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.