Irenic Road

Notes on Matthew 15

Here are a few notes on Matthew Chapter 15 that I would’ve brought up at Bible study if I were able to attend tonight.

Clean and Unclean

The Mishnah (the written version of the “tradition of the elders” mentioned here) records debates on the problem of people swearing their property to God by declaring it qorban in order to avoid paying debts, and eventually the rabbis decided this was unlawful. But in Jesus’s time it amounted to a loophole in the law, and was apparently abused to avoid responsibility. This is also consistent with Jesus’s teaching on swearing oaths in Mt 5:37.

From what I can tell, scholars are divided on whether Jesus “declared all foods clean,” as the parallel passage in Mark states. Given the conflict over this issue in the early church, this apparently straightforward interpretation seems doubtful. This passage is not in Luke, and Acts 10:9-23 seems to suggest it was only made clear by Peter’s vision. Matthew leaves out Mark’s parenthetical statement, and includes the additional section about the Pharisees being “blind guides.” It looks like Matthew understands this as a lesson in the way exterior forms and practices of religion can become blind guides. At Immersion Thursday night, Justin referenced this passage and pointed out that today, we act like Pharisees we think “How come your disciples don’t go to church on Sunday/ dress up for church/ serve communion like we do/ etc.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

On the surface, this story looks embarrassing. Why would Jesus ignore and humiliate this poor woman before finally healing her daughter?

First of all, it would’ve been unseemly for Jesus, a Jewish teacher, to speak to any woman in public, let alone a Gentile woman. His disciples tacitly acknowledge this when they ask him to send her away. Instead, he decides to show them what their cultural attitudes look like when fully expressed. His first response, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” is technically true. During his ministry he spent most of his time in Galilee and Judea reaching out to the Jews, but Jesus was also in the act of expanding the definition of “Israel” to include all who follow Him. The woman persists, saying “Lord, help me.” In response Jesus suggests she and other Gentiles are little dogs (the Greek is diminutive). A dog in the Middle East then and now was not a pet, but a filthy street animal only slightly less unclean than a pig. This is an insult, but it would’ve been a prejudice shared by most Jews. Even then she persists, playfully suggesting “even little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” At that, Jesus, who at first “spoke not a word” says “Woman, you have great faith!” (“Woman” would’ve been a respectful form of address.) “Your requested is granted.”

Instead of the woman, it is the disciples who are humiliated here. It seems likely Jesus chose for this incident to parallel Elijah’s encounter with the widow from Zarephath of Sidon in 1 Kings 17:17-24. There Elijah’s heals the woman’s son after stretches out over him three times and cries out for God to heal him. This makes doubly clear that God’s love and grace is for all people, not just the Jews.