Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What Does Matthew Chapter 15 Mean?

Jesus’ fame and influence over the people has grown to the point where the religious leaders are concerned about Him. A delegation of Pharisees and scribes travels from Jerusalem to Galilee to challenge Jesus. They pick the issue of ritual handwashing to confront Him. However, they are looking for any way to discredit Him. The Pharisees ask why Jesus’ disciples break the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat. These “traditions” were rules added to the Law of Moses by prior generations of Pharisees. The current religious leaders honored the elders’ wisdom by practicing these additional rules as if they were commands of God. The rules were often designed to keep the people from unknowingly or accidentally breaking one of God’s commands (Matthew 15:1–2).

Their challenge is so hypocritical that Jesus doesn’t even bother to answer it, at first. Instead, He immediately fires a question of His: why do they break the actual command of God for the sake of tradition? As Jesus sees it, the Pharisees criticize Him for ignoring tradition in favor of God’s actual intent, while they ignore God’s intent in favor of tradition! For example, the Pharisees allowed people to claim some of their possessions and money as “devoted to God.” Anything so devoted was meant to be given to the temple. A loophole allowed the people to keep the designated items, and even continue to use them. It had become a way for adult children to avoid caring for their aging parents because all their money and possessions were ostensibly “devoted to God” (Matthew 15:3–6).

Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites for allowing this to happen. They cared more about the traditions than the true commands of Scripture. One of Isaiah’s prophecies is applied to them: their worship of God is pointless since they replace God’s doctrines with human legalism and loopholes (Matthew 15:6–9).

Turning to the people, Jesus then answers the Pharisee’s original charge about handwashing. This point can be misunderstood unless one remembers that Jesus is not ignoring Old Testament law, He is accurately expressing it (Matthew 5:19–20). It’s not the edible material which enters the body—the physical substance—that causes one to be sinful or unclean. Sin and corruption come from what’s inside a person, as it expresses itself on the outside. Jesus explains to the disciples that accidentally eating a speck of unclean food can’t defile a person. People are defiled by their own sinfulness, which they express when they speak—or, when they purposefully eat that which God has forbidden. He states flatly that eating with unwashed hands has nothing to do with one’s spiritual state (Matthew 15:10–20).

Christ withdraws from Israel with His disciples and heads into the pagan Gentile district of Tyre and Sidon. This is the same region Jesus once mentioned while shaming Israel for stubbornness (Matthew 11:20–24). A Canaanite woman finds Him somehow. She knows He is the Messiah and can heal her daughter from demon oppression. To draw out her faith, and give an example to the disciples, Jesus refuses at first. His mission is to Israel alone. His metaphor is that of a Master choosing not to take bread from His children to give to pet dogs. The woman persists—noting that for dogs to eat crumbs passed over by the children would be different. Jesus praises her great faith. He heals her daughter—setting up for the disciples the idea that Gentiles, as well, will share in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 15:21–28).

Jesus travels from there to the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee, another mostly-Gentile region. He spends three days healing many people and then repeats the miraculous feeding He performed at Bethsaida (Matthew 14:13–21). This event is for a slightly smaller group of four thousand men, plus additional women and children. As with the encounter with the Canaanite woman, this establishes how the gospel will spread beyond the nation of Israel (Romans 9:30–33; Acts 1:8). After sending the people away, Jesus and the disciples travel by boat back to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and back into Jewish territory (Matthew 15:29–39).

Chapter Context
Matthew 15 begins with a confrontation between some Pharisees and Jesus. They ask why His disciples break the traditional practice of ritual handwashing. Pointedly, Jesus asks why they allow the obvious intent of God’s commandments to be broken through their traditions. Jesus and the disciples travel out of Israel, encountering a Canaanite woman. He praises her faith and casts a demon from her daughter. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus heals more people and feeds thousands more from another few loaves and fishes. This sets up another confrontation with religious leaders, warnings about their teachings, and predictions of Jesus’ death in the next chapter.

Verse By Verse

Verse 1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

Jesus’ fame continues to grow in Israel. The previous chapter began with the news that the Jewish ruler of Galilee, Herod the tetrarch, had heard of Jesus’ fame and power. Jesus could not escape the crowds; even when He withdrew to a desolate place, they found Him and the disciples (Matthew 14:13–14). When Christ and His followers arrived in another less populated area, Gennesaret, the people recognized Him and brought their sick and afflicted to Him (Matthew 14:34–36).

It’s not just that the sizes of the crowds are growing, either. Many people are beginning the believe that Jesus, sent from God and with God’s power, has come to save them from Rome. John’s report on the feeding of the 5,000 ended with Jesus realizing that people were getting ready to take Him by force and make Him king (John 6:14–15).

This is exactly what the Pharisees, one sect of Israel’s religious leaders, have been worried about. The Pharisees are an extremely legalistic group who have clashed with Jesus frequently during His ministry (Matthew 9:11, 34; 12:2). Their religion focuses on following rules, and most of those rules are written by men: they are “traditions” supposedly meant to keep people from breaking the laws of God.

The Pharisees have wholly rejected the idea of Jesus as Messiah, so they see it as their job to stop His alleged heresy. They continue to look for opportunities to bring Jesus down. This group of Pharisees and scribes have come from Jerusalem to Galilee for the purpose of confronting Jesus. This is not a chance meeting, or a trap as was planned at the synagogue (Matthew 12:9–10). These men have decided it is time to challenge Jesus’ authority to His face in an area where He is popular.

Verse 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”

To modern ears, it sounds like the Pharisees have come to Galilee from Jerusalem to accuse Jesus’ disciples of poor hygiene. It’s true that the complaint in question involves them not “washing” prior to eating. Although mothers worldwide likely agree that’s a good idea, the Pharisees aren’t worried about health. Their intent is to disqualify Jesus as a legitimate rabbi, because His disciples are not following what the Pharisees claim are the “correct” rules of Judaism.

After Moses brought the Law from God, Israel’s religious leaders debated how to apply those commands to everyday life. Many of those applications became rules in and of themselves. Each generation committed themselves to following the teachings of the previous generation as a way of honoring the wisdom and experience of the elders. Over time, this meant hundreds of specific rules, with thousands of specific details, had been added alongside the actual Law of Moses. In the worst cases, some of those traditions became convoluted ways to follow the letter of God’s law, while avoiding the intent of the commands (Matthew 15:3–9).

Ritual washing before meals, which likely included utensils as well as hands, was a prominent example of these traditions. There was nothing wrong with doing it; however, those details were never part of God’s commands to His people. They were man-made traditions about the law, which were treated as if they carried the weight of law.

Jesus and His disciples, however, did not practice this ritualized tradition. God had not commanded His people to do it, and the Son of God did not require His disciples to follow it, either. That’s not to say they “never” washed before they ate. But, at the very least, they didn’t follow the process according to the standards of the legalistic Pharisees.

The Pharisees and scribes were outraged by this. Highly respected rabbis down through the generations required their disciples to practice this form of handwashing. How could Jesus or His disciples be considered respectable followers of God if they did not practice it?

Jesus’ response shows He does not even respect the accusation, since it’s coming from a place of deep hypocrisy (Matthew 15:3).

Verse 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

A group of Pharisees—legalistic, tradition-minded religious leaders—have come all the way from Jerusalem to Galilee to discredit Jesus. They have pointed out that Jesus does not require His disciples to practice a specific form of ritual handwashing before eating. This traditional practice of the Jewish people was not, itself, a command of God. However, it was part of the extensive teachings of Israel’s religious leaders. Adherence to those minute details was one of the ways groups such as the Pharisees measured their religiosity.

Jesus doesn’t even bother to address the main accusation. Jesus is not falling for the rhetorical trap: explaining why He breaks a tradition which is not part of godly command. Instead, Jesus flips the table on these Pharisees and asks why they break an actual command from God for the sake of a tradition!

The following verses will spell out what command and tradition Jesus is referring to. Among the dangers of tradition-minded religious practice and legalism is missing the actual instructions of God, including the intent behind those directives. In the example Jesus gives, a command to care for other people has been neutralized by human legalism (Matthew 15:4–6).

Verse 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

Jesus sounds justifiably angry in these verses. He is talking to a group of Pharisees who have come a long way to challenge His authority as a rabbi. Their current complaint is that He doesn’t require His disciples to follow a specific tradition about handwashing. That tradition, though, is not one of the commands of God in Scripture. The implication is that if Jesus isn’t cooperating with their man-made rules, then He is not a good teacher.

Jesus has ignored their challenge, which is really a rhetorical trap. Rather than “defend” something which need not be explained, Jesus has chosen to use the attack to point out the Pharisees’ deep hypocrisy. While they criticize Jesus for not following a man-made rule, they themselves use man-made rules to avoid following the actual commands of God!

The fifth of the Ten Commandments is what Jesus has in mind: Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12). Jesus adds a negative version of the command from Exodus 21:17: Whoever reviles—meaning to curse or speak evil of—their father or mother is deserving of death. Clearly, this commandment demands that children care for and respect their parents. And yet, as Jesus will show, the man-made laws which the Pharisees defend enable people to effectively break that commandment.

Verse 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”

In response an accusation that His disciples don’t follow a tradition about handwashing, Jesus is leveling a counter-charge. The Pharisees who attack Jesus for ignoring a human tradition are guilty of using human traditions to ignore actual commands of God!

The example Jesus has raised is the fifth of the Ten Commandments: Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12). He also adds the follow-up from Exodus 21:17, that anyone who speaks evil against his parents must be put to death. These commands both came to Israel directly from God through Moses. They reveal how seriously the issue of honoring one’s parents was to God for His people.

From God’s perspective, one of the ways that children were expected to honor their parents was to care for them as they aged. This may have included paying expenses for them or taking aging parents into their own home to live with them. Jesus is showing that God expected the Israelites to care for their parents in this way.

Religious leaders such as the Pharisees, however, had a tradition which allowed for someone to declare that some of their possessions or money were korban, meaning a gift devoted to God. This is the spiritual equivalent of a tax write-off: a way to shield resources from being taken for some other purpose. That loophole in tradition apparently allowed such a person to continue to hold on to these valuable items and make use of them. Alternatively, they could claim the goods were devoted to God—as of today—then later annul the vow. In this way, they could avoid the responsibility to care for parents either to save the cost or because of resentment.

In stern terms, Jesus calls out the Pharisees. He not only criticizes them for hypocrisy, but also for enabling those under their instruction permission to openly violate the clear intention of God’s original command. He says they allow for people to tell their parents, “What you would have gained from me is given to God.”

Verse 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

Some Pharisees from Jerusalem have accused Jesus of allowing His disciples to break one of their favorite traditions. These man-made rules were so closely followed as to have nearly the weight of divine law. Their point was to attack the validity of Jesus’ role as a rabbi, as well as to continue to dismiss His claims to be the Messiah. If Jesus is not adhering to the “correct” interpretation of their laws, then they will not accept His teaching.

Jesus ignored this shallow accusation and immediately shot back with a far more serious allegation. These same critics effectively break an actual command of God thanks to obedience to their human tradition. The fifth commandment clearly implies that children ought to honor and care for their parents (Exodus 20:12). Thanks to a combination of tradition and legalism, the Pharisees allowed the people to claim they were obeying that command by declaring that valuable possessions were “devoted to God.” This gave the people a loophole to avoid using those resources to take care of their parents.

Christ makes this point with force: they have exempted their people from honoring their fathers. For the sake of tradition, Jesus says, they have made void the actual revealed word of God to Israel. They attack Jesus for ignoring traditions which have nothing to do with God’s commands, while enforcing traditions which overturn the actual commands themselves! What follows is an even more heated condemnation from Jesus (Matthew 15:7).

Verse 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

The Pharisees who traveled from Jerusalem to Galilee to confront Jesus may have been wishing they stayed home after this exchange. Not only did their accusation about ritual handwashing not land with Jesus, He turned it into an opportunity to call out their own practice of putting tradition above an actual command of God.

Traditional interpretation of God’s commands about charity became a loophole: allowing people to declare some of their money and goods as being devoted to God, while keeping those things and using them. It may even have been possible to annul their vow later if they chose to. The problem was that if something was devoted to God in this way, people were free not to use it to care for their aging parents. It was a dodge, giving the people a way to avoid providing for their father and mother in their later years.

Jesus called out this attempt to avoid the spirit of the fifth commandment. For the sake of this tradition, the Pharisees are making void the Word of God. He calls these respected men hypocrites, right to their faces. He applies to them Isaiah’s condemnation from the Lord of the Israelites of his day. That passage from Isaiah 29:13 fits these Pharisees perfectly. It was likely a passage they knew well.

Verse 8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,but their heart is far from me;

Jesus has called these Pharisees hypocrites right to their faces. After pointing out that they are using tradition to give people an exemption from God’s command to honor their parents, Jesus has declared that they are making the Word of God nothing (Matthew 15:4–6).

Now Jesus is applying a prophecy from Isaiah 29:13 to the Pharisees. These are words the Lord gave to Isaiah to say to the people. Jesus makes clear that these words apply to the men standing in front of Him, as well.

The Lord said to Isaiah that the Israelites were honoring Him only with their words, but not with sincerity or truth. They were going through the motions of religion. They put on a show by saying all the right things at the right times. They were not committed to God in their hearts, however. They were devoted to a religious system, not to the God it was meant to honor.

Verse 9 in vain do they worship me,teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

In response to criticism that He does not honor their manmade traditions, Jesus has boldly declared a group of scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. This would not have been the reaction they expected when they came from Jerusalem to confront Jesus about the behavior of His disciples (Matthew 15:4–8).

Jesus is quoting a passage they likely know quite well: Isaiah 29:13. It contains words the Lord said to Isaiah about the Israelites of that generation. This exchange with Jesus reveals that the words of Isaiah’s prophecy apply to Israel’s current religious leaders, as well. The hearts of the Israelites in Isaiah’s day were far from God, despite honoring the Lord with their words.

Now Jesus completes the quote by declaring that their worship of God is useless: it is ineffective and pointless. This is because they are teaching their own preferences, their traditions, as if they were the doctrines given by God.

This accusation from Jesus is impossible to dodge: the last part of the quote from Isaiah is exactly why Pharisees had come. They were attacking Jesus and His followers for ignoring their traditional, manmade, ritual version of handwashing before meals. This was never commanded by God in Scripture. It was one of the “commandments of men,” and Jesus treated it that way, revealing the Pharisees’ hypocrisy.

Context Summary
Matthew 15:1–9 describes Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem challenging Jesus. Their complaint: Christ’s disciples have apparently ignored the Pharisees’ practice of ritualized washing before eating. In response, Jesus asks them why they allow people to break the actual command of God about honoring one’s parents. He says they have made God’s Word void for the sake of their tradition. In truth, they criticize those who ignore their commands, but ignore those of God. He applies to them words from the Lord to Isaiah about the Israelites of his day, saying that these Pharisees honor the Lord with their words while their hearts are far away. They worship God in vain, teaching man-made commands as doctrines.

Verse 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:

In the prior passage, Jesus concluded a harsh exchange with Pharisees who came from Jerusalem to challenge Him. Now He turns to address the larger crowd of people around Him. He seems to be preparing to answer the charge the Pharisees have made against His disciples in verse 2: Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t ritually wash their hands before they eat (Matthew 15:1–2). Christ’s response to the religious leaders was to call out their hypocrisy, for adding to the commands of God, then treating those additions as if they were more important than God’s own commands (Matthew 15:3–9).

Speaking to the crowd, Jesus begins with the words “hear and understand.” The disciples will refer to what He says in the following verse as a parable (Matthew 15:11). That likely means they don’t understand and assume Jesus is being purposefully obscure (Matthew 13:13). He’s not: Jesus means for everyone to understand the meaning of this teaching.

Verse 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

After a heated exchange and condemnation of the Pharisees, Jesus turns to the crowd to address what the Pharisees have said. They asked Jesus why His disciples break the tradition of the elders by not ritually washing their hands when they eat (Matthew 15:1–9).

The Pharisees believed they were demonstrating religious faithfulness by following the traditions of leaders who had come before them. One tradition which had become a requirement was ritual hand-washing—probably including utensils—before eating. This was not a command of Scripture, however. God did not demand those specific steps, and Jesus did not require His disciples to wash their hands in that exact way.

It’s important not to miss the point of the disagreement. Jesus is not condemning all washing of hands before eating. Nor is He implying that there is no reason, at all, to do so. What Christ denounces is condemning the false idea that a ritualized tradition could make someone spiritually clean. That’s why He says in this verse that what goes into a person’s mouth isn’t what defiles them. It’s what comes out of a person’s mouth that causes that person to be spiritually unclean.

This would have sounded radical to most Israelites. Not only was Jesus teaching that following the hand-washing tradition did not make a person clean, Jewish people absolutely believed they could be made unclean by eating specific foods, like pork. It’s no surprise the disciples ask Him to explain (Matthew 15:15).

Jesus will explain exactly what He means in the following verses. The main idea is that nobody can be made spiritually clean or unclean by the mere presence of some material object. For that reason, spiritual uncleanliness doesn’t come simply by unknowingly contacting a speck of some unclean food. What matters when it comes to spiritual uncleanness is intent, such as what’s revealed by our words (Matthew 15:17–20).

Verse 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

Jesus has just said to the people gathered around Him that it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that defiles him or her. Mark’s writing includes the detail that Jesus and the disciples went into a house before having this conversation (Mark 7:17). This exchange does not take place within hearing of the people or the Pharisees.

The disciples ask Jesus if he knows that the Pharisees were offended by His comments. Clearly, the disciples are beginning to understand how significant the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees is. That would have been uncomfortable for them. Pharisees were highly respected in ancient Jewish culture. They were seen as standards for righteous living and the final word on what was acceptable and what was not. The fact that the Pharisees were offended by the teaching of Jesus may have bothered some of the disciples. They cannot yet know that the offense of the Pharisees will eventually lead to their participation in Jesus’ murder (Matthew 26:14–16; John 11:53).

It’s not surprising the Pharisees took issue with what Jesus said. He was challenging the very basis of their teaching and rulemaking. Most faithful Israelites would likely have believed that putting the wrong food or unwashed hands in one’s mouth was exactly what defiled a person before God. Jesus has just denied that idea, consistent with His prior explanations that a person’s intents mean just as much as their actions (Matthew 5:21–22, 27–28).

Verse 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

The Pharisees believe themselves to be righteous keepers of God’s laws. They also assume themselves the final authority on what it means to be a righteous keeper of these laws. Because of this, they expect God to bless them for their legalistic, careful adherence to these extended series of rules. From their perspective, anyone who disagrees with them also disagrees with God.

Jesus, however, has only had words of condemnation for these religious leaders. Previously, He called them hypocrites for elevating human tradition about handwashing to the level of doctrine. This, they did while diminishing God’s actual commands, such as to honor parents (Matthew 15:1–9). The Pharisees have become so focused on legalistic rule-keeping that they have missed the intent of God’s laws: the reason they exist in the first place. They have failed to take their opportunity to care for God’s people and communicate to them the spirit of God’s law.

This verse uses classic language from the Old Testament Scriptures to show that these Pharisees and scribes will be overthrown by God. Jesus calls them plants His Father has not planted; therefore, these religious leaders will not be protected by God from being uprooted and cast aside. This is harsh language on its own, but it would be devastating for those familiar with Israel’s Scripture (Isaiah 60:21; 61:3; Jeremiah 17:8). This is even more devastating coming from the Son of God, Himself. God’s blessings for Israel will not be given to the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

Verse 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The disciples have reported to Jesus that the Pharisees were offended by something He said. He told the crowd that what goes into a person’s mouth is not what defiles a person. Instead, it’s what comes out of the mouth that defiles people (Matthew 15:10–12).

Jesus now tells His disciples to leave the Pharisees alone (Matthew 7:6). In other words, they aren’t to debate with them, correct them, or worry about them (Titus 3:9–11). He calls them blind guides, using language found throughout Israel’s scriptures to indicate a lack of understanding about what is true. In short, they don’t get it. They don’t understand the heart of God for His people or the true spirit of God as revealed in the Law. They are so focused on enforcing rule-keeping that they have missed what truly matters. They are spiritually blind, and all their leadership does is drag other blind people—the people of Israel—towards disaster.

This does not mean Jesus intends His followers to avoid all debates, with all people, for all time. This is in keeping with His prior comments about knowing when to stop wasting energy on the unwilling (Matthew 10:14). Scripture commands believers to be ready to answer those who challenge their faith (1 Peter 3:15–16). This specific group—the Pharisees of Jesus’ day—are not going to listen to what the disciples say, so Christ does not want the disciples attempting to argue with them.

Jesus’ words would have been difficult for His disciples to process. Their master is not expressing simple disagreement with the Pharisees about Scriptural doctrine. This is not the normal style of debate which went on between rabbis and their varied perspectives on the law of Moses. Jesus was thoroughly condemning and dismissing Israel’s religious leaders. By implication, He was forcing His disciples and any who would follow Him to make a choice between Him and the religious leaders in charge of all of Judaism at this time.

Verse 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”

Peter is the boldest of the disciples. He is the one who asked to walk on water (Matthew 14:28). He is the one who often says what others are thinking but unwilling to speak (Mark 8:29; Luke 18:28). Every group of students needs someone like Peter: the one brave enough to introduce good questions and show the teacher what level of understanding the group has reached.

On behalf of the group, Peter asks for explanation of Jesus’ comments. Earlier, Jesus had said one reason He taught in parables was their obscurity (Matthew 13:13). Since they don’t grasp His current point, they seem to think He’s speaking in poetic or symbolic terms. He is not.

Peter’s question refers to Jesus’ words in verse 11: that only what comes out of the mouth defiles, not what goes in (Matthew 15:11). The disciples had been raised to believe that what they ate absolutely could defile them, spiritually. This was the main reason for the Pharisees’ manmade rule about ritual handwashing. This process sought to remove any chance that your hand may carry a speck of something ritually unclean, causing you to unknowingly break the law about eating prohibited foods.

In refuting their manmade rule, one which never appears in Scripture, Jesus seems to have taught that nothing you eat could make you unclean. A faithful Jewish person would ask, “How can this possibly be true?”

Verse 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?

This must have been hard for the disciples to hear. Jesus sounds upset that they do not understand His comment that what goes into the mouth does not defile, only what comes out of the mouth does (Matthew 15:11). It’s not shocking that the rest of the disciples wait for Peter to ask questions like this (Matthew 18:21; Mark 13:3–4; Luke 12:41). Peter seems willing to receive Jesus’ pointed questions when their comprehension does not meet His expectations.

It’s important to notice what follows. Jesus has just dismissed the Pharisees, Israel’s religious leaders, as blind guides for their lack of understanding about the law (Matthew 15:14). Their hard-headedness means there is no point in Christ’s disciples attempting to reason with them. Jesus does not dismiss His disciples, however. He takes the time to explain truth to them clearly, giving all of us a better chance to understand His meaning. This causes us, too, to be thankful for Peter’s bold questions.

Verse 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?

The law of Moses labeled many edible things as unclean. Consuming those things made the person ceremonially unclean, as well, requiring specific actions be declared “clean” again. The Pharisees’ traditions included a series of strict rules meant to prevent even unknowingly contacting these unclean items. Thus, they required a hand-washing ritual before eating (Matthew 15:1–2). According to their interpretation, if someone unknowingly touched something unclean, washing your hands according to specific guidelines would keep you from accidentally eating that bit of uncleanness.

Jesus has completely rejected that idea, saying it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person; it’s what comes out of the mouth that does that (Matthew 15:11). The disciples asked Jesus to explain this; Peter suggested Jesus was speaking in a parable (Matthew 15:15). Perhaps they were wondering about all the dietary restrictions that were included in the Law.

Jesus asks them to understand that what a person eats—the physical substance itself—simply travels through the body and out the other side. His point is that this is merely a physical process. The morsel of food, all by itself, doesn’t touch the spirit or soul of a person. It can’t cause a person to become sinful.

This explanation is not meant to dismiss the dietary requirements of the law of Moses (Matthew 5:17–19). Jesus kept those laws perfectly. He obeyed all the commands, and He did so according to both their letter and their intent (Matthew 12:1–8). Those restrictions were about the heart of Israel in submission to God, keeping Israel set apart for God as a holy people. The point Jesus makes here is like those presented in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–2). The material, physical contents of those restricted foods were not the danger, in and of themselves. They were just food. Unknowingly swallowing something unclean did not add to a person’s sinfulness. The food itself was not the issue, it was whether a person sought to obey God’s command. That is is why ritual handwashing did not keep anyone from sinning.

In other words, those who knowingly ate unclean foods did become ceremonially unclean; that uncleanliness was due to their actions and intentions, not mere contact with a physical object.

Verse 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

Jesus did not require His disciples to perform the Pharisees’ traditional, ritual handwashing before eating. The Pharisees had elevated this tradition to the level of doctrine. They thought it was necessary to avoid even accidentally putting a speck of a food declared “unclean” by the Law into one’s mouth (Matthew 15:1–2).

When Christ dismissed this idea, He flatly stated that nothing going into a person’s mouth defiles. The physical substance itself merely travels through the body and then exits. It’s a physical process with no ability to travel to the soul and make it sinful. Even foods restricted for Israelites were just foods—they were not, in and of themselves, sinful. Jesus never violated those dietary restrictions (Matthew 5:17–19), nor did He teach people to do so. Rather, He insists that those rules do not exist because pork or other foods are evil in themselves.

Instead, sin and defilement already live in human souls. That defilement is revealed by the words a person says. Words show what is inside a person’s heart. When we speak, we uncover the fact that we are defiled already. When a person eats something they know is forbidden, they uncover their uncleanness before God. The one who accidentally eats a tiny fleck of something, in ignorance, is not sinning.

Matthew quoted Jesus saying something similar during another confrontation with the Pharisees (Matthew 12:34). What fills the heart overflows and comes out in a person’s words. It’s not the eyes, but words that are the window to a person’s sinful soul. If someone talks long enough, he will eventually show what’s in his heart. Jesus lists some of the things in our hearts that defile us in the following verse.

Verse 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Jesus has rejected the Pharisee’s unscriptural rule that a person must perform ritual handwashing before eating. He has not required His disciples to practice this, and He seems not to do it, either. In explaining Himself, Christ rejected the faulty assumption behind the ritual: that the sin came from the food, or the substance, itself (Matthew 15:10–11).

In contrast, Jesus said it is not what goes into a person through his or her mouth that makes that person spiritually unclean. It’s what comes out of their mouths—meaning their words—which reveals the uncleanness in their hearts. Food that is swallowed can never touch the soul or spirit of a person to truly defile him or her. In fact, food cannot defile us because we are already defiled, as our words reveal. This is in keeping with Jesus’ earlier teachings about the laws given by God (Matthew 5:17–19). Those rules are meaningful because they point to our own intentions, not shallow legalism (Matthew 5:21–22, 27–28).

Jesus provides a list of examples of defilement that reside in human hearts. It is not meant to be exhaustive; there are far more sins than just these. The list includes evil thoughts, murder, and adultery. Jesus refers to sexual immorality of any kind using the Greek term porneia. He also refers to theft, lying about other people’s actions, and slander. This is what lives in human hearts and is revealed by the words we speak.

Matthew has quoted Jesus earlier in this book as saying that people are evil (Matthew 7:11). Here He is confirming that this is reality. We are defiled on the inside already. Sin is not a chemical reaction to the food we eat. It’s a spiritual condition of the choices we make, driven by the evil in our hearts. Paul will echo Jesus in declaring this universal condition when he later writes that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

Jesus is not saying the dietary restrictions in the Law of Moses don’t matter. Jesus kept the Law perfectly. Those restrictions were given to Israel to set them apart from the other nations. The point is that pork or other foods are not “evil substances.” Avoiding these was meant to be a way for Israel to live in submission to God. Not eating them, though, did not keep human hearts from being sinful. That was the unsolvable human condition that Jesus had come to solve.

Verse 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Does unknowingly eating a bit of something “unclean” cause an Israelite to be defiled? The Pharisees said it did, so they washed their hands in a ritual manner before every meal to avoid it. Jesus said it does not; in fact, Jesus said nothing that goes into a person through the mouth can cause that person to be defiled. It’s the sin in the human heart, revealed by the words that come out of a person’s mouth, that defile a person (Matthew 15:11, 17–19).

Jesus provided a sample list of defiling sins in the previous verse (Matthew 15:19), though there are many more. Every single human carries defiling sin in his or her heart (Romans 3:1–11). Nobody is clean. The point of the Law of Moses was not to keep the people permanently clean from some external source of sin; the Law did not have the power to do that. Sin is something on the inside which our words and actions reveal. Jesus had come to earth to make it possible for the sin in us to be forgiven by God once and for all.

Christ concludes this discussion of the Pharisees by telling His disciples that eating with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. That’s why He does not require them to participate in the ritual washing before meals. No tiny speck on an unclean thing, unknowingly and accidentally eaten, can ever touch their souls, which are already defiled with sin.

It’s important to understand that Jesus is not commanding anyone not to wash their hands before meals. His point is only about what handwashing does not accomplish, spiritually. We know that consuming germs or other contaminants does have the ability to make us physically sick. It’s a good idea for our physical health to wash before eating. It just won’t do anything to make us more or less sinful or “defiled.”

Context Summary
Matthew 15:10–20 describes Jesus’ expanded answer to a challenge from the Pharisees. Their concern is not about washing hands for health, but to follow religious rituals. He says these Pharisees will be uprooted and that they are blind guides. When asked, Jesus tells the disciples it’s not what goes into a person’s mouth that defiles him; it’s the words that come out that reveal the sin in his heart. The defilement is already there, including all kinds of sin. He tells them flatly that eating with unwashed hands does not spiritually defile anyone.

Verse 21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Jesus had attempted to withdraw from the religious leaders and the crowds before (Matthew 14:34–35). However, too many desperate people wanted His help, willing to travel far and wide and hunt Him down wherever He went. Now Jesus and His disciples make another attempt to withdraw from the people and the Pharisees. He leaves Israel and enters pagan Gentile territory. Specifically, Jesus travels east from Galilee to the district of the Gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus was much less likely to be known and pursued outside of Israel.

This is the region to which Jesus had referred when condemning the unwillingness of fellow Israelites to repent (Matthew 11:20–24). In a virtual fulfillment of those words, this thoroughly pagan region will produce a famous example of faith (Matthew 15:22).

Verse 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

In a further effort to withdraw from crowds, Jesus has withdrawn from Israel entirely. He has travelled into pagan Gentile territory east of Galilee. Even here, though, it seems He is known at least by some. This is somewhat ironic, as Jesus had earlier referred to this region of “Tyre and Sidon” in His criticism of Israel’s stubbornness (Matthew 11:20–24).

Here, a non-Israelite Canaanite woman comes to Him. She is crying, and she asks Jesus for mercy, addressing Him as Lord and Son of David. This woman’s reference indicates she knows something about Israel and Judaism. She tells Christ that her daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. His response seems confusing, at first, but proves to have an important lesson attached (Matthew 15:23, 28).

Demon oppression and possession were common around the known world of this era. The existence of demons was not debated. Too many people had seen a person oppressed by a demon to doubt it. Various symptoms of demon oppression witnessed in the New Testament include drastic personality change, refusal to wear clothes, supernatural strength, violent actions, illness, being mute or deaf, and intentional self-harm.

Verse 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”

Jesus has done something unusual to withdraw from the crowds and religious leaders. He has left the borders of Israel, travelling to Tyre and Sidon, east of Galilee, with His disciples. This area is not only dominated by Gentiles, it’s the example Jesus used to shame Israelites for their lack of repentance (Matthew 11:20–24). Jesus knows He is much less likely to be recognized and mobbed outside of Israel, and Mark tells us that He is staying in a house and didn’t want anyone to know He was there (Mark 7:24).

All the same, He is approached in the house by a Canaanite woman. She seems to know exactly who He is and what He can do for her “little daughter” (Mark 7:25), who is severely oppressed by a demon. She calls Jesus the “Son of David,” suggesting she knows Him to be the Messiah of Israel. She wants Jesus to free her daughter from the demon.

At first, Jesus remains silent. In fact, He seems to ignore the woman completely, the exact opposite of His normal response to such requests (Matthew 14:35–36; 15:29–30). The woman will not take His silence for an answer, however, and continues to cry loudly. The disciples eventually lose patience and ask Jesus to send the loud woman away.

It’s unclear if the disciples wanted Jesus to send her away without helping her. More likely, they wanted the Master to heal the woman’s child, so she’d go away and leave them alone (Luke 18:1–8).

Verse 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus acted with a crystal-clear sense of His purpose. Eventually, all nations of earth would be blessed through Israel, in the person of Jesus, as the Son of God gave His life as the sacrifice for the sins of humanity. For that to happen, however, Jesus needs to accomplish certain things within the people of Israel. So, for now, Jesus has come to serve and heal God’s chose people as the promised Messiah. Only after His own people officially reject Him will the offer be made for all to come into the family of God through faith in Christ (John 1:11–12).

Jesus uses the same language with her as when He sent disciples out in pairs to the towns and villages of Galilee (Matthew 10:5–6). He strictly forbids them from going into the Gentile territories. They are only to take the message of the kingdom to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This is the same reason given here for refusing—for now—to cast the demon from the daughter of this Canaanite woman begging Him for help. He has not been sent by His Father to heal the Gentiles, yet.

Verse 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

Jesus has made His position about performing miracles in Gentile territories very clear. He was sent only to the “lost sheep” of the house of Israel. The apostles will later take the gospel of Jesus to all people. Jesus’ specific mission, during His ministry on earth, is to heal and teach Israelites as Israel’s promised Messiah. At this moment, He is in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.

A non-Israelite woman has approached Jesus, suggesting she knows He is the Messiah, and begging Him to heal her daughter. She has heard His initial refusal, but she refuses to leave. In fact, she pesters to the point the disciples lose patience and ask Jesus to deal with her (Matthew 15:21–25).

All the same, the woman once again kneels and begs Christ for help. This woman has something in common with two women who asked for help from prophets in the Old Testament. The Sidonian woman and the Shunammite woman would not take a no answer from Elijah (1 Kings 17:18–19) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:28) respectively. God honored their perseverance and their faith. Jesus will do the same—His initial delay is for a purpose (Matthew 15:28).

Verse 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children ‘s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

To avoid crowds and religious leaders for a while, Jesus is in the Gentile district of Tyre and Sidon. He is likely exhausted at this point in His ministry (Matthew 13:1–2; 14:13–14, 34–36).

Somehow, a believing Canaanite woman has found Him here. She is not Jewish, but she likely believes He is the Messiah and that He can cast a demon from her daughter (Matthew 15:21–23). Jesus has refused because His designated mission—for now—is only to Israelites (Matthew 15:26). What Jesus says in this verse is often torn from that context, and the words which follow, to make it seem derogatory, or even hateful. It’s neither: Jesus has a purpose for this dialogue (Matthew 15:28).

However, these words would have been difficult for the woman to hear, regardless. Christ’s intent, apparently, is to test the woman’s commitment to her request, and her faith in Him. Jewish people sometimes called Gentiles “dogs” to show their disrespect for them. Dogs in the ancient middle east were most often seen running in packs, as dangerous scavengers. Jewish people would not, in general, think of them as either pets or friendly creatures.

However, the word Jesus uses is not as harsh as it sounds when translated into English. The Greek term He uses, kynariois, literally means “little dog.” In the context of children and food, this seems to be a reference to a pet; this would have been a more common use of dogs in a Gentile region.

There’s no question that Jesus’ symbolism here depicts Israelites as God’s children and this woman—or her child—as a “little dog;” not even as a person. However, Jesus is not trying to be hurtful. He is comparing the nature of God’s relationship with His chosen people Israel to those in the rest of the world who practice pagan idolatry. He says this to prove the woman’s humility and faith, knowing He will shortly reward both (Matthew 15:28).

Verse 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters ‘ table.”

The Canaanite woman who approached Jesus seeking healing for her daughter has already proven herself loud and persistent (Matthew 15:21–26). Here, she shows she is also wise and spiritually humble. That Christ would initially deny such a request is new in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 13:1–2; 14:13–14, 34–36) and reveals that Jesus’ mission has been focused only on the people of Israel.

He has said something to the woman that sounds harsh, at least to modern English readers. According to Jesus, for Him to heal her daughter would be as inappropriate as taking food from a child to give to a pet dog (Matthew 15:26). Rather than being offended, the woman seems to clearly grasp the analogy. The children are God’s chosen people Israel. The bread is Jesus’ ability to heal and cast out demons. The dogs are the pagan Gentiles. That “food” has a primary purpose, and a primary recipient—there’s an obligation to use it correctly.

And yet, she is not deterred. Her response doesn’t, at all, challenge Jesus’ position. Rather, she echoes a sentiment Christ used earlier. Then, He had condemned Israel’s lack of belief by referring to this very same Gentile territory (Matthew 11:20–24). She quickly answers the Lord that even dogs can eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. This analogy raises a question of the master’s compassion—and does so without denying the truth of what Jesus is saying. Would any dog owner refuse to allow the dogs to eat crumbs from the floor?

Christ sees great faith in her response. She acknowledges that He is the Master and suggests that He can serve whomever He chooses with the crumbs of His time and power in this moment outside of Israel. That which the “children” have either ignored or rejected is all she is asking for. This reflection, it seems, was the purpose of Jesus’ initial delay (Matthew 15:28).

Verse 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus initially resisted healing a Canaanite woman’s daughter. At least, He has given the appearance of resisting. He has told her His mission is only to the lost sheep of Israel. In a statement easily misunderstood, He told her that children’s bread should not be given to dogs (Matthew 15:21–26).

The woman persisted as only the parent of a sick child can. She has knelt and pleaded. She has refused to take offense at an analogy that pictures her people as dogs. Instead of focusing on what symbols were used, she fully understood the point being made. Christ is not insulting her, or her people, but pointing out that He has an obligation to offer His “bread” to the children of God.

In response—showing both great wisdom and great humility—she answered that the Master, Jesus, can choose to allow the dogs to eat the crumbs. In other words, that which was offered to “the children,” and either wasted or rejected, is something the master would happily let others take. In all this, she has never wavered in being convinced that Jesus is truly the Messiah and that it is within His power to cast the demon from her daughter.

Apparently in delight, Jesus praises the greatness of her faith and says it will be done for her as she desires. His intent was never to deny her a miracle, but to demonstrate and illustrate her faith.

Instantly, her daughter is healed. The term used implies the demon had caused the girl to be sick or afflicted in some way. With the demon gone, the affliction is gone, as well.

Context Summary
Matthew 15:21–28 describes an encounter between Jesus and a Gentile woman. She knows Jesus is the Messiah and tells Him her daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. At first, Jesus chooses not to cast the demon out. He tells the woman His mission is only to Israel, using a metaphor about table scraps. The woman persists, and Jesus praises her for her for faith. Her daughter is healed instantly. This seems to be a teaching moment for the disciples, as Jesus will continue to another Gentile-heavy area and heal many, in the next passage.

Verse 29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

In the preceding passage, Jesus was in the thoroughly Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon with His disciples. He left Israel for a time to withdraw from the crowds and the religious leaders (Matthew 15:21). Now He returns to Israel. Matthew simply says that Jesus went on and walked by the Sea of Galilee. We know from Mark’s additional details that He traveled north through Sidon, returning south along the east side of the Sea of Galilee to the region of the Decapolis.

Jesus and the disciples may have taken that long way around to keep out of the territory controlled by Herod the tetrarch, which included Galilee and land to the east of the Jordan River. Perhaps they did so to avoid conflict with the religious leaders. Or maybe they were simply avoiding the ever-present crowds in Galilee.

It would have also brought Jesus back near to the place where He had sent some demons into a herd of pigs (Matthew 8:28–34) and kept Him in a Gentile region instead of a Jewish area.

Jesus finds an elevated spot on a “mountain”—what most other cultures would think of as a high hill—and sits there. Then the crowds find Him.

Verse 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,

Jesus’ trip out of Galilee has brought Him and His disciples to the mostly Gentile region of the Decapolis, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Few people in the region of Tyre and Sidon may have known Him, though at least one woman knew exactly who He was (Matthew 15:21–23). The public in the Decapolis area seems familiar with Him. Crowds form and come to where He is sitting on a mountain.

These crowds are likely composed mostly of Gentiles: non-Jews, those not part of God’s chosen people. Still, there are many among them who are lame, blind, crippled, mute, or burdened with other afflictions. Knowing of Jesus’ power to heal, they bring them to Him and put them at His feet. Jesus heals them.

Jesus had told the Canaanite woman with the demon-oppressed daughter that He had been sent to Israel and not to the Gentiles (Mathew 15:24–26). And yet, He did heal her daughter (Matthew 15:27–28). In the context of this event, the Canaanite woman’s encounter looks even more like a teaching moment for the sake of the disciples. He does not hesitate to heal all who come to Him, giving a glimpse to nearby Israel of God’s compassion for the Gentiles, as well. In fact, the same Christ who referred to bread and crumbs when speaking to the Canaanite woman will soon provide miraculous food for this Gentile population (Matthew 15:32–39), echoing His miracle on behalf of the people of Israel (Matthew 14:13–21).

Verse 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

What ancient Israelites would have considered “mountains,” many other cultures would consider very large hills. Christ is not scaling a rock face; He’s in a place where people can walk to where He’s positioned. This spot is in the mostly-Gentile region of the Decapolis, literally meaning “ten cities.” Here, on the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee, crowds of people bring their sick and afflicted.

Jesus is healing these Gentiles without any of the reservations He expressed to the Canaanite woman in the previous section of verses (Matthew 15:21–28). That makes it even more likely that His interaction with her was a deliberate teaching moment for the disciples. What Israel has mostly ignored, the Gentile world will come to embrace (Romans 9:30–33).

In fact, Jesus seems eager to provoke these Gentiles into glorifying the God of Israel. Matthew says the people wondered when they saw their friends and neighbors healed. The mute spoke. The lame walked. The blind saw. Crippled people became healthy. Perhaps some in that area knew that these miracles were to be signs of the coming of Israel’s Messiah (Matthew 11:2–6; Luke 7:18–23). If so, that was even more reason to give God glory.

Context Summary
Matthew 15:29–31 follows Jesus and the disciples back to the Sea of Galilee, this time to the southeastern side near the Decapolis, a mostly Gentile region. Jesus positions Himself on a mountain, and crowds come with sick and afflicted people. Jesus heals them, and the people glorify God. This adds context to the prior passage, which depicted His encounter with a Gentile woman begging for healing. That conversation, and this healing work, seem to be ways in which Jesus prepares His followers to spread the gospel beyond the nation of Israel.

Verse 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

The disciples have accompanied Jesus back into the territory of Israel, to the mostly Gentile region of the Decapolis. He has spent three days there preaching and healing people, showing even the Gentiles the power and compassion of God. This follows His conversation with a woman where He indicated that His main mission was to Israel, but that those who wanted what Israel rejected were welcome to it (Matthew 15:21–28).

Now Jesus turns to His disciples and says outright that He has compassion for the people. Whatever food they may have brought with them to this desolate place is now gone. The people, however, have apparently not wanted to leave so long as Jesus was willing to keep preaching and healing. The situation has worsened to the point where Jesus doesn’t want to send them away, likely out of concern. He specifically mentions they faint on the road back to wherever they are from. The implication in Jesus’ words is clear: Let’s feed these people.

Given what happened not long ago, this makes the modern reader wonder if the disciples saw what was coming. This scenario is similar in several ways to the miraculous feeding in Bethsaida in Matthew 14:13–21. This is an entirely different event, however. If the disciples thought of that evening, they do not bring it up now.

Verse 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”

Jesus has been preaching and healing people for three days in the region of the Decapolis. So much time has passed that He is filled with compassion for how hungry the people are. He does not want to send them away, saying He is afraid they will faint on their way back home. Jesus wants to feed the people (Matthew 15:29–32).

In a situation like the one depicted earlier in Matthew’s writing (Matthew 14:13–21), the disciples give Jesus a similar response. In summary, the crowd is huge, the location is remote, they have no food and no reasonable way to obtain it. While there are differences from this event to the earlier miracle, in each Jesus seems eager for the disciples to see that what’s impossible for them is no problem for Him.

It’s entirely possible the disciples fully expect Jesus to use another divine intervention, but don’t want to be the ones to suggest it. They won’t have to wait long (Matthew 15:34–36).

Verse 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Just as with the last miraculous feeding of a huge crowd (Matthew 14:13–21), Jesus responds to the idea that there are not enough resources to feed the crowd by asking the disciples to inventory how much food they do have (Matthew 15:32–33). The amount is strangely similar: They have seven loaves and a few fish.

In both cases, Jesus makes use of the little the disciples have, turning it into abundance. God will do this for them throughout their years of ministry, carrying the gospel of Jesus around the world; He will take their little strength and knowledge and ability and turn it into more than enough to cover the world with citizens of the kingdom of heaven (John 14:12). This miracle emphasizes that this mission will be truly worldwide, applying to the Gentile world just as much as to Israel.

Verse 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,

For the last three days, people from the mostly Gentile region of the Decapolis have received healing and miracles from Jesus. He has expressed His compassion for their hunger, saying He does not want to send them away only to faint on the way home. He has collected the tiny amount of food the disciples have with them: seven loaves and a few fish (Matthew 15:29–34). In this way, the miracle again emphasized how God can take what little we bring Him and make it into abundance: so much so that there’s a considerable amount left over (Matthew 15:37).

Now Jesus directs the people in the crowd to sit down on the ground. During the first miraculous feeding (Matthew 14:13–21), the people were made to sit in groups of 50 and 100, which would have made it easier to count them and to hand out the food in an orderly way. We’re not told if that happened in this case, though it seems likely since Matthew has a count of the number of people present.

Verse 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

Jesus takes the disciples’ seven loaves of bread and few fish (Matthew 15:32–35) and gives thanks to His Father for the food. It was a common practice to thank God for providing, and Jesus repeats it here. He knows this small amount of food will be plenty to feed the thousands of people gathered around because of God’s power to multiply what is there.

As with the prior miraculous feeding (Matthew 14:13–21), the disciples find themselves receiving from Christ a seemingly endless supply. Once again, they find themselves serving the people with the bread provided to them by Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. Again, the disciples find they have every reason to trust God’s power to provide what is needed when they need it.

Verse 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

Many commentators point to this miraculous feeding, like the previous one (Matthew 14:13–21) as a picture of the banquet to come at the beginning of the kingdom of heaven. There, all will be made right and there will be no hunger or death or mourning or pain (Isaiah 25:6; Revelation 21:4). How could there be any of those things at the table of God? No one will go hungry in His presence.

As with the previous miraculous meal, everyone eats until they are satisfied. No skimping. Then the disciples collect the leftovers and end up with seven full baskets instead of the twelve baskets of leftovers from the first time at Bethsaida. Once again, the disciples are given a message that God can provide all that is needed and far more, no matter the apparent resources in the moment ( As with the previous miraculous meal, everyone eats until they are satisfied. No skimping. Then the disciples collect the leftovers and end up with seven full baskets instead of the twelve baskets of leftovers from the first time at Bethsaida. Once again, the disciples are given a message that God can provide all that is needed and far more, no matter the apparent resources in the moment (John14:12).

Verse 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew again saves this detail for the end of the story. Jesus did not miraculously feed a roomful of people from seven loaves and a few fish. He fed four thousand men, in addition to any women and children present. That could have added up to ten or twelve thousand people, or more. The difference in this count of the crowd from the previous miracle feeding (Matthew 14:13–21) is more evidence that these are two different events in the ministry of Jesus.

Another difference in this one: The crowd likely held mostly Gentiles, given the location on the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee. First Jesus healed and then He fed this group, perhaps showing that God’s future kingdom will include both Jews and Gentiles, that God has compassion for both Jews and Gentiles. This is true even though Jesus’ primary mission on earth, before the crucifixion, was to serve the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). In fact, His encounter with the Canaanite woman might have been to send this very message to the disciples, preparing them to accept the Gentile world in their future ministry (Matthew 15:24–28).

It is the work of God to feed His people. Jesus’ miraculous feeding of hungry people pointed once more to the reality that He is the Messiah (Matthew 11:2–6).

Verse 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

After the crowd was fed, Jesus sent the people home. Then He and His disciples got into a boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee and back into Jewish territory. Matthew writes that they went to the region of Magadan. Many commentators understand Magadan to be another spelling for Magdala since there are no records of a Magadan in Israel. Magdala was the home of Mary Magdalene—also written as “Mary the Magdalene”—one of Jesus’ most faithful and devoted followers. Magdala was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

In the following chapter, the disciples will show that they have not fully comprehended the implications behind Jesus’ miraculous feeding of so many people in this chapter (Matthew 16:5–12).

Context Summary
Matthew 15:32–39 describes another miraculous feeding, separate from an earlier event where Jesus provided as many as twenty thousand meals (Matthew 14:13–20). Jesus has compassion on the hungry crowd after three days with them. He does not want to send them away without feeding them. He takes the disciples’ seven loaves and few fish and makes all the people sit down. He gives thanks and starts handing food to the disciples, who pass it out until everyone has eaten all they want, which includes four thousand men plus women and children. While the first miraculous feeding was for a mostly Jewish crowd, this assembly is almost all Gentiles. After they leave, the disciples return to Jewish territory on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Chapter Summary
Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. They are offended that His disciples break the religious leaders’ tradition about ritual handwashing before meals. Jesus turns that attack upside down, pointing out that His critics honor tradition above God’s actual commands! He insists that nobody is defiled by what goes in the mouth—by the literal matter itself—but by the overflow of the spirit, such as the words that come out of the mouth. He and the disciples travel out of the country. Jesus casts a demon out of the daughter of a persistent Canaanite woman. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus feeds thousands of people from a few loaves and fishes. These last two events set up the eventual spread of the gospel beyond the people of Israel.