NIV, Faithlife Study Bible | Page 197

MattheW 15:6 | 1561
him self to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was al ready a con sid er able dis tance from land, buf fet ed by the waves be cause the wind was against it.
25
Short ly be fore dawn Jesus went out to them, walk ing on the lake. 26 When the dis ci ples saw him walk ing on the lake, they were ter ri fied.“ It’ s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
34
When they had crossed over, they land ed at Gen nes a ret. 35 And when the men of that place recog nized Jesus, they sent word to all the sur rounding coun try. Peo ple brought all their sick to him
36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
That Which Defiles
27
But Jesus im me di ate ly said to them:“ Take
15:1-20pp— ​ Mk 7:1-23 cour age! It is I. Don’ t be afraid.”
28 Then some Phar i sees and teach ers of the“ Lord, if it’ s you,” Pe ter re plied,“ tell me to

15 law came to Jesus from Je ru sa lem and asked, come to you on the wa ter.”

2
29“ Why do your dis ci ples break the tra di tion of the elders? They don’ t wash their hands be fore they eat!”
“ Come,” he said.
Then Pe ter got down out of the boat, walked
3
Jesus re plied,“ And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tra di tion? 4 For on the wa ter and came to ward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, be gin ning to
God said,‘ Hon or your fa ther and moth er’ a and sink, cried out,“ Lord, save me!”
31
‘ Any one who curs es their fa ther or moth er is to Im me di ate ly Jesus reached out his hand and be put to death.’ b 5 But you say that if any one declares that what might have been used to help caught him.“ You of lit tle faith,” he said,“ why did you doubt?”
32 their fa ther or moth er is‘ de vot ed to God,’ 6 they And when they climbed into the boat, the are not to‘ hon or their fa ther or moth er’ with it. wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the
Thus you nul li fy the word of God for the sake of boat wor shiped him, say ing,“ Tru ly you are the
Son of God.”
a
4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
b
4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
14:21 besides women and children The women and children likely added 1,000 – 3,000 people.
14:22 – 33 Jesus sends his disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while he goes away to pray. He then comes to them by walking on the surface of the water. For the first time in Matthew’ s Gospel, the disciples confess Jesus’ true identity— ​which Satan and demons have already acknowledged( Mt 4:3,6; 8:29). The statement here foreshadows the great confession in 16:16. See the table“ Miracles of Jesus” on p. 1741.
14:24 a considerable distance The Greek phrase used here, stadious pollous, does not give an exact distance but simply indicates“ many stadia.” A stadion is about 1 / 8 of a Roman mile, or roughly 600 feet( 185 meters). This suggests that the boat was a significant distance from the shore. John’ s parallel account gives a more specific distance of 25 – 30 stadia( Jn 6:19). 14:25 Shortly before dawn Romans divided the 12- hour span between 6 p. m. and 6 a. m. into four watches of three hours each. The fourth watch( mentioned here in the Greek text of Matthew) was 3 – 6 a. m. walking on the lake This demonstration of power over the sea served as a sign of Jesus’ deity. See note on Mt 8:26. 14:27 It is I Matthew may be employing this phrase in a colloquial manner(“ it’ s me”). Alternatively, he could be intentionally using the Greek translation of the divine name( egō eimi) revealed in Ex 3:14. The miraculous nature of this event and the confession in Mt 14:33 seem to favor the interpretation that Jesus is equating himself with Yahweh. See the table“ Jesus’‘ I Am’ Statements” on p. 1727. 14:28 Lord Peter respectfully and fearfully addresses Jesus; this address may indicate that Peter is addressing Jesus as Yahweh( see note on 8:2). if it’ s you The disciples did not recognize Jesus at this point. 14:33 Truly you are the Son of God The first apostolic confession of Jesus’ divine messiahship. This answers the disciples’ question from their previous incident out on the lake( 8:27).
14:34 – 36 The people in this episode exercise great faith, believing that Jesus can heal them if they simply touch his clothes( compare 9:21).
14:34 Gennesaret A town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. See the map“ Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee” on p. 2260.
15:1 – 9 In Gennesaret, Pharisees from Jerusalem approach Jesus and accuse him of being lax toward their legal traditions. Jesus responds by pointing out their inconsistencies and condemns them by quoting the prophet Isaiah.
15:1 Pharisees and teachers of the law Two groups of Jewish religious leaders. See note on 2:4; note on Jn 1:24. 15:2 tradition of the elders Refers to the oral teachings of the Pharisees throughout the centuries. These teachings served to clarify and preserve the law. In Jesus’ day, these traditions carried nearly equal authority with the Jewish law; they were intended to allow people to better apply the law to their daily lives. However, Jesus claims that they unnecessarily burden the people( Mt 23:2 – 4; compare 11:28,30). They don’ t wash The disciples’ negligence makes them ritually unclean according to the tradition of the Pharisees. However, this point is not elucidated in the law, which required only priests to wash prior to ser vice. The Pharisees applied this ceremonial purity to all Jews( compare Ex 30:17 – 21; Lev 15:11; Mk 7:3 – 4). 15:3 break the command of God Jesus turns the tables on his opponents. In the following verses, he highlights their guilt for a much greater offense than handwashing. 15:4 Honor your father and mother The fifth commandment. See Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16. Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death See Ex 21:17; Lev 20:9. 15:5 what might have been used to help their father or mother is‘ devoted to God’ This apparently involves pledging to support the religious establishment with resources that otherwise might go to one’ s parents. The Pharisees seem to have allowed— ​or even encouraged— ​such a trade-off, which Jesus says elevates human tradition above God’ s commands.