, man-made ceremonies, that defiles a man. DA 397.4

 

Jesus explains what defiles a man is within the heart, not these man made traditions. They are keeping these traditions because they are defiled from within. Pharisees are so focused on external etiquettes that they are not even thinking about the true condition of their heart. So they will wither away and be gathered and cast into a burning fire because they abide not in Jesus and receive His words. They are blind leaders and the people that follow them will also be blind and they both will fall into a ditch.

 

The disciples didn't fully understand and ask Jesus to explain this parable, but Jesus said "Are ye also yet without understanding?" Or blind? and Jesus said it plainly, that when you eat something it goes into the belly and goes through the digestion system and comes out as waste or dump (17) but the things that are said or comes out of the mouth, it comes from the heart and they defile the man because in his heart are evil thoughts, thinking about murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lying, blasphemies (making yourself God) Jesus list more in Mark 7:21-22. These are the things that defile a man, eating food without washing your hands do not defile a man. It’s good to do but it has nothing to do with defilement of the heart.

 

In summary, we need to stop doing lip service and start do heart service. What defiles a man is within and not without and we should not get offended. If we do get offended, then the Father has not planted it and we will get rooted up.

 

21-31 So Jesus left and went to Tyre and Sidon and a woman also came seeking Him about her daughter who was possessed with a devil, but at first Jesus did not answer her and his disciples came to Him saying, send her away, because she is begging us. The Jews did not like the Canaanite people and this woman was from there. But Jesus said, I am sent to the people who are lost in Israel, but she still came and worshipped Him saying, please help me. The woman persistently urged her case and Jesus says to her, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to the dogs. The truth has been given to Israel and the truth should have been shared to those who are hungering and wanting to know the light of the gospel. Christ was reaching those who were the lost sheep of Israel and this woman was one of them. She said to Jesus that the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall form their masters’ table. She was willing to accept whatever truth that Jesus was willing to give. Jesus saw her faith and granted what she asked and her daughter was healed in that very hour. 

 

Jesus came to break down the wall of prejudice and barriers that exist between Jew and Gentile and even in our world today. He has done this by His death on the cross. There are souls longing to hear the truth and the gospel and it will break down hatred, discrimination, prejudice, favoritism, and even violence. Caste is hateful to God. God does not favor groups, rank, race, or social division base on those things. God see each person as equal value. Without distinction of age, or rank, or nationality, or religious privilege, all are invited to come unto Him and live. Everyone has the opportunity to accept Christ when the knowledge of his love is known. Only the person’s choice can prevent them from becoming a partaker of the divine nature when the gospel is heard. Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28; Acts 17:26-27; Romans 10:11-13 We must treat people the same, God wants all to be saved. 

 

Jesus left and went to the Sea of Galilee and went up to a mountain and there a multitude followed him having with them those that are sick, lame, blind, dumb, and deaf and brought them to Jesus and the bible says they brought them to Jesus’ feet and he healed them. In the book of Mark 7 which corresponds with this chapter, it gives a story of a man being healed by Jesus and he was deaf and couldn’t speak well, but Jesus took him away from the multitude, like to speak with him one on one or privately. I wonder why He did that? Could it be that when the man will hear it will be to noisy for him or he didn’t want anyone to see because he told him not to tell anyone, but the multitude did see the dumb speak and the lame to walk, the blind to see and the multitudes gave glory to God. The man that was healed from being deaf went about telling that he was healed. I can imagine that he will not keep quiet because he was not able to speak. But before Jesus healed him, the bible says that "he sighed" why did Jesus sighed? in the book called Desire of Ages page 404.2, he sighed because Jesus thought of those who ears are not open to the truth and the tongues that refuse to acknowledge the Redeemer, but the man went abroad and share his testimony that he was healed.

 

32-39 The multitudes that were with Jesus were not Jews as when Jesus and his disciples in the feeding of the five thousand in Bethsaida, these were Gentiles and heathen. They stayed there three days and at the end of the three days they ran out of food and Jesus did not want to send them away hungry, verse 32 says, "lest they faint in the way" the disciples seen what Jesus did in the feeding of the five thousand but they expressed unbelief by saying "Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness as to fill so great a multitude?" We need to remember what God has done for us, which is to encourage us to move forward in faith. The disciples see Jesus interact with the Syrophenician woman which was a Gentile and now Jesus again teaches the lesson of others who are not Jews need to hear the truth as well and they saw Jesus heal and share the truth with these people for three days. Jesus ask them "how many loaves have ye?" and the disciples says we have seven, and a few little fishes. So Jesus commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground and took the seven loaves and fished and gave thanks, brake them and gave it to the disciples and the disciples to the multitude. 

 

Everyone ate and were filled and there were seven baskets left over and the multitude was four thousand beside woman and children as oppose to five thousand in Bethsaida. Jesus sent the multitude away and took ship and came to the coasts of Magdala.