|
Matthew Chapter 15
Commentary by Matthew Henry
In this chapter, we have our Lord
Jesus, as the great Prophet teaching, as the great Physician
healing, and as the great Shepherd of the sheep feeding; as
the Father of spirits instructing them; as the Conqueror of
Satan dispossessing him; and as concerned for the bodies of
his people, providing for them. Here is, I. Christ's
discourse with the scribes and Pharisees about human
traditions and injunctions, verses 1-9. II. His discourse
with the multitude, and with his disciples, concerning the
things that defile a man, verses 10-20. III. His casting of
the devil out of the woman of Canaan's daughter, verses
21-28. IV. His healing of all that were brought to him,
verses 29-31. V. His feeding of four thousand men, with
seven loaves and a few little fishes, verses 32-39.
Jesus Reproves the Scribes and Pharisees.
Matthew 15:1-9 --
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of
Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the
tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when
they eat bread. 3 But he answered and said unto them,
Why do
ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother:
and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the
death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or
his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me; 6 And honor not his father or his mother, he
shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of
none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did
Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh
unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do
worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Evil manners, we say, beget good laws. The intemperate heat
of the Jewish teachers for the support of their hierarchy,
occasioned many excellent discourses of our Savior's for the
settling of the truth, as here.
I. Here, is the cavil of the scribes and Pharisees at
Christ's disciples, for eating with unwashed hands. The
scribes and Pharisees were the great men of the Jewish
church, men whose gain was godliness, great enemies to the
gospel of Christ, but coloring their opposition with a
pretence of zeal for the law of Moses, when really nothing
was intended but the support of their own tyranny over the
consciences of men. They were men of learning and men of
business. These scribes and Pharisees here introduced were
of Jerusalem, the holy city, the head city, whither the
tribes went up, and where were set the thrones of judgment;
they should therefore have been better than others, but they
were worse. Note, External privileges, if they be not duly
improved, commonly swell men up the more with pride and
malignity. Jerusalem, which should have been a pure spring,
was now become a poisoned sink. How is the faithful city
become a harlot!
Now if these great men be the accusers, pray what is the
accusation? What articles do they exhibit against the
disciples of Christ? Why, truly, the thing laid to their
charge, is, nonconformity to the canons of their church
(verse 2); Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of
the elders? This charge they make good in a particular
instance; They wash not their hands when they eat bread. A
very high misdemeanor! It was a sign that Christ's disciples
conducted themselves inoffensively, when this was the worst
thing they could charge them with.
Observe, 1. What was the tradition of the elders--That
people should often wash their hands, and always at meat.
This they placed a great deal of religion in, supposing that
the meat they touched with unwashed hands would be defiling
to them. The Pharisees practiced this themselves, and with a
great deal of strictness imposed it upon others, not under
civil penalties, but as matter of conscience, and making it
a sin against God if they did not do it. Rabbi Joses
determined, "that to eat with unwashed hands is as great a
sin as adultery." And Rabbi Akiba being kept a close
prisoner, having water sent him both to wash his hands with,
and to drink with his meat, the greatest part being
accidentally shed, he washed his hands with the remainder,
though he left himself none to drink, saying he would rather
die than transgress the tradition of the elders. Nay, they
would not eat meat with one that did not wash before meat.
This mighty zeal in so small a matter would appear very
strange, if we did not still see it incident to
church-oppressors, not only to be fond of practicing their
own inventions, but to be furious in pressing their own
impositions.
2. What was the transgression of this tradition or
injunction by the disciples; it seems, they did not wash
their hands when they ate bread, which was the more
offensive to the Pharisees, because they were men who in
other things were strict and conscientious. The custom was
innocent enough, and had a decency in its civil use. We read
of the water for purifying at the marriage where Christ was
present (John 2:6), though Christ turned it into wine, and
so put an end to that use of it. But when it came to be
practiced and imposed as a religious rite and ceremony, and
such a stress laid upon it, the disciples, though weak in
knowledge, yet were so well taught as not to comply with it,
or observe it; no not when the scribes and Pharisees had
their eye upon them. They had already learned St. Paul's
lesson, All things are lawful for me; no doubt, it is lawful
to wash before meat; but I will not be brought under the
power of any; especially not those who said to their souls,
Bow down, that we may go over. 1 Corinthians 6:12.
3. What was the complaint of the scribes and Pharisees
against them. They quarrel with Christ about it, supposing
that he allowed them in it, as he did, no doubt, by his own
example; "Why do thy disciples transgress the canons of the
church? And why dost thou suffer them to do it?" It was well
that the complaint was made to Christ; for the disciples
themselves, though they knew their duty in this case, were
perhaps not so well able to give a reason for what they did
as were to be wished.
II. Here is Christ's answer to this cavil, and his
justification of the disciples in that which was charged
upon them as a transgression. Note, While we stand fast in
the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, he will be
sure to bear us out in it.
Two ways Christ replies upon them;
1. By way of recrimination, verses 3-6. They were spying
motes in the eyes of his disciples, but Christ shows them a
beam in their own. But that which he charges upon them is
not barely a recrimination, for it will be no vindication of
ourselves to condemn our reprovers; but it is such a censure
of their tradition (and the authority of that was what they
built their charge upon) as makes not only a non-compliance
lawful, but an opposition a duty. That human authority must
never be submitted to, which sets up in competition with
divine authority.
(1.) The charge in general is, You transgress the
commandment of God by your tradition. They called it the
tradition of the elders, laying stress upon the antiquity of
the usage, and the authority of them that imposed it, as the
church of Rome does upon fathers and councils; but Christ
calls it their tradition. Note, Illegal impositions will be
laid to the charge of those who support and maintain them,
and keep them up, as well of those who first invented and
enjoined them; Micah 4:16. You transgress the commandment of
God. Note, Those who are most zealous of their own
impositions, are commonly most careless of God's commands;
which is a good reason why Christ's disciples should stand
upon their guard against such impositions, lest, though at
first they seem only to infringe the liberty of Christians,
they come at length to confront the authority of Christ.
Though the Pharisees, in this command of washing before
meat, did not entrench upon any command of God; yet, because
in other instances they did, he justifies his disciples'
disobedience to this.
(2.) The proof of this charge is in particular instance,
that of their transgressing the fifth commandment.
[1.] Let us see what the command of God is (verse 4), what
the precept, and what the sanction of the law is.
The precept is, Honor thy father and thy mother; this is
enjoined by the common Father of mankind, and by paying
respect to them whom Providence has made the instruments of
our being, we give honor to him who is the Author of it, who
has thereby, as to us, put some of his image upon them. The
whole of children's duty to their parents is included in
this of honoring them, which is the spring and foundation of
all the rest, If I be a father, where is my honor? Our
Savior here supposes it to mean the duty of children's
maintaining their parents, and ministering to their wants,
if there be occasion, and being every way serviceable to
their comfort. Honor widows, that is, maintain them, 1
Timothy 5:3.
The sanction of this law in the fifth commandment, is, a
promise, that thy days may be long; but our Savior waives
that, lest any should thence infer it to be only a thing
commendable and profitable, and insists upon the penalty
annexed to the breach of this commandment in another
scripture, which denotes the duty to be highly and
indispensably necessary; He that curses father or mother,
let him die the death: this law we have, Exodus 21:17. The
sin of cursing parents is here opposed to the duty of
honoring them. Those who speak ill of their parents, or wish
ill to them, who mock at them, or give them taunting and
opprobrious language, break this law. If to call a brother
Raca be so penal, what is it to call a father so? By our
Savior's application of this law, it appears that denying
service or relief to parents is included in cursing them.
Though the language be respectful enough, and nothing
abusive in it, yet what will that avail, if the deeds be not
agreeable? it is but like him that said, I go, Sir, and went
not, Chapter 21:30.
[2.] Let us see what was the contradiction which the
tradition of the elders gave to this command. It was not
direct and downright, but implicit; their casuists gave them
such rules as furnished them with an easy evasion from the
obligation of this command, verse 5, 6. You hear what God
says, but ye say so and so. Note, That which men say, even
great men, and learned men, and men in authority, must be
examined by that which God says; and if it be found either
contrary or inconsistent, it may and must be rejected, Acts
4:19. Observe,
First, What their tradition was; That a man could not in any
case bestow his worldly estate better than to give it to the
priests, and devote it to the service of the temple: and
that when any thing was so devoted, it was not only unlawful
to alienate it, but all other obligations, though ever so
just and sacred, were thereby superseded, and a man was
thereby discharged from them. And this proceeded partly from
their ceremoniousness, and the superstitious regard they had
to the temple, and partly from their covetousness, and love
of money: for what was given to the temple they were gainers
by. The former was, in pretence, the latter was, in truth,
at the bottom of this tradition.
Secondly, How they allowed the application of this to the
case of children. When their parents' necessities called for
their assistance, they pleaded, that all they could spare
from themselves and their children, they had devoted to the
treasury of the temple; It is a gift, by whatsoever you
might be profited by me, and therefore their parents must
expect nothing from them; suggesting withal, that the
spiritual advantage of what was so devoted, would redound to
the parents, who must live upon that air. This, they taught,
was a good and valid plea, and many undutiful, unnatural
children made use of it, and they justified them in it, and
said, He shall be free; so we supply the sense. Some go
further, and supply it thus, "He doth well, his days shall
be long in the land, and he shall be looked upon as having
duly observed the fifth commandment." The pretence of
religion would make his refusal to provide for his parents
not only passable but plausible. But the absurdity and
impiety of this tradition were very evident: for revealed
religion was intended to improve, not to overthrow, natural
religion; one of the fundamental laws of which is this of
honoring our parents; and had they known what that meant, I
will have justice, and mercy, and not sacrifice, they had
not thus made the most arbitrary rituals destructive of the
most necessary morals. This was making the command of God of
no effect. Note, Whatever leads to, or countenances,
disobedience, does, in effect, make void the command; and
they that take upon them to dispense with God's law, do, in
Christ's account, repeal and disannul it. To break the law
is bad, but to teach men so, as the scribes and Pharisees
did, is much worse, chapter 5:19. To what purpose is the
command given, if it be not obeyed? The rule is, as to us,
of none effect, if we be not ruled by it. It is time for
thee, Lord, to work; high time for the great Reformer, the
great Refiner, to appear; for they have made void thy law
(Psalm 119:126); not only sinned against the commandment,
but, as far as in them lay, sinned away the commandment.
But, thanks be to God, in spite of them and all their
traditions, the command stands in full force, power, and
virtue.
2. The other part of Christ's answer is by way of
reprehension; and that which he here charges them with, is
hypocrisy; Ye hypocrites, verse 7. Note, It is the
prerogative of him who searches the heart, and knows what is
in man, to pronounce who are hypocrites. The eye of man can
perceive open profaneness, but it is only the eye of Christ
that can discern hypocrisy, Luke 16:15. And as it is a sin
which his eye discovers, so it is a sin which of all others
his soul hates.
Now Christ fetches his reproof from Isaiah 29:13. Well did
Esaias prophesy of you. Isaiah spoke it of the men of that
generation to which he prophesied, yet Christ applies it to
these scribes and Pharisees. Note, The reproofs of sin and
sinners, which we find in scripture, were designed to reach
the like persons and practices to the end of the world; for
they are not of private interpretation, 2 Peter 1:20. The
sinners of the latter days are prophesied of, 1 Timothy 4:1;
2 Timothy 3:1; 2 Peter 3:3. Threatening directed against
others, belongs to us, if we be guilty of the same sins.
Isaiah prophesied not of them only, but of all other
hypocrites, against whom that word of his is still leveled,
and stands in force. The prophecies of scripture are every
day in the fulfilling.
This prophecy exactly deciphers a hypocritical nation,
Isaiah 9:17; 10:6. Here is,
(1.) The description of hypocrites, in two things.
[1.] In their own performances of religious worship, verse
8, when they draw nigh to God with their mouth, and honor
him with their lips, their heart is far from him. Observe,
First, How far a hypocrite goes; he draws near to God, and
honors him; he is, in profession, a worshipper of God. The
Pharisee went up to the temple, to pray; he does not stand
at that distance which those are at, who live without God in
the world, but has a name among the people near unto him.
They honor him; that is, they take on them to honor God,
they join with those that do so. Some honor God has even
from the services of hypocrites, as they help to keep up the
face and form of godliness in the world, whence God fetches
honor to himself, though they intend it not to him. When
God's enemies submit themselves but feignedly, when they lie
unto him, so the word is (Psalm 66:3), it redounds to his
honor, and he gets himself a name.
Secondly, Where he rests and takes up; this is done gut with
his mouth and with his lips. It is piety but from the teeth
outwards; he shows much love, and that is all, there is in
his heart no true love; they make their voices to be heard
(Isaiah 58:4), mention the name of the Lord, Isaiah 48:1.
Hypocrites are those that only make a lip-labor of religion
and religious worship. In word and tongue, the worst
hypocrites may do as well as the best saints, and speak as
fair with Jacob's voice.
Thirdly, What that is wherein he comes short; it is in the
main matter; Their heart is far from me, habitually
alienated and estranged (Ephesians 4: 18), actually
wandering and dwelling upon something else; no serious
thoughts of God, no pious affections toward him, no concern
about the soul and eternity, no thoughts agreeable to the
service. God is near in their mouth, but far from their
reins, Jeremiah 12:2; Ezekiel 33:31. The heart, with the
fool's eyes, is in the ends of the earth. It is a silly dove
that is without a heart, and so it is a silly duty, Hosea
7:11. A hypocrite says one thing, but thinks another. The
great thing that God looks at and requires is the heart
(Proverbs 23:26); if that be far from him, it is not a
reasonable service and therefore not an acceptable one; it
is the sacrifice of fools, Ecclesiastes 5:1.
[2.] In their prescriptions to others. This is an instance
of their hypocrisy, that they teach for doctrines the
commandments of men. The Jews then, as the papists since,
paid the same respect to oral tradition that they did to the
word of God, receiving it pari pietatis affectu ac
reverentiā--with the same pious affection and reverence.
Conc. Trident. Sess. 4. Decr. 1. When men's inventions are
tacked to God's institutions, and imposed accordingly, this
is hypocrisy, a mere human religion. The commandments of men
are properly conversant about the things of men, but God
will have his own work done by his own rules, and accepts
not that which he did not himself appoint. That only cones
to him, that comes from him.
(2.) The doom of hypocrites; it is put in a little compass;
In vain do they worship me. Their worship does not attain
the end for which it was appointed; it will neither please
God, nor profit themselves. If it be not in spirit, it is
not in truth, and so it is all nothing. That man who only
seems to be religious, but is not so, his religion is vain
(James 1:26); and if our religion be a vain oblation, a vain
religion, how great is that vanity! How sad is it to live in
an age of prayers and sermons, and Sabbaths and sacraments,
in vain, to beat the air in all these; it is so, if the
heart be not with God in them. Lip-labor is lost labor,
Isaiah 1:11. Hypocrites sow the wind and reap the whirlwind;
they trust in vanity, and vanity will be their recompense.
Thus Christ justified his disciples in their disobedience to
the traditions of the elders; and this the scribes and
Pharisees got by their caviling. We read not of any reply
they made; if they were not satisfied, yet they were
silenced, and could not resist the power wherewith Christ
spoke.
What Defiles a Man.
Matthew 15:10-20 --
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them,
Hear,
and understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth
defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this
defileth a man. 12 Then came his disciples, and said unto
him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after
they heard this saying? 13 But he answered and said,
Every
plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be
rooted up. 14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into
the ditch. 15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare
unto us this parable. 16 And Jesus said,
Are ye also yet
without understanding? 17 Do not ye yet understand, that
whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly,
and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which
proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they
defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a
man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Christ having proved that the disciples, in eating with
unwashed hands, were not to be blamed, as transgressing the
traditions and injunctions of the elders, comes here to show
that they were not to be blamed, as having done any thing
that was in itself evil. In the former part of his discourse
he overturned the authority of the law, and in this the
reason of it. Observe,
I. The solemn introduction to this discourse (verse 10); He
called the multitude. They were withdrawn while Christ
discoursed with the scribes and Pharisees; probably those
proud men ordered them to withdraw, as not willing to talk
with Christ in their hearing; Christ must favor them at
their pleasure with a discourse in private. But Christ had a
regard to the multitude; he soon dispatched the scribes and
Pharisees, and then turned them off, invited the mob, the
multitude, to be his hearers: thus the poor are evangelized;
and the foolish things of the world, and things that are
despised hath Christ chosen. The humble Jesus embraced those
whom the proud Pharisees looked upon with disdain, and to
them he designed it for a mortification. He turns from them
as willful and unteachable, and turns to the multitude, who,
though weak, were humble, and willing to be taught. To them
he said, Hear and understand. Note, What we hear from the
mouth of Christ, we must give all diligence to understand.
Not only scholars, but even the multitude, the ordinary
people, must apply their minds to understand the words of
Christ. He therefore calls upon them to understand, because
the lesson he was now about to teach them, was contrary to
the notions which they had sucked in with their milk from
their teachers; and overturned many of the customs and
usages which they were wedded to, and laid stress upon.
Note, There is need of a great attention of mind and
clearness of understanding to free men from those corrupt
principles and practices which they have been bred up in and
long accustomed to; for in that case the understanding is
commonly bribed and biased by prejudice.
II. The truth itself laid down (verse 11), in two
propositions, which were opposite to the vulgar errors of
that time, and were therefore surprising.
1. Not that which goes into the mouth defiles the man. It is
not the kind or quality of our food, nor the condition of
our hands, that affects the soul with any moral pollution or
defilement. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, Romans
10:17. That defiles the man, by which guilt is contracted
before God, and the man is rendered offensive to him, and
un-fitted for communion with him; now what we eat, if we do
not eat unreasonably and immoderately, does not this; for to
the pure all things are pure, Titus 1:15. The Pharisees
carried the ceremonial pollutions, by eating such and such
meats, much further than the law intended, and burdened it
with additions of their own, which our Savior witnesses
against; intending hereby to pave the way to a repeal of the
ceremonial law in that matter. He was now beginning to teach
his followers to call nothing common or unclean; and if
Peter, when he was bid to kill and eat, had remembered this
word, he would not have said, Not so, Lord, Acts 10:13-15,
28.
2. But that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a
man. We are polluted, not by the meat we eat with unwashed
hands, but by the words we speak from an unsanctified heart;
thus it is that the mouth causes the flesh to sin,
Ecclesiastes 5:6. Christ, in a former discourse, had laid a
great stress upon our words (Chapter 12:36, 37); and that
was intended for reproof and warning to those that caviled
at him; this here is intended for reproof and warning to
those that caviled at the disciples, and censured them. It
is not the disciples that defile themselves with what they
eat, but the Pharisees that defile themselves with what they
speak spitefully and censoriously of them. Note, Those who
charge guilt upon others for transgressing the commandments
of men, many times bring greater guilt upon themselves, by
transgressing the law of God against rash judging. Those
most defile themselves, who are most forward to censure the
defilements of others.
III. The offence that was taken at this truth and the
account brought to Christ of that offence (verse 12); "The
disciples said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees
were offended, and didst thou not foresee that they would be
so, at this saying, and would think the worse of thee and of
thy doctrine for it, and be the more enraged at thee?"
1. It was not strange that the Pharisees should be offended
at this plain truth, for they were men made up of error and
enmity, mistakes and malice. Sore eyes cannot bear clear
light; and nothing is more provoking to proud imposers than
the undeceiving of those whom they have first blindfolded,
and then enslaved. It should seem that the Pharisees, who
were strict observers of the traditions, were more offended
than the scribes, who were the teachers of them; and perhaps
they were as much galled with the latter part of Christ's
doctrine, which taught a strictness in the government of our
tongue, as with the former part, which taught an
indifference about washing our hands; great contenders for
the formalities of religion, being commonly as great
condemners of the substance of it.
2. The disciples thought it strange that their Master should
say that which he knew would give so much offence; he did
not use to do so: surely, they think, if he had considered
how provoking it would be, he would not have said it. But he
knew what he said, and to whom he said it, and what would be
the effect of it; and would teach us, that though in
indifferent things we must be tender of giving offence, yet
we must not, for fear of that, evade any truth or duty.
Truth must be owned, and duty done; and if any be offended,
it is his own fault; it is scandal, not given, but taken.
Perhaps the disciples themselves stumbled at the word Christ
said, which they thought bold, and scarcely reconcilable
with the difference that was put by the law of God between
clean and unclean meats; and therefore objected this to
Christ, that they might themselves be better informed. They
seem likewise to have a concern upon them for the Pharisees,
though they had quarreled with them; which teaches us to
forgive, and seek the good, especially the spiritual good,
of our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. They would not
have the Pharisees go away displeased at any thing Christ
had said; and therefore, though they do not desire him to
retract it, they hope he will explain, correct, and modify
it. Weak hearers are sometimes more solicitous than they
should be not to have wicked hearers offended. But if we
please men with the concealment of truth, and the indulgence
of their errors and corruptions, we are not the servants of
Christ.
IV. The doom passed upon the Pharisees and their corrupt
traditions; which comes in as a reason why Christ cared not
though he offended them, and therefore why the disciples
should not care; because they were a generation of men that
hated to be reformed, and were marked out for destruction.
Two things Christ here foretells concerning them.
1. The rooting out of them and their traditions (verse 13).
Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall
be rooted up. Not only the corrupt opinions and
superstitious practices of the Pharisees, but their sect,
and way, and constitution, were plants not of God's
planting. The rules of their profession were no institutions
of his, but owed their origin to pride and formality. The
people of the Jews were planted a noble vine; but now that
they are become the degenerate plant of a strange vine, God
disowned them, as not of his planting. Note, (1.) In the
visible church, it is no strange thing to find plants that
our heavenly Father has not planted. It is implied, that
whatever is good in the church is of God's planting, Isaiah
41:19. But let the husbandman be ever so careful, his ground
will cast forth weeds of itself, more or less, and there is
an enemy busy sowing tares. What is corrupt, though of God's
permitting, is not of his planting; he sows nothing but good
seed in his field. Let us not therefore be deceived, as if
all must needs be right that we find in the church, and all
those persons and things our Father's plants that we find in
our Father's garden. Believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits; see Jeremiah 19:5; 23:31, 32. (2.) Those that are
of the spirit of the Pharisees, proud, formal, and imposing,
what figure ever they make, and of what denomination ever
they be, God will not own them as of his planting. By their
fruit you shall know them. (3.) Those plants that are not of
God's planting, shall not be of his protecting, but shall
undoubtedly be rooted up. What is not of God shall not
stand, Acts 5:38. What things are unscriptural, will wither
and die of themselves, or be justly exploded by the
churches; however in the great day these tares that offend
will be bundled for the fire. What is become of the
Pharisees and their traditions? They are long since
abandoned; but the gospel of truth is great, and will
remain. It cannot be rooted up.
2. The ruin of them; and their followers, who had their
persons and principles in admiration, verse 14. Where,
(1.) Christ bids his disciples let them alone. "Have no
converse with them or concern for them; neither court their
favor, nor dread their displeasure; care not though they be
offended, they will take their course, and let them take the
issue of it. They are wedded to their own fancies, and will
have every thing their own way; let them alone. Seek not to
please a generation of men that please not God (1
Thessalonians 2:15), and will be pleased with nothing less
than absolute dominion over your consciences. They are
joined to idols, as Ephraim (Hosea 4:17), the idols of their
own fancy; let them alone, let them be filthy still,"
Revelation 22:11. The case of those sinners is sad indeed,
whom Christ orders his ministers to let alone.
(2.) He gives them two reasons for it. Let them alone; for,
[1.] They are proud and ignorant; two bad qualities that
often meet, and render a man incurable in his folly,
Proverbs 26:12. They are blind leaders of the blind. They
are grossly ignorant in the things of God, and strangers to
the spiritual nature of the divine law; and yet so proud,
that they think they see better and further than any, and
therefore undertake to be leaders of others, to show others
the way to heaven, when they themselves know not one step of
the way; and, accordingly, they prescribe to all, and
proscribe those who will not follow them. Though they were
blind, if they had owned it, and come to Christ for
eye-salve, they might have seen, but they disdained the
intimation of such a thing (John 9:40); Are we blind also?
They were confident that they themselves were guides of the
blind (Romans 2:19, 20), were appointed to be so, and fit to
be so; that every thing they said was an oracle and a law;
"Therefore let them alone, their case is desperate; do not
meddle with them; you may soon provoke them, but never
convince them." How miserable was the case of the Jewish
Church now when their leaders were blind, so
self-conceitedly foolish, as to be peremptory in their
conduct, while the people were so foolish as to follow them
with an implicit faith and obedience, and willingly walk
after the commandment, Hosea 5:11. Now the prophecy was
fulfilled, Isaiah 29:10, 14. And it is easy to imagine what
will be in the end hereof, when the prophets prophesy
falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and the
people love to have it so, Jeremiah 5:31.
[2.] They are posting to destruction, and will shortly be
plunged into it; Both shall fall into the ditch. This must
needs be the end of it, if both be so blind, and yet both so
bold, venturing forward, and yet not aware of danger. Both
will be involved in the general desolation coming upon the
Jews, and both drowned in eternal destruction and perdition.
The blind leaders and the blind followers will perish
together. We find (Revelation 22:15), that hell is the
portion of those that make a lie, and of those that love it
when it is made. The deceived and the deceiver are obnoxious
to the judgment of God, Job 12:16. Note, First, Those that
by their cunning craftiness draw others to sin and error,
shall not, with all their craft and cunning, escape ruin
themselves. If both fall together into the ditch, the blind
leaders will fall undermost, and have the worst of it; see
Jeremiah 14:15, 16. The prophets shall be consumed first,
and then the people to whom they prophesy, Jeremiah 20:6;
27:15, 16. Secondly, The sin and ruin of the deceivers will
be no security to those that are deceived by them. Though
the leaders of this people cause them to err, yet they that
are led of them are destroyed (Isaiah 9:16), because they
shut their eyes against the light which would have rectified
their mistake. Seneca, complaining of most people's being
led by common opinion and practice (Unusquisque mavult
credere quam judicare--Things are taken upon trust, and
never examined), concludes, Indeista tanta coacervatio
aliorum super alios ruentium--Hence crowds fall upon crowds,
in vast confusion. De Vitā Beatā. The falling of both
together will aggravate the fall of both; for they that have
thus mutually increased each other's sin, will mutually
exasperate each other's ruin.
V. Instruction given to the disciples concerning the truth
Christ had laid down, verse 10. Though Christ rejects the
willfully ignorant who care not to be taught, he can have
compassion on the ignorant who are willing to learn, Hebrews
5:2. If the Pharisees, who made void the law, be offended,
let them be offended: but this great peace have they who
love the law, that nothing shall offend them, but, some way
or other, the offence shall be taken off, Psalm 119:165.
Here is, 1. Their desire to be better instructed in this
matter (verse 15); in this request as in many others, Peter
was their speaker; the rest, it is probable, putting him on
to speak, or intimating their concurrence; Declare unto us
this parable. What Christ said was plain, but, because it
agreed not with the notions they had imbibed, though they
would not contradict it, yet they call it a parable, and
cannot understand it. Note, (1.) Weak understandings are apt
to turn plain truths into parables, and to seek for a knot
in a bulrush. The disciples often did so, as John 16:17.
Even the grasshopper is a burthen to a weak stomach, and
babes in understanding cannot bear and digest strong meat.
(2.) Where a weak head doubts concerning any word of Christ,
an upright heart and a willing mind will seek for
instruction. The Pharisees were offended, but kept it to
themselves; hating to be reformed, they hated to be
informed; but the disciples, though offended, sought for
satisfaction, imputing the offence, not to the doctrine
delivered, but to the shallowness of their own capacity.
2. The reproof Christ gave them for their weakness and
ignorance (verse 16); Are ye also yet without understanding?
As many as Christ loves and teaches, he thus rebukes. Note,
They are very ignorant indeed, who understand not that moral
pollutions are abundantly worse and more dangerous than
ceremonial ones. Two things aggravate their dullness and
darkness.
(1.) That they were the disciples of Christ; "Are ye also
without understanding? Ye whom I have admitted into so great
a degree of familiarity with me, are ye so unskillful in the
word of righteousness?" Note, The ignorance and mistakes of
those that profess religion, and enjoy the privileges of
church-membership, are justly a grief to the Lord Jesus. "No
wonder that the Pharisees understand not this doctrine, who
know nothing of the Messiah's kingdom: but ye that have
heard of it, and embraced it yourselves, and preached it to
others, are ye also such strangers to the spirit and genius
of it?"
(2.) That they had been a great while Christ's scholars;
"Are ye yet so, after ye have been so long under my
teaching?" Had they been but of yesterday in Christ's
school, it had been another matter, but to have been for so
many months Christ's constant hearers, and yet to be without
understanding, was a great reproach to them. Note, Christ
expects from us some proportion of knowledge, and grace, and
wisdom, according to the time and means we have had. See
John 14:9; Hebrews 5:12; 2 Timothy 3:7, 8.
3. The explication Christ gave them of this doctrine of
pollutions. Though he chided them for their dullness, he did
not cast them off, but pitied them, and taught them, as Luke
24:25-27. He here shows us,
(1.) What little danger we are in of pollution from that
which enters in at the mouth, verse 17. An inordinate
appetite, intemperance, and excess in eating, come out of
the heart, and are defiling; but meat in itself is not so,
as the Pharisees supposed. What there is of dregs and
defilement in our meat, nature (or rather God of nature) has
provided a way to clear us of it; it goes in at the belly,
and is cast out into the draught, and nothing remains to us
but pure nourishment. So fearfully and wonderfully are we
made and preserved, and our souls held in life. The
expulsive faculty is as necessary in the body as any other,
for the discharge of that which is superfluous, or noxious;
so happily is nature enabled to help itself, and shift for
its own good: by this means nothing defiles; if we eat with
unwashed hands, and so any thing unclean mix with our food,
nature will separate it, and cast it out, and it will be no
defilement to us. It may be a piece of cleanliness, but it
is not point of conscience, to wash before meat; and we go
upon a great mistake if we place religion in it. It is not
the practice itself, but the opinion it is built upon, that
Christ condemns, as if meat commended us to God (1
Corinthians 8:8); whereas Christianity stands not in such
observances.
(2.) What great danger we are in of pollution from that
which proceeds out of the mouth (verse 18), out of the
abundance of the heart: compare Chapter 12:34. There is no
defilement in the products of God's bounty; the defilement
arises from the products of out corruption. Now here we
have,
[1.] The corrupt fountain of that which proceeds out of the
mouth; it comes from the heart; that is the spring and
source of all sin, Jeremiah 8:7. It is the heart that is so
desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9); for there is no sin in a
word or deed, which was not first in the heart. There is the
root of bitterness, which bears gall and wormwood. It is the
inward part of a sinner, that is very wickedness, Psalm 5:9. All evil speaking comes forth from the heart, and are
defiling; from the corrupt heart comes the corrupt
communication.
[2.] Some of the corrupt streams which flow from this
fountain, specified; though they do not all come out of the
mouth, yet they all come out of the man, and are the fruits
of that wickedness which is in the heart, and is wrought
there, Psalm 58:2.
First, Evil thoughts, sins against all the commandments.
Therefore David puts vain thoughts in opposition to the
whole law, Psalm 119:113. These are the first-born of the
corrupt nature, the beginning of its strength, and do most
resemble it. These, as the son and heir, abide in the house,
and lodge within us. There is a great deal of sin that
begins and ends in the heart, and goes no further. Carnal
fancies and imaginations are evil thoughts, wickedness in
the contrivance (Dialogismoi poneroi), wicked plots,
purposes, and devices of mischief to others, Micah 2:1.
Secondly, Murders, sins against the sixth commandment; these
come from a malice in the heart against our brother's life,
or a contempt of it. Hence he that hates his brother, is
said to be a murderer; he is so at God's bar, 1 John 3:15.
War is in the heart, Psalm 4:21; James 4:1.
Thirdly, Adulteries and fornications, sins against the
seventh commandment; these come from the wanton, unclean,
carnal heart; and the lust that reigns there, is conceived
there, and brings forth these sins, James 1:15. There is
adultery in the heart first, and then in the act, Chapter
5:28.
Fourthly, Thefts, sins against the eighth commandment;
cheats, wrongs, rapines, and all injurious contracts; the
fountain of all these is in the heart, that is it that is
exercised in these covetous practices (2 Peter 2:14), that
is set upon riches, Psalm 62:10. Achan coveted, and then
took, Joshua 7:20, 21.
Fifthly, False witness, against the ninth commandment; this
comes from a complication of falsehood and covetousness, or
falsehood and covetousness, or falsehood and malice in the
heart. If truth, holiness, and love, which God requires in
the inward parts, reigned as they ought, there would be no
false witness bearing, Psalm 64:6; Jeremiah 9:8.
Sixthly, Blasphemies, speaking evil of God, against the
third commandment; speaking evil of our neighbor, against
the ninth commandment; these come from a contempt and
disesteem of both in the heart; thence the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost proceeds (Chapter 12:31, 32); these are the
overflowing of the gall within.
Now these are the things which defile a man, verse 20. Note,
Sin is defiling to the soul, renders it unlovely and
abominable in the eyes of a pure and holy God; unfit for
communion with him, and for the enjoyment of him in the new
Jerusalem, into which nothing shall enter that defiles or
works iniquity. The mind and conscience are defiled by sin,
and that makes every thing else so, Titus 1:15. This
defilement by sin was signified by the ceremonial pollutions
which the Jewish doctors added to, but understood not. See
Hebrews 9:13, 14; 1 John 1:7.
These therefore are the things we must carefully avoid, and
all approaches toward them, and not lay stress upon the
washing of the hands. Christ doth not yet repeal the law of
the distinction of meats (that was not done till Acts 10),
but the tradition of the elders, which was tacked to that
law; and therefore he concludes, To eat with unwashed hands
(which was the matter now in question), this defiles not a
man. If he wash, he is not the better before God; if he wash
not, he is not the worse.
The Canaanite's Daughter Healed.
Matthew 15:21-28 --
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of
Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out
of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy
on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously
vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And
his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away;
for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said,
I am
not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25
Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26
But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the
children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said,
Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from
their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto
her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as
thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very
hour.
We have here that famous story of Christ's casting the devil
out of the woman of Canaan's daughter; it has something in
it singular and very surprising, and which looks favorably
upon the poor Gentiles, and is an earnest of the mercy which
Christ had in store for them. Here is a gleam of that light
which was to lighten the Gentiles, Luke 2:32. Christ came to
his own, and his own received him not; but many of them
quarreled with him, and were offended in him; and observe
what follows, verse 21.
I. Jesus went thence. Note, Justly is the light taken from
those that either play by it, or rebel against it. When
Christ and his disciples could not be quiet among them, he
left them, and so left an example to his own rule (Chapter
10:14), Shake off the dust of your feet. Though Christ
endure long, he will not always endure, the contradiction of
sinners against himself. He had said (verse 14), Let them
alone, and he did so. Note, Willful prejudices against the
gospel, and cavils at it, often provoke Christ to withdraw,
and to remove the candlestick out of its place. Acts 13:46,
51.
II. When he went thence, he departed into the coasts of Tyre
and Sidon; not to those cities (they were excluded from any
share in Christ's mighty works, Chapter 11:21, 22), but into
that part of the land of Israel which lay that way: thither
he went, as Elias to Sarepta, a city of Sidon (Luke 4:26);
thither he went to look after this poor woman, whom he had
mercy in reserve for. While he went about doing good, he was
never out of his way. The dark corners of the country, which
lay most remote, shall have their share of his benign
influences; and as now the ends of the land, so afterward
the ends of the earth, shall see his salvation, Isaiah xlix.
6. Here it was, that this miracle was wrought, in the story
of which we may observe,
1. The address of the woman of Canaan to Christ, verse 22.
She was a Gentile, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel;
probably one of the posterity of those accursed nations that
were devoted by that word, Cursed be Canaan. Note, The doom
of political bodies doth not always reach every individual
member of them. God will have his remnant out of all
nations, chosen vessels in all coasts, even the most
unlikely: she came out of the same coasts. If Christ had not
now made a visit to these coasts, though the mercy was worth
traveling far for, it is probable that she had never come to
him. Note, It is often an excitement to a dormant faith and
zeal, to have opportunities of acquaintance with Christ
brought to our doors, to have the word nigh us.
Her address was very importunate, she cried to Christ, as
one in earnest; cried, as being at some distance from him,
not daring to approach too near, being a Canaanite, lest she
should give offence. In her address,
(1.) She relates her misery; My daughter is grievously vexed
with a devil, kakos daimonizetai--She is ill-bewitched, or
possessed. There were degrees of that misery, and this was
the worst sort. It was common case at that time, and very
calamitous. Note, The vexations of children are the trouble
of parents, and nothing should be more so than their being
under the power of Satan. Tender parents very sensibly feel
the miseries of those that are pieces of themselves. "Though
vexed with the devil, yet she is my daughter still." The
greatest afflictions of our relations do not dissolve our
obligations to them, and therefore ought not to alienate our
affections from them. It was the distress and trouble of her
family, that now brought her to Christ; she came to him, not
for teaching, but for healing; yet, because she came in
faith, he did not reject her. Though it is need that drives
us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him.
It was the affliction o her daughter, that gave her this
occasion of applying to Christ. It is good to make the
afflictions of others our own, in sense and sympathy, that
we may make them our own, in improvement and advantage.
(2.) She requests for mercy; Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou
Son of David, she owns him to be the Messiah: that is the
great thing which faith should fasten upon, and fetch
comfort from. From the Lord we may expect acts of power: he
can command deliverances; from the Son of David we may
expect all the mercy and grace which were foretold
concerning him. Though a Gentile, she owns the promise made
to the fathers of the Jews, and the honor of the house of
David. The Gentiles must receive Christianity, not only as
an improvement of natural religion, but as the perfection of
the Jewish religion, with an eye to the Old Testament.
Her petition is, Have mercy on me. She does not limit Christ
to this or that particular instance of mercy, but mercy,
mercy is the thing she begs: she pleads not merit, but
depends upon mercy; Have mercy upon me. Mercies to the
children are mercies to the parents; favors to ours are
favors to us, and are so to be accounted. Note, It is the
duty of parents to pray for their children, and to be
earnest in prayer for them, especially for their souls; "I
have a son, a daughter, grievously vexed with a proud will,
an unclean devil, a malicious devil, led captive by him at
his will; Lord, help them." This is a case more deplorable
than that of a bodily possession. Bring them to Christ by
faith and prayer, who alone is able to heal them. Parents
should look upon it as a great mercy to themselves, to have
Satan's power broken in the souls of their children.
2. The discouragement she met with in this address; in all
the story of Christ's ministry we do not meet with the like.
He was wont to countenance and encourage all that came to
him, and either to answer before they called, or to hear
while they were yet speaking; but here was one otherwise
treated: and what could be the reason of it? (1.) Some think
that Christ showed himself backward to gratify this poor
woman, because he would not give offence to the Jews, by
being as free and forward in his favor to the Gentiles as to
them. He had bid his disciples not go into the way of the
Gentiles (Chapter 10:5), and therefore would not himself
seem so inclinable to them as to others, but rather more
shy. Or rather, (2.) Christ treated her thus, to try her; he
knows what is in the heart, knew the strength of her faith,
and how well able she was, by his grace, to break through
such discouragements; he therefore met her with them, that
the trial of her faith might be found unto praise, and
honor, and glory, 1 Peter 1:6, 7. This was like God's
tempting Abraham (Genesis 22:1), like the angel's wrestling
with Jacob, only to put him upon wrestling, Genesis 32:24.
Many of the methods of Christ's providence, and especially
of his grace, in dealing with his people, which are dark and
perplexing, may be explained with the key of this story,
which is for that end left upon record, to teach us that
there may be love in his face, and to encourage us,
therefore, though he slay us, yet to trust in him.
Observe the particular discouragements given her:
[1.] When she cried after him, he answered her not a word,
verse 23. His ear was wont to be always open and attentive
to the cries of poor supplicants, and his lips, which
dropped as the honeycomb, always ready to give an answer of
peace; but to this poor woman he turned a deaf ear, and she
could get neither an alms nor an answer. It was a wonder
that she did not fly off in a fret, and say, "Is this he
that is so famed for clemency and tenderness? Have so many
been heard and answered by him, as they talk, and must I be
the first rejected suitor? Why so distant to me, if it be
true that he hath stooped to so many?" But Christ knew what
he did, and therefore did not answer, that she might be the
more earnest in prayer. He heard her, and was pleased with
her, and strengthened her with strength in her soul to
prosecute her request (Psalm 138:3; Job 23:6), though he did
not immediately give her the answer she expected. By seeming
to draw away the desired mercy from her, he drew her on to
be so much the more importunate for it. Note, Every accepted
prayer is not immediately an answered prayer. Sometimes God
seems not to regard his people's prayers, like a man asleep
or astonished (Psalm 44:23; Jeremiah 14:9; Psalm 22:1, 2)
nay, to be angry at them (Psalm 80:4; Lamentations 3:8, 44);
but it is to prove, and so to improve, their faith, and to
make his after-appearances for them the more glorious to
himself, and the more welcome to them; for the vision, at
the end, shall speak, and shall not lie, Hebrews 2:3. See
Job 35:14.
[2.] When the disciples spoke a good word for her, he gave a
reason why he refused her, which was yet more discouraging.
First, It was some little relief, that the disciples
interposed on her behalf; they said, Send her away, for she
cries after us. It is desirable to have an interest in the
prayers of good people, and we should be desirous of it. But
the disciples, though wishing she might have what she came
for, yet therein consulted rather their own ease than the
poor woman's satisfaction; "Send her away with a cure, for
she cries, and is in good earnest; she cries after us, and
is troublesome to us, and shames us." Continued importunity
may be uneasy to men, even to good men; but Christ loves to
be cried after.
Secondly, Christ's answer to the disciples quite dashed her
expectations; "I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel; you know I am not, she is none of them, and
would you have me go beyond by commission?" Importunity
seldom conquers the settled reason of a wise man; and those
refusals are most silencing, which are so backed. He doth
not only not answer her, but he argues against her, and
stops her mouth with a reason. It is true, she is a lost
sheep, and hath as much need of his care as any, but she is
not of the house of Israel, to whom he was first sent (Acts
3:26), and therefore not immediately interested in it, and
entitled to it. Christ was a Minister of the circumcision
(Romans 15:8); and though he was intended for a Light to the
Gentiles, yet the fullness of time for that was not now
come, the veil was not yet rent, nor the partition-wall
taken down. Christ's personal ministry was to be the glory
of his people Israel; "If I am sent to them, what have I to
do with those that are none of them." Note, It is a great
trial, when we have occasion given us to question whether we
be of those to whom Christ was sent. But, blessed be God, no
room is left for that doubt; the distinction between Jew and
Gentile is taken away; we are sure that he gave his life a
ransom for many, and if for many, why not for me?
Thirdly, When she continued her importunity, he insisted
upon the unfitness of the thing, and gave her not only a
repulse, but a seeming reproach too (verse 26); It is not
meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs.
This seems to cut her off from all hope, and might have
driven her to despair, if she had not had a very strong
faith indeed. Gospel grace and miraculous cures (the
appurtenances of it), were children's bread; they belonged
to them to whom pertained the adoption (Romans 9:4), and lay
not upon the same level with that rain from heaven, and
those fruitful seasons, which God gave to the nations whom
he suffered to walk in their own ways (Acts 14:16, 17); no,
these were peculiar favors, appropriated to the peculiar
people, the garden enclosed. Christ preached to the
Samaritans (John 4:41), but we read not of any cures he
wrought among them; that salvation was of the Jews: it is
not meet therefore to alienate these. The Gentiles were
looked upon by the Jews with great contempt, were called and
counted dogs; and, in comparison with the house of Israel,
who were so dignified and privileged, Christ here seems to
allow it, and therefore thinks it not meet that the Gentiles
should share in the favors bestowed on the Jews. But see how
the tables are turned; after the bringing of the Gentiles
into the church, the Jewish zealots for the law are called
dogs, Philippians 3:2.
Now this Christ urges against this woman of Canaan; "How can
she expect to eat of the children's bread, who is not of the
family?" Note, 1. Those whom Christ intends most signally to
honor, he first humbles and lays low in a sense of their own
meanness and unworthiness. We must first see ourselves to be
as dogs, less than the least of all God's mercies, before we
are fit to be dignified and privileged with them. 2. Christ
delights to exercise great faith with great trials, and
sometimes reserves the sharpest for the last, that, being
tried, we may come forth like gold. This general rule is
applicable to other cases for direction, though here used
only for trial. Special ordinances and church-privileges are
children's bread, and must not be prostituted to the grossly
ignorant and profane. Common charity must be extended to
all, but spiritual dignities are appropriated to the
household of faith; and therefore promiscuous admission to
them, without distinction, wastes the children's bread, and
is the giving of that which is holy to the dogs, Chapter
8:6. Procul hinc, procul inde, profani--Off, ye profane.
3. Here is the strength of her faith and resolution, in
breaking through all these discouragements. Many a one, thus
tried, would either have sunk into silence, or broken out
into passion. "Here is cold comfort," might she have said,
"for a poor distressed creature; as good for me to have
staid at home, as come hither to be taunted at and abused at
this rate; not only to have a piteous case slighted, but to
be called a dog!" A proud, un-humbled heart would not have
borne it. The reputation of the house of Israel was not now
so great in the world, but that this slight put upon the
Gentiles was capable of being retorted, had the poor woman
been so minded. It might have occasioned a reflection upon
Christ, and might have been a blemish upon his reputation,
as well as a shock to the good opinion, she had entertained
of him; for we re apt to judge of persons as we ourselves
find them; and think that they are what they are to us. "Is
this the Son of David?" (might she have said): "Is this he
that has such a reputation for kindness, tenderness, and
compassion? I am sure I have no reason to give him that
character, for I was never treated so roughly in my life; he
might have done as much for me as for others; or, if not, he
needed not to have set me with the dogs of his flock. I am
not a dog, I am a woman, and an honest woman, and a woman in
misery; and I am sure it is not meet to call me a dog." No,
here is not a word of this. Note, A humble, believing soul,
that truly loves Christ, takes every thing in good part that
he says and does, and puts the best construction upon it.
She breaks through all these discouragements,
(1.) With a holy earnestness of desire in prosecuting her
petition. This appeared upon the former repulse (verse 25);
Then came she, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
[1.] She continued to pray. What Christ said, silenced the
disciples; you hear no more of them; they took the answer,
but the woman did not. Note, The more sensibly we feel the
burthen, the more resolutely we should pray for the removal
of it. And it is the will of God that we should continue
instant in prayer, should always pray, and not faint. [2.]
She improved in prayer. Instead of blaming Christ, or
charging him with unkindness, she seems rather to suspect
herself, and lay the fault upon herself. She fears lest, in
her first address, she had not been humble and reverent
enough, and therefore now she came, and worshipped him, and
paid him more respect than she had done; or she fears that
she had not been earnest enough, and therefore now she
cries, Lord, help me. Note, When the answers of prayer are
deferred, God is thereby teaching us to pray more, and pray
better. It is then time to enquire wherein we have come
short in our former prayers, that what has been amiss may be
amended for the future. Disappointments in the success of
prayer, must be excitements to the duty of prayer. Christ,
in his agony, prayed more earnestly. [3.] She waives the
question, whether she was of those to whom Christ was sent
or no; she will not argue that with him, though perhaps she
might have claimed some kindred to the house of Israel; but,
"Whether an Israelite or no, I come to the Son of David for
mercy, and I will not let him go, except he bless me." Many
weak Christians perplex themselves with questions and doubts
about their election, whether they are of the house of
Israel or no; such had better mind their errand to God, and
continue instant in prayer for mercy and grace; throw
themselves by faith at the feet of Christ, and say, If I
perish, I will perish here; and then that matter will by
degrees clear itself. If we cannot reason down our unbelief,
let us pray it down. A fervent, affectionate Lord, help me,
will help us over many of the discouragements which are
sometimes ready to bear us down and overwhelm us. [4.] Her
prayer is very short, but comprehensive and fervent, Lord,
help me. Take this, First, As lamenting her case; "If the
Messiah be sent only to the house of Israel, the Lord help
me, what will become of me and mine," Note, It is not in
vain for broken hearts to bemoan themselves; God looks upon
them then, Jeremiah 31:18. Or, Secondly, As begging grace to
insist her in this hour of temptation. She found it hard to
keep up her faith when it was thus frowned upon, and
therefore prays, "Lord, help me; Lord, strengthen my faith
now; Lord, let thy right hand uphold me, while my soul is
following hard after thee," Psalm 63:8. Or, Thirdly, As
enforcing her original request, "Lord, help me; Lord, give
me what I come for." She believed that Christ could and
would help her, though she was not of the house of Israel;
else she would have dropt her petition. Still she keeps up
good thoughts of Christ, and will not quit her hold. Lord,
help me, is a good prayer, if well put up; and it is pity
that it should be turned into a byword, and that we should
take God's name in vain in it.
(2.) With a holy skillfulness of faith, suggesting a very
surprising plea. Christ had placed the Jews with the
children, as olive-plants round about God's table, and had
put the Gentiles with the dogs, under the table; and she
doth not deny the aptness of the similitude. Note, There is
nothing got by contradicting any word of Christ, though it
bear ever so hard upon us. But this poor woman, since she
cannot object against it, resolves to make the best of it
(verse 27); Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs.
Now, here,
[1.] Her acknowledgment was very humble: Truth, Lord. Note,
You cannot speak so meanly and slightly of a humble
believer, but he is ready to speak as meanly and slightly of
himself. Some that seem to dispraise and disparage
themselves, will yet take it as an affront if others do so
too; but one that is humbled aright, will subscribe to the
most abasing challenges, and not call them abusing ones.
"Truth, Lord; I cannot deny it; I am a dog, and have no
right to the children's bread." David, Thou hast done
foolishly, very foolishly; Truth, Lord. Asaph, Thou hast
been as a beast before God; Truth, Lord. Agur, Thou art more
brutish than any man; Truth, Lord. Paul, Thou hast been the
chief of sinners, art less than the least of saints, not
meet to be called an apostle; Truth, Lord.
[2.] Her improvement of this into a plea was very ingenious;
Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs. It was by a singular acumen,
and spiritual quickness and sagacity, that she discerned
matter of argument in that which looked like a slight. Note,
A lively, active faith will make that to be for us, which
seems to be against us; will fetch meat out of the eater,
and sweetness out of the strong. Unbelief is apt to mistake
recruits for enemies, and to draw dismal conclusions even
from comfortable premises (Judges 13:22, 23); but faith can
find encouragement even in that which is discouraging, and
get nearer to God by taking hold on that hand which is
stretched out to push it away. So good a thing it is to be
of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, Isaiah 11:3.
Her plea is, Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs. It is true, the
full and regular provision is intended for the children
only, but the small, casual, neglected crumbs are allowed to
the dogs, and are not grudged them; that is to the dogs
under the table, that attend there expecting them. We poor
Gentiles cannot expect the stated ministry and miracles of
the Son of David, that belongs to the Jews; but they begin
now to be weary of their meat, and to play with it, they
find fault with it, and crumble it away; surely then some of
the broken meat may fall to a poor Gentile; "I beg a cure by
the by, which is but a crumb, though of the same precious
bread, yet but a small inconsiderable piece, compared with
the loaves which they have." Note, When we are ready to
surfeit on the children's bread, we should remember how many
there are, that would be glad of the crumbs. Our broken meat
in spiritual privileges, would be a feast to many a soul;
Acts 13:42. Observe here,
First, Her humility and necessity made her glad of crumbs.
Those who are conscious to themselves that they deserve
nothing, will be thankful for any thing; and then we are
prepared for the greatest of God's mercies, when we see
ourselves less than the least of them. The least of Christ
is precious to a believer, and the very crumbs of the bread
of life.
Secondly, Her faith encouraged her to expect these crumbs.
Why should it not be at Christ's table as at a great man's,
where the dogs are fed as sure as the children? Observe, She
calls it their master's table; if she were a dog, she was
his dog, and it cannot be ill with us, if we stand but in
the meanest relation to Christ; "Though unworthy to be
called children, yet make me as one of thy hired servants:
nay, rather let me be set with the dogs than turned out of
the house; for in my Father's house there is not only bread
enough, but to spare," Luke 15:17-19. It is good lying in
God's house, though we lie at the threshold there.
4. The happy issue and success of all this. She came off
with credit and comfort from this struggle; and, though a
Canaanite, approved herself a true daughter of Israel, who,
like a prince, had power with God, and prevailed. Hitherto
Christ hid his face from her, but now gathers her with
everlasting kindness, verse 28. Then Jesus said, O woman,
great is thy faith. This was like Joseph's making himself
know to his brethren, I am Joseph; so here, in effect, I am
Jesus. Now he begins to speak like himself, and to put on
his own countenance. He will not contend for ever.
(1.) He commended her faith. O woman, great is thy faith.
Observe, [1.] It is her faith that he commends. There were
several other graces that shone bright in her conduct of
this affair-wisdom, humility, meekness, patience,
perseverance in prayer; but these were the product of her
faith, and therefore Christ fastens upon that as most
commendable; because of all graces faith honors Christ most,
therefore of all graces Christ honors faith most. [2.] It is
the greatness of her faith. Note, First, though the faith of
all the saints is alike precious, yet it is not in all alike
strong; all believers are not of the same size and stature.
Secondly, The greatness of faith consists much in a resolute
adherence to Jesus Christ as an all-sufficient Savior, even
in the face of discouragements; to love him, and trust him,
as a Friend, even then when he seems to come forth against
us as an Enemy. This is great faith! Thirdly, though weak
faith, if true, shall not be rejected, yet great faith shall
be commended, and shall appear greatly well-pleasing to
Christ; for in them that thus believe he is most admired.
Thus Christ commended the faith of the centurion, and he was
a Gentile too, he had a strong faith in the power of Christ,
this woman in the good-will of Christ; both were acceptable.
(2.) He cured her daughter; "Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt: I can deny thee nothing, take what thou came for."
Note, Great believers may have what they will for the
asking. When our will conforms to the will of Christ's
precept, his will concurs with the will of our desire. Those
that will deny Christ nothing, shall find that he will deny
them nothing at last, though for a time he seems to hide his
face from them. "Thou wouldst have thy sins pardoned, thy
corruptions mortified, thy nature sanctified; be it unto
thee even as thou wilt. And what canst thou desire more?"
When we come, as this poor woman did, to pray against Satan
and his kingdom, we concur with the intercession of Christ,
and it shall be accordingly. Though Satan may sift Peter,
and buffet Paul, yet, through Christ's prayer and the
sufficiency of his grace, we shall be more than conquerors,
Luke 22:31, 32; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9; Romans 16:20.
The event was answerable to the word of Christ; Her daughter
was made whole from that very hour; from thenceforward was
never vexed with the devil any more; the mother's faith
prevailed for the daughter's cure. Though the patient was at
a distance, that was no hindrance to the efficacy of
Christ's word. He spoke, and it was done.
Four Thousand Men Fed.
Matthew 15:29-39 --
29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the
sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down
there. 30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with
them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many
others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed
them: 31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw
the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk,
and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said,
I
have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with
me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not
send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And
his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much
bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34
And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye?
And they
said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35 And he commanded
the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And he took the
seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake
them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the
multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and
they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets
full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men,
beside women and children. 39 And he sent away the
multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
Here is, I. A general account of Christ's cures, his curing
by wholesale. The tokens of Christ's power and goodness are
neither scarce nor scanty; for there is in him an
overflowing fullness. Now observe,
1. The place where these cures were wrought; it was near the
sea of Galilee, a part of the country Christ was much
conversant with. We read not of any thing he did in the
coasts of Tyre and Sidon, but the casting of the devil out
of the woman of Canaan's daughter, as if he took that
journey on purpose, with that in prospect. Let not ministers
grudge their pains to do good, though but to few. He that
knows the worth of souls, would go a great way to help to
save one from death and Satan's power.
But Jesus departed thence. Having let fall that crumb under
table, he here returns to make a full feast for the
children. We may do that occasionally for one, which we may
not make a constant practice of. Christ steps into the coast
of Tyre and Sidon, but he sits down by the Sea of Galilee
(verse 29), sits down not on a stately throne, or tribunal
of judgment, but on a mountain: so mean and homely were his
most solemn appearances in the days of his flesh! He sat
down on a mountain, that all might see him, and have free
access to him; for he is an open Savior. He sat down there,
as one tired with his journey, and willing to have a little
rest; or rather, as one waiting to be gracious. He sat,
expecting patients, as Abraham at his tent-door, ready to
entertain strangers. He settled himself to this good work.
2. The multitudes and maladies that were healed by him
(verse 30); Great multitudes came to him; that the scripture
might be fulfilled, Unto him shall the gathering of the
people be, Genesis 49:10. If Christ's ministers could cure
bodily diseases as Christ did, there would be more flocking
to them than there is; we are soon sensible of bodily pain
and sickness, but few are concerned about their souls and
their spiritual diseases.
Now, (1.) Such was the goodness of Christ, that he admitted
all sorts of people; the poor as well as the rich are
welcome to Christ, and with him there is room enough for all
comers. He never complained of crowds or throngs of seekers,
or looked with contempt upon the vulgar, the herd, as they
are called; for the souls of peasants are as precious with
him as the souls of princes.
(2.) Such was the power of Christ, that he healed all sorts
of diseases; those that came to him, brought their sick
relations and friends along with them, and cast them down at
Jesus' feet, verse 30. We read not of any thing they said to
him, but they laid them down before him as objects of pity,
to be looked upon by him. Their calamities spoke more for
them than the tongue of the most eloquent orator could.
David showed before God his trouble, that was enough, he
then left it with him, Psalm 142:2. Whatever our case is,
the only way to find ease and relief, is, to lay it at
Christ's feet, to spread it before him, and refer it to his
cognizance, and then submit it to him, and refer it to his
disposal. Those that would have spiritual healing from
Christ, must lay themselves at his feet, to be ruled and
ordered as he pleases.
Here were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others,
brought to Christ. See what work sin has made! It has turned
the world into a hospital: what various diseases are human
bodies subject to! See what work the Savior makes! He
conquers those hosts of enemies to mankind. Here were such
diseases as a flame of fancy could contribute neither to the
cause of nor to the cure of; as lying not in the humors, but
in the members of the body; and yet these were subject to
the commands of Christ. He sent his word, and healed them.
Note, All diseases are at the command of Christ, to go and
come as he bids them. This is an instance of Christ's power,
which may comfort us in all our weaknesses; and of his pity,
which may comfort us in all our miseries.
3. The influence that this had upon the people, verse 31.
(1.) They wondered, and well they might. Christ's works
should be our wonder. It is the Lord's doing, and it is
marvelous, Psalm 118:23. The spiritual cures that Christ
works are wonderful. When blind souls are made to see by
faith, the dumb to speak in prayer, the lame to walk in holy
obedience, it is to be wondered at. Sing unto the Lord a new
song, for thus he has done marvelous things.
(2.) They glorified the God of Israel, whom the Pharisees,
when they saw these things, blasphemed. Miracles, which are
the matter of our wonder, must be the matter of our praise;
and mercies, which are the matter of our rejoicing, must be
the matter of our thanksgiving. Those that were healed
glorified God; if he heal our diseases, all that is within
us must bless his holy name; and if we have been graciously
preserved from blindness, and lameness, and dumbness, we
have as much reason to bless God as if we had been cured of
them; nay, and the standers-by glorified God. Note, God must
be acknowledged with praise and thankfulness in the mercies
of others as in our own. They glorified him as the God of
Israel, his church's God, a God in covenant with his people,
who hath sent the Messiah promised; and this is he. See Luke
1:68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. This was done by
the power of the God of Israel, and no other could do it.
II. Here is a particular account of his feeding four
thousand men with seven loaves, and a few little fishes, as
he had lately fed five thousand with five loaves. The guests
indeed were now not quite so many as then, and the provision
a little more; which does not intimate that Christ's arm was
shortened, but that he wrought his miracles as the occasion
required, and not for ostentation, and therefore he suited
them to the occasion: both then and now he took as many as
were to be fed, and made use of all that was at hand to feed
them with. When once the utmost powers of nature are
exceeded, we must say, This is the finger of God; and it is
neither here nor there how far they are outdone; so that
this is no less a miracle than the former.
Here is, 1. Christ's pity (verse 32); I have compassion on
the multitude. He tells his disciples this, both to try and
to excite their compassion. When he was about to work this
miracle, he called them to him, and made them acquainted
with his purpose, and discoursed with them about it; not
because he needed their advice, but because he would give an
instance of his condescending love to them. He called them
not servants, for the servant knows not what his Lord doeth,
but treated them as his friends and counselors. Shall I hide
from Abraham the thing that I do? Genesis 18:17. In what he
said to them, Observe,
(1.) The case of the multitude; They continue with me now
three days, and have nothing to eat. This is an instance of
their zeal, and the strength of their affection to Christ
and his word, that they not only left their callings, to
attend upon him on week-days, but underwent a deal of
hardship, to continue with him; they wanted their natural
rest, and, for aught that appeared, lay like soldiers in the
field; they wanted necessary food, and had scarcely enough
to keep life and soul together. In those hotter countries
they could better bear long fasting than we can in these
colder climates: but though it could not but be grievous to
the body, and might endanger their health, yet the zeal of
God's house thus ate them up, and they esteemed the words of
Christ more than their necessary food. We think three hours
too much to attend upon public ordinances; but these people
staid together three days, and yet snuffed not at it, nor
said, Behold, what a weariness is it! Observe, With what
tenderness Christ spoke of it; I have compassion on them. It
had become them to have compassion on him, who took so much
pains with them for three days together, and was so
indefatigable in teaching and healing; so much virtue had
gone out of him, and yet for aught that appears he was
fasting too: but he prevented them with his compassion.
Note, Our Lord Jesus keeps an account how long his followers
continue their attendance on him, and takes notice of the
difficulty they sustain in it (Revelation 2:2); I know thy
works, and thy labor, and thy patience: and it shall in no
wise lose its reward.
Now the exigency the people were reduced to serves to
magnify. [1.] The mercy of their supply: he fed them when
they were hungry; and then food was doubly welcome. He
treated them as he did Israel of old; he suffered them to
hunger, and then fed them (Deut. viii. 3); for that is sweet
to the hungry soul, which the full soul loathes. [2.] The
miracle of their supply: having been so long fasting, their
appetites were the more craving. If two hungry meals make
the third a glutton, what would three hungry days do? And
yet they did all eat and were filled. Note, There are mercy
and grace enough with Christ, to give the most earnest and
enlarged desire an abundant satisfaction; Open thy mouth
wide, and I will fill it. He replenishes even the hungry
soul.
(2.) The care of our master concerning them; I will not send
them away fasting, lest they should faint by the way; which
would be a discredit to Christ and his family, and a
discouragement both to them and to others. Note, It is the
unhappiness of our present state, that when our souls are in
some measure elevated and enlarged, our bodies cannot keep
pace with them in good duties. The weakness of the flesh is
a great grievance to the willingness of the spirit. It will
not be so in heaven, where the body shall be made spiritual,
where they rest not, day and night, from praising God, and
yet faint not; where they hunger no more, nor thirst any
more, Revelation 7:16.
Here is, 2. Christ's power. His pity of their wants sets his
power on work for their supply. Now observe,
(1.) How his power was distrusted by his disciples (verse
23); whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness?
A proper question, one would think, like that of Moses
(Numbers 11:22). Shall the flocks and the herds be slain to
suffice them? But it was here an improper question,
considering not only the general assurance the disciples had
of the power of Christ, but the particular experience they
lately had of a seasonable and sufficient provision by
miracle in a like case; they had been not only the
witnesses, but the ministers, of the former miracle; the
multiplied bread went through their hands; so that it was an
instance of great weakness for them to ask, Whence shall we
have bread? Could they be at a loss, while they had their
Master with them? Note, Forgetting former experiences leaves
us under present doubts.
Christ knew how slender the provision was, but he would know
it from them (verse 34); How many loaves have ye? Before he
would work, he would have it seen how little he had to work
on, that his power might shine the brighter. What they had,
they had for themselves, and it was little enough for their
own family; but Christ would have them bestow it all upon
the multitude, and trust Providence for more. Note, it
becomes Christ's disciples to be generous, their Master was
so: what we have, we should be free of, as there is
occasion; given to hospitality; not like Nabal (1 Samuel
25:11), but like Elisha, 2 Kings 4:42. Niggardliness to-day,
out of thoughtfulness for to-morrow, is a complication of
corrupt affection that ought to be mortified. If we be
prudently kind and charitable with what we have, we may
piously hope that God will send more. Jehovah-jireh, The
Lord will provide. The disciples asked, Whence should we
have bread? Christ asked, How many loaves have ye? Note,
When we cannot have what we would, we must make the best of
what we have, and do good with it as far as it will go; we
must not think so much of our wants as of our having. Christ
herein went according to the rule he gave to Martha, not to
be troubled about many things, nor cumbered about much
serving. Nature is content with little, grace with less, but
lust with nothing.
(2.) How his power was discovered to the multitude, in the
plentiful provision he made for them; the manner of which is
much the same as before, Chapter 14:18, & context. Observe
here,
[1.] The provision that was at hand; seven loaves, and a few
fishes: the fish not proportional to the bread, for bread is
the staff of life. It is probable that the fish was such as
they had themselves taken; for they were fishers, and were
now near the sea. Note, It is comfortable to eat the labor
of our hands (Psalm 128:2), and to enjoy that which is any
way the product of our own industry, Proverbs 12:27. And
what we have got by God's blessing on our labor we should be
free of; for therefore we must labor, that we may have to
give, Ephesians 4:28.
[2.] The putting of the people in a posture to receive it
(verse 35); He commanded the multitude to sit down on the
ground. They saw but very little provision, yet they must
sit down, in faith that they should have a meal's meat out
of it. They who would have spiritual food from Christ, must
sit down at his feet, to hear his word, and expect it to
come in an unseen way.
[3.] The distributing of the provision among them. He first
gave thanks--eucharistesas. The word used in the former
miracle was eulogese--he blessed. It comes all to one;
giving thanks to God is a proper way of craving a blessing
from God. And when we come to ask and receive further mercy,
we ought to give thanks for the mercies we have received. He
then broke the loaves (for it was in the breaking that the
bread multiplied) and gave to his disciples, and they to the
multitude. Though the disciples had distrusted Christ's
power, yet he made use of them now as before; he is not
provoked, as he might be, by the weakness and infirmities of
his ministers, to lay them aside; but still he gives to
them, and they to his people, of the word of life.
[4.] The plenty there was among them (verse 37). They did
all eat, and were filled. Note, Those whom Christ feeds, he
fills. While we labor for the world, we labor for that which
satisfies not (Isaiah 55:2); but those that duly wait on
Christ shall be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of
his house, Psalm 65:4. Christ thus fed people once and
again, to intimate that though he was called Jesus of
Nazareth, yet he was of Bethlehem, the house of bread; or
rather, that he was himself the Bread of Life.
To show that they had all enough, there was a great deal
left--seven baskets full of broken meat; not so much as
there was before, because they did not gather after so many
eaters, but enough to show that with Christ there is bread
enough, and to spare; supplies of grace for more than seek
it, and for those that seek more.
[5.] The account taken of the guests; not that they might
pay their share (here was no reckoning to be discharged,
they were fed gratis), but that they might be witnesses to
the power and goodness of Christ, and that this might be
some resemblance of that universal providence that gives
food to all flesh, Psalm 136:25. Here were four thousand men
fed; but what were they to that great family which is
provided for by the divine care every day? God is a great
Housekeeper, on whom the eyes of all the creatures wait, and
he gives them their food in due season, Psalm 104:27;
145:15.
[6.] The dismissing of the multitude, and Christ's departure
to another place (verse 39). He sent away the people. Though
he had fed them twice, they must not expect miracles to be
their daily bread. Let them now go home to their callings,
and to their own tables. And he himself departed by ship to
another place; for, being the Light of the world, he must be
still in motion, and go about to do good.
Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
Ron@FridayStudy.org
|
