Matthew Henry

For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.

“Though it was dangerous to offend Herod, and much more to offend Herodias, yet John would run the hazard rather than be wanting in his duty.”

because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man.

“Observe, [1.] John was a just man, and a holy; to make a complete good man, both justice and holiness are necessary; holiness toward God, and justice toward men.”

Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” And her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.”

“The promise was rashly made, and could not bind him to do an unrighteous thing. Sinful oaths must be repented of, and therefore not performed; for repentance is the undoing of what we have done amiss, as far as is in our power.”

By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late.

“This the disciples suggested to Christ; but we do not find that the multitude themselves did. They did not say, Send us away (though they could not but be hungry), for they esteemed the words of Christ's mouth more than their necessary food, and forgot…”

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

“This miracle was significant, and shows that Christ came into the world, to be the great feeder as well as the great healer; not only to restore, but to preserve and nourish, spiritual life; and in him there is enough for all that come to…”

He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them.

“The church is often like a ship at sea, tossed with tempests, and not comforted we may have Christ for us, and yet wind and tide against us; but it is a comfort to Christ's disciples in a storm, that their Master is in the…”

and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.

“The disciples knew (it is probable) that the Pharisees had their eye upon them, and yet they would not humour them by a compliance with their traditions, but took their liberty as at other times, and ate bread with unwashen hands; and herein their righteousness…”

Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

“They honour me with their lips, they pretend it is for the glory of God that they impose those things, to distinguish themselves from the heathen; but really their heart is far from God, and is governed by nothing but ambition and covetousness.”

You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.”

“Note, Superstition is an endless thing. If one human invention and institution be admitted, though seemingly ever so innocent, as this of washing hands, behold, a troop comes, a door is opened for many other such things.”

You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.”

“Note, It is the mischief of impositions, that too often they who are zealous for them, have little zeal for the essential duties of religion, but can contentedly see them laid aside.”

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

“Hence it is easy to infer, that it is the duty of children, if their parents be poor, to relieve them, according to their ability; and if those children are worthy to die, that curse their parents, much more those that starve them.”

But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God),

“These eager imposers of such ceremonies, at first only made light of God's commandments in comparison with their traditions, but afterward made void God's commandments, if they stood in competition with them.”

Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:

“Note, It is not enough for the common people to hear, but they must understand what they hear. When Christ would run down the tradition of the Pharisees about washing before meat, he strikes at the opinion which was the root of it.”

Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”

“But, (2.) It is by the breaking out of the corruption that is in our hearts; the mind and conscience are defiled, guilt is contracted, and we become odious in the sight of God by that which comes out of us; our wicked thoughts and…”

For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

“Divers particulars are specified, as in Matthew; we had one there, which is not here, and that is, false witness-bearing; but seven are mentioned here, to be added to those we had there.”

Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet.

“The application made to him by a poor woman in distress and trouble. She was a Gentile, a Greek, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, an alien to the covenant of promise; she was by extraction a Syrophenician, and not in any degree proselyted…”

Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

“Note, The greatest blessing we can ask of Christ for our children is, that he would break the power of Satan, that is, the power of sin, in their souls; and particularly, that he would cast forth the unclean spirit, that they may be temples…”

“First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“But his saying, Let the children first be filled, intimates that there was mercy in reserve for the Gentiles, and not far off; for the Jews began already to be surfeited with the gospel of Christ, and some of them had desired him to depart…”

Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.

“It is not said, They besought him to cure him, but to put his hand upon him, to take cognizance of his case, and put forth his power to do to him as he pleased.”

And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”).

“And as to this man, he sighed, not because he was loth to do him this kindness, or did it with reluctancy; but because of the many temptations which he would be exposed to, and the sins he would be in danger of, the tongue-sins…”

Immediately the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.

“Now this cure was, (1.) A proof of Christ's being the Messiah; for it was foretold that by his power the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb should be made to sing, Isa. xxxv. (2.)”

Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it.

“Most men will proclaim their own goodness, or, at least, desire that others should proclaim it; but Christ, though he was himself in no danger of being puffed up with it, knowing that we are, would thus set us an example of self-denial, as in…”

The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

“He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak; and that is well, it is well for them, it is well for their relations, to whom they had been a burthen; and therefore they are inexcusable who speak ill of him.”

In those days the crowd once again became very large, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called the disciples to Him and said,

“It was an old saying among the Puritans, Grown bread and the gospel are good fare. As Christ has a compassion for all that are in wants and straits, so he has a special concern for those that are reduced to straits by their zeal…”

If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a great distance.”

“I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, Rev. ii. Christ would by no means have them go home fasting, for it is not his manner to send those empty way from him, that in a right manner attend on him.”