Read: Matthew 15.1-28
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: In this passage Matthew shows us a stark contrast between some teachers of the law from the Jewish capital of Jerusalem and a Canaanite woman from the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon. The teachers of the law and Pharisees were incensed over the fact that Jesus' disciples did not wash their hands before eating. Granted, washing one's hands before eating is a good idea for hygienic reasons, but nothing in the Old Testament commands it. However, an oral "tradition of the elders" had been established through the years as a sort of commentary and "guideline for application" of the Old Testament law, and it had come to be revered (and occasionally revised by addition!) by the religious establishment of Jesus' day. When Jesus' disciples failed to wash theirs hands before eating in the prescribed manner according to tradition, the teachers confronted Jesus and demanded to know why He was allowing this to occur. In response, Jesus asks why the teachers of the law use the "tradition of the law" to break the clear command of God written in Scripture? Jesus gives the example of individuals declaring saved money to be "devoted to God" and thus unable to be used for anything other than approved religious donations to be made after one had passed away (although one could still live off of the interest from such savings while alive). According to the tradition of the elders, oaths to God could not be broken under any circumstance. Therefore, if one's elderly parents are impoverished, no money "devoted to God" could be used to help them, despite the fact that "honoring one's father and mother" is one of the Ten Commandments (the very heart of the Jewish law!). It's little wonder that Jesus labels these Pharisees and teachers of the law "blind guides" destined to fall into pits of their own making.
Jesus goes on to make an important point: "What goes into a person's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out their mouth, that is what defiles them...whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body...but the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts - murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person..." (verses 11, 17-20). From a Scriptural standpoint, the condition of one's heart is always more important that the condition of one's stomach.
Contrast the teachers of the law with the Canaanite woman seeking Jesus' help with her daughter, who was demon-possessed and "suffering terribly." A Canaanite was a Gentile descendant of the pagan people who Israel was commanded to drive from the land in Old Testament times (especially during the conquest of the "Promised Land" led by Moses' successor, Joshua). Living on the edges of Israel's land, the Canaanites were compared by Jewish leaders with wild dogs who lived as scavengers and nuisances on the edge of villages. This Canaanite woman begged for Jesus' help, but Jesus' reply was, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel...it is not right to take the children's bread (namely, Jesus' ministry to the Jewish people) and toss it to the dogs (such as a Canaanite)." The woman gives one of the greatest response of faith found in Scripture: "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." In abject humility, the woman is willing to receive whatever Jesus will offer in whatever manner it is offered...she believes He can heal her daughter, so she kneels before Him and exclaims, "Lord, help me!" "And her daughter was healed at that moment" (verse 28). It's clear that the model of faith for followers of Jesus is found in the Canaanite woman rather than in the teachers of the law.
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