Not only did Jesus teach that no foods were unclean, but He practiced His teaching by going into Gentile territory. He left Israel and withdrew again, this time into the area of Tyre and Sidon. The Gentiles were “unclean” as far as the Jews were concerned. In fact, Jews referred to the Gentiles as “dogs.” That Jesus would minister to Gentiles was no surprise (Matt. 12:17–21), though at that time, the emphasis was on ministering to Israel (Matt. 10:5–6).
The demonized (vv. 21–28). Jesus was trying to remain hidden (Mark 7:24), but somehow this Canaanite woman heard where He was and came to Him with her need. Keep in mind that our Lord responded to this woman as He did, not to destroy her faith, but to develop it. Her own replies showed that she was growing in faith and unwilling to let Him go without getting an answer. Godly Samuel Rutherford stated this principle perfectly: “It is faith’s work to claim and challenge loving-kindness out of all the roughest strokes of God.”
When she approached Him as “Son of David,” she was definitely putting herself on Jewish ground, and this she could not do, because she was a Gentile. Of course, this title did reveal her faith in Him as the Messiah of God, for “Son of David” was a name for the Messiah (Matt. 22:42). Since she came to Him on Jewish terms, He was silent. Of course, He knew her heart, and even His silence encouraged her to continue asking.
Impatient with her persistent following and crying out, the disciples said, “Send her away!” We are not sure whether they meant, “Give her what she wants and get rid of her” or just “Get rid of her!” In either case, they were not showing much compassion for either her or her demonized daughter. Our Lord’s reply in Matthew 15: indicates that they probably wanted Him to answer her request.
We cannot but admire the patience and persistence of this Gentile mother. “Lord, help me!” was her next plea, and this time she avoided any messianic titles. She came as a sinner needing help, and she offered no argument. In His reply, Jesus did not call her a “dog” the way the Pharisees would have addressed a Gentile. The Greek word means “a little pet dog” and not the filthy curs that ran the streets and ate the garbage. “The children” referred, of course, to the people of Israel.
Jesus was not playing games with the woman, nor was He trying to make the situation more difficult. He was drawing out of her a growing response of faith. She immediately seized on His illustration about the children’s bread, which was exactly what He wanted her to do. We may paraphrase her reply: “It is true that we Gentiles do not sit at the table as children and eat the bread. But even the pet dogs under the table can eat some of the crumbs!” What a tremendous testimony of faith!
It was this faith that Jesus acknowledged, and immediately He healed her daughter. It is worth noting that both of the persons in the gospel of Matthew who had “great faith” were Gentiles: this Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion (Matt. 8:5–13). In both cases, Jesus healed the one in need from a distance. Spiritually speaking, the Gentiles were “afar off” until Calvary, when Jesus Christ died for both Jews and Gentiles and made reconciliation possible (Eph. 2:11ff.).
This woman’s faith was great because she persisted in asking and trusting when everything seemed against her. Certainly her race was against her: She was a Gentile. Her sex was against her, for most Jewish rabbis paid little attention to women. It seemed that the disciples were against her, and Christ’s words might have led her to believe that even He was against her. All of these obstacles only made her persist in asking.
The sick and handicapped (vv. 29–31). Jesus departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon and went to the region of the Decapolis. The Decapolis included ten cities that were in a league and were authorized by the Romans to mint their own coins, run their own courts, and have their own armies. This was predominantly Gentile territory.
Jesus healed there a man who was deaf and dumb (Mark 7:31–37). Even though the Lord cautioned the man to be silent, he and his friends spread the account of the miracle abroad. This apparently caused a great crowd to gather—including people who were lame, blind, dumb, and crippled (maimed). Jesus healed these people, and the Gentiles “glorified the God of Israel.”
We cannot help but marvel at the contrast between these Gentiles and the Jewish leaders who knew the Old Testament Scriptures. The Gentiles glorified Israel’s God, but the Jewish leaders said that Jesus was in league with Satan (Matt. 12:22–24). Our Lord’s miracles did not cause the Jewish cities to repent (Matt. 11:20ff.), yet the Gentiles believed in Him. The very miracles that He performed should have convinced the Jews that He was the Messiah (Isa. 29:18–19; 35:4–6; Matt. 11:1–6). Jesus marveled at the faith of a Gentile soldier and a Gentile mother. Yet He was amazed at the unbelief of His own people (Mark 6:6).
The hungry (vv. 32–39). Critics have accused the gospel writers of deliberately falsifying the records in order to prove that Jesus performed more miracles. They claim that the feeding of the four thousand was merely an adaptation of the previous miracle of feeding five thousand. A careful examination of the records shows that this accusation is false and that the critics are wrong. This chart shows the differences between the two events. Feeding 5,000 Feeding 4,000 Primarily Jews Primarily Gentiles Galilee, near Bethsaida The Decapolis 5 loaves, 2 fish 7 loaves, “a few fish” 12 baskets over 7 baskets over Crowd with Him 1 day Crowd with Him 3 days Spring of year (green grass) Summer season
Since the crowd of four thousand had been with Him three days, they had used up their own supplies of food. Our Lord’s compassionate heart would not permit Him to send them on their way hungry, lest they faint along the way. The first motive for this miracle was simply the meeting of human needs. The people had already seen His miracles and glorified God, so the miracle was not for the purpose of preaching a sermon or authenticating His ministry.
However, this miracle did have a special purpose for His disciples. We are amazed that they had forgotten the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. (Read carefully Matt. 16:6–12.) The Twelve were perplexed when they should have been saying, “Jesus is able to multiply loaves and fish, so we have no need to worry!” Of course, it may be that they thought He would not perform that kind of a miracle in Gentile territory. Or, perhaps the fact that the previous crowd had tried to make Him King would cause Jesus to avoid repeating the miracle.
As in the feeding of the five thousand, this miracle took place in His hands. As Jesus broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, the bread multiplied. Everybody ate and everybody was satisfied. Again, Jesus ordered the fragments to be collected so that nothing be wasted. The ability to perform miracles does not grant the authority to waste God’s gifts.
The word translated baskets in Matthew 15: means “a large hamper.” It is the same kind of basket that was used to lower Paul over the Damascus wall (Acts 9:25). The word for basket in Matthew 14: means “a wicker basket,” the kind a person carried with food or other goods in it. The fact that these two different words are used is further proof that the two miracles are different.
Jesus did not preach a sermon to this crowd on “the Bread of Life” as He did to the Jews in Capernaum, following the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:22ff.). The facts about the Old Testament manna and the “bread of God” would have been foreign to these Gentiles. Jesus always adapted His teaching to the needs and the understanding of the people to whom He ministered.
Before leaving Matthew 15, let’s review several spiritual lessons that it contains for us.
(1) The enemies of truth are often religious people who live according to man’s traditions. Satan often uses “religion” to blind the minds of sinners to the simple truths of God’s Word.
(2) We must beware of any religious system that gives us an excuse to sin and disobey God’s Word.
(3) We must also beware of worship that comes from the lips only, and not from the heart.
(4) If we major on the inner man, the outer man will be what God wants it to be. True holiness comes from within.
(5) It is difficult to break free from tradition. There is something in us that wants to hold to the past and make no changes. Even Peter had to learn his lesson twice!
(6) We dare not limit Christ to any one nation or people. The gospel came “to the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16), but today is for all men in all nations. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).