NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 137
1730 | Matthew 15:8
8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules. g ’ a h ”
10 Jesus called the c rowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into
someone’s mouth does not defile them, i but what comes out of their mouth, that is what
defiles them.” j
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were of
fended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted k will be pulled up
lind lead the blind, both will
by the r oots. 14 Leave them; they are b
lind g
uides. b l If the b
fall into a pit.” m
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” n
16 “Are you still so dull?” o Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the
mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out
of a person’s mouth come from the heart, p and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart
come evil thoughts — murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. q
20 These are what defile a person; r but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
15:9 g Col 2:20-22
h Isa 29:13; Mal 2:2
15:11 i Ac 10:14, 15
j ver 18
15:13 k Isa 60:21; 61:3;
Jn 15:2
15:14 l Mt 23:16, 24;
Ro 2:19 m Lk 6:39
15:15 n Mt 13:36
15:16 o Mt 16:9
15:18 p Mt 12:34;
Lk 6:45; Jas 3:6
15:19 q Gal 5:19‑21
15:20 r Ro 14:14
15:21 s Mt 11:21
15:22 t Mt 9:27
u Mt 4:24
15:24 v Mt 10:6, 23;
Ro 15:8
15:25 w Mt 8:2
15:28 x Mt 9:22
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
15:21-28pp — Mk 7:24-30
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. s 22 A Canaanite
woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, t have mercy on
me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” u
23 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.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” v
25 The woman came and knelt before him. w “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the c rumbs that fall from t heir master’s t able.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have g
reat faith! x Your request is granted.” And
her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
15:29-31pp — Mk 7:31-37
15:32-39pp — Mk 8:1-10
15:32-39Ref — Mt 14:13-21
29 Jesus left there and went a
long the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside
and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the b
lind, the crippled, the
a 9 Isaiah 29:13 b 14
Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind
typologically as the circumstances of Isaiah’s
day recur in striking fashion (Isa 29:13). Reli-
gion has degenerated into “merely human
rules” (Matt 15:9) characterized by lip service,
and the people’s hearts are far from God. No
matter how good their worship appears ex-
ternally, God declares it futile.
15:10 – 12 Matthew does not include as explic-
itly revolutionary a statement as Mark 7:19
(“Jesus declared all foods clean”), but the
logical implications of “what goes into some-
one’s mouth does not defile them” amounts
to the same thing. Little wonder these Phari-
sees are offended or scandalized
15:13 – 14 These particular Jewish leaders are
the plants the Father “has not planted” (v. 13)
and “blind guides” (v. 14). Their end is there-
fore destruction: they will be uprooted (v. 13)
and “fall into a pit” (v. 14).
15:15 – 20 In light of Jesus’ reply, the “parable”
(v. 15) — here more of an analogy — must refer
to v. 11. Although Jesus berates the disciples
as “still so dull” (v. 16), they probably did not
imagine that Jesus was overturning even
the OT dietary laws (Lev 11; Deut 14:4 – 21;
cf. Peter’s hesitancy in Acts 10:13 – 16). So he
expands on his “parable” to stress that food
simply passes through the digestive system
(v. 17), whereas “evil thoughts” (v. 19) can
produce truly harmful actions, violating even
fundamental moral commandments (v. 19).
These evil thoughts — not ritual impuri-
ties — are what “defile a person” (v. 20).
15:21 – 28 A woman from Syrian Phoenicia
(coastal Lebanon; cf. Mark 7:26) demonstrates
great faith that Jesus can heal her daughter.
15:21 Tyre and Sidon. See note on 11:20 – 24.
15:22 Canaanite. This archaic term is used de-
liberately by Matthew to highlight her Gentile,
pagan background and her descent from an-
cient Israel’s enemies. Lord, Son of David. A
double title found elsewhere in this combina-
tion only in 20:30 – 31, where it is also used in
the context of a request for healing.
15:23 The disciples reflect the typically eth-
nocentric and chauvinist attitudes of many of
their Jewish contemporaries.
15:24 At first Jesus seems to agree wit