Matthewchapter 15
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A.Tradition Against the Commandment of Godvv. 1-9
1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6 he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
B.What Truly Defiles a Manvv. 10-20
10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.” 12 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. 14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. 17 “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. 20 These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
C.The Canaanite Mother and the Crumbsvv. 21-28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.” 23 But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
D.Healing on the Mountain; Four Thousand Fedvv. 29-39
29 Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.” 33 The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?” 34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” 35 And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 A total of four thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children. 39 After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Chapter summary
Tradition of the elders.
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Chapter summary
Tradition of the elders.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
Tradition of the elders. That which defiles comes from within, not from without. The Syrophoenician woman's faith: 'the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.' Healing on the mountain by the sea of Galilee; four thousand fed from seven loaves. Matthew strings acts of mercy across the clean/unclean boundary that tradition had drawn.
Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.
Context
Gospel · Matthew — Matthew overview
- A. 1–9 Tradition Against the Commandment of God
- B. 10–20 What Truly Defiles a Man
- C. 21–28 The Canaanite Mother and the Crumbs
- D. 29–39 Healing on the Mountain; Four Thousand Fed
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
Mark 712 verses
- Mark 7:2and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.
- Mark 7:3Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially.
- Mark 7:6Jesus 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.
- Mark 7:7They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’
- Mark 7:10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
- Mark 7:14Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:
- Read Mark 7: 6 more there →
Matthew 94 verses
- Matthew 9:8When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
- Matthew 9:27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
- Matthew 9:33And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
- Matthew 9:36When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- Read Matthew 9 →
Luke 63 verses
- Luke 6:17Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.
- Luke 6:39Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
- Luke 6:45The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Read Luke 6 →
Mark 93 verses
- Mark 9:22“It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
- Mark 9:23“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!”
- Mark 9:32But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
- Read Mark 9 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
John 63 verses
- John 6:1After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias).
- John 6:5When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
- John 6:10“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
- Read John 6 →
Mark 83 verses
- Mark 8:4His disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could anyone find enough bread to feed all these people?”
- Mark 8:10He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
- Mark 8:19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered.
- Read Mark 8 →
Matthew 232 verses
- Matthew 23:16Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
- Matthew 23:23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
- Read Matthew 23 →
Matthew 52 verses
- Matthew 5:1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
- Matthew 5:20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Read Matthew 5 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.