Matthew15

Jesus confronts the Pharisees regarding their traditions, asserting that internal defilement from the heart, not external rituals, truly pollutes a man. He then travels to Tyre and Sidon, where He commends the great faith of a Canaanite woman and heals her daughter. Returning to Galilee, Jesus performs numerous healings and miraculously feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few fishes.

Tradition vs. God's Command

Then some P'rushim and Torah-teachers from Yerushalayim came to Yeshua and asked him,

"Why is it that your talmidim break the Tradition of the Elders? They don't do n'tilat-yadayim before they eat!"

He answered, "Indeed, why do you break the command of God by your tradition?

For God said, `Honor your father and mother,' and `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'

But you say, `If anyone says to his father or mother, "I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,"

then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.' Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God!

You hypocrites! Yesha`yahu was right when he prophesied about you,

`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.

Their worship of me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.'"

What Truly Defiles a Person

Then he called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand this!

What makes a person unclean is not what goes into his mouth; rather, what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean!"

The talmidim came to him and said, "Do you know that the P'rushim were offended by what you said?"

He replied, "Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

Let them be. They are blind guides. When a blind man guides another blind man, both will fall in a pit."

Kefa said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

So he said, "Don't you under stand even now?

Don't you see that anything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and passes out into the latrine?

But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean.

For out of the heart come forth wicked thoughts, murder, adultery and other kinds of sexual immorality, theft, lies, slanders. . . .

These are what really make a person unclean, but eating without doing n'tilat-yadayim does not make a person unclean."

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

Yeshua left that place and went off to the region of Tzor and Tzidon.

A woman from Kena`an who was living there came to him, pleading, "Sir, have pity on me. Son of David! My daughter is cruelly held under the power of demons!"

But Yeshua did not say a word to her. Then his talmidim came to him and urged him, "Send her away, because she is following us and keeps pestering us with her crying."

He said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Isra'el."

But she came, fell at his feet and said, "Sir, help me!"

He answered, "It is not right to take the children's food and toss it to their pet dogs."

She said, "That is true, sir, but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their master's table."

Then Yeshua answered her, "Lady, you are a person of great trust. Let your desire be granted." And her daughter was healed at that very moment.

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

Yeshua left there and went along the shore of Lake Kinneret. He climbed a hill and sat down;

and large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.

The people were amazed as they saw mute people speaking, crippled people cured, lame people walking and blind people seeing; and they said a b'rakhah to the God of Isra'el.

Yeshua called his talmidim to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, because they might collapse on the way home."

The talmidim said to him, "Where will we find enough loaves of bread in this remote place to satisfy so big a crowd?"

Yeshua asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few fish."

After telling the crowd to sit down on the ground,

he took the seven loaves and the fish, made a b'rakhah, broke the loaves and gave them to the talmidim, who gave them to the people.

Every one ate his fill, and they took seven large baskets full of the leftover pieces.

Those eating numbered four thousand men, plus women and children.

After sending the crowd away, he got in the boat and went off to the region of Magadan.

Study Notes for Matthew 15

Verse 1

This confrontation identifies Jesus' most powerful opposition: Scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem, the center of religious authority, who challenge Jesus' interpretation of purity laws.

Verse 2

The 'tradition of the elders' refers to the oral law, later codified in the Mishnah. This ritual washing was for ceremonial purity before meals, considered binding by the religious elite, but not explicitly mandated in the Torah.

Verse 3

Jesus turns the accusation back on them, establishing the critical distinction between divine written law ('commandment of God') and humanly devised regulations ('your tradition').

Verse 5

This verse describes the practice of *Corban* (a gift dedicated to God). By dedicating funds, a person could circumvent the responsibility of supporting their parents, thereby violating the Fifth Commandment.

Verse 6

Jesus asserts that their legalistic system prioritized human tradition and personal gain over the clear moral demands of the Torah, demonstrating their hypocrisy.

Verse 8

Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13, diagnosing the root issue: the Pharisees were focused on external observance and outward piety while lacking genuine internal commitment to God.

Verse 10

Jesus shifts the teaching from the religious leaders to the common people, emphasizing that spiritual truth requires internal understanding ('Hear, and understand').

Verse 11

This radical statement challenges centuries of Jewish dietary and purity laws, establishing that moral purity is internal (from the heart) rather than external or ritualistic (from food or physical contact).

Verse 12

The disciples recognize the political danger of Jesus' teaching, as challenging the traditions of the elders was seen as an attack on the authority of the religious establishment.

Verse 13

This metaphor suggests that the Pharisees' teachings and authority structure are not divinely instituted and will ultimately be uprooted and destroyed.

Verse 14

Jesus instructs the disciples to ignore the Pharisees, calling them 'blind leaders.' This is a strong condemnation of their spiritual guidance, indicating they lead their followers toward spiritual ruin.

Verse 17

Jesus explains the physiological fact that food is temporary and processed by the body, thus it cannot affect the soul's purity or defile a person spiritually.

Verse 18

The things that truly defile (evil actions and words) originate in the heart, which the Bible understands as the seat of will, intellect, and moral character.

Verse 19

This catalog of sins demonstrates the corrupted state of the human heart, contrasting sharply with the external ritual concerns over unwashed hands.

Verse 21

Jesus intentionally moves outside Jewish territory into the Gentile regions of Tyre and Sidon, signaling the future expansion of his ministry beyond Israel’s borders.

Verse 22

Calling Jesus 'Lord, thou Son of David' is a Messianic title, significant because it comes from a Gentile woman (a Canaanite, descended from Israel’s ancient enemies).

Verse 23

Jesus’ initial silence and refusal test the woman's faith and highlight the primary, immediate focus of his earthly ministry: the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel' (v. 24).

Verse 26

The term 'dogs' (Greek: *kynaria*) is a diminutive, meaning 'little dogs' or household pets. This softens the comparison while maintaining the priority of Israel ('the children') in the plan of salvation.

Verse 27

Her humble and persistent reply shows profound faith. She accepts her subordinate status yet argues for the availability of God’s grace even to outsiders.

Verse 28

Jesus praises her 'great faith,' a rare commendation, demonstrating that sincere faith transcends ethnic and religious boundaries and secures God's blessing.

Verse 29

Jesus returns to the Sea of Galilee area, likely the eastern, more Gentile-mixed side (the Decapolis region), where the second large-scale feeding miracle takes place.

Verse 31

The crowds, witnessing the scope of the healing ministry (including the lame and blind), recognized this power and glorified 'the God of Israel,' acknowledging God’s covenant work.

Verse 32

This miracle is distinct from the feeding of the 5,000. The duration ('three days') indicates the depth of the multitude’s commitment to Jesus’ teaching.

Verse 36

The ritual actions (taking, giving thanks, breaking, distributing) mirror those used in the feeding of the 5,000 and anticipate the pattern of the Lord’s Supper.

Verse 37

The amount of leftover food (seven baskets full) emphasizes the abundance of the provision. The number seven often symbolizes completeness or perfection in biblical numerology.

Verse 39

Jesus departs for Magdala (or Magadan), a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, concluding this period of ministry in the region.

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Matthew15

Tradition vs. God's Command

What Truly Defiles a Person

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

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