Then some Pharisees and religious teachers from Jerusalem came to Jesus
and asked him,“Why do your disciples break the tradition of our forefathers
and do not wash their hands before they eat a meal?”He replied, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?For God said,
‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks evil of their father
or mother should be put to death.’But you say that if someone says to their father or mother, ‘Whatever you might have expected to get from me is now a gift to God,’ then they do not have to honor their father or mother. In this
way you have annulled the word of God because of your tradition.You
hypocrites, Isaiah prophesied rightly about you:‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.Their worship of Me is
pointless, because they are teaching as doctrines just human rules.’” 10 Jesus called the crowd over to him and said to them, “Listen and
understand: 11 it is not what goes in through the mouth that defiles you, but
what comes out of the mouth — that is what defiles you.” 12 Then the
disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees were
offended by what you said?” 13 He replied, “Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.
14 Leave them alone. They are
blind guides of the blind. If a blind person leads a blind person, then they will both fall
into a pit.”15 Then Peter asked, “Please explain this parable to us.” 16 Jesus replied, “Do you not understand yet? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes in through the mouth passes through the stomach, and then leaves as waste? 18 But whatever comes out through the mouth comes from the heart, and that
is what defiles you. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder,
adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies, and slander, 20 and these are what
defile you. To eat with unwashed hands does not defile you.” 21 Jesus left there and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite
woman from that region came and cried out, “lord,[146] son of David, please
have mercy on me, because my daughter is suffering severely from a
demon.” 23 But Jesus did not reply at all. His disciples came to him and
begged him, “Send her away. She is really bothering us with her shouting!” 24 Jesus said to the woman, “I was commissioned only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “lord, please help me!” 26 He said, “It is not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She replied, “Yes, lord, but even the dogs can eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Jesus answered, “O woman, your faith is great! May it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that very moment.[147] 29 Jesus left there and went towards the Lake of Galilee. He went into the mountains and sat down there. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing people who were lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them on the ground at his feet, and he healed them. 31 The crowd was astounded at
what they saw: the deaf speaking, the crippled healed, the lame walking, and
the blind seeing. They praised the God of Israel.[148] 32 Jesus called his disciples over and said to them, “I feel compassion for
all these people, because they have been with me now for three days, and
have not had anything to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, in case
they faint on their way home.” 33 The disciples responded, “Where could we find enough bread in this empty place to feed such a huge crowd?” 34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them into pieces and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd. 37 Everybody ate until they were full, and then they collected the left-overs,
filling seven baskets. 38 Those eating numbered 4,000 men, not
counting women and children. 39 Then he sent the crowds away, got into a
boat, and went to the Magadan region.
Commentary
Matthew
[145]
The threatening possibility of being rejected by Jesus, despite one’s “sincerity,” is shown by
Jesus’ powerful warning in 7:21-29.
[146]
An obvious use of the Messianic title “lord” (adoni, my lord) based on the key text in Ps.
110:1, where the second lord is never the designation of Deity. Cp. Lk. 2:11: “Messiah lord” as distinct
from “the Lord’s [Yahweh’s] Messiah” (Lk. 2:26).
[147]
This beautiful episode gives us the story of an argument which Jesus did not win! The lady’s faith overcame all obstacles. So should ours.
[148]
The One God of the unitary monotheism of the creed of Israel and of Jesus in Mark 12:28ff. The Trinity was unknown to Jesus and the Apostles. It was a later attempt to explain God in the alien terms of Greek philosophy. The later attempts to base it on the NT were to justify what became embedded in creeds as tradition. The fruits of that misdevelopment have been horrifying in terms of contention, argumentation and division. Many have been martyred, notably Servetus murdered with the approval of John Calvin, for their loyalty to the creed of Jesus in Mark 12:29 and John 17:3. John Milton and Sir Isaac Newton were strong anti-Trinitarians.
Matthew