Down an Unfamiliar Road

GOD IS NEVER WRONG!

Years ago a good friend who pastored a church just outside Stuttgart, Germany invited me to come and hold evangelistic services for a week. He rented a meeting room in the local Gasthaus (Tavern) that seated about 200 people. The door to the meeting room was direct across from the door to the bar. The first night’s service went well with a group of Bible School students there to help us, but I didn’t feel any spirit of freedom in the praise and worship. The people appeared to be merely going through the motions. The second night service was just as lacking in enthusiasm. As I sat there, the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit and said, “This must change so I can work, these people must cry out in prayer for Me to move.”

So after my sermon, I closed my Bible and announced that the evangelistic services were being halted and our gathering would be changed into a prayer meeting. I asked that the local church doors be open each day for prayer, where people could stop by on their way to and from work. The pastor looked at me in shock and asked, “You can’t do that! We have to pay for this meeting room, and we’ve spent a lot of money on advertising.” Nevertheless, I told him I was only following the voice of the Spirit.

The whole next day we were at the altar in the church praying as people stopped by. That night at the meeting hall, as people came in we had them kneel and pray for God to send an awakening. I was at the front on the platform praying, and about thirty minutes into the prayer I suddenly heard a new voice in the crowd. This person was crying and pleading with God for forgiveness. I opened my eyes and saw an older gentleman on his knees sobbing and praying for mercy.

I went over to pray with him and he told me that he came in that night to go to the tavern, but when he tried to enter something pulled him the other way toward the hall. He tried again to go into the bar but he felt the pull in the other direction. So he entered the hall, and when he did the power of conviction came over him and he felt the guilt of sin and realized that he was in need of salvation, so that’s why he made his way down front because it looked to him like everyone there was praying for forgiveness.

At the end of the prayer service, I had him give his testimony and announced that the evangelistic services were back on the next night. Each day we met in prayer at the church and each evening we gathered in the hall for services. Before long the police were called because there were so many people trying to find parking for the meeting it was causing a traffic jam. And a few nights later, the bartender decided to close down the bar because the few customers he had couldn’t compete with our singing, praying, preaching and praising God. So he opened the doors of the bar room and it became seating for the overflow crowd.

Two women who worked at a local factory heard about the meetings and decided to attend where they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They took the message they heard back to the factory and soon the manager let them hold prayer meetings in the factory at lunch time and people were being led to Christ. The pastor told me it was the greatest move of the Holy Spirit he had ever seen.

Among other things I learned during that experience that has never left me is this: it is better to obey the voice of the Spirit even if it looks silly to some than to look silly to everyone because you didn’t listen to Him. Not just in conducting revivals or prayer meetings, but in everything we attempt to do for His honor, praise, and glory. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

UPDATE

We just finished the very informative and enlightening 15th Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus’ fame had spread from the shores of the Sea of Galilee to the walls of Jerusalem. The religious leaders there, knowing very little, if anything, about this unknown, upstart prophet who they started hearing the term “Messiah” being attached to His name, sent Pharisees to inquire about Him and the claims being made about Him.

Upon their encounter in a wheat field just outside Capernaum, the Pharisees saw an opportunity to accuse Him and His disciples of breaking the verbal law of the elders by not washing their hands properly. But Jesus turned the conversation back on them and their breaking the law of God when it came to honoring one’s father and mother. Jesus then uses this to teach them the important lesson on the difference between being clean on the outside and clean on the inside.

Then, for the first time, Jesus adventures outside His beloved Galilee on a divine mission to meet a woman with a daughter suffering from demonic oppression. Here, He had a two-fold mission. One, to show His disciples and followers how much faith there was among the non-Jews who lived in the area known as Phoenicia, and two, to teach them that if the Jews did not accept Him as the Messiah they would remain lost like wandering sheep, while the rest of the world would be invited into the Kingdom of Heaven as sons and daughters of God.

When they got back to Galilee and its familiar shores, Jesus once again took the opportunity to feed a multitude of people with a small amount of food. He thought that after feeding a crowd of 5,000 with five small flatbreads and two sardines His disciples might have enough faith that He could feed 4,000 with seven flatbreads and several sardines. But they failed the test again.

This time, however, instead of sending them away in a boat with the promise to catch up with them, He boarded the boat with them and sailed to the other side of the sea to a place called Magdala. Here the news spread of His being there and people streamed to Him if only to touch the hem of his coat for healing. But among them were the Pharisees and Sadducees, just waiting to try and catch Him violating the law or teaching some heresy so they could expose Him as a fraud and not the Messiah.

So we can see that the life of Jesus was not easy. He faced a lot of opposition and doubt, even among His own disciples. But He did not give up, and He did it all for you and me. That’s why we must keep on with His story. So next week we start in Chapter 16, where some very important truths will be revealed. One of which must have wounded the hearts of His followers as soon as they heard it.

Thank you again for your unfailing devotion to God’s Word. And may the Lord bless you as you hunger and thirst after more knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part VII

Verse 32: Jesus called His followers to Him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”

On the earlier occasion, when Jesus fed the 5,000, we noted that He started teaching in the morning and it went until late afternoon. But now, with the 4,000, Jesus sees the need for food after the crowd had been with Him for three days. I doubt that they all came without bringing along some sustenance, but they may not have envisioned staying there for three days. It also may be a factor, in that this crowd was 1,000 fewer than the first group, with some of them having to return home for various reasons, especially those who had already been healed.

Could it be, that our Lord recalled what His royal ancestor did after finding a person who had not eaten for three days: “David’s men found an Egyptian in a field and took him to David. They gave the Egyptian some water to drink and some food to eat. The Egyptian had not had any food or water for three days and nights, so they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. He felt better after eating.”¹ But as for the disciples, they were more concerned about the supply rather than the service. You would think, they had learned something from the other miracle where Jesus fed the 5,000, but apparently they saw this as different. Maybe, because they had more bread and a smaller crowd to feed.

Early church scholar Theodore of Heraclea comments on how this crowd found themselves it this predicament of needing to be fed. He writes: “In this way, by His speech, Christ had so inclined their souls that even they had become forgetful and had taken no care to provide for food or other necessary needs. They had not grown weary, even in the desert, of being with Christ. But Christ understood the weakness of our nature and that we require food for the health of our bodies. He makes preparation even for this, that it might be evident that He is concerned not only about our souls but about our bodies as well. For He is the Creator of both soul and body. He is not merely the Lord of one or the other, as the insane thought the Manichaeans hold.² They teach different creators, one for the soul and another for the body.”³

Verse 33: The followers asked Jesus, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are a long way from any town.’”

Now, in spite of what happened before with the 5,000, after Jesus told His disciples to feed this multitude they still ask Him where were they going to get the resources, seeing that this spot was quite a walk away from the nearest towns. So it appears that our Lord’s request came as a surprise to them. This may suggest that over the three days people were coming and going, so there seemed to be no need to consider such a picnic in the boondocks. In this case, we might say that in addition to all the healing miracles that Jesus performed, He had one more before the crowds were dismissed.

Bishop Hilary asks his readers to look more closely at this incident. He writes: “Do you see the mystery? The Lord has compassion on this hopeful following of believers and says they have been with Him for three days! Lest they weaken in the course of their worldly lives, in their workaday world, He wants now to feed them with His food and fortify them with His bread. In this way, they can complete the formidable task of the entire journey, for the disciples were complaining that there was no bread in the desert. Indeed, they had previously absorbed the lesson that nothing is impossible with God. But what certain events are meant to teach us can exceed the measure of our understanding.”⁴

Verse 34: Jesus asked, “How many flatbreads do you have?” They answered, “We have seven flatbreads and a few small fish.”

Even though this crowd was smaller than the first one, there is more food available. This was because instead of taking one small boy’s lunch, no doubt there were some in the crowd who had not eaten all they brought along for the occasion. But as in the first instance, it appears that these small flatbreads and tiny fish were a common meal for the people in that area. You would think that after Jesus had multiplied five small flatbreads and two sardines to feed 5,000, there certainly would be no trouble for Him to do the same with seven flatbreads and several sardines to feed 4,000. But when Jesus asked them what they had, they gave the same I-don’t-think-this-will-work response as the first time.

Chrysostom says in his homily on this text: “Observe, in this instance, that Jesus does not proceed immediately to the miracle but calls them out even into the desert. The multitudes who had come for healing did not even dare to ask for food. But He is here seen to be the goodhearted and caring one who gives even to those that do not ask. He said to His disciples, ‘I have compassion and will not send them away hungry.’ And in case someone might say that they came having provisions for their stay, He noted, ‘They have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat, so that even if some came with provision, it has by now been consumed.’ Therefore, Jesus did not do this on the first or second day but only when everything had been entirely consumed, in order that having first been in need, they might more eagerly receive the miracle of food. He offered them compassion, saying, ‘In case they faint in their journey;’ He implied that both the distance to food was great and that they had nothing left. Then disciples asked if You are not willing to send them away hungry, ‘Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ Jesus responded, in order to stimulate their faith and make them more compassionate: ‘How many loaves do you have?’ But even then they did not fully understand the motive of His question. That’s why afterward, He said to them, as Mark relates, ‘Are your hearts so hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear?’⁵”⁶

So we can see by what Mark had to say, Jesus was very disappointed that after His disciples had seen the miracle with the 5,000 they still couldn’t believe for 4,000. Why is it that even today, no matter how many times God’s people have seen Him move and observed His power in action, they treat each crisis as though it’s the first time they’ve asked for help and guidance. It doesn’t mean that we should become passé or unconcerned in our attitudes when going to the Lord for help, but how much more rewarding if the disciples had come to Jesus and said: “Lord, we saw what you did the last time with the 5,000, we’ll see how much food we can find and bring it to You for Your blessing so we can feed these 4,000.”

Verses 35-36: Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. He took the seven flatbreads and the fish. Then He gave thanks to God for the food. He broke the flatbreads into pieces, which He gave to His followers, and they gave the food to the people.”

We notice that in both cases, Jesus blesses the meal before breaking the bread. According to Jewish custom, the following prayer is said before eating, “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings bread forth from the earth.” There is also a custom of saying grace after the meal that is derived from the Torah: “So you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless Adonai your God for the good land He has given you.”⁷ And so the benediction usually goes, “Blessed are You, O Lord, for the land and for the food.” Since Jesus prayed before dispensing the bread, Christians have adopted the custom of praying before a meal, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to thank Him after we are finished eating.

The prayer that Jesus prayed is not written here, but I have little doubt that He followed a tradition His listeners were familiar with. The reason for this may be, that if He were to use a prayer or chant with which they had no acquaintance they might have thought He was saying some magical formula, especially since the bread and fish began to multiply right before their eyes. So then, the loaves and fishes were being multiplied as they were being passed around. This is a lesson every preacher and teacher should learn. Take what you have for the congregation or class to Jesus first, ask Him to bless it before you share it with the group that has gathered to hear, so they can then take it and share it with others. That way, a sermon preached to 500 people, could end up feeding thousands of people.

Verse 37: All the people ate until they were satisfied. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were left over.

Again we notice a difference between the first feeding and the second. The larger crowed had twelve baskets of leftovers while this smaller group had seven. But the main point is that on both occasions we find that the people ate until they were content. In using the formula mentioned before, the number of baskets with leftovers may be representative of the actual number of men, women and children who were fed; 12,000 the first time and 7,000 on this occasion.

Bishop Hilary sees some spiritual applications between what occurred here on this hillside and what is done through the church to sinners he calls Gentiles. He writes: “They brought forward seven loaves of bread. The Gentiles received no salvation from the law and the prophets. However, they live because of the grace of the Spirit whose sevenfold light, as noted by Isaiah, is a gift.⁸ Therefore through faith in the Spirit the Gentiles receive salvation. They recline on the ground, for they were not subject to any works of the law or the flesh but were called in their earthly condition to the Spirit of the sevenfold light. The unspecific number of fish signifies the variety and dispensing of gifts and charisma, by which a diversity of graces satisfied the faith of the Gentiles. Moreover, the fact that seven baskets are filled indicates the overflowing and multiplied abundance of the Spirit of sevenfold light. What He generously gives, abounds. Having been satisfied, the gift becomes ever more richly endowed and full. The fact that four thousand men gather together refers to a multitude of countless people from the four corners of the earth. In terms of the future, a calculated number of people are satisfied in as many thousands of places as there are thousands of believers who hasten to receive the gift of heavenly food. Having been fully fed, the crowd is dismissed. And since the Lord remains with us all the days of our life, a great number of Gentile believers go on board the ship—namely, the church.”⁹

Verse 38: There were about 4,000 men there who ate. There were also some women and children present.

Says Theodore of Heraclea: “Jesus does this not only once but also a second time, in order that we should know His strength. This strength by which He feeds the multitudes when He wishes and without bread finds its source in His divinity. He does this in order to bring them to believe that He is the one who earlier had fed Israel for forty years in the wilderness. And Jesus not only fed them with a few loaves of bread, but He even produced a surplus of seven baskets, so that He might be shown as incomparably surpassing Elijah, who himself also caused a multiplication of the widow’s small quantity of oil and flour. Nevertheless, when Jesus produced a multiplication of seven baskets from seven loaves, He did not go beyond what was needed, lest the difference between these miracles should again be forgotten by the disciples.”¹⁰

Verse 39: After they all ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. He got into the boat and sailed to the area around Magadan.

This name “Magadan” appears only here in Matthew. However, in the Aramaic Version, we find, “Magodu” in Etheridge’s translation, and “Magdala” in Murdock’s rendering. The same story as told in Mark’s Gospel uses the term “Dalmanutha.”¹¹ When these two passages are put together, it seems fair that one refers to the region of Dalmanutha and the other to the town of Magdala in that region, since both lie on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. We find this mentioned in Jewish writings where Rabbi Yohanan talks about a farmer who “owned two courtyards, one in Magdala (also Migdal in Aramaic, as it is called today) and the other in Tiberias.”¹² Then we find these two cities mention together when Rabbi Hunah was talking about limits of walking on the Sabbath. He states that: “The Sabbath limit of Tiberias lie [within four cubits of the Sabbath limit of Magdala.”¹³

In fact, in the Jerusalem Talmud, we are told that Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai was asked by a Samaritan to remove a corpse that had been buried by an old Jew in a place it should not have been. We read that the Rabbi passed Magdala after having been in Tiberias.¹⁴ And in another place we find that the Rabbis were talking about a round trip from Tiberias to Magdala. Since the limit is 0.596 miles, that means the two were separated by about one-sixth of a mile, putting any walking back and forth on the Sabbath over the limits. Magdala lies north of Tiberias along the southwestern coast of the Sea of Galilee. We even find that a Rabbi named Isaac came from Magdala.¹⁵ Of course, for Christians, this was the home area of a woman possessed with seven demons,¹⁶ who would later become one of Jesus’ staunchest and most loyal supporters, Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene). Based on historical information, this area had a large fishing industry. But it was also well-known for the practice of magic. And just like the woman at the well in Samaria,¹⁷ this visit to Magdala was already on our Lord’s divine agenda.

One thing that any student of the life of Jesus will quickly notice is that He did nothing and went nowhere without it already being a settled part of His divine itinerary. It is like watching an oriental rug being woven where threads of different colors, seemingly selected at random, come together in an exquisite and beautiful pattern. Anyone who only reads the first part of Jesus’ life without the ending, do not get the whole picture. And the same goes for reading the end without the beginning. But let us not forget, there are future events yet to be woven into this story before it will be complete.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part VI

Verse 27: The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master’s table.”

People from this area of Phoenicia had earned a reputation for being sharp witted. Greek philosopher and historian Eunapius once wrote: “The peculiar charm and sweetness that all Syria-Phoenicians display in general conversation allow one to see evidence that goes beyond their education. I’m talking about that quality which the people of Attica call a ‘keen sense,’ or ‘refined wit.’”¹­ Since Eunapius wrote this around 375 AD, which is reported by others to be the history of events from 270 AD, things did not change that quickly back then, so this could well be a good description one takes into consideration when evaluating this Syria-Phoenician woman’s response to Jesus.

In his sermon on this text, early church preacher Chrysostom has this to say:

See her humility as well as her faith! For He had called the Jews ‘children,’ but she was not satisfied with this. She even called them ‘masters,’ so far was she from grieving over how others were praised. She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Behold the woman’s wisdom! She did not venture so much as to say a word against anyone else. She was not stung to see others praised, nor was she indignant to be rebuked. Behold her stability. Jesus used the name dog, but she described the action of the dog. Do you see this woman’s humility?

Then compare her humility with the proud language of the Jews: ‘We are Abraham’s seed and were never in bondage to any man.’² ‘We are born of God.’³ But not so this woman. Rather, she calls herself a dog and them masters. So, for this reason, she became a child. For what does Christ then say? ‘O woman, great is your faith.’

So we might surmise that this is the reason He put her off, in order that He might proclaim aloud this saying and that He might crown the woman: ‘Be it done for you as you desire.’ This means ‘Your faith, indeed, is able to effect even greater things than these. Nevertheless, be it unto you even as you wish.’ This voice was at one with the voice that said, ‘Let the heaven be,’ and it was.⁴

Do you also see how this woman contributed no small amount to the healing of her daughter? For note that Christ did not say, ‘Let your little daughter be made whole,’ but ‘Great is your faith, be it done for you as you desire.’ These words were not uttered at random, nor were they flattering words, but great was the power of her faith, and for our learning.

He definitely left the test and response, however, to the issue at hand. That being the case, her daughter was immediately healed.⁵

I’m certain that after the woman’s daughter was completely healed, Jesus prayed in His heart that His disciples had gotten the point. Even though the Jews were privileged to have the promise God made to Abraham, and God sent His Son to them first in order to deliver the message of salvation, Jesus did not want their refusal to accept Him derail the mission He came to perform. Eventually, even those who the Jews did not feel were originally included in the promise would be invited to partake and be blessed. So, woe to the Jews if they continued to deny Him as the Messiah, the Anointed One, who came to save them. There was a lost and dying world out there waiting for a Savior to come.

What strikes me is the similarity today between the churches and the unconverted world. Many in the church feel that the Bible, salvation, a holy life and the promise of the resurrection and heaven are meant only for them. As such, they have become proud of their status and look down on those around them who are not members of their elite group. But Jesus came to save all mankind, and that includes Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. So we should not be surprised to hear that the good news of salvation through Christ Jesus is already having a huge impact on them.

Verse 28: Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! You will get what you asked for.” And right then the woman’s daughter was healed.

Before Jesus made this trip, He had been in Nazareth⁶ and the surrounding area in Galilee⁷ before sailing to the plain of Gennesaret on the southwest side of the Sea of Galilee.⁸ But He had another mission in mind. So he makes the three-mile trip home to Capernaum before going northwest toward the area known as Lebanon today, some 50 miles away. The average walk in one eight hour day, without many stops, would transport a person some 20 miles. So this journey by Jesus and His disciples took three days at the very least. Now, this was out of His usual ministry circuit so He must have had a reason for going there, just like He did in visiting Jacob’s well in Samaria.

But His reputation had preceded Him, and that’s why this non-Jewish woman ran toward His entourage and called out to Him, “Lord,” and “Son of David.” She also attributed her daughter’s illness to a curse from the gods. As we already read, the Master did not show her any attention, even though she kept pleading with for help. Finally, His disciples became aggravated enough with her nagging that they appealed to Jesus that she be sent away. But when she insisted on running ahead and stopping Him in His tracks, He dismissed her with a kind rebuke. Again He used figurative language, but she got the point. This is where her wit, courage and faith combined to give Him an insightful reply.

I have no doubt that this was specially designed to teach His disciples how to discern the difference between favor and faith. Our Lord had already declined to do her a favor, but He could not resist her faith. So in an instant, the demon was exorcised and her daughter became normal. It is worth noting that Jesus referred to the “lost sheep” of Israel. This was His primary mission. With the Temple in Jerusalem so far away, and synagogues having been turned into schools and the gathering of the elite, many had lost all contact with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

There were reports even before Jesus came that they had turned to idols and erected altars to the gods of the Canaanites who they were supposed to have driven out, back in Joshua’s day. God lamented to Ezekiel, “And now the sheep are scattered because there was no shepherd. They became food for every wild animal, so they were scattered. My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth. There was no one to search or to look for them.”⁹ But He also told the prophet, “I will search for the lost sheep. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered and put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. I will make the weak sheep strong…Then I will put one shepherd over them, my servant out of David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant out of David will be the ruler living among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.”¹⁰ So that’s who Jesus said He was searching for.

Many miss the significance of the meaning that lies herein as being relevant to our day. Both theologically and effectively, the church has replaced Israel as the propagator of the Gospel under the New Covenant. Therefore, Christians today fill the same position as Jews did in Christ’s day while the unsaved world today can be likened to the Gentiles back then. Using this analogy in the context of what happened here, we could say that Christ’s power is made available exclusively for Christians to benefit from. However, if back then, a Gentile (an unsaved sinner today) were to believe even as the Canaanite woman did on this occasion, their faith will be likewise rewarded by God.

If this is so, how much more should we believe, trust, lean and call upon the miracle-working power of Christ for unbelievers to see that Christ’s power is real, as well as believers. I’ve had people come forward for healing in an evangelistic service, but I did not first ask them, “Are you a Christian?” I left that discretion up to the Great Healer, just as in this case. Many times after receiving a healing touch, they wanted Christ to live in their hearts as Lord and Savior.

Verses 29-30: Then Jesus went from there back to the shores of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down. A large crowd of people came to Him. They brought many other sick people and placed them in front of Him. There were people who could not walk, people who were blind, crippled, or deaf, and many others. Jesus healed them all.

Now Jesus makes the three-day trip back to familiar territory. He arrived in an area where the slopes of a hill ran down to the banks of the lake. With the word spreading quickly that He was back in the area, people came out by the hundreds, bringing their sick relatives and family members to be healed. Matthew is quick to account for their illnesses: paralytics, blind, crippled, deaf, and mutes. Jesus did not allow one of them to return home unhealed. It is correct to note that they did not give thanks to Jesus, but to the God of Israel for their healing.

The wording of this verse implies that Jesus had already made up His mind where He was headed. It seems that He was familiar with this place. And since the only marker we are given is the shore of Lake Galilee, there is a possibility that He revisited the spot where the feeding of the 5,000 recently took place. So in order for the next verse to fit what occurred, either after His arrival word began to spread and people started flocking to the area, or, somehow the word had gone on before Him and they were there when He arrived. In either case, it shows the power of His personality to draw such a crowd without advertising and months of prior planning.

In his sermon, Chrysostom offers this thought for the hearer to contemplate: “Now Jesus goes to the mountain awaiting those who are diseased. The lame are brought up the mountainside. They are no longer merely touching the edge of His garment. They have advanced to a higher step. They are being brought to His feet! Therein they are showing their faith doubly, first by struggling up the mountainside even though lame, then by wanting nothing more than to be cast at His feet.”¹¹

This feeding is not to be confused as a second telling of the original miracle.¹² First of all, Matthew only says that it occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. Secondly, there is no mention of a small boy’s lunch, but the bread and fish here belonged to the disciples. Thirdly, only seven baskets of leftovers were collected here. Fourthly, the crowd here only numbers 4,000 plus women and children. Fifthly, it was three days after Jesus arrived that this miracle was performed. Sixthly, Jesus departed to a different destination without encountering any storm. And lastly, Jesus Himself distinguishes between the two events.¹³

When early church scholar Origen read this story, he had the following to say: “Think of this mountain to which Jesus went up and sat down, as the church. It has been set up through the word of God over the rest of the world, and all sorts of people come to it. To this assembly have come not only the disciples, as if they were leaving behind the multitudes, as they did in the case of the Beatitudes. Rather, there are great crowds here, many of whom are deaf or suffer from many afflictions. Look at the crowds who come to this mountain where the Son of God sits. Some of them have become deaf to the things that have been promised. Others have become blind in their soul, not looking toward the true light. Others are lame and not able to walk according to reason. Others are maimed and unable to work profitably. Each of these who are suffering in soul from such things ascends along with the multitudes into the mountain where Jesus sits. Some who do not draw near to the feet of Jesus are not healed. But those who are brought by the multitude and cast at His feet are being healed. Even those who come only to the edges, just the extremities of the body of Christ, who feel unworthy to obtain such things, are being healed. So now you come into the congregation of what is more commonly called the church.”¹⁴

It appears that by 200 AD the church viewed itself as a place where people could come to meet Jesus. The same healing power was available to those who were willing to put forth the effort to arrive where the church doors opened. I know it is hard for us in this modern world to envision operating in the world the same way they did in Paul’s day and then later in the Early Church era. But in some cases, the congregations have adopted this same approach that Jesus used. In many cities, churches have established a presence by feeding the poor and homeless who come to their doors. And while they are there, they take the opportunity to pray for both their physical and spiritual healing.

Verse 31: People were amazed when they saw that those who could not speak were now able to speak. Crippled people were made strong. Those who could not walk were now able to walk. The blind were able to see. Everyone thanked the God of Israel for this.

Isaiah had foreseen this, “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened so that they can see, and the ears of the deaf will be opened so that they can hear. Crippled people will dance like deer, and those who cannot speak now will use their voices to sing happy songs.”¹⁵ Again I am reminded, that these wonders are not individually noted in the usual list we find in a Bible Encyclopedia on the miracles of Jesus. The last chart I saw only listed twenty-eight. I’m sure the real number is much, much larger than that. But the greatest miracles of all are those who wandered in were brought out of darkness into His marvelous light to become children of the Most High God. That number is in the billions.

Chrysostom asks us to remember how long Jesus had delayed healing the Canaanite woman. But now He heals these people immediately. This is not because they were better than she; indeed, she was more faithful than they. In her case, He defers and delays in order to manifest her stability. In the case of these, He bestows the gift immediately to shut the mouths of critics and take away from them every excuse. For the greater the favors one has received, the more one is held accountable and liable if unresponsive. This is why we see the rich turning more wicked and being more severely punished than the poor. Why? Their hearts have not been softened, not even by their prosperity.¹⁶

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part V

Verse 21: Jesus then departed from there and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon.

Most scholars believe that Jesus only went as far as the border between Israel and Phoenicia. Like John the Baptizer, it appears that our Lord set up a camp where He could teach and minister. Some also see this as the first test of how our Lord’s ministry would be received by non-Jews. So, as word spread more and more people came to be healed and ministered to.

This would be about a 50-mile walk from Capernaum to the Sidon district, taking Jesus and His disciples in the Northwest direction. Their walk took them over hills and valleys. Based on their speed and number of stops, this must have taken them at least three to four days. It is important to note, that Matthew includes both cities, Tyre to the south and Sidon to the north in what is Lebanon today. Below Tyre the area was called Syria. But between the two cities, it was referred to as Phoenicia. But just like the women at the well in Samaria, even so here Jesus did not do this for exercise, He was driven because of a divine appointment made by the Father.

While the exact spot where Jesus and His disciples stopped to set up camp is not named, many Bible scholars believe that it was close to the area of Hazor. Hazor is the largest biblical-era site in Israel, covering some 200 acres. The population of Hazor in the second millennium BC is estimated to have been about 20,000, making it the largest and most important city in the entire region. This is where Joshua had one of his biggest battles.¹ So this was not some out-of-the-way place where Jesus went to minister.

Aerial view from the southeast of excavated ruins of the upper city of Hazor

Verse 22: A Canaanite woman from the area to the east came out and began shouting, “Master, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much.”

Early church writer Epiphanius gives us his impression of what happened here. He writes: “O great mystery! The Lord came out from the Jews, and the woman came out from her Gentile territory. He left the Jews behind, and the woman left behind idolatry and an impious lifestyle. What they had lost, she found. The One whom they had denied in the law, she professed through her faith. This woman is the symbol of the Gentiles, and she knew Christ through faith. Thus on behalf of her daughter, (the Gentile people), she entreated the Lord. The daughter had been led astray by idolatry and sin and was severely possessed by a demon.”²

This may have been the view of some in the 5th-century church such as Epiphanius the Latin,³ but what our Lord told this lady does not seem to support the idea that He was leaving behind His ministry to the Jews and was now reaching out to the Gentiles. That would come later through the apostle Paul. What most scholars believe that Christ came here to do, was to show the Jews how physically near they were to God in the flesh walking among them, but how far they were in their hearts while the Gentiles were physically far from communion with God through His Son but so close in their hearts.

Augustine of Hippo offers commentary on this text in one of his sermons. He says: “She was apparently not from the people of Israel, from whom came the patriarchs, the prophets and the parents of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh; from whom came the Virgin Mary, who brought forth Christ. Clearly this woman was not from that people but from the Gentiles. For, as we read, the Lord withdrew into the regions of Tyre and Sidon; and then the Canaanite woman, having gone beyond those borders, insistently sought help to heal her daughter who was beset by the devil. Tyre and Sidon were not cities of the people of Israel but of the Gentiles, although they were close to that people. She, therefore, cried out, eager to get help, and kept insisting. But she was ignored, not that mercy might be denied but that desire might be kindled; not only that desire might be kindled but, as I said before, that humility might be praised.”⁴

Bishop Hilary in the 4^th century sees this woman’s involvement with Jesus as follows: “To grasp the inner motive of the Canaanite woman for obtaining what came to pass, we must reflect on the impact of her words. There is a firm belief that there was and still is in Israel a community of proselytes who passed over from the Gentiles into the works of the law. They had left behind their previous life and were bonded by the religion of a foreign and dominating law as though from home. And since a portion of those among the crowds who believed were proselytes, this Canaanite woman most likely had left her territory, preferring the status of a proselyte—that is, coming out from the Gentiles to the community of a neighboring people. She was appealing on behalf of her daughter, who was a type of all the Gentile people. And since she knew the Lord from the law, she addressed Him as Son of David. For in the law, the king of the eternal and heavenly kingdom is referred to as the ‘rod out of the stem of Jesse and the son of David.’⁵ This woman, who professed Christ as both Lord and Son of David, did not need any healing. Rather, she was begging for help for her daughter—that is, the Gentile people in the grips of unclean spirits.”⁶

Although they were in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, which was known as Phoenicia, the Jewish text calls her, “A woman from Kena’an (Canaan),” as does the Aramaic Version. It is possible that this reference comes from the way these people are described by Joshua: “The Canaanites living by the Mediterranean Sea.”⁷ Thus, in Mark’s Gospel, we find her listed as: “The woman was a Greek, by birth a Syro-phoenician.”⁸ This is the same designation used by a Greek writer, who refers to: “the grandson of the daughter of a certain Syrophenician merchant, named Kadmus.”⁹ So, Matthew has the proper cultural identification of this woman seeking help from Jesus.

Chrysostom gives his opinion on what may have brought about this encounter between the Jewish Messiah and a Gentile woman. He writes: “If anyone should say, Why then does Jesus allow this woman to approach Him when He says to the disciples, ‘Do not go in the way of the Gentiles?’¹⁰ We first note that He Himself, being who He is, was not, strictly speaking, required to obey the command that He gave to the disciples. We observe, second, that Jesus was not going there to preach. This is the very point that Mark implies when he says both that Jesus hid and that He could not escape notice. The fact that He did not run to them first was consistent with the order of the tasks set before Him. In exactly the same way, driving away people who were coming to Him was unworthy of His love for humanity. For if one should pursue those who are trying to escape, much more should one not try to escape those who are pursuing.”¹¹

Verses 23-24: But Jesus did not respond to her. So the followers came to Him and said, “Tell her to go away. She keeps crying out and will not leave us alone.” Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

At first glance, this reaction by Jesus to the woman’s pleas for her daughter may seem somewhat coldhearted and uncaring. But our Lord had a purpose in mind, and what better way of attracting attention than to act differently than usual. Jesus was always so open, so loving, and so caring, I’m sure His sudden aloofness caught His disciples by surprise. Apparently His lack of response was not enough for her to give up and go back home, so she followed behind the disciples and continued to beg them to get Jesus to stop and listen to her. They, in turn, approached Jesus and begged Him to send her away. Again, the Lord kept His eyes on the road and spoke firmly without making eye contact, telling them that His father sent Him to find the lost sheep of Israel.

Epiphanius gives us his interpretation of what was going on in Jesus’ mind. He writes: “It was not that the Lord was unwilling to heal her but that He might reveal her great faith and humility. Then the disciples were moved to mercy and pleaded with the Lord, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ Now He said this to the crowd of Jews that they might have no excuse on the day of judgment when they might pretend to say, ‘He wanted to come to the Gentiles rather than to us.’”¹²

Verses 25-26: Then the woman ran up in front of Jesus and bowed before Him. She said, “Lord, help me!” He answered her with this saying: “It is not right to take away the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”

Jesus’ use of the word “dogs” here was in no way meant as a derogatory put down. Our Lord was only using the vernacular of His day which this lady would understand so as not to be insulted. That’s why she answered in such a coy and respectful way. One polemic Jewish writer finds this exchange between Jesus and the non-Jewish woman a great opportunity to go ad hominem on the Master: “Now, with regard to Jesus’ answer…that He came to the world only to forgive the transgressions of Jewish sinners, why did He cause them to sin and to stumble and to be blinded if He really came to forgive and pardon Israel (for they did indeed stumble as a result of his death)? Was there no other nation He could cause to stumble except the one which He had come to save and redeem? Moreover, regarding His statement to the Canaanite woman that ‘it is not righto steal bread from the children and give it to the dogs,’ what He must have meant by this metaphor is, ‘It is not right that I should steal the kindness which I have to perform for the Jews and give it to other nations,’ i.e., to this Canaanite who is called a dog.”¹³

It is crystal clear that this critic completely dismisses God’s promise to Eve, Abraham, and to others spoken of by Isaiah, all because he is unable or unwilling to accept Jesus as the one God talked about. We find that, for the most part, Jews did not consider non-Jews as human beings equal to themselves, but more closely identified them with animals. Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai once said: “Contact with the graves of Gentiles do not defile us, for it is written, And you my flock, the flock of my pastures, are men;¹⁴ only you are designated as ‘men’.”¹⁵ One Jewish commentator puts this same thought in a cryptic way by saying: “Another reason why God created only a single human being is to foster peace among His creatures, none being able to say that they are superior to others by birth, seeing they all are traced back to the same Adam. Yet another reason is to prevent the Gentiles from claiming that there are several Divine powers competing with one another in the heavens.”¹⁶

To make sense out of all this, the commentator mentions in the previous paragraph that only Jews are human beings. Therefore, when the same God made Gentiles, He did so as part of the animal world. This would bar Gentiles from claiming they also were made by a God in His image. Such thinking would require more than one God. Another venerable Rabbi made these comments on the subject: “Since the idol-worshiping nations are likened to bulls, rams, and goats, as it is said “Many bulls surrounded me, etc.,”¹⁷ and Scripture states: “The ram that you saw, the one with horns, represents the kings of Media and Persia,”¹⁸ and Scripture states: “And the he-goat is the king of Greece.”¹⁹ And the Israelites are likened to young doves, as it is said: “My dove, in the clefts of the rock.”²⁰ Therefore, he divided the animals, as an allusion that the nations will gradually perish. ‘But He did not divide the bird,’²¹ as an allusion that Israel will exist forever.”²²

This same thought was echoed in the writings of another esteemed Rabbi.²³ And in a paraphrase of a psalm of David we read: “The Gentiles have surrounded me, who are like many bulls; the princes of Mathnan have hemmed me in. They open their mouths at me like a roaring and ravaging lion.”²⁴ And one Rabbi, when talking about a female Canaanite maid, has even less kind words to say: “The Scripture say: ‘ You stay here with the donkey’²⁵ – these people are like donkeys.”²⁶ Another Jewish translator gives a more graphic rendering of this verse: “Sit here with the donkey.”²⁷ But Rabbi Eliezer takes it one step further by saying: “Every child in the womb of a heathen bondmaid is like the young in an animal’s womb.”²⁸ Not only that, but in the footnotes they explain: “Children born to Gentile woman have no kinship with the male father.”²⁹

But the one that comes the closest, is an old Jewish story told by Rabbi Abraham Saba, one that Jesus may have been familiar with. It reads like this: “A king provided a dinner for the children of his house; as long as they do his will they can eat their meal with the king, and he gives to the dogs the part of bones to gnaw; but when the children of the house do not do the king’s pleasure, he gives the dogs the dinner, and the bones to them: even so: while the Israelites do the will of their Lord, they eat at the king’s table, and the feast is provided for them, and they of their own will give the bones to the Gentiles; but when they do not do the will of their Lord, lo! the feast is, ‘for the dogs‘, and the bones are theirs””³⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part IV

Verses 15-16: Peter then said, “Explain to us what you said earlier to the people.” Jesus replied, “Do you still have trouble understanding?”

Just when our Lord thought He had explained it clearly and sensibly enough for anyone to comprehend, His own disciples disappointed Him. Their question may have reminded our Lord of what the people of Israel said about His heavenly Father’s teaching: “Who does He think He is trying to teach and explain His message to? Does He think we are babies who were at their mother’s breast only a very short time ago? He speaks to us as though we are infants.”¹ It wasn’t that Jesus’ message was too hard, but that they were too simple to grasp its deeper meaning.

Thank goodness for Peter’s willingness to overcome pride, and with humility ask the Master, “Please explain.” It may not be that Peter was so dense as not to grasp the meaning of the parable, but having had so many parables to assimilate, and most often not understanding the principle spiritual message, he did not want to miss getting the point of another one. Sadly, there are too many believers today who walk out of church or a Bible study not fully discerning the true meaning of what was taught, but are either in too big of a hurry to get somewhere else, or too big in their egos to ask for a clearer explanation, or don’t think it is important, or even lack any interest in seeing the whole picture.

One Patriarch of the early church in Egypt had this to say: “Without understanding is what the Lord calls those who, like the Pharisees, make a fuss about external matters and have not yet discovered the inner life. Therefore, Jesus says, foods have to do with filling up the body, but they do not reach into the heart.”² In other words, too often people are so concerned about those things that only benefit them temporarily that they ignore those things that have an everlasting effect. Do you know how many books have been written since the time of Christ? I would imagine the count runs into the billions. So why then, is the Bible still the top selling book year after year? Because it deals with ageless things.

Verse 17: Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body as waste.

Now the Master turns to something even the most uneducated person would understand, the human digestive system. Only, in this case, He says that what people feed their minds will come out of their mouths as verbal regurgitation. Jesus was not trying to be a gastroenterologist, dietitian, or nutritionist, but simply pointing out that the food we eat is only with us for a short time. It’s those things we mentally ingest that contribute to the way we think and speak, act and react for years. They come into the body by way of the eyes and ears with connections to our heart, mind, body, soul and spirit, which then provide nutrition for our thoughts, intentions, feelings, and emotions. As such, they are critical in helping us remain mentally, morally, and spiritually healthy.

One early church theologian has this to say: “The Pharisees, as Peter made clear, begrudgingly grasped the opinion of the Lord which says, ‘It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a man.’ God indicated through Moses long ago that not everything about the use of food must be considered clean. He declared that certain things were clean and other things were unclean. But now we must ask why God prohibited the people long ago from eating these things. Since all things created by God to be used as human food were blessed at the very beginning and they remain no less so by their very nature, why is it that divine law later prescribed to the Jewish people certain things as lawful for eating because they were clean and certain things as unlawful because they were unclean?”³

Since that is true of food, our Lord is attempting to teach those who are listening that the same principle applies to what we read and hear. Theologian Chromatius goes on to say: “First, precepts of this type were given by the Lord because of the indiscriminate and immoderate appetite of the people. For since they were overly concerned with eating and drinking, these people began to overlook God’s precepts. They made for themselves a molten calf in Horeb, about which it was written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.’⁴ Those necessary things were forbidden by the Lord, so that with the best food having been denied and their immoderate appetites declared unhealthy, the people might abide more easily by the discipline of divine observance. It was only after their disobedience with the molten calf that we find those things were prohibited.”⁵

Chromatius then finishes his thought: “Concerning them, as though to rebuke these stiff-necked people [the Pharisees], the Lord made a mild and merciful declaration: ‘They will be unclean to you.’ Not that they are in themselves unclean, but ‘shall be.’ Nor did He say ‘to all’ but ‘to you.’ He thus made it clear that neither were they unclean nor would they be unclean to people other than themselves. And certainly they deserved this prohibition of many foods, for these people preferred the foods of Egypt, as well as cucumbers and muskmelons, to heavenly manna.”⁶

Why is it that parents are all too willing to warn their children not to touch a hot stove, or run with a knife or fork in their hands, or pick up a spider, or cross the street without first looking both ways, but are so reluctant to issue the same warnings when it comes to music, movies, books, TV programming, the internet, and cell phone texting? The first items mentioned may cause physical injury, and some may even be fatal, but the latter ones can impair and destroy what might be their potential for the future. I remember as a child that most Pentecostals were against the use of tobacco. While some of their own members were tobacco farmers, they pointed to other uses of this plant such as being great for repelling insects in kitchen gardens, and peach trees, garden centipedes, gophers and moles, spiders.

The American Indian used tobacco for skin rashes, Eczema and rheumatism, toothaches, rattlesnake and insect bites and the common cold. In fact, in India tobacco is used as toothpaste. And in the USA, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, those that suffer from mental disorders such as ADHD/ADD, schizophrenia, and other disorders may experience positive effects from smoking. Apparently, doses of nicotine have a short term normalization effect on the EEG (electrical activity in the brain). Also, those that suffer from Alzheimer’s can also benefit from doses of nicotine. According to studies, patients cognitive abilities slightly improved.

Nevertheless, it turns out that this stance against using tobacco for recreational uses, because it was addictive, and that it was a large contributor to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart disease, was a healthy choice. Tobacco use can also trigger strokes, asthma attacks, and effect a women’s reproductive process which produces premature babies enhances the risk of type 2 diabetes, cause blindness, cataracts, age-related Macular degeneration, as well as causing colon, cervix, liver, stomach and pancreatic cancer. So these Pentecostals were saying much the same as what Moses told the Israelites, these things may be good for some purposes, but they are not good for you. And what is said of tobacco, can also be said of drugs and alcohol.

So the point here is that this illustration of what causes physical harm can be used to show what causes spiritual and moral harm. What children see on TV today as everyday fare, years ago could have only been seen in pornographic magazines and movie theaters. The vulgar language and words or phrases that have two meanings, one of which is risqué or indecent, employed by TV late night hosts now were once only heard in bars and brothels. When a child grows up thinking that this is “normal,” its no wonder then that it is carried into both school and Sunday school. Is this new? Jesus knew it way back then

Verse 18: That’s why the bad things people say with their mouth comes from the way they think. And that’s what gives people a filthy mind.

Early church preacher Chrysostom makes this comment: “Note how sharply Jesus deals with them and how He delivers His rebuke. He rebukes with a view to their cure. He appeals to our common human nature when He says, ‘Whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on.’ Even if it did abide for a while, it would not make one unclean. Yet they were not able to hear this. Because of this, the lawgiver allows just so much time for the law to have effect. After it has gone through one’s system, it is dispelled. At evening, He asks you to wash yourself and so be clean. The time of digesting and excreting is a limited time. But in matters of the heart, they stay inside. He is not making a refutation of the goodness of the nature of things. Rather, Jesus is speaking of the difference between what proceeds from the stomach and what proceeds from the heart. One does not remain; the other does. One enters in from the outside. The other goes out from the inside, and having gone forth it may defile, and the more it goes out the more it defiles. They were not yet able to be taught these things.”⁷

We’ve all no doubt heard the statement: “Actions speak louder than words.” In European literature, we can trace this back to French writer Michel de Montaigne, who, in his work called “Essays,” makes the statement: “Saying is one thing and doing is another.”⁸ But our Lord is one step ahead. He is making the point that “Thinking it is one thing, and saying it is another.” Most of us edit what we think before we say it, except for those spur-of-the-moment comments we wish we could take back seconds after we’ve said them. But the main point is that these sayings are not random or impromptu without any source. They all come from what is hidden in our hearts and minds. In examining these thoughts and ideas it can easily prove what we are, not what we say we are. I’ve even heard of preachers using bad language from behind the pulpit, and then trying to apologize by saying they didn’t know where it came from.

Church historian Jerome makes this point: “Out of the heart, Jesus said, come evil thoughts. Therefore, the soul or principle of action is not in the brain, according to Plato, but in the heart, according to Christ. On this point, those who believe that thoughts are introduced by the devil and do not originate from our own will are to be repudiated. The devil can aid and abet evil thoughts but he cannot originate them, even though, ever lying in wait, he kindles a small spark of our thoughts with his matches. We must not hold the opinion that the devil can also probe the depths of our heart. However, he can judge from our demeanor and gestures what we are thinking about. For example, if he sees us gazing often at a beautiful woman, he surmises that our heart has been wounded with the dart of lust.”⁹

Verses 19-20: All these bad things begin in the mind: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and insulting people. These are the things that make people unfit. Eating without washing their hands will never make people unacceptable to God.

This echoes the old saying: “Bad things come out of bad people.”¹⁰ We find this same proverb quoted in Jewish literature that has been around since the time of the exile.¹¹ Solomon also gives us a list of traits that such people usually possess in varying degrees: “The Lord hates these seven things: eyes that show pride, tongues that tell lies, hands that kill innocent people, hearts that plan evil things to do, feet that run to do evil, witnesses in court who tell lies, and anyone who causes family members to fight.”¹² Then we read: “Good people know the right things to say, but the wicked say things to provoke others.”¹³ Followed by: “Listening to wise people increases your knowledge, but only nonsense comes from the mouths of fools,”¹⁴ and then: “Good people think before they speak, but the wicked do not, and what they do say causes conflict.”¹⁵

So it is clear, Jesus had these people figured out. But even more so, because He knew not only the objects of their wickedness, but also the source of their evil intent. It all comes from the heart, says our Lord. Was this new? Did it only occur in Jesus’ generation? No! We are told: “The LORD saw that the people on the earth were very evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time.”¹⁶ When does this start? We are told: “People have bad tendencies from the time they are young.”¹⁷ The Scripture tells us that God’s knows this, but it takes a long time before a person comes to the same conclusion.

As a father, I never had cause to teach my children how to get mad, roll on the floor and throw a temper tantrum, or lie when they were asked if they broke something, or ate from the cookie jar when they were told not to. And I did not have to wait until they reached their teens to see this develop. Solomon must have faced the same thing because his instructions were this: “Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life.”¹⁸ So this wise man had some advice for parents, “Children do foolish things, but if you punish them, they will learn not to do them.”¹⁹ This is important because he goes on to say, “Foolish plans are wrong, and people have no respect for someone who laughs at what is right.”²⁰

Jesus knew who He was dealing with, and He was very much aware of what God said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind. It can be very sick, and no one really understands it. But I am the LORD, and I can look into a person’s heart.”²¹ These scribes, Pharisees, and other religious leaders were too blind to see that the One standing before them had this same power. Had they realized this, they no doubt would have heeded what Isaiah had to say, “Evil people should stop living evil lives. They should stop thinking bad thoughts. They should come to the Lord again, and He will comfort them. They should come to our God because He will freely forgive them.”²²

At the turn of the last century, a young poet was writing his reflections on how the world had not turned out as he and others had hoped it would. In one of his poem, he penned this line: “Dreaming men are haunted men.”¹ In his case, it involved war and the struggle for freedom from oppression. Dreams were shattered for many, and it appeared that worse times were yet to come.

The dreams that haunt many people are most often those with high expectations that turn out to be just illusions. It’s a case of thinking things will get better on their own, all it takes is a little hope and a willingness to wait it out. Thank God, that was not what Jesus thought when He looked at the world around Him and how corrupt and immoral it was. He knew He had a mission, and nothing was going to stop Him from reaching His goal, even if others thought it impossible.

There’s a popular song from the movie, “Man From La Mancha,” called, “To Dream the Impossible Dream,” written by Joe Darion. It is still sung and admired by many today. The last two verses go like this: “And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this that one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star.”

And that’s what happened. Don Quixote did not get to that unreachable star, and he died a haunted man. So don’t go chasing the impossible, let God handle those things. But do all you can do with what you have striven for and realize your dream of having been a meaningful and significant person in your family and other people’s lives as a true and faithful child of the Living God. You don’t have to be better than everyone else, just be your very best, and God will do all the rest.

There is another verse in the song goes: “To fight for the right without question or pause, to be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause.” Jesus already did that! And by doing so, He opened a way for you to march into heaven for the same cause. So keep marching. God is not just watching, He’s walking with you. – Dr. Robert R. Seyda

1Stephen Vincent Benet: John Brown’s Body, Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York, 1928, Bk. 1, p. 29

WHO SAYS GOD DOESN’T SPEAK ANYMORE

While ministering in Germany, I was invited to conduct a week’s revival in a nearby town. At the close of the second night’s service, a young woman came forward during the altar call and with tears in her eyes asked me if I could come visit her and her mother because she was dealing with some depressing personal issues. She informed me that she lived out of town and briefly described the intersection with the main highway I traveled to get to the revival. She explained that her house would be sitting several meters off the road on the right side, and had a red roof. I let her know that I certainly would do so at my first opportunity.

Some days later, I was driving toward the same town on my way to another meeting when I passed the intersection she described and at that instant the Holy Spirit spoke to me so strongly to go visit this lady, that I had to slow down and pull over on the shoulder of the road. It was like a voice in my soul that said, “The intersection you just passed is the one the woman was telling you about. Go back and take that road.” So, I quickly did a u-turn and went back to the intersection. I turned left and found myself going uphill amidst a thick forest on a narrow country road I’d never traveled before. All at once the unfamiliarity made me feel somewhat lost. So I said to the Holy Spirit, “You directed me to go this way, so you’ll have to help me find this house; I’ve never been here before.”

When I reached the top of the hill into a clearing, the road went along the crest of the hill, and there were very few houses along the highway but all of them had red roofs. As I passed house after house, I wondered, “How am I going to find the one where she lives?” Then I spotted a house sitting back off the road on the right side. Quickly the Holy Spirit confirmed to my spirit that this was the house I was looking for. So I pulled into the driveway leading down to the house, hoping and praying that it was the Holy Spirit not just my imagination guiding me.

As I walked up the steps to the door, I said to myself, “If this isn’t the right house I’ll sure look silly. How can I explain my being here to whoever opens the door.” I knocked and waited. Then the door opened and my doubt quickly vanished as I recognized the woman who opened the door, and she called out my name with great surprise and then dissolved into tears while inviting me in.

As we sat down, she told me that just a few minutes ago she and her mother were on their knees pleading with God to please send Brother Seyda to their house that day. That’s why when she suddenly saw a car pull into the driveway it was more than she could hope that it would be me. She then poured out her story of being abandoned with a child by a man who she found out later was already married. We prayed and asked God for guidance and comfort. I was able to assist her so that it settled her mind and she accepted what happened as God’s will for her life.

If this experience taught me anything, it was that when God’s Spirit wants to guide you, there are some amazing things that will happen when you are obedient. But you can’t wait and just put it off out of doubt or fear. That phone call to a friend or family member the Spirit has been urging you to make or that visit to someone you are burdened with the Spirit is motivating you to make, go for it. Just like Ananias whom the Spirit urged to visit a man named Saul of Tarsus, you never know what miracle may take place because of your obedience.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part III

Verses 10-11: Then Jesus asked the people to step closer. He said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. It is not what a person puts in their mouth that makes them polluted. It is what comes out of their mouth that makes them polluted.”

Remember this, there’s a difference between defiling the soul and defiling the body. Believe it or not, one may encounter a filthy drunk and find out that in his heart he is a kind and compassionate person. On the other hand, one could meet a sophisticated nondrinker and discover that they are full of animosity, bias, hatred and disdain for others. As the great early church orator Chrysostom stated: “Jesus did not say, ‘The observance of food laws is nothing,’ or ‘Moses did a poor job of making laws,’ or ‘Moses only made these laws as a way of coming down to your level.’ Instead, He speaks to them on the level of advice and counsel and used natural phenomena as evidence. He does this when He says, ‘Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ In this statement He appeals to nature itself both in the process of instituting law and in the process of revealing what He has to say.”¹

There’s an old English story about a teacher named Mr. Tulliver who listened with petrifying wonder to an essay being read in class by a young girl named Maggie. He wondered what type of book this young lady had gotten hold of. It turned out to be the one called, “The History of the Devil,” by Daniel Defoe. Later, when the teacher confronted the girl’s father he explained that they found it at a book sale. Said the father: “…they’ve all got the same covers, and I thought they were all one and the same, as you might say. But it seems one mustn’t judge by the outside.”² From this, came our famous English maxim: “Never judge a book by its cover.” This is what we use today when referring to people who may look different on the outside than what we find on the inside.

What Jesus was really saying about others was that they dressed themselves in such a way that any onlooker might think they were pure and righteous, but when one hears them speak it was obvious they are hypocrites and deceivers. But for Himself, it was a different message. We know from Scripture that David had a ruddy complexion and Saul was taller than anyone else. But when it came to the Messiah, Isaiah said there was nothing about Him physically or His looks that would cause anyone to admire Him. That’s why we have no physical description of Jesus in the New Testament. It was only when Jesus opened His mouth that people realized what was on the inside. Too often, Christians judge people on the outside before they hear them speak from the inside. Then, they go into denial because they don’t want to believe that anyone who looks so righteous outwardly could be so full of wrong intentions inwardly.

Now Jesus points to some of His listeners’ the real character flaws that I’m sure really annoyed the Pharisees. They were so particular how they washed their hands and the food they ate, making sure it was kosher, etc. Yet Jesus looks at them and says: “It’s not what you put in your mouth that determines who you are, it’s what comes out of you mouth that identifies you for who you really are.” David met some of the same kind of people, and here’s what he said about them: “Those wicked people started doing wrong as soon as they were born. They have been liars from birth.”³

At first this may sound rather unrefined. But as a father, one thing I learned in helping to raise four children, I never spent one minute teaching them how to fib. It seemed to come naturally. But I did spend a lot of time trying to convince them about the benefit of telling the truth. Isaiah is more graphic about such people: “You can’t be trusted, even in court. You lie about each other and depend on false arguments to win your cases. You create pain and produce wickedness. You hatch evil, like eggs from a poisonous snake.”⁴ The prophet Jeremiah put it this way, “They use their tongues like a bow to send lies flying from their mouths like arrows.”⁵

It is notable, that an early church theologian ties this same principle to Holy Communion. This is what he wrote: “In exactly the same way it is ‘not what enters into the mouth’ that makes the person holy. This is so even if that which is called the bread of the Lord is considered to make the person holy by some of the more perfect disciples. The two cases are similar. It is not the food but the conscience of the one who eats with doubt about whether it was right to do so that defiles the person who has eaten. For ‘the one who doubts is condemned if one eats, because one is not eating from faith.’⁶ It is also like the case in which ‘nothing is pure to the one who is defiled and unbelieving.’⁷ The thing involved is impure not because of itself but because of the person’s defilement and unbelief. In the same way, that which is ‘made holy through the word of God and prayer’ does not on its own account make the one who uses it holy.⁸ For if it did, it would also make holy the one who eats of the Lord ‘in an unworthy manner’ and no one would become ‘weak’ or ‘sickly’ or would ‘sleep’ because of this food. For this is what Paul showed in the statement, ‘Because of this many among you are weak and sickly and a significant number are falling asleep.’⁹ Therefore, in the case of the bread of the Lord, the one who uses it derives benefit when one shares in the bread with a mind that is undefiled and a conscience that is pure.”¹⁰

Verses 12-13: Afterward, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Did you know that the Pharisees really got upset over what you said?” Jesus responded, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.”

Jesus’ response to the news the disciples brought Him about the Pharisees feeling insulted by what he said concerning their inward pollution, did not sound like what the disciples may have expected. Instead of saying: “That’s their problem,” or, “Tell them to get over it,” Jesus used an illustration that sounded much like the parable He told earlier about the real wheat and the lookalike wheat. In this case, it pointed out that His Father in heaven was the one who is responsible for determining which is which.

The great Chrysostom preached: “The disciples were saying these things not only because they saw how hurt the Pharisees were, but also because they themselves were a little confused. But since they did not dare to say this out of concern for their own confusion, they hoped to learn further by listening to Jesus’ own elaboration of this issue. To show that this is so, listen to what is said after these things by Peter, who was hotheaded and speaking out before the rest. He says, ‘Explain this parable to us.’¹¹ By this he reveals the confusion in his soul. He does not dare to say openly, ‘I take offense at this,’ but he expects that he will be released from his confusion by the interpretation of the parable. But he too ends up being rebuked.”¹²

Jesus’ answer to His disciples would not have been such an unusual thought for the Jewish scribes. The story is told that a certain Rabbi once met with a Roman Government official who had been sent to his area to arrest thieves. An argument ensued, with the Rabbi suggesting that this official may unknowingly arrest the innocent and let the guilty escape. He gave the official some tips on where to find these crooks. But when the official began to arrest them, another Rabbi objected, and sent this message to the Rabbi cooperating with the Roman official: “How long will you deliver up the people of our God for slaughter!” The Rabbi involved sent back a reply: “I’m weeding out thorns from the vineyard.” To this the objecting Rabbi retorted: “Let the owner of the vineyard Himself [God] come and weed out the thorns.’”¹³ Sounds like Jesus may have heard this story.

But Chrysostom is not finished. He goes on to say: “Why therefore does Messiah say, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted?’ Those who are diseased with the ideas of the Manichaeans¹⁴ say that this was said about the law. But what Jesus had said before this shuts their mouths. For if He were speaking about the law, why did He earlier make a defense on its behalf and fight for it when He said, ‘Why are you transgressing the commandment of God because of your tradition?’ And why does He bring in the prophet [Isaiah] in front of everyone?¹⁵ Contrary to what the Manichaeans say, Jesus says these things about the Pharisees themselves and their traditions. For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ This statement from God surely is a plant of God.”¹⁶

So Chrysostom is speaking about those plants (like the genuine wheat in the parable of the wheat and weeds), and how they must be identified as either being planted by God or planted by man. The ones planted by God are healthy and grow strong while those planted by man are diseased and lead to a form of contamination that causes other plants to be poisonous. This certainly seems to be what Jesus then goes on to say to His followers.

Verse 14: Stay away from the Pharisees. They lead the people, but they are like blind men leading other blind men. And if a blind man leads another blind man, both of them will fall into a ditch.

Could our Lord have in mind the words His Father spoke to the prophet Isaiah? “In all the world, no one is more blind than My servant Israel. No one is more deaf than My messenger to the world. No one is more blind than My chosen people, the servant of the Lord.”¹⁷ It is understandable that the Pharisees were offended. Their laws concerning sanctity were based primarily upon what a man ingested, drank and touched. But Jesus throws this aside and exclaims that it’s what’s in the heart that brings defilement. No wonder the Pharisees became agitated, they were just shown a real picture of themselves. So often people believe that others see them the way they see themselves and are therefore unwilling to accept the portrait others paint of them. There is a difference between being slandered or maligned, and being confronted with an honest and genuine appraisal. When someone we trust points out our faults and shortcomings we should thank them and then ask God to help us make the necessary changes.

There is an interesting Jewish parable told about this that goes: “Our sages taught us this parable; a man possessing full eyesight walks with a blind man. The man that has all his facilities guides the blind man so that he will not stumble. After a while, close to evening time, he asks the blind man to light a lantern for him. The blind man is dumbfounded, and tells his companion that since he is blind it is up to his companion to light the lantern, as he would not benefit by its light anyways. The companion replies that he himself is not in need of the light of a lantern, but he wants it known that although the blind man would not derive any benefit from its light, he lit it for the sake of his companion. Israel is the blind man in that parable, whereas God is the seeing One. If God had not provided us with the commandments of the Torah, we would all be walking through this life like blind men.”¹⁸

In this case, Jesus is saying to the Jews, all of you are blind when it comes to the truth, yet none of you are willing to light the lantern of God’s Word so that others who are looking for light to guide them may see. But since He is the light, just take hold of His hand and He will lead them and restore their sight. We see a similar situation faced by the prophet Micaiah when everyone else, who were identifying themselves as God’s messengers, were predicting victory, he saw defeat. We read, “While all this was happening, the officer went to find Micaiah. When he found him, the officer told him, ‘All the other prophets have said that the king will succeed, so you should say the same thing.’ But Micaiah answered, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I can say only what the Lord says.’”¹⁹

Apparently, there was some continuing doubt among Jesus’ disciples as to this dispute over the verbal law when compared to the written Word of God. So by choosing to talk about this as a case of plants that look the same but are not, He reveals another factor. When a plant is pulled out of the ground before harvest, it usually means it was not planted by the owner of the field and must be thrown away as a weed. This goes along with what Isaiah received as a revelation from God: “Jerusalem, get up and shine! Your Light is coming! The Glory of the Lord will shine on you. Darkness now covers the earth, and the people are in darkness. But the Lord will shine on you, and His Glory will appear over you.”²⁰ And for all those who receive this Light, the message given by Isaiah says: “They are the young plant in My garden that will grow to be a wonderful tree. I made them with My own hands.”²¹

Therefore, Jesus is saying that if God did not put these people in His garden, He would make sure they didn’t stay long enough to hurt the crop He did plant. After all, the Psalmist said: “Good people are like budding palm trees. They grow strong like the cedar trees of Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD. They grow strong there in the courtyards of our God.”²² Our Lord’s metaphor of the blind leading the blind was meant as a figurative illustration of those who were ignorant of the truth, trying to explain the truth to others. Isaiah had a similar illustration, “So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail. He took away the branch and the stalk in one day. (The head means the elders and important leaders. The tail means the prophets who told lies.) As guides are leading Israel the wrong way, so those who follow them will be destroyed.”²³

Jeremiah heard the Lord say that what really bothered Him was this: “They should be ashamed of the evil things they do, but they are not ashamed at all. They don’t know enough to be embarrassed by their sins.”²⁴ It wasn’t that they were clueless, but that they were unable to properly put the puzzle together to see what they were doing wrong. Jesus was trying to get them to see how it was done. My two older sisters were fond of putting picture puzzles together. Sometimes it would be so big it covered the dining room table, so my mom needed to put an oil cloth over the puzzle, then a tablecloth over that so we could eat without ruining the puzzle. What if they had decided to mix the pieces of three or four puzzles together in the same box and then put them together as one puzzle? It would have been impossible.

The same way, the scribes, and Pharisees were trying to put together the puzzle showing God’s will and plan of salvation by mixing verbal tradition with written law. All Jesus was telling them was this: “Forget about both and put the picture together with the pieces I’m giving you and you will see what God wants boldly and clearly.” The word of the Lord to Ezekiel went this way: “I will give you the right answer on how to follow my will. But if any prophet is foolish enough to give his own answer, I, the Lord, will show him how foolish he is!”²⁵

Early church theologian Chromatius sees a dual purpose in what Jesus said about the blind leading the blind. He writes: “These words were intended to expose the scribes and Pharisees, who were blinded by the error of their unbelief. Not only were they unable to recognize the light of truth—not believing in Christ—but also they were attracting others into the pit of death. Nevertheless the words also apply to heretics.²⁶ Denying that Christ is the “true light from true light, and God from God,”²⁷27 they too were steeped in blindness. Because of their perverse doctrine, they also proved to be guides and leaders to those adrift.”²⁸

Such blindness is still with us today. The use of the term “blindness,” is a metaphorical way of saying that there are those who cannot spiritually see what is being described. As such, “blindness” becomes a synonym for spiritual ignorance. In other words, such people are trying to describe a place they’ve never visited or explain a subject they have never studied. Often, such blind prophets present what they describe as a vision from God when in fact it is a product of their own imagination. Too many have followed such self-constructed visions and thereby led themselves and others into the path of despair and loss of real faith.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part II

Verses 3-4: Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s directives so that you can follow those traditions you have? God said, “You must respect your father and mother.”¹ And God also said, “Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.”²

This illustrates one of the issues Jesus constantly dealt with when debating with the Jewish teachers and Pharisees. They were looking at the verbal traditions in their Mishnah for guidance, while Jesus was constantly pointing to the written laws in their Torah. He begins His response by quoting the fifth commandment. Then He follows with a quote from the supplemental directives given to Moses. He then compares them to the verbal traditions being followed by the Pharisees and scribes. For instance, in the Mishnah we find eleven chapters dealing with vows or oaths. And this is no doubt the part that Jesus was paraphrasing to show man’s interpretations of this commandment in their verbal tradition.³

Someone once asked a Rabbi: “To what extent does the requirement of honoring the father and mother extend? He said to them, ‘Why are you asking me? Go and ask Damah ben Netinah. He is the chief of the patroboule⁴ of his city. One time his own mother was slapping him before the entire council, and the slipper she was beating him with fell from her hand, so he bent down and gave it back to her, so that she would not be more upset.’”⁵ The respect for parents was so great that one Rabbi lamented: “Would that I had a father and a mother, whom I might honor, and so inherit the Garden of Eden.”⁶ And the Rabbi goes on to say: “This is how Scripture compares the reverence one owes to their father and mother with the reverence they owe to the Omnipresent One.”⁷

But a different Rabbi taught: “So great is the honor one owes to father and mother, that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave it preference, even over the honor owed to God.” This Rabbi then adds: “When it comes to the matter of honoring father, and mother, whether you have sufficient food or whether you do not, you must honor your father and mother, even if you have to go begging at door to door.”⁸ So it is clear that Jesus chose a very time honored and sensitive teaching from the Law. But now comes the stark reality of how such a sacred trust had been corrupted by these same Rabbis.

Verse 5: But you teach that a person can say to their father or mother, “I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. Instead, I am going to give it to God.”

Early Church theologian Origen, who lived among the Jews in Alexandria, offers his understanding of what Jesus said about the Rabbi’s teaching on how children can avoid their legal responsibilities of taking care of their father and mother just by making a vow, called Korban, to do so. He makes a very valid argument pointing out that while the Jewish teachers had found a way around the commandment to honor one’s father and mother at all cost, they did not address the second part of what Jesus said, and that was: If you speak maliciously against your father or mother you are to be put to death for doing so. No doubt Jesus wanted to know how could they ignore the one but forget about the other?⁹

Origen then goes on to say that what the scribes and Pharisees were really doing is this: That by giving an exemption of the law to honor one’s father and mother at all cost by making a vow that instead of giving to their parents they were giving to God, they were in fact violating the second commandment that forbid speaking maliciously against one’s father or mother. Origen says: But you, Jesus says, are setting aside two commandments of God by your one tradition. Then you are not even ashamed when you accuse my disciples when they are not transgressing any commandment. For they were walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances.’¹⁰”¹¹

So the Pharisees and scribes knew exactly what Jesus was talking about when He referred to what they called “Korban,” which means “gift.” But even more, it was a gift tied to an oath of loyalty and fulfilling the law. This word was even used to identify a sacrifice of any kind brought in devotion to God. Some Jewish scholars have rebutted Jesus’ charge by saying: “The charge of hypocrisy, or lip-service, raised against the Pharisees in this connection is entirely unfounded; for pharisaic tradition did actually provide a remedy against rash vows by empowering any sage consulted to dissolve the vow in case it could be shown that it was not made with a full consideration of all its consequences; this very power ‘to loosen that which is bound’ by the Law being declared to be a privilege of the Rabbis, derived from the spirit of the Law while seemingly against the letter of the Law.”¹²

However, Jesus would have never made this accusation were this not being practiced in His day to circumvent the law. Not only that, once something was considered to be Korban, even the giver could not then use it for himself.¹³ Yet, such circumvention was often encouraged so that the Temple received these gift offerings instead of giving them to what some might consider undeserving or unworthy parents. So, what Jesus saw was that even though these vows were considered unbreakable, the Rabbis had adopted a law that would allow for such a vow to be annulled, even though they claimed it could only be done with the corroboration of a sage after consultation.¹⁴

Jesus’ main point is that by allowing for such breaking of the vows of Korban by children to their parents, their man-made laws were in fact breaking the Laws God had established. After all, Rabbis clearly taught that such vows to one’s parents were in fact vows to God.¹⁵ So by honoring them, a person was honoring God. In Jewish literature we find this story given as an illustration: “It once happened in Bet Horon¹⁶ that a father was forbidden to receive a benefit through his son. Now the father was marrying off his son and wanted the grandfather to participate, so he said to his son: May the courtyard and the banquet be a gift to you, on the condition that my father come and feast with us at the banquet. Then the son said, if it is truly mine then let it all be consecrated to God! His father said to him: But I did not give it to you so that you consecrate it to God. The son responded: I know, you gave it to me so that you and grandfather may eat and drink together and become reconciled with one another. So then, the sin of breaking my vow will be on his head. When the matter came before the Sages they ruled: Any gift which is not given in a manner so that it can be consecrated to God is no gift at all and therefore is not valid.”¹⁷ Sound confusing? That’s what Jesus was up against. When trying to avoid one obligation by making up rules to do so, it only leads to violating other obligations.

What child today would think of selling an extra car they are not using, or a vacation home they no longer need, or a coin collection that is only taking up space, but not consider helping their parents who are struggling on fixed income, unable to feed themselves properly, without any transportation, and living in filthy accommodations, and then claim no fault because they gave all the proceeds to their local church for a missions project? This would in no way cover up their lack of parental respect. Surely, they cannot really believe that God is pleased with such a so-called sacrifice for His cause. This certainly seems to be what Jesus adresses next.

Verse 6: You are teaching them not to respect their father. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have.

Jewish theologian Maimonides comments: “The following rules apply with regard to a male minor who is twelve years and one day old and a female minor who is eleven years and one day old who take an oath or a vow, whether a vow forbidding them to keep something or a vow giving something away. We investigate them and ask them questions. If they know for whose sake they took the vow or for whose sake they consecrated the article, their vows and their consecration are binding. But if they do not know, then their vows and their statements are not valid.”¹⁸ Maimonides further explains, that someone cannot take a second oath until the first oath is carried out. Yet, you may make a second vow even before the first vow has been fulfilled. Also, a person who takes an oath may extend the boundaries of that oath, thereby enlarging what they plan to carry out. But, they will not be held responsible if they ultimately fail to reach their larger goal. On the other hand, if a vow to extended or enlarged is made and then not even tried, they are responsible and will suffer the consequences.¹⁹

This is what Jesus had to deal with because the Jewish teachers and leaders had gotten so far away from the original law. They thought they were improving the law, when in fact they were making it more complicated and harder to follow and obey. The same has happened in many segments of Christianity where teachers have strayed from the original Gospel of Jesus Christ. What has developed is what we call today, “co-dependency.” This is where excessive emotional and psychological reliance is placed on a partner, especially by those who feel they cannot take care of themselves on their own. In the spiritual world, this is the case of many believers who depend on the church and it’s ministers to assure their salvation instead of believing in God and on His Son Jesus Christ for their forgiveness and salvation. That’s why Jesus told these religious experts that by their establishment of man’s word above God’s Word they had in fact made God’s Word irrelevant.

This is what the Psalmist feared, “Lord, it is time for you to do something. The people do what is against your teachings. I love your commands more than gold, more than the purest gold. I carefully obey all your commands. So I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.”²⁰ We should have that same prayer today. The prophet Jeremiah felt the same frustration with the people to whom he was sent, “You keep saying, ‘We have the Lord’s teachings. So we are wise!’ But this is not true, because the scribes have lied with their pens. These ‘wise people’ refused to listen to the LORD’S teachings. So they are not really wise at all.”²¹ The prophet Hosea pointed to the priests, “My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge. You priests have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests for me. You have forgotten the law of your God…”²²

By Malachi’s time, things had not gotten any better, “A priest should know God’s teachings. People should be able to go to a priest and learn God’s teachings. A priest should be the Lord’s messenger to the people. But you priests stopped following me! You used the teachings to make people do wrong. You ruined the agreement with Levi. This is what the Lord All-Powerful said. You don’t live the way I told you. You have not accepted my teachings.”²³ So you can imagine some 400 years later, when Jesus came, not only had nothing improved, things had only gotten worse.

Early church seminarian Theodore of Mopsuestia has this commentary about what Jesus was trying to say, not only against the Pharisees, but for His own disciple’s understanding and compliance. He writes: “The scribes were entirely preoccupied with something else. The Lord instead was teaching them to take care of the needs of the body, so long as they were encouraged to cultivate virtue. When the Pharisees observed His disciples unconcerned about washing, they censured Him on the grounds that He had not taught them with enough care that it was a matter of utmost importance that they not eat what they had not washed. What reply, then, does the Lord make to this? ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition?’”²⁴

Theodore then goes on: “Thus Jesus re-frames the question into an even more severe accusation. They had not only broken God’s command but also misused it for ulterior motives. The metaphor shifts: God had commanded that parents be honored by their children. That honor was owed to them to such an extent that whichever of their children sinned stubbornly against them merely by word would be condemned. “But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father. You say that it is up to the children whether to honor their parents or not. You imply that a son says nothing out of bounds to a father when he says, “I will give a thank offering instead of taking care of you, my own father, and no further care is to be taken of you.’ In this way, by your own peculiar traditions, you yourselves are dishonoring the gifts of almighty God.”²⁵

Verses 7-9: You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke for God about you: “These people honor Me with their words, but I am not really important to them. Their worship of Me is worthless. The things they teach are only human rules.”²⁶

Here, Jesus points to the prophet Isaiah to prove His point. Also, God’s message to Ezekiel, who attempted to teach the people the truth, certainly applies to Jesus trying to help the scribes and Pharisees see the truth: “And now about you, son of man. Your people lean against the walls and stand in their doorways talking about you. They tell each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear what the LORD has to say.’ So they come to you as if they were my people. They sit in front of you as if they were my people. They hear your words, but they will not do the things you say. They only want to do what feels good. They only want to cheat people and make more money.”²⁷ In turn, when Jesus spoke to His disciples He was following a concept presented by Solomon: “My son, listen closely to what I am saying. Let my life be your example.”²⁸

In addition, God issues an indictment on Israel about their worship and teaching that certainly applied to those who lived in Jesus’ day.²⁹ Unfortunately, there are many today who would be found guilty of the same insensitivity to God’s Word and will for their lives. Jesus was trying to point out to these haughty religious leaders what Solomon warned against: “You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to Him. So don’t try to change what God says. If you do, He will punish you and prove that you are a liar.”³⁰ And what the prophet Isaiah warns about can be applied to many people today, “The Lord says, ‘These people come to honor me with words, but I am not really important to them. The worship they give Me is nothing but human rules they have memorized.”³¹

All of this was like a weight pulling down their spirits so that they could not worship the LORD in spirit and in truth. Another well-known Rabbi joins in his response to the prophet Isaiah by commenting: “They came close to raising themselves up to the heavens. They showed themselves as though honoring God with mouth and lip, but in their hearts they had drawn far away from Him. And their reverence of Him is not done wholeheartedly, but by the instructions of those who teach them.”³² No wonder Rabbi Nathan made this remark about his fellow Jews: “If the hypocrites were divided into ten parts, nine would be found in Jerusalem, and one in the world outside.”³³

Early Church preacher Chrysostom gives us his summary on how those who followed the verbal traditions were attempting in vain to worship God. He writes: “Did you notice that prophecy agrees exactly with what was said here and that it long ago predicted their evil? For this very thing with which the Messiah now indicts them was also said long ago by Isaiah. Isaiah said that they despise the things of God: ‘They worship me in vain.’ But Isaiah also said that they place great value on their own concerns: ‘They teach as commandments the teachings of human beings.’ Therefore, it was on reasonable grounds that the disciples did not keep these teachings. Jesus thus strikes them with a mortal blow. He does this on the basis of the circumstances, on the basis of their own covenant to which they had consented, and on the basis of the prophet who had intensified the grounds of the accusation.

Jesus does not talk with the scribes at all because they had ceased to accept any more correction. Instead, He directed His message to the crowds so that He could introduce doctrine that is high and great and full of philosophical insight. He took this as His starting point and finally wove in that which was greater, even throwing out the observance of kinds of food. But note in what sequence these events happen. After He cleansed the leper; after He nullified the Sabbath; after He displayed Himself as King of land and sea; after He instituted laws; after He forgave sins; after He raised dead people; after He supplied them with many examples of His deity. It is then that He talks to them about food laws. For all of Judaism is held together by this; and if you take this away, you also have taken away the whole thing.”³⁴

There is a lesson here for all believers, regardless of what denomination they belong to. When man-made rites, rituals, and other forms of worship are demanded above and beyond what Jesus said, that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth, then those who do so are usurping God’s authority and such worship will be in vain. God is not against any form or custom that is meant to honor and praise Him with a sincere heart, but He has no time for such things when they are arrogantly reported to be from Him when they are in fact from the mind man. God made it clear that we are not to pretend when worshiping Him. To do so is only satisfying our religious commitments, formalities, and beliefs.³⁵