Frameworks:
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 15
(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a description of what is happening)
FRAMEWORKS:
Matthew, chapter 15
v.1-11
The Opposition challenge Jesus about ritual cleansing
v.12-20
Jesus explains to the disciples
v.21-28
A Canaanite Woman comes to Jesus
v.29-39
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
v.1-11
The Opposition challenge Jesus about ritual cleansing
v.1
(the opposition question
Jesus) Then
some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem
and asked,
v.2
(they objected to his
disciples not washing their hands) “Why
do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't
wash their hands before they eat!”
v.3
(Jesus challenges then
about lawbreaking) Jesus
replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake
of your tradition?
v.4
(the Law protected parents)
For God said,
‘Honor your father and mother' [Exo
20:12; Deut 5:16] and ‘Anyone
who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.' [Exo
21:17; Lev. 20:9]
v.5,6
(yet they twisted
it to avoid caring) But
you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used
to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,' they are not
to ‘honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the
word of God for the sake of your tradition.
v.7
(Jesus denounces them)
You hypocrites!
Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
v.8
(as Isaiah had said,
they speak the words but are heartless) “‘These
people honor me with their lips, but their hearts
are far from me.
v.9
(their worship is false,
preferring man-made rules ) They
worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.
' [Isa 29:13]”
v.10
(Jesus calls the crowd
to learn) Jesus
called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.
v.11
(it's not what goes in
but what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person) What
goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes
out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
v.12-20
Jesus explains to the disciples
v.12
(the disciples ask about
the Pharisees) Then
the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees
were offended when they heard this?”
v.13
(don't worry, says Jesus,
those not of my father will be dealt with) He
replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted
will be pulled up by the roots.
v.14
(they are spiritually
blind and will fall) Leave
them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both
will fall into a pit.”
v.15
(Peter asks for explanation)
Peter said,
“Explain the parable to us.”
v.16,17
(Jesus questions them)
“Are you still
so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don't you see that whatever enters
the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
v.18
(it's what comes out
of the mouth that is important) But
the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart,
and these defile them.
v.19
(the wrong heart produces
lots of outwards wrongs) For
out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false testimony, slander.
v.20
(words defile, not unwashed
hands) These
are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does
not defile them.”
v.21-28
A Canaanite Woman comes to Jesus
v.21
(Jesus moves north for
a while) Leaving
that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
v.22
(a woman pleads for her
daughter) A
Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord,
Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed
and suffering terribly.”
v.23
(Jesus holds back, the
disciples want her to go) Jesus
did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged
him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
v.24
(he says he was only
sent to Israel [not foreigners]) He
answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
v.25
(she pleads further)
The woman came
and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
v.26
(he [tantalizingly] says
what he has is only for the Jews) He
replied, “It is not right to take the children's bread and toss
it to the dogs.”
v.27
(she persists) “Yes
it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall
from their master's table.”
v.28
(her faith moves him
and her daughter is healed Then
Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request
is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
v.29-39
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
v.29
(Jesus goes back south
to the Sea of Galilee again but settles on a mountainside)
Jesus left
there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a
mountainside and sat down.
v.30
(great crowds bring all
their sick and he healed them all) Great
crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled,
the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed
them.
v.31
(the people are amazed)
The people
were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made
well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised
the God of Israel.
v.32
(Jesus points out to
his disciples the need for food for the crowd) Jesus
called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these
people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing
to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse
on the way.”
v.33
(they say there is nowhere
nearby to get food) His
disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote
place to feed such a crowd?”
v.34
(he asks what they have)
“How many loaves
do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small
fish.”
v.35
(he sits the crowd down)
He told the
crowd to sit down on the ground.
v.36
(he then fed the crowd
with the little they have) Then
he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks,
he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn
to the people.
v.37
(there is plenty for
all plus leftovers) They
all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up
seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
v.38
(there were 4000+ there)
The number
of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.
v.39
(afterwards he crosses
the Lake again) After
Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to
the vicinity of Magadan.