| << Matt 14 | |
| << Mark 6 | |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Matthew 15; Mark 7:1-8:9 Listen 
In these passages, we note the following in Jesus' ministry:
How come y'all don't wash your hands? (Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23)
Matthew 15 |
Mark 7 |
| 1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 ¶ He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” 10 ¶ When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 12 ¶ Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 ¶ But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” 15 ¶ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 ¶ So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” |
1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. |
The Pharisees washed their hands...a lot! They acknowledge in this passage that the practice was "the tradition of the elders." Literally, it was part of the oral tradition that had been passed down. This oral tradition is the equivalent of our federal judges issuing opinions regarding applications of our United States Constitution. These oral traditions were finally written down in the second century A.D. into what is known as the Mishnah, a six-volume set of books. By the fifth century the oral addendum to the Mishnah had grown into a 63-volume set of books known as the Talmud. Try reading that through in a year!
This hand-washing ritual before meals, the violation of which the disciples were being criticized, had no basis in the Law of Moses. However, since it was one of those very sacred extra-scriptural observances of these pious Jewish leaders, they were very critical. It was not a question of hygiene, but moral purity as far as they were concerned - all man-made law. Mark goes into more detail than Matthew regarding the background and basis of this Pharisaical practice of ritual washings in verses 2-5 of his account.
How do you answer a stupid question? I say "stupid question" because this hand-washing doctrine had no basis in Mosaic Law. it wasn't a sincere query...just the Pharisees trying to find fault with Jesus and his disciples. Jesus chooses another of their "laws" to show how they blatantly had been using their special supplement to the Law of Moses for selfish gain. On the one hand, they considered it their personal responsibility to care for their parents in their old age. As a matter of fact, Jesus mentions two laws regarding the treatment of parents - the fifth commandment found in Exodus 20:12 (see notes) and the provision which forbids cursing one's parents in Exodus 21:17 (see notes).
But what if you were so selfish that you didn't want to take care of your parents. Here's the loophole - called "corban." That's the Hebrew word for "offering" to God, used 82 times in the Old Testament in the context of sacrificial offerings/oblations brought to the Tabernacle/Temple; 78 of those times are found in Leviticus and Numbers. Mark uses the exact Hebrew word (transliterated) in his account; he wants to make certain his readers understand exactly what loophole these hypocritical Pharisees are invoking. However, they offered their possessions with a little bit of a twist. They would pledge their possessions to God (the temple) at their deaths with full rights to use their own wealth as long as they desired while they were living. However, (as they practiced it) this pledge prevented them from giving away any of these possessions for any reason, including provisions for their parents in their old age (or so they said). "Sorry Mom and Dad - can't help - pledged all my possessions to God." Incidentally, what must your parents have done to you as a child to merit such treatment? What a loophole! Do you think that kind of hypocrisy and legal acrobatics will go unnoticed by Jesus? He immediately points out that Isaiah had prophesied this kind of conduct by a disobedient Jewish nation in Isaiah 29:13 (see notes), "Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men." Jesus quotes Isaiah in Matthew 15:9 when he says, "And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Wow! That's exactly what they were doing. And...I'm afraid that many religious people are still doing that today...just like Isaiah said they would...just like the Pharisees. So, what happens when you mix tradition into your doctrine, giving it the same weight as scripture? There's your answer in Mark 7:13, "making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."
"Hey Jesus! We think you insulted the Pharisees with this one," the disciples reported in Matthew 15:12. Matthew, as an Apostle, would have been on the scene when this exchange took place. He recalls in his account the concern the disciples had with regard to how this conflict seemed to set with the hypocritical Jewish leaders. Does it appear that Jesus' disciples may have thought it better to compromise a little on this one? Obviously, they just didn't quite get it either. Hygiene is good, but moral purity has nothing to do with ritually washing ones hands before eating or the sanitary condition of substances taken into the body. Here's what defiles: that which proceeds from a man. Here's the list of defiling conduct in Matthew 15:19 and Mark 7:21-22.
Jesus uses "heart" (Greek: kardia) in this context the same way we use it in English today, figuratively as the seat of the emotions and as the seat of thought. No educated person in Jesus' day believed that thinking processes literally took place in the heart. Therefore, when Jesus refers to a defiled heart, he is speaking of one who stands in rebellion against God. This defilement is a product of the Adamic nature of man. In other words, these Jewish leaders about whom Jesus was speaking did not have an authentic relationship with God. That's the core problem Jesus is addressing here.
Now this is one persistent Gentile woman! (Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30)
Matthew 15 |
Mark 7 |
| 21 ¶ Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 ¶ But He answered her not a word. ¶ And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 ¶ But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 ¶ Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 ¶ But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 ¶ And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 ¶ Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. |
24 ¶ From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 28 ¶ And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” 29 ¶ Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 ¶ And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. |
Jesus is north of Israel up near Tyre and Sidon (in Syria) ministering. This woman is of Canaanite descent according to Matthew, and Mark reports that she is a native of the Phoenician seaboard up in Syria ("Syrophenician") - probably Greek in religion, and also in speech. She is quite perceptive when she cries out to Jesus, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David." Matthew saw the exact phrasing of this plea to be significant. It demonstrated that she knew who Jesus was and why he had come...his Messianic mission. Jesus points out that his primary ministry is to present himself as Messiah to the Jews, and she's a gentile, not a Jew. She's persistent though - not really interested in technicalities. Could it be that she also understood that the prophet Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would also be ministering to Gentiles (Isaiah 54, see notes)? She's a quick thinker too - very fluent with the perfect rebuttal - the dogs-eating-crumbs rebuttal. As scavengers, dogs ate whatever wasn't consumed by the intended recipient. Result: Jesus heals her daughter.
Some folks just can't keep a secret (Matthew 15:29-31 and Mark 7:31-37)
Matthew 15 |
Mark 7 |
| 29 ¶ Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. |
31 ¶ Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 ¶ Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” |
Jesus left Syria and is now ministering in Decapolis, southeast of the Sea of Galilee; this area was predominantly occupied by Greeks where Matthew simply reports that Jesus healed a "multitude" of people who were brought to him. Mark, on the other hand, recalls for us on that occasion the healing of one particular man, a deaf/dumb man. Mark gives a detailed account, including the Aramaic word ("Ephphatha") Jesus uses when he commands that the man's ears "be opened." The multitude is impressed and subsequently publish these miracles despite Jesus' plea that they not do so.
Jesus feeds a multitude...again (Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9)
Matthew 15 |
Mark 8 |
| 32 ¶ Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 ¶ Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” 34 ¶ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” ¶ And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” 35 ¶ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. |
1 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” 4 ¶ Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” 5 ¶ He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” ¶ And they said, “Seven.” 6 ¶ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, |
This crowd has been with Jesus for three days, and they're hungry - all 4,000 of them. Matthew points out that the 4,000 was just an accounting of the men present who were fed, not counting "women and children." Look at the questions posed by the disciples in verse 33, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" Hey! Didn't you guys learn anything back in Matthew 14 (see notes) when the 5,000+ were fed? Another feed miracle takes place from only seven loaves of bread and a few small fishes - with lots of leftovers.
At the conclusion of this miracle, we see that Jesus took a ship to the other side of the Sea of Galilee when it is said in verse 39 that he "came to the region of Magdala." Magdala was a city on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee (aka Sea of Tiberias). The events of this passage are immediately followed by those of Matthew 16; Mark 8:10-12 (see notes).