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The Gospels · New Testament

Matthew 15

Matthew 15: tradition and defilement, the woman of Canaan, and the four thousand fed

General context

Scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem ask Jesus why his disciples transgress the tradition of the elders by eating with unwashed hands. Jesus answers by asking why they transgress God's commandment by their tradition, citing the command to honour father and mother and the practice of declaring a gift so that a parent goes unhonoured. He applies Esaias' words about a people whose heart is far from God. He then tells the multitude that what comes out of the mouth defiles a man, not what goes in. When the disciples report that the Pharisees were offended, Jesus calls them blind leaders of the blind, and at Peter's request explains that what proceeds from the heart defiles. Jesus goes to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, where a woman of Canaan begs him for her daughter. He first answers nothing, then says he is sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and that the children's bread should not be cast to dogs. She replies that dogs eat the crumbs, and Jesus commends her faith and heals her daughter. By the sea of Galilee he heals many and the multitude glorifies the God of Israel. He feeds four thousand men, beside women and children, with seven loaves and a few fishes, and seven baskets are left over. He then takes ship to the coasts of Magdala.

Cited passages: Matthew 15:1, Matthew 15:2, Matthew 15:3, Matthew 15:4, Matthew 15:5, Matthew 15:6, Matthew 15:7, Matthew 15:8, Matthew 15:11, Matthew 15:12, Matthew 15:14, Matthew 15:15, Matthew 15:18, Matthew 15:21, Matthew 15:22, Matthew 15:23, Matthew 15:24, Matthew 15:26, Matthew 15:27, Matthew 15:28, Matthew 15:29, Matthew 15:31, Matthew 15:34, Matthew 15:37, Matthew 15:38, Matthew 15:39

Matthew 15 (KJV)

1Then 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, Honour 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 honour 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 honoureth 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.

29And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:

31Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

32Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

34And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

35And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

38And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

39And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

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Historical context

The questioners are identified as scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem, and their charge concerns the tradition of the elders, not a written commandment. Jesus, in reply, cites what God commanded and a saying he attributes to them, so the contrast between commandment and tradition is his framing. The Esaias quotation is introduced by Jesus, not the narrator. The woman is called a woman of Canaan, she addresses Jesus as Son of David, and the encounter happens in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon; the text gives no name for her or her daughter, and the text does not place the daughter in the scene. The harsh saying about dogs is Jesus' own, and the narrator reports her reply and his commendation without further comment. The second feeding is distinguished by its own numbers: seven loaves, a few little fishes, seven baskets, four thousand men beside women and children. The location of Magdala is stated only as coasts of Magdala. The chapter does not date these events.

Cited passages: Matthew 15:1, Matthew 15:2, Matthew 15:4, Matthew 15:5, Matthew 15:7, Matthew 15:22, Matthew 15:21, Matthew 15:26, Matthew 15:28, Matthew 15:34, Matthew 15:37, Matthew 15:38, Matthew 15:39

Literary context

The chapter opens with a question about the mouth and hands and answers with a teaching about the heart, so that the word defile is moved from food to speech. Jesus answers a question with a question, then a scripture, then a public saying, then a private explanation, each step widening the audience and then narrowing it again. The saying about blind leaders is followed by Jesus asking whether the disciples are also without understanding. The encounter with the woman of Canaan is built on speech and reply: her cry, his silence, the disciples' request, his statement of mission, her worship, his proverb, and her turning of the proverb back. Her word Truth accepts his image and still asks. The chapter then closes with two summaries of healing and feeding in which the multitude, not the disciples, glorifies the God of Israel, and the disciples again ask where bread could come from, though five thousand were fed in chapter 14.

Cited passages: Matthew 15:2, Matthew 15:11, Matthew 15:18, Matthew 15:10, Matthew 15:16, Matthew 15:23, Matthew 15:25, Matthew 15:27, Matthew 15:31, Matthew 15:33, Matthew 14:21

Key moments

  1. Tradition against commandment (Matthew 15:3). Jesus answers the Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees by asking why they transgress God's commandment by their tradition.
  2. What defiles a man (Matthew 15:11). Jesus tells the multitude that what comes out of the mouth defiles, not what goes in.
  3. Blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14). Told the Pharisees are offended, Jesus says to let them alone.
  4. The woman of Canaan's reply (Matthew 15:27). She accepts the word dogs and answers that dogs eat the crumbs from the table.
  5. Great is thy faith (Matthew 15:28). Jesus grants her request and her daughter is made whole from that hour.
  6. Four thousand fed (Matthew 15:37). All eat from seven loaves and a few fishes, and seven baskets remain.

For reflection

The woman of Canaan hears silence, then a refusal, then an unflattering proverb, and answers each without leaving. What does the narrator want the reader to notice by letting her have the last word before Jesus praises her faith?

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