January
22nd Matthew
15
God’s commands
1:
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem,
saying, 2: Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the
elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3: But he
answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the
commandment of God by your tradition? 4: For God commanded, saying,
Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother,
let him die the death. 5: But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his
father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me; 6: And 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. 7: Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you,
saying, 8: This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and
honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9: But
in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men. 10: And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear,
and understand: 11: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a
man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12:
Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the
Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13: But he
answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not
planted, shall be rooted up. 14: Let them alone: they be blind
leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall
fall into the ditch. 15: Then answered Peter and said unto him,
Declare unto us this parable. 16: And Jesus said, Are ye also yet
without understanding? 17: Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever
entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into
the draught? 18: But those things which proceed out of the mouth come
forth from the heart; and they defile the 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 unwashen hands defileth not a man.
The
faith of a Gentile woman
21:
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and
Sidon. 22: And, 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. 23: But
he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him,
saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24: But he answered
and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. 25: Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26: But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27: And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the
dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28: Then
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.
Christ
heals many people
29:
And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of
Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 30: And
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: 31: Insomuch 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.
Christ
feeds the 4,000
32:
Then 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. 33: And his disciples say unto him, Whence should
we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a
multitude? 34: And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye?
And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35: And he commanded
the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36: And 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. 37: And they did
all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that
was left seven baskets full. 38: And they that did eat were four
thousand men, beside women and children. 39: And he sent away the
multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala,
The
next issue raised by the Religious leaders was that the disciples did
not abide by the multitude of extra laws laid down in the Mishnah.
(The tradition of the elders) The particular issue was the eating
with unwashed hands. Christ responds by pointing out that they break
the Mosaic Law by their ‘tradition’. And this gives sufficient
reason to question seriously their traditions. Christ says that they
are all talk and no godliness. Then Christ addresses the issue of
eating with unwashed hands and he explains that its not unclean hands
that make a man a sinner. It’s what comes out from the heart of a
man that makes him a sinner. When Christ was in the region of tyre a
Syrophenician woman accosted him asking for healing for her son.
Christ pointed out that he was not sent to Gentiles but exclusively
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She agreed with him but
then she pointed out that the little lap dogs can eat the leftovers
from the table. Christ is amazed at her faith and heals her son.
Christ did not preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to her. He could not
but he healed her son. This exceptional case proves the rule that
Christ only came to reach Israel in his lifetime. The effect of the
great Messianic signs of Christ was that Glory was brought by the
common people to the God of Israel. Once again Christ feeds the
multitudes. This time 4000 men (possibly 10000 people) Christ shows
that he can meet the needs of Israel as their Messiah in every way.
- What was the Mishna?
- Why didnt Jesus wash his hands?
- What was the purpose of these Signs?
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