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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
15:1-39 Teacher of the Word of God and Compassionate Healer. Against the traditions of the Jewish elders (vv. 1-9), Jesus teaches on purity and impurity of the heart, showing himself to be the true teacher of God's Word (vv. 10-20) and the compassionate healer and provider for Gentiles (vv. 21-39).
15:1 from Jerusalem. The highest-ranking Pharisees and scribes arrive to confront Jesus.
15:2 tradition of the elders. Interpretations of Scripture handed down from esteemed rabbis. they do not wash their hands. Priests were required to wash their hands and feet prior to performing their duties. The Pharisees made this a matter of ceremonial purity and, in their desire to meticulously avoid any possibility of becoming unclean, applied it to all Israelites.
15:3 Jesus makes a clear distinction between the OT, which was the commandment of God, and the Pharisaic tradition, which consisted of merely human pronouncements.
15:5 Given to God reflects a technical term for a formal vow (cf. "Corban," Mark 7:11). This allowed a person to be released from other responsibilities, such as caring for aging parents.
15:6 The Pharisees have made void the word of God with their traditions and rulings: anyone who broke a vow (human law) in order to help needy parents (God's law) would have committed a serious transgression, according to the Pharisees.
15:7-9 The Pharisees are hypocrites for two reasons:
15:13 The Pharisees have not been planted by the Father, therefore they will be rooted up.
15:14 blind guides. The Pharisees are both blind to their own hypocrisy and blindly leading the people astray because they cannot see the true intent of God's will in the OT.
15:21 Tyre and Sidon. See note on 11:20-24; see map. Jesus completed his Galilean ministry and withdrew to Gentile regions.
15:22 For this Canaanite woman, the title Lord is probably just an expression of great respect; she does not fully realize what she is saying, though her use of Son of David shows some knowledge of Jewish thoughts about him (but see note on v. 27). She probably knows about Eshmun, a pagan god of healing, whose temple was just
15:24 only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Later, through the apostles, the message of the gospel is to go to the Gentiles (Acts 1:8; 22:21; 26:17-18, 23; cf. Luke 24:47; John 10:16), but at this point in the unfolding of God's purpose, the focus is on the Jews and their spiritual need. See Matt. 10:6 and note on 22:9.
15:26-27 Jews frequently insulted Gentiles by calling them dogs, which in ancient Palestine were wild, homeless scavengers. But the form Jesus uses here (Gk. kynarion, "little dog") suggests a more affectionate term for domestic pets. Jesus is not insulting the woman but testing her faith.
15:27 The woman presses Jesus by alluding to the extended blessings promised to the Gentiles through Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:3), which she knows about. See note on Matt. 1:1.
15:28 Although God's plan was to bring salvation first to his chosen Israel and then to Gentiles (see note on v. 24), he responds to all who call on him in true faith. This Gentile woman's attitude of humble faith allowed Jesus' healing ministry to operate.
15:32 Jesus goes to the Decapolis, a primarily Gentile region on the southeastern coast of the Sea of Galilee (see map). As in the feeding of the
15:34 seven. Usually symbolic of perfection or completion; here the number may symbolize the fullness of God's provision for all peoples, now including Gentiles. As Israel rejects the kingdom, Gentiles increasingly come into view.
