Matthew 15:1-281Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 10And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. 14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. 15Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. 16And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 17Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. 21Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15:1‑28)
Many years after God gave the laws for Israel on Mt. Sinai, leaders of the temple made laws, which they thought more important than God’s laws. Some men saw that the disciples of Jesus did not wash their hands as those laws required, and they asked Jesus why they did not keep those laws. Jesus asked them,
“Why do ye transgress the commandment of God? For God commanded sang, Honor thy father and mother.”
This law was so important that God had said those who kept it should have long life in their land, and those who dishored and spoke evil to father or mother, were guilty to die (Exodus 20:1212Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:12) and 21:17).
Yet these men, Jesus said, allowed a son to bring a gift to the temple, and he need not honor his father and mother, making God’s law of no use, but teaching their own laws as though from God.
How are we now to treat our parents? (See Ephesians 6:1,2).
Jesus said it was not unwashed hands, but wicked thoughts in the heart that “defiled” (made a person unfit for God). He said all evil things come from, the heart,— had words, lies, thefts, murders, and all, other wrong things. A wrong is first thought, before it is said or done. Water is one of the most common things God has given, and it is right to wash; but Jesus wanted the people to know that water could not wash away bad thoughts in the heart, or make them pure for God.
After this, Jesus went to the coast of the Great Sea, where the cities of Tyre and Sidon were. There was a poor girl who was dreadfully troubled by a wicked spirit. The people of her nation had known God’s power, but would not honor Him. They worshiped all sorts of images, and did the ways of Satan, and evil spirits had power to distress them.
The girl’s mother heard of Jesus, and came to ask Him to free her daughter. She said,
“Have mercy on me, Thou Son of David.”
As a man on earth, Jesus was of the family of King David, and was called “Son of David” to the nation Israel. But this woman’s people had always been against Israel, and denied God, so she could claim no help.
When Jesus answered the woman, He said He had been sent to Israel. When she heard Him speak, she seemed to bieve even more and worshiped Him. She was willing to confess that she deserved no favor, and spoke of herself as like “a dog, which ate the crumbs which fell from the master’s table.” Dog’s were not pets in that land, but ran about half wild, and to be likened to a dog was a term of disgrace.
Jesus was pleased at the woman’s humble words, and at her trust in Him. and told her that her daughter should be made free of the wicked spirit.
Jesus returned to Galilee, and it is not told that tie ever went to that land again. But after He went back to Heaven, the disciples went there, and many people became Christians. Perhaps that woman and her daughter heard that Jesus had died to save those of every nation who would believe Him.
Later the apostle Paul stopped at Tyre, and men, women and children, who loved Jesus, knelt down on the shore to pray (Acts 21:3-53Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 5And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed. (Acts 21:3‑5)).
ML 06/20/1943