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Bible Commentaries

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Matthew 15



Verses 1-20


A common practice of the Jews in Jesus' time was the ceremonial washing of hands. They believed that those who came in contact with 'unclean' people or things had to pour water over their hands to cleanse themselves. This was not a command of the law of Moses but a tradition of the Pharisees (Mark 7:1-5). Jesus argued that such traditions not only caused people to misunderstand the law, but stopped them from doing the more important things that the law required (Mark 7:6-8).



What makes a person unclean is the evil that comes out of the mouth, not the food that goes into it. The source of all evil is a wicked heart, and this is what must be cleansed if a person is to be acceptable with God. The Pharisees' traditions of cleansing prevented them from seeing this, even though it was the goal towards which Moses' laws of cleansing pointed (Mark 7:17-23).

Verses 21-28




Jesus then told the woman that his work was with Israel, not with the surrounding nations. But her pleas for help continued (Matthew 15:24-25). Jesus added that the people of Israel were the favoured 'children' to benefit from his ministry, and it was not right to neglect them to feed the Gentile 'dogs'. Still not giving up, the woman replied that although she was an unworthy Gentile 'dog', not fit to eat with the 'children' at Israel's table, she would be satisfied to eat the crumbs that fell to the floor. Jesus was impressed with the genuineness of the woman's faith and granted her request immediately (Matthew 15:26-28).

Verses 29-39

71. Ministry in the Decapolis (Matthew 15:29-39; Mark 7:31-37; Mark 8:1-10)

From the Mediterranean towns of Phoenicia, Jesus returned to the region around the Sea of Galilee, then continued on into the Decapolis, where the population was largely Gentile. It seems that for a period his ministry was mainly among Gentiles, and many became believers in the God of Israel (Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 7:31). One of the people he healed was a deaf and dumb man. Because of the man's deafness, Jesus used actions rather than words to ensure that the man's faith was active and that he understood Jesus' actions (Mark 7:32-37).



Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of Used by Permission.

Bibliography Information
Flemming, Donald C. "Commentary on Matthew 15:4". "Brideway Bible Commentary". 2005.

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