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Chapter 15
What Defiles a Man
15:1-2 Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, "Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat."
It was not out of concern for their own spiritual condition, or for that of the people, but in order to oppose Jesus that the Pharisees came all the way from Jerusalem to Galilee. Their question was designed to discredit Jesus and to stir the people against him, as they accuse him of failing to instruct his disciples to obey the various religious regulations which they themselves had laid down.
15:3 He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
Firstly, Jesus confronts the question of man made rules, and later deals with the matter of ceremonial washing. Any tradition which has at its heart obeying the commandments of God is good, but the Pharisees had substituted religious tradition for the commandments of God, a fact which revealed how far from God the Pharisees were in their hearts..
15:4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.'
Jesus reminds them of the commandment of God to honor and respect parents. The word honor, as Jesus teaching goes on to clarify, involves the idea of financial help and support in other ways.
15:5-6 But you say, 'If someone tells his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God," he does not need to honor his father.' You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.
The Pharisees had made a practice of teaching people to devote to God, by gifts and offerings, money which was supposed to be used to help elderly parents. The act of giving to God may have seemed very commendable, but not when it involved the breaking of his laws.
God did not want the money which was given on this basis, or this time, if indeed time to help could have been given, but was instead devoted to the Lord.
15:7-9 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
This substitution of the doctrines of men for the word of God revealed just how far the Pharisees hearts had become from God. They praised God with their mouths, but they failed to obey his commandments, revealing that their hearts were far from him. They were hypocrites, play actors, showing men that they were righteous, when in fact they were not willing to humble themselves before God and obey Him.
15:10-11 Then he called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person."
Jesus now returns to the question of ceremonial washing, and his answer in fact deals with every external religious practice. Later, he explains his comment fully to his disciples. Nothing that enters the mouth of man can cause him to be unclean in the presence of God. What we eat does not bring us to God, what we do not eat doe not bring us to God. Whether we wash our hands before we eat, it may well be good for the prevention of germs, but it has no effect whatever on our relationship to God. It is what comes from within man, and is revealed through his mouth, that effects our relationship to God.
False Teachers
15:12-14 Then the disciples came to him and said, "Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?" And he replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit."
Firstly, though, before explaining this fully to his disciples, Jesus deals with the matter of upsetting the Pharisees. His disciples saw that the Pharisees were offended by Jesus hit at their artificial religion. But Jesus is neither sorry nor apologetic. He does not need to curry the favor of men. Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted will be plucked up by the roots. If the Pharisees would repent and turn to God in faith, then they would be born again, and become in this sense plants of his planting. But since they are not, they are like the weeds Jesus spoke of in his earlier parable, which are to be burned (Matt. 13:40-42).
In saying this Jesus completely rejects all forms of false religion as having absolutely nothing whatever to do with God.
Such men, who are willfully blind, we will be unable to pursuade, which is why Jesus says "Leave them" If his words offend them, what shall ours accomplish? They are blind guides, for they teach others the way of God, but are ignorant of that way themselves, can only teach it in error.
The result of not following Christ will be to fall into the pit of everlasting destruction which awaits all unbelievers (John 3:36).
15:15 But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."
The fact that Peter requires an explanation of Christ's teaching is disappointing to Jesus. Didn't they understand by now? Peter even thoughts that this straight forward teaching was a parable.
15:16 Jesus said, "Even after all this, are you still so foolish?
The word foolish can be translated dull, unable to perceive and take in spiritual truth, when he should have done so.
15:17 Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?
Whatever food we eat is digested in the body, the nutrients used and the waste expelled from the body. The food we eat has absolutely no impact on our spiritual lives.
15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person.
But what is revealed by a mans words to be in his heart are those sinful things, deeds of the sinful nature, which defile the man, and make him unclean, a sinner in the sight of God.
15:19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
These are the evil imagination of the heart, the hatred which leads to murder, the lust which leads to sexual immorality and adultery, the greed which leads to theft, the crookedness which leads to telling lies and the envy and spite which leads to slander.
15:20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person."
These are the things which defile the life, not whether or not we have washed our hands, or taken part in any other religious observance, including those ordinances enjoined by the Lord himself. For if our hearts are not right, the outward sign of baptism or receiving communion will be of no benefit to us.
An Object Lesson in Faith
15:21-22 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!"
In foreign parts, a foreign woman came to ask Jesus to perform a miracle and cast a demon out of her daughter. She recognizes his power and his ability to do such miracles, and that he has been invested with this authority by God himself, for she calls him Lord, and son of David (Christ).
15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us."
In order to teach an object lesson on faith, Jesus initially does not reply. Notice how the woman is not at all deterred, but continues to call out after him for the same purpose. The disciples become uncomfortable. If your ignoring her Lord, best send her away really. Tell her to stop.
15:24 So he answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But Jesus had no intention of deterring the woman's faith. Yet now he explains to her that his present mission was for Jews, which she is not.
15:25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, "Lord, help me!"
This did not deter the woman, being confident of Jesus ability and willingness, she persists with her request.
15:26 "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs," he said.
One might have thought this final rebuff sufficient to stop any less a seeker from persisting. If what was given to the children of Israel was for them alone, it should not be given to foreigners ,who were like dogs.
15:27 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
The woman wins the victory, for hr faith will not be deterred by such arguments. What if she were not a Jew, but a dog, even dogs take a share in what is being given to the family. There is bound to be something here for me, she decides.
15:28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Jesus has got the object lesson of faith which he desires. Her faith would not be deterred. She shows us o this day a lesson in how to get something from Jesus. Jesus gladly grants her request, and the demon immediately leaves her daughter for good.
Later, Christ's mission was extended as he sent his disciples to all the world, every creature. If this woman got what she wanted when the time was not right, how much easier it should be now to get what we need. Yet to receive we must follow the same example of faith.
An Object Lesson in Unbelief (the Disciples)
15:29-31 When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down. Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus, as his custom was, went up the mountain in order to sit and teach the crowds of people the Word of God. Yet they thronged to him for healing, an he did not disappoint any of them. For they are all healed of so many various diseases. The crowd were astonished to see the results of miraculous healing, and gave glory to God.
15:32 Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."
It was not long since the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus had miraculously healed everyone there. Yet notice how he here tests his disciples faith. Jesus, once again, wants to feed the multitudes, since they have remained to hear his word, they had not food left. Christ was concerned lest they faint buy the way. We should always keep in mind that Christ is concerned for our physical condition, and adopts a very common sense approach to keeping our bodies healthy. The people needed to eat.
15:33 The disciples said to him, "Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?"
But the disciples still had not got the point. They had already witnessed the feeding of the 5,000 yet fail to trust in Jesus for the present need, they begin looking to their own resources, and conclude that it is impossible. Their unbelief, of course, did not hinder the Lord Jesus Christ from doing what he had determined to do.
15:34-39 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They replied, "Seven — and a few small fish." After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Not counting children and women, there were four thousand men who ate. After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
With a similar amount of fish, a similar number of people, and in exactly the same way to the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus fed the crowd of four thousand, and the disciples gathered seven baskets of left overs. Yet even after this event, and his teaching, the disciples had not yet learnt the lesson which Jesus wished to teach them (Matt. 16:5-12).
Having sent the crowds home, Jesus and his disciples crossed over the sea of Galilee to Magdala, where Mary Magdalene came from.
